The Fire-Eaters (by David Almond)

His lower-class life on the coaly shore of Keely Bay in England can be a hard one, where boys are expected to be tough and outsiders are viewed with suspicion and hostility. But it has its moments of beauty and wonder as well, and he wouldn't give it up for anything. But between his father going for tests in the hospital, and the Americans and Russians getting ready to annihilate each other and the rest of the world, he worries that it may be taken away anyway.

David Almond is certainly unique among children's authors (and perhaps adult as well). His books tend to be short on story and long on setting, atmosphere, and flights of lyricism and romantic vision so stunning that they bring a lump to the throat, and so poetic that they far outshine books actually written as poetry.

As with some of Almond's other novels, the beautiful and the bizarre coexist here: Some of the fire-eater's insane antics are disturbing, and the treatment of the students at Bobby's new school is certainly abusive by modern standards. But abusers get their comeuppance, the insane find peace, and the harsh and tough discover their hearts. Miracles happen, none greater than the Americans and Russians stepping back from the brink. This is a lovely and satisfying book.