Raz Beri by Matt Stephens ~ Blog Tour

An extract from Raz Beri:

When I was six, it felt good when my mum told me I was ‘special’. Those days are long gone. Now I know that ‘special’ means social outcast. It means living in fear of being side-lined, left on the bench. Do you fancy my kind of ‘special’? Thought not.

‘…nineteen, twenty.’ Rio finished his press-ups and sprang to his feet without using his hands. There was a little gasp and some clapping. His body works so well and I hate him for it, and I hate myself for hating him for it. If that makes any sense.

One time, I did a bad thing. Maybe more than one time. I’m not proud of it but I was only a kid. It was in primary school, when me and Rio were mates. Rio’s parents were breaking up and they were fighting all the time and it was seriously nasty. Rio was taking it badly and his behaviour became terrible. He messed around in class, cheeked our teacher and was constantly looking for a fight. He was just looking for excuses to hit people. I gave him some excuses. I’ d say that someone had been horrible to me when they hadn’t. Things like, ‘Rio, Jaden called me a spaz.’ And that would be it: Jaden on the floor with a bloody nose.

It felt good because it was power. I’ve never had any power. I know it was bad really but it gave me a chance to get back at some mean people and it’s not like I was actually doing the punching. It was more like a video game really; I just had to press the right buttons. Sometimes I wondered if Rio ever found out what I was doing.

Rio ran his hand over his product-soaked hair. He wasn’t even breathing heavily.

‘Thank you, Rio. Right,’ said Mr Marsh, ‘in your groups. There are four activities. We will all do each one of them in a rota. Number one: Piggy in the Middle – pass the ball amongst yourselves while keeping it away from the “piggy”. The hands may not be used. If the piggy touches the ball at all then they are no longer in the middle, the half-wit that passed it is. Number two: controlling the ball with one touch, passing with the second, moving at all times. Make sure everyone is included, not just your bestest mates. Number three: Keepy Uppy in pairs or threes if necessary. The pair or three with the highest number of touches without the ball hitting the ground will receive the coveted prize of not being shouted at by me. Number four: dribbling the ball around each and every one of the cones and then back again, like so…’

Mr Marsh demonstrated. His thigh muscles bulged intimidatingly as he rounded each cone. He’s good. Maybe he was telling the truth about being with Brentford FC.

‘When you have finished or, perhaps I should say, if you manage to finish, you give the ball to your teammate who will do the same. Billy and Mia, you will practise throwing and catching skills with Mrs Welbeck. You all know what you are doing. GO.’

I said that Mr Marsh doesn’t know what to do with me, which is true but he thinks he does. Before Mia came, he would get me throwing and catching a ball with Mrs Welbeck. Before I got to secondary, I spent most of my PEs in primary school throwing and catching a ball with Mrs Welbeck. Now that Mia is here, I spend PE throwing and catching a ball with Mrs Welbeck and Mia. I’m pretty good at throwing and catching. Pretty sick of it too. Here was a perfect opportunity for me and Mia to practise some skills and actually make an impression on the footballers tomorrow and Mr Marsh just wanted to get us out of the way.

The other groups were making lots of noise but it was a good noise, the noise that the best teachers look for. It was the sound of enthusiasm. Everyone wanted to do well for the visit of Danny Cash and the others. No one wanted to look foolish. Some of the boys reckoned they might get signed up by Earl’s Court if they could really impress. Not this boy. Everybody was trying their best and Mr Marsh was hardly shouting at all. The best pair at Keepy Uppy were Tyreece and Rio. Obviously.

Mia’s face was a picture as she threw the ball to me. Not a very nice picture. It was a picture of boredom and barely suppressed anger. I caught the ball and threw it back.

‘To me, Mia,’ said Mrs Welbeck.

Mia slowly turned her head and fixed her with a glare but threw the ball to, or should I say, at me. I wasn’t expecting it so I spilled the catch. Mrs Welbeck picked the ball up.

‘That wasn’t terribly helpful, Mia,’ she said.

‘I’m sorry, miss,’ said Mia, not sounding sorry at all, ‘but this is boring. It’s boring now, it was boring last week and it will be even more boring next week. Please, please, please can we do something else?’

I looked down at the floor.

‘Well, if you’re that bored, you can always ask Mr Marsh if you like,’ said Mrs Welbeck. She didn’t think Mia would have the guts. She really doesn’t get Mia.

‘Mr Marsh, sir,’ shouted Mia. He looked over. ‘This is really boring and it’s all we ever do. Can we do something different please?’

Mr Marsh stared at Mia. ‘OK. Groups change. Move on to your next activity. Mia and Billy, I’ d like you to develop your skills and bounce the ball to each other. I hope that’s not too boring for you, Mia. Let’s go everybody.’

I hardly dared look at Mia. Mrs Welbeck said, ‘Come on, you two. Let’s make the best of this.’

I bounced the ball to Mia who caught it and threw it, deliberately, at the wheels of my chair. It ricocheted into the Piggy in the Middle group, spoiling what they were doing.

‘Oops,’ said Mia.

Mr Marsh side-footed the ball gently back to Mrs Welbeck. She picked it up and bounced it back to Mia, who did the same thing again. This time, the ball bounced into Eboni, who was trying to do Keepy Uppies with Shannon.

‘Oops,’ said Mia.

‘Aaand, STOP,’ said Mr Marsh. He glared hard at Mia but said nothing.

‘Are you going to make me do press-ups, sir?’ she asked. She was glaring right back at him.

‘No, Mia. I’m going to give you a detention. If you want to waste our time, then we’re going to waste yours. This lesson is over for you. Go and get changed please. Mrs Welbeck, could you accompany Mia?’

Mia spun her wheelchair around and began heading to the girls’ changing room. It was a flounce on wheels.

‘What do you think, Billy?’ said Mr Marsh. ‘Do my PE lessons bore you as well?’

Pretty much my worst nightmare. The whole class was staring at me, waiting for my reply. Some of the boys were grinning … no, leering. Even Mia stopped and turned to look. There was no escaping it. I had to speak. My mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour, trying out responses in my head: responses like ‘no sir’, or ‘of course not sir, I like PE’, or even just a head shake – that would do it.

Do you know what actually came out of my mouth? This: ‘Mia’s right, sir. You always get me and her throwing and catching. It’s … not very interesting. We want to do something different.’

Where did that come from?

Review:

Raz Beri by Matt Stephens is an inspiring and honest story for readers age 10+. Following 13-year-old Billy, a young boy with cerebral palsy, it challenges readers to treat everyone with respect and to look for what people can do rather than what they can’t. From the very beginning, Billy’s determination and resilience shine through, making this a compelling read that resonates with themes of empowerment, courage, and the importance of accessibility.

Billy wants to be treated just like everyone else. He may be in a wheelchair, talk a little differently and need help from a teaching assistant but he doesn’t want to feel invisible, or even worse, mocked for who he is. Billy suffers the curse of the “cool kids”. Classmates who used to be his friends in primary school are now horrible to him – bullying, laughing, name calling, they do all they can to make him feel worthless. Their dehumanising cruelty makes for uncomfortable reading, shocking the reader into realising how hurtful making a throw away comment or laughing along with a hateful ringleader can be.

When Danny Cash, the star player from Billy’s favourite football team, visits the school, Billy is desperate to be involved. He wants to prove he’s just like everyone else and can take part in this once in a lifetime training session. They say you should never meet your heroes. This couldn’t be more true for Billy when he discovers Danny Cash is just as bad as the others. With the help of his friend Mia and his on-line community, Billy comes up with an idea that will show everyone how strong he is.

Raz Beri is an important novel for young people and teachers. The school’s efforts at making activities inclusive and how they care for Billy is appalling. Accessibility in schools is so much more than providing a ramp or suggesting an “easier” activity. It is the attitude and willingness to see people with disabilities as whole, capable individuals and creating an environment in which everyone can thrive.

Thank you to Firefly Press for this thought-provoking book. Don’t miss the other stops on the blog tour.