New novel aimed at school pupils on sectarianism and racism in Scotland

Sunny, is due to be launched at the Aye Write 2018 festival at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow on 17 March, The Scotsman reported. 

Written by Paul Murdoch, it is a fast-paced crime thriller, which includes violence, gangs and an attempt to wrest a hidden fortune from thugs in a run-down area in the west of Scotland. It is set in Scotland in the early 1970s and teenager Sunny Wilson suffers casual racism at school.

Based on some of the author’s own experiences, he said that, “I was reluctant to soften the story too much. There has to be a degree of realism to appeal to kids. There is a danger of ‘candy-coating’ and straying into Enid Blyton territory. Any adventure story set in the west of Scotland will have sectarianism in it. I hope Sunny provokes debate on what’s changed and what’s not and lets youngsters see there are good people out there as well as bad.”

Dave Scott of Nil by Mouth said Sunny would help children understand the very recent history of sectarianism. “In 2018 sectarianism can be more attitudinal than violent, but providing teachers understand the issue Sunny will be an ideal text for schools.”

https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/crime-thriller-for-children-puts-boot-into-bigotry-1-4696070