One in a Hundred Thousand

Sander is one in a hundred thousand. He has Silver-Russell Syndrome, which means that he doesn’t grow as much as everyone else.

Sander feels out of place in his year group at school. He is also failing his tests on purpose to try to move down a year, to be with his only friends, his brother, Adrian, and Adrian’s friend, Filip. However, his Mum finds out about his grades and gets him a tutor. The problem is that his new tutor Sofia is the most popular girl in the school!

Meanwhile, a new boy joins their school and becomes friends with his brother. His name is Niklas. Adrian and Filip are obsessed with him and do anything he does but Sander doesn’t like him because Niklas is arrogant, brags and lies a lot.

Sander loves old-fashioned photography and he discovered this passion after his dad died when he found his Dad’s Olympus camera. One day when Sander is helping his Mum volunteer at his local church, he discovers that a photography course is taking place there using old cameras and film.  Sander uses his film camera all the time as he finds modern photography boring. He wants to develop his own photos so he decides to go to the course. When he goes, he finds out that he is the only young person who wants to learn from the photographer Vemund. Sander decides he will not go again.

Things happen and he ends up back at the photography class. This is the beginning of an unlikely friendship between Vemund and Sander.

Sander has started to realise that something is wrong with Niklas but he can’t quite figure out what it is.

What does Sander discover about Niklas’s life?

Do Sander and Niklas become friends?

Read the book to find out.

We give this book 5 stars and recommend it to 12+ readers. We really liked this book as it kept us on the edge on our seat and we always wanted to read on.

Be warned this book discusses real issues like, child abuse and suicide, so younger readers might find this book a bit upsetting.