The Harder They Fall

A heart-warming and thought-provoking story of family, friendship and foodbanks, from an award-winning author well-known for his gritty realism for teens.

Cal's family are proud to live in an 'analogue' world – no wifi in their house , just an ancient black-and-white TV. At school, Cal has no choice but to live in the 21st century, coping with a range of bullies and chancers on a daily basis. When Cal's mum decides to 'rebalance' the family with a stint as volunteers at a local foodbank, Cal inadvertently discovers new kid Jacob's secret, and Jacob flips. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 13+

Reviews

"Funny and thought-provoking … An enjoyable and easy read with a strong storyline and great characterisation" – Children's Books Ireland

"A belting read that romps along at a fair old pace and will keep the most reluctant reader turning the pages" – The Letterpress Project

"Bali Rai is one of those writers who never fails to excite and get his readers thinking … Love, love, love this book. It makes plain the issue of modern-day poverty and the snowballing issues it creates, especially for a young person" – Novel Ideas, Blog

"Powerful … Another important book from Barrington Stoke" – School Librarian Journal

About the author

Bali Rai was born in Leicester where he grew up in a multicultural community dreaming of playing football for Liverpool FC, being Bob Marley or becoming a writer. He writes the books he would have enjoyed as a teenager and his book Rani and Sukh is a set-text for GCSE English. His novel, Killing Honour, won the North East Teenage Book Award, and was described as “utterly compelling” by The Bookseller.