The Wrong Hands -- Nigel Richardson

Another book that grabbed me immediately:

I was going to start with the plane crash because that's how come I met Jennifer.  But you need to know about my hands first.

Graham's hands are huge.  And wrinkly.  They have folds and flaps and lots of extra skin between his fingers.  They are so huge and wrinkly that he has to carefully clean them daily to prevent infection.  So huge and so wrinkly that people stare.  He tends to wear baggy hoodies with pockets so that he can hide them as much as possible.  When he stretches them, they produce a rustling, crackling noise.  That doesn't tend to go over well with his father, let alone his peers.

But there's more to his hands than their size.  He's got a secret -- one that he desperately wants to share with someone.

After witnessing a plane crash in the middle of London, Graham has to make a big choice, a life-or-death choice.  He goes the heroic route, but hours later, he gets an email:

Congratulations on a brave act.  I know how brave it was because I saw what you did.  I saw everything you did.  Do you understand?  I was walking along the street behind you when the crash happened.  I followed you because for those few minutes I did not know where I was going or what I was doing.  And then I watched you rescue the baby.  I saw in detail what you did.

Highly recommended for fans of David Almond, but I think this book will have a wider appeal than some of Almond's work.  The Wrong Hands moves along at the same leisurely pace as Almond's books, and it has the same kind of dreamy magical realism, but there is more action, more suspense and Graham has a snarky streak that you don't find in Almond's characters:

I hated it when Derek called me that.  How old was Derek?  No idea, but in any case sometimes it didn't matter how old a person was in years: he was always about seven in his head.  Derek was about that.  If he'd been my age, at my school, he'd have queued up to set light to my hair.  If the Germans had won World War II, Derek would have worn their uniform and got special privileges for bossing about the English.

So, yes.  Good for fans of David Almond, but I'd use it the other way, too -- as it's much more accessible than Almond, The Wrong Hands could be used as a springboard into the more difficult stuff.  I'll be watching for Richardson's next book.