A novel about the challenges a teenage girl faces when she is bullied has been released by a Bahrain-based writer.
The Adventures of Ms Swivelhead is written by Michelle Chuaikaitum, a teacher at Ibn Khuldoon National School (IKNS).
It centres on 13-year-old Jeera, who loves science, but is mocked and bullied when she presents her home-made time machine in class.
“It’s about Jeera getting the children to believe in her,” said Ms Chuaikaitum.
She got the idea following a class project her final year students did when they were 13.
“I wanted to finish the book before these children graduate, so it’s a souvenir for them,” she added.
“Characters in the book are based on the children and they like seeing their names in print.”
During the class project, the students were required to choose recyclable materials and write a story on the objects.
“I created a robot teacher called Ms Swivelhead and the first chapter of the book is the story from the robot,” explained Ms Chuaikaitum.
“The children encouraged me to make a book out of that story and the way I ended it means there could be another book for the current Grade 7s.”
The Adventures of Ms Swivelhead, which was released in January, is available to purchase from Words Bookstore, Budaiya for BD5 and is also available as an e-book from www.amazon.com.
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