The tale of a challenging childhood told with warmth and wit.

Billy Hopkins' Our Kid is a warm-hearted and nostalgic tale of a boy's life: from the 1920s Manchester slums, through tough times as an evacuee during World War II, to the challenges of the post-war world for a hard-up family. Not to be missed by readers of Kate Thompson and Maureen Lee.

'How wonderful to have a book like this... A glimpse of a lost reality' - Manchester Evening News

It was on a Sunday night in 1928 that Billy Hopkins made his first appearance. Billy's tenement home on the outskirts of Manchester would be considered a slum today, but he lived there happily with his large Catholic family, hatching money-making schemes with his many friends.

When war came, and the Luftwaffe dominated the night sky, Billy was evacuated to Blackpool. There he lived on a starvation diet while his own rations went to feed his landlady's children - 'I might as well be in Strangeways!'

But even the cruel blows that were to be dealt to the family on his return to Manchester would not destroy Billy's fighting spirit - or his sense of humour.

What readers are saying about Our Kid:

'Billy Hopkins is a masterful storyteller who draws you into his world of a working class household coping with, and surviving, the ups and downs of life'

'The characters are brilliant - I will never ever forget this book for as long as I live'

'The best read ever'