Reading Level: Young Adult

Moo Nelson has it rough. The only son of working-class British parents, every day abuse is heaped upon him by his peers, because Michael "Moo" Nelson is different: he's fat. School is a nightmare, his teachers like him no more than the students, his parents don't understand, and he has no friends - the only attention he gets is RAIN - what Moo has termed the name-calling, jeers, shoving and taunts. He "umbrellaizes" the abuse pelting down on him. His only escape is the bridge, where every day he rides his bike and climbs high above the highway, finding refuge and silence from the Rain and the rest of the world.

One day, however, even that changes because from the bridge, Moo sees a highway altercation that ends in a murder, and the police who immediately arrive see him, up on his bridge. Moo is the only outside witness and he is thrust into a situation that becomes increasingly dangerous.

Told from Moo's point of view, narrated in almost a stream-of-consciousness vein, we get to know Moo and empathize with his feelings. We share his confusion, sadness, and his anguish, and begin to realize as he does, the complexities and precariousness of the dilemma he has been thrust into. The decisions Moo has to make are difficult, and his choices may endanger not just himself, but those he loves.

— Kay Morris