Hi, I am trying to find an older children/teen fiction book probably published in the 90’s. It is about a group of classmates being blackmailed by the caretaker’s son, who knows each of their secrets. They group together to seek revenge and get their secrets back. There is an Asian or Indian girl, who cheated on a test, a girl with a white streak in her hair from a scar, the bully refers to her as ‘bird crap’ and I think her name was Rosa? A boy called Liam, nicknamed ‘mouse’ and the son of a famous footballer player, who is new to the school. The caretaker’s son loves battenburg cake, which he calls ‘window cake’. They all get their secrets back from him in the end, and confront him, meet his mother, etc. I have hunted the internet, but can’t find any sign of it!
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
Welcome to the Real World, by Ann Coburn
Yes, it’s definitely “Welcome to the Real World” – I remember the book vividly, though the title didn’t stick in my head at all! It was published in 1992, so I was a young teenager when I read it.
The protagonist is indeed called Rosa – known as Red Rosa because she’s left-wing. The Asian girl is Meena, then there’s Chrissie, Liam and Jason (the footballer’s son). They all have something the caretaker’s son wants, except Rosa – he dug up dirt on the rest of them but discovered Rosa’s secret by accident. The bully, though unpleasant, was also a victim, having been humiliated by one of the school’s teachers.
I remember the strong image of the downtrodden Chrissie suddenly singing “You’ll never walk alone” and them all joining in.