bigg school: scaredy cat

Ajay isn't too sure how he feels about going on the Year 7 trip to an activity centre - but he discovers that he's braver than he thinks...

Board-game pro and science whizz Ajay is good at lots of things, but he knows that the Year Seven trip to the Merrywood Activity Centre will push him way out of his comfort zone. Sure enough, Ajay is soon wishing he was back home, and it doesn’t help that sporty, loud Ollie Marsden has got it in for him.

When Ajay’s caught on camera acting like a pathetic scaredy cat, he feels like a total failure. Things go from bad to worse when a twilight orienteering challenge goes horribly wrong.

Does Ajay have what it takes to face his fears and save the day?

Lisa was born and grew up in Nottingham. She studied drama at Middlesex University and following graduation worked as an actor on stage and TV.Her first novel, The Art of Being Normal won a number of prizes including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Best Older Fiction 2016. She has written three other YA novels and non-fiction for younger children.She lives in London with her husband, stepchildren and a mischievous whippet called Nelson.

Jess Bradley is an illustrator and comic artist from Torquay. As well as writing and drawing for The Phoenix, she also writes for The Beano and illustrates a variety of children’s books. She has created puzzle and activity and comic books for various publishers, including contributing to Usborne’s bestselling Write and Draw Your Own Comics. Her work for Buster Books includes the Bright Sparks series, I Heart Cute Colouring and the laugh-out-loud A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu and You.