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Click on the image of author Andy McNab to hear him read chapter one and two of Today Everything Changes.
Chapter One
February 1968
The windows and doors of the building were boarded up and barbed wire was pinned to the top of the walls, but that wasn’t going to keep us out.
A rusty sheet of metal nailed over a small door to the side was loose. I jammed a bit of wood into the gap, pulled hard and the nails gave way. Several hands gripped the metal and it folded back to make a hole that we could crawl through. Murky light spilt down from six or seven skylights in the flat roof ten metres above our heads.
In the gloom I could see lumps of metal on the bare concrete f loor but, apart from that, the massive old Maxwell’s Laundry was empty...
At the age of 16, I ended up in juvenile detention, or jail for kids. Detention didn’t help me at all. It just made me worse. As I saw it, the reason I was in there was everyone else’s fault. It just reinforced my belief that no one cared about me. And if they didn’t care, then why should I? (page 29)
• How do you feel about prison for under 18s?
• What would have happened to McNab if he hadn't been locked up at 16?
More quotes, questions and interesting facts for reading groups to get talking about Today Everything Changes. Download get talking about Today Everything Changes in Word format.
Imagine this book was turned into a TV drama.
• What famous actors would
you cast to play the main roles?
• Why not try to act out a
scene?
Don't be afraid to improvise with your reading group and play the part in Today Everything Changes. Download play the part in Today Everything Changes in Word format.
Why not try Quick Read of the month for April: A Sea Change by Veronica Henry.
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You can also follow Andy McNab on Twitter.
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