Shadows

Jamie knows what to expect if he doesn't win: his father is obsessed with the idea that Jamie will become a world squash champion and succeed where he himself had not. But Jamie doesn't share his father's single-minded ambition and is desperate to escape from the verbal and physical abuse that will follow when he fails.

Then he finds the girl hiding in his shed, and in helping her to escape from her past and the danger that is pursuing her, he is able to put his own problems into perspective. He realises that he can't run away for ever - he must come out of the Shadows and face up to his father, however, painful the process might be.

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Shadows is a gritty love story based on the effects of overbearing parental influence in the arena of top-level teenage squash. Tim is a very keen squash player and had always felt that it would be a good topic to cover in a novel. He also likes the gladiatorial quality of one-against-one sport.

The characters are based to some extent on people he has actually known. He started off writing only about a young boy and his relationship with his father, who is desperate for his son to become a champion squash player and succeed where he himself had not. But before Tim knew what was happening, a young girl had appeared in the story, a pregnant girl sleeping rough and in terrible danger – and suddenly he was writing a completely different story which turned into a tough, fast-moving thriller.
Winner of the Angus Book Award, 2000

Winner of the Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award, 2000

Tim reading from Shadows

'Tim Bowler scores again...a real page turner.' The Bookseller

'Lots of pace, action and a couple of shocking twists!' The Young Telegraph

'Had me turning pages at a rate of knots. It is exciting and sensational. It is moving and caring.' Books for Keeps

'The writing is tight and sharp throughout, and Tim Bowler skillfully uses the context of squash-playing to explore family relationships, friendships and the need to face up to our fears.' School Library Association

'A tenderly gripping and intensely frightening story...one of our more darkly interesting writers for the young.' Michael Thorn, Literary Review

'The story zips along.' Observer

'Fast-paced narrative and dramatic tension.' School Librarian

'I just finished reading Shadows and I thought it was one of the best books I've ever read!! I just don't like the ending ..... Makes me want to cry. (It's still a great ending!)' Tommy

'In my English class we just read Shadows and I loved it!!! We all did actually. Even some boys in my class who never read anything thought it was amazing. Our teacher would only let us read like one or two chapters a week, because he thought it would be too difficult for us to read an English book and he wanted us to work through each chapter with so many assignments. But half of my class kept reading anyway (even though a lot of them are not good in English), because we couldn't stop. We desperately wanted to know what will happen next. My teacher kept asking me if I already read the next chapter at home and of course I lied and said no, but I'm a terrible liar. And each time I had to promise him not to read any further yet. Once I could resist, but it was so hard. I tried to distract myself with all kinds of other stuff. And now I just finished the book and I'm a little sad it's over.' Anja

'I nearly cried when I read Shadows. It was so moving and you felt so sympathetic for the characters.' Daniel

'I am over 40 so perhaps not in your target audience! However, I have just finished reading Shadows, borrowed from my son, which I finished late last night as I could not put it down. I thought it was simply brilliant and I am delighted that today's teenagers have access to such wonderful thought-provoking material. I am quite sure that anybody reading this can not fail to be touched and moved by the issues raised. I think that parents would get great benefits from reading this book.' Anthony

'I finished reading Shadows at 00.30 last night and found it difficult to sleep all night! It is an immensely powerful read which has stayed with me over the hours. The final reconciliation between Jamie and his Dad made me cry. You have told a story which comes over with truth and reality and captures the enormity of the immplications of what happened. I didn't foresee the revelation about Abby's family until I read the actual sentence. Thanks for a great experience.' Fin

There was no sign of the girl in the alleyway by the health food shop but he wasn’t surprised. This was the last place he’d have wanted to go to alone, now that he thought about it, and he felt sure that even if she had considered coming to meet him, she would probably have taken one look at the dark entrance and changed her mind. He should have thought of a better meeting-place.
He looked around him uneasily. There had been several muggings in this part of town and all kinds of violent episodes after dark. The pubs had emptied some time ago but there was no knowing what kind of people might be lurking round here.
A car beam cut through the darkness, catching the side of the shops as it fanned down towards him. He stepped back inside the entrance to the alley and hid himself in the shadows. A few moments later, a police car swept past. And silence fell.
Then he heard a voice.
‘You’re late.’
He whirled round, startled, but saw nothing.
‘Here.’
The voice came from further down the alley. He walked to where the passageway twisted round at the end and saw the girl slumped on the ground, her back against the wall, her holdall beside her.
‘Have you got any food?’ she said bluntly.
He looked at her for a moment, then started to undo the rucksack. She spoke again, slightly less abruptly.
‘Sorry. Being hungry takes away your manners.’
‘It’s OK.’
He handed her one of the sandwiches he’d made up in the kitchen. She took it without a word and started wolfing it down with the same intensity as the last time he had seen her eat. He let her finish the sandwich, then spoke again.
‘Are you cold?’
‘What do you think?’
‘Only...’ He paused. ‘I’ve thought of a way of getting you warm tonight.’
She looked at him suspiciously.
‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘You can trust me. I promise.’
She held his gaze for a few more seconds, then sniffed and looked away.
‘Sorry. I know you’re trying to help.’
‘I didn’t think you’d be here.’
‘Neither did I.’
‘So what made you - ?’ He broke off, sensing a slight embarrassment in her. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘I can find a warmer place than this.’
He stood up and waited to see if she would move, too. She started to struggle to her feet. He hesitated, having momentarily forgotten she was pregnant, then reached out a hand. She took it at once and he pulled.
Her hand felt cold but she was soon on her feet and let go of his hand at once. He picked up his rucksack.
‘Let’s go.’
‘Wait,’ she said.
He turned. ‘What’s up?’
‘Those men you told me about. Have you seen them tonight?’
‘No.’
‘Only...I don’t want to bump into them.’
‘Neither do I. So that’s not a problem.’
‘You don’t understand. This...’ She looked at him hard. ‘This...isn’t a game. It could be dangerous. I told you before. You shouldn’t get involved in my life. There’s nothing I can give you except trouble.’
He looked down.
‘I don’t want anything from you. You don’t owe me anything. You’ve got your troubles and you don’t need to tell me about them if you don’t want to. Anyway, I’ve...I’ve got problems of my own. I won’t burden you with them but I...’ He took a deep breath. ‘I’ve left home. I’m going to have people looking for me from tomorrow morning. Police, probably, and my parents, and maybe other people. People who know me. But...’
He looked up again and saw her eyes fixed on his. He went on.
‘I won’t be going home again. I need to get away, somewhere, anywhere, away from Ashingford. There’ll be too many people who recognise me. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I haven’t got any money. I haven’t got any food apart from what I’ve stuffed in my rucksack, and that was meant for you anyway. I haven’t got any plan of what I’m going to do. I...’ He looked down again. ‘I’m a mess. A complete bloody mess.’
She said nothing and he didn’t look up. He felt sure, now that he’d told her all this, that she would walk on and leave him. With all that she had on her mind, the last thing she would want now was a lame duck on her hands. But she spoke to him.
‘So we’re both shadows.’
He looked up. ‘What?’
‘Shadows. I thought it was just me. But you’re the same, aren’t you? Maybe we need each other for a little while.’
‘But why shadows?’
She looked hard at him.
‘When you live in the shadows long enough, you become one.’

1. Write about Jamie's father's early life in Australia. How did he become the way he is now?

2. Write a newspaper article (either tabloid or broadsheet) in which you speculate on the reasons for Jamie's disappearance during the story.

3. Write the story of Jamie's mother (in the first person).

4. Script an imaginary phone call between Abby and Jamie a few months after the events in the novel have taken place. Where is she? What has happened to her since? What has happened to him and his father?

5. Carry out an internet search for sites on squash or other racket sports in which you are interested.

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