Someone Like Me (novel) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Someone Like Me

First edition
Author	Elaine Forrestal
Country	Australia
Language	English
Genre	Fiction
Published	1996 (Puffin Books)
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	162
ISBN	9780140380927
OCLC	988921332

Someone Like Me is a 1996 children's novel by Australian author Elaine Forrestal. It is about a boy 'Tas', who becomes friends with his neighbour, a girl called Enya.

Plot

The main protagonist is Thomas Alexander St. John "Tas" Kennedy, a preteen boy. He lives on a farm with his parents and two sisters, and his dog, Reebok. He is also frequently subject to being transferred to a special school.

A Northern Irish girl called Enya Dunleavy moves in next door to Tas, and they quickly become friends. However, when they find a box full of explosives near their house, Enya is scared for reasons unknown to Tas.

One day, Tas tries to play a prank on the school bully, Darren "Dreadlock", but his teacher, Mr. McKinlay "Mac", takes the bait and faints, causing everyone to be sent home early. As Enya was absent, Tas goes to her house and notices her parents in an argument with another man, which ends with Tas being shot.

Tas is sent to the hospital, where he is nearly choked to death by Enya's uncle, Seamus, for spying on their argument, but is saved by Mr. Mac. The two of them spend weeks in the hospital together before returning to school. After a run-in with Dreadlock and his cronies, Tas meets up with Enya, who reveals that she was the one who shot Tas and that it was an accident.

After a good performance at a play of Peter and the Wolf, Tas is invited to audition for admittance to a music school. After the audition, he returns home to find Reebok dying after having eaten snail pellets. Seamus is later arrested for stockpiling ammonium nitrate, as well as his attempted murder of Tas. As a result, Enya's family becomes more accepting of visitors.

Tas is later awarded a scholarship to the music school. It is here that he reveals that he is blind.