Publisher's Synopsis
'I must have been about six when I realized Troy was different. I think it was one day when he sat on a wet pavement in front of the fire station's yellow hydrant signs and refused to be shifted. Four over five, he kept murmuring, four over five, lovely, lovely. Over and over.' Troy is a boy living in a secret locked-up world. His family think he is crazy, mad, nutty, barmy - all except his mother, who prefers to pretend there's nothing really wrong. However, even she has to take a bit of notice when policemen start knocking on doors and Troy gets excluded from school. It takes Mrs Shepherd the science teacher, and a chocolate bean competition, for those around him to realize that Troy's view of life may be odd - but in its own way, brilliant. This lively and funny story is about how families and the outside world respond to people who see things differently.
