Why did you make Kingshaw commit suicide at the end of I`M THE  KING OF THE CASTLE ? I don`t think boys of eleven would do that. Thanks from Shelley.

ANSWER

But the sad truth is that boys of eleven and even younger, as well as teenagers HAVE done just that and it is becoming more common. They do it when others are unkind and cruel to them (I prefer the word 'unkindness' to the word 'bullying' because that is just what it is..) and when they feel they have no way out, no one to turn to for help. There are people to turn to of course but they do not know this or cannot find them or bring themselves to talk.

When a boy has been subjected to such a systematic campaign of unkindness as Kingshaw has and when he feels no one would listen to him or believe him and that there is no escape for him, this is - dreadful though it is - what he might do as a desperate way of escaping.

I have had many letters over the years from young people who feel like this. If anyone wants to write to me because this is happening to them please do so - I will try to help and of course I will not make your e-mail public.

THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION, SHELLEY