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Blood Brothers

Willy Russell

In Liverpool, a poor mother who already has too many children to feed finds she is expecting twins. The rich woman she cleans for cannot have a baby, and makes her a secret offer. This musical play follows two boys from very different homes whose lives keep crossing.

Length
About 20,000 words
To read it
About 14 days
Stage
Key Stage 3, GCSE

Reading time at 1,500 words a day, the pace we start from until we know your child’s own.

Where it is taught

Why Blood Brothers is on the list

  • Year 9, Core. The books most schools teach in this year. A good place to start. AQA GCSE set text.
  • Year 10, Core. The books most schools teach in this year. A good place to start. AQA GCSE modern text.
  • Year 11, Core. The books most schools teach in this year. A good place to start. AQA GCSE modern text.

Reading it here

What your child does with it

  1. 1

    Choose it and set a finish date

    You get a suggested target from the length of the book and your child's reading pace.

  2. 2

    Check in along the way

    A longer book has short check-ins every week or two, so it keeps moving and nothing is forgotten.

  3. 3

    Answer two questions

    When they finish: a review of the book, and a deeper question about how it works.

  4. 4

    Get it marked, and redraft

    Every answer is marked against the rubric for their year, with a reason for every score.