When Mr Dog Bites

Dylan Mint has Tourette’s. His life is a constant battle to keep the bad stuff in – the swearing, the tics, the howling dog that seems to escape whenever he gets stressed. But a routine visit to the hospital changes everything. Overhearing a hushed conversation between the doctor and his mum, Dylan discovers that he’s going to die in March. So he makes a list of things he must do before he dies: first, he wants to have real sex with gorgeous Michelle Malloy; second, he’s got to find his autistic best friend Amir a new best bud; third, he’s got to get his dad back home from the army so they can say goodbye properly. It’s not a long list, but it’s ambitious, and he doesn’t have much time. Sometimes you’ve just got to go for it – no holding back – and see what happens . . .Brian Conaghan makes you travel every step of the way in Dylan’s shoes, laughing and crying – often at the same time – as Dylan faces the twists and turns of an unfair world with glorious optimism and wit, raising important questions of inclusion, marginalisation and neurodiversity with sensitivity and insight. This barnstorming debut was shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal, and Brian has gone on to write many stunning, award-winning novels for teens and younger readers, including the Costa-winning The Bombs that Brought Us Together.

It’s the F-word – funny, foul-mouthed, fantastic!, I loved Dylan Mint. He made me laugh out loud and his tenacity had me rooting for him from the first page, So surprising and charming it would be hard not to feel a little uplifted, Beautifully observed and hilariously uncomfortable ... Mint has a certain charm, and his mangled language and omnivorous approach to slang suggest a lively, inquiring brain, Energetic, confident and compassionate ... There’s a genuine exuberance about it ... [Conaghan] is one to watch

Brian Conaghan was born and raised in the Scottish town of Coatbridge but now lives in Dublin. He has a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. For many years Brian worked as a teacher and taught in Scotland, Italy and Ireland. His first YA novel for Bloomsbury, When Mr Dog Bites, was shortlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Medal, and his second, The Bombs That Brought Us Together, won the 2016 Costa Children’s Book Award. We Come Apart, a verse novel co-authored with Carnegie Medal winner Sarah Crossan, won the 2018 UKLA Book Award, and his fourth novel, The Weight of a Thousand Feathers, won the 2018 Irish Book Award for Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year.@BrianConaghan