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The story of a school shooting and its awful aftermath; a psychologically convincing study of grief, loss and guilt and their effects on young lives
Miriam is an ordinary schoolgirl with a carefree bunch of friends, and she’s just embarked on her first relationship with her sweet and loving boyfriend Toby. She lives with her dad and she has a good relationship with her grandparents. All this ordinary happiness is shattered when one of Miriam’s schoolmates comes to school with a handgun and kills several pupils and teachers. Miriam’s beloved Toby is shot right in front of her. Miriam and her surviving friends are distraught. Shock, grief, bereavement, terror – Miriam and her friends run the gamut of emotions in the days, weeks and months following the shooting. But the worst emotion of all is guilt. ‘Is it our fault?’ is the haunting question that tortures Miriam as she tries to piece her life together again.
"An intense and challenging story … A great and brave debut novel."
Mary Arrigan, The Irish Examiner
"It’s not often that openly weeping by chapter three can be classed as an entirely good thing; but No Heroes has exactly this effect… Creating an accessible and surprisingly relatable story, No Heroes evokes a vivid picture of life as a teenager; delving into issues of family, bullying, grief, and relationships. Gritty, heartbreaking, but ultimately life-affirming; No Heroes doesn’t sugar coat the hardships."
Emily Elphinstone, No More Workhorse
Anna Seidl is a young German author, and this is her first book. It was a publishing sensation in Germany, under the title Es wird keine Helden geben and Anna won the emerging author award (Nachwuchspreis) from the German Academy for children’s and YA literature and was shortlisted for the Buxtehuder Bulle award and the UH! Literature Prize (chosen by young readers). She now lives in Frankfurt.