Marcus is so good at football that there's a very real chance he'll be signed by Manchester United. But when he discovers he may be losing his hearing, his whole world falls to pieces and he finds himself having to put them back together on his own. But is this feeling of isolation real or just a consequence of his own behavior? While dealing with parents, friends and first girlfriends, Marcus gradually understands that accepting the help of others is ultimately an acceptance of self. A novel about friendship and family, The Silent Striker explores the issue of disability, identity and deafness, and the different ways in which we can choose to handle it.

From the myth of Medusa to the fraught of Samson and Delilah, hair has always been a key component of cultural identity. This title is a celebration of Afro and Asian hair in poetry and fiction.

Meet Adele Vialli: 14 years old, a star footballer. With an aching heart and an impossible frenemy. She is intelligent, funny and resourceful, yet gets into fights all the time. She finds school boring compared to shoplifting, hanging out with her footballer boyfriend, Marcus from The Silent Striker, and having fun making trouble. As the weary school counsellor says: 'there's never a dull day with Adele'.

Leonard is sat on the substitutes' bench, but never asked to play . . . and it's not even as if the Ducie High football team is any good: they get beaten, time after time. Then everything changes. After a game near a nuclear power plant, a weird energy passes through Leonard, and that night in bed he is visited by zombies . . .