Children's Laureate 2001-2003
Carnegie Medal 1989, 1992
Whitbread Award 1993, 1996
Guardian Fiction Award 1990
Children's Laureate 2001-2003
Carnegie Medal 1989, 1992
Whitbread Award 1993, 1996
Guardian Fiction Award 1990
Can you find happiness anywhere? Anywhere at all?
Amid the frantic bustle of breaktime, Finley Tandy sits peacefully on the wall.
Mr Goodhew, watching from the staffroom, can't help but wonder at the boy's gift for stillness, and his seemingly cast-iron happiness.
But maybe tranquility can be catching. Because gradually everyone in the school comes to appreciate what Finley's long silences can offer. Even Juliet finds answers to her crushing worries when she's close to Finley, up on the wall.
Through Finley's calm contemplation, Anne Fine gently explores how students make their very different ways through life at school and at home.
A warm and witty novel, with a lot to say about the value of silence.
On The Wall has been chosen by EmpathyLab for inclusion in its 2025 #ReadforEmpathy booklist. Here's what Anne wrote for the EmpathyLab website.
"Within this seemingly quiet little book is quite a revolution, and it is full of groundbreaking philosophical ideas. A quiet little gem."
Booktrust
Books we love in December 2024
"... the warmth of the narrative and the liveliness of the conversations in and out of the classroom are a treat for those in the mood to accept them. ... [Anne Fine] remains a star, with this latest gentle, almost elegiac story yet more evidence of her unique talents.."
"A new book which will become a favourite of the discerning reader."
SLA (School Library Association)
" ... a refreshing and delightful read and would be a wonderful book for any child about to embark on their secondary school journey."
LoveReadong4Kids
September 2024 Book of the Month
"Many will find On the Wall a very different experience to reading most other school stories. Just as Mrs Dalloway is hardly a story about a shopping trip, so sensitive readers of On the Wall will find new depths in the unnoticeable rhythms of our school day experiences, all the way accompanied by the wonder that is Finley."
"On The Wall is a must read for readers of 9-11, an excellent way of exploring your own fears of a new school, and a deeper understanding of what is really like to be a new student anywhere."
"definitely among my favourite books of the year so far...this one, I think, is special."
On The Wall by Anne Fine is the perfect 'transition read' for young teen readers approaching the new challenges and joys of the first year of secondary school.
It was published by Old Barn Books on 5th September 2024. Order a copy from Amazon, or from any library or bookshop (ISBN: 978-1-9106-4699-1)
Here's how Anne intoeduced On The Wall:
I'm fascinated by how many children seem to be comfortable in frenzies of activity or living behind walls of noise. I'm not like that at all. In the schools I attended all those years ago, the actual lessons were kept pretty controlled and quiet. I've frequently wondered how the shy, the anxious, or the merely self-contained still manage, even thrive, in today's often much livelier surroundings.
But over the last few years, I've watched a child whose family I know well as he's moved up through school, steadily, calmly, - a still centre of peace in all the vortexes of chaos round him. Authors are famously nosy about how people tick, and my fascination grew and grew - how does he do it?
So I invented Finley, embarking on his first year at Windfields. Schooling's been difficult for so many young ones since the Covid epidemic and the move from primary to secondary can be a particularly demanding time. I've had great fun choosing a 'home class' bursting with individual characters whose personalities mesh or conflict, endlessly and interestingly - and I hope amusingly - refracting on one another.
And in the middle of all this, baffling and intriguing both his teachers and his classmates, Finley sits, invariably peacefully, on his favourite wall. I hope my young readers will find the mysterious and unpredictable effects he has on those around him - from the bounciest to the shyest and least confident - as enlightening as they do.
It's the book I wish I'd written in time for both my daughters' moves to new schools. But I hope anyone interested in what goes on the maelstrom of the average classroom will find it intriguing and enlightening - as well as a good laugh.
