No Strings

Felix Bartlett is a gifted and talented thirteen year old who isn’t coping. His self-confidence has vanished since he met Julia Wright several months ago in Hobart in No Regrets. Musically he doubts he’ll ever become a world-class saxophonist, but his sax teacher, Miss Chung, has big plans, including his quartet recording a film soundtrack and Felix touring China with the stage band.
His lack of confidence extends to his home life. Coming from a split family, Felix now has doubts about who he is and where he belongs, and his biggest regret is that, although both his parents have remarried and had kids, Felix has no family history of his own – his parents separated when he was a baby so he has no memories of their being a family. It’s always been that way – so why does he suddenly feel so down and so disconnected?
A series of incidents put things into perspective. When tragedy strikes his dad, Max Judd, and his roommate at the boarding school physically abuses Felix, he realises that his being bullied has affected his attitude to everything else in his life – and slowly his confidence starts to return.
This sequel to No Regrets is a stand-alone novel for boys and girls aged 10-12.