Teenager David Case is convinced that Fate is out to get him. It starts as a single thought but soon a sense of doom is defining his life. Determined to trick Fate, David changes his name to Justin, and even changes the way he looks, but still spirals ever deeper into dread. Justin gains some comfort from Boy, a greyhound dog that is invisible to everyone but his friend Peter, Peter’s insightful sister, Dorothea, and Justin’s toddler brother, Charlie, who views his older brother—and life—with remarkable depth and understanding. Agnes, an aspiring young photographer, finds Justin quaint and intriguing when they first meet, but although she genuinely cares about him it’s not long before his anxiety is burdening her life. After months of agonizing paralysis, Justin finally realizes that he stopped truly living the moment he began to fear dying. And that, of course, is when Fate—whose ruthless voice is an ominous presence interspersed throughout the narrative—makes his move. Although Justin’s perspective is bleak, author Meg Rosoff’s is clearly not. She has assembled an extraordinary cast of characters in this compelling, offbeat, surprisingly life-affirming tale. (Age 13 and older)

Fifteen-year-old David Case saves his baby brother from flying off the windowsill and is suddenly aware of the fragility of life. From then on, David takes on a new identity—Justin Case—in an attempt to avoid fate. But fate plays with Justin in this unique take on teenage angst: “I don’t make deals, Justin. I deal” (90). He is nearly killed in an airport disaster and has a bit tersweet relationship with a fashion photographer, Agnes, who uses him for her exhibits of “Doomed Youth.” Helped by his friend, Peter, Justin is pulling himself back together when he unluckily contracts meningococcal meningi tis. 2007 CILIP Carnegie Award, 2007 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults List. Meg Rosoff’s awards include the Branford Boase Award, 2005, Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, 2004, Der Luchs des Jahres Book Prize, 2005, and Mi chael L. Printz Award, 2005. hc

Originally published by Penguin Great Britain, in 2006.