Description
'Looking For Atlantis' is about a kid who wants to change the world.
Chris' mam has MS and he spends a lot of his time looking after her and their home. She doesn't always show any appreciation for his efforts.
Added to that he has to put up with the usual teenage stuff - daft friends, even dafter teachers, an absent dad and a 'does she like me/does she hate me?' relationship with the new girl at school.
Chris also spends his time writing to famous or wealthy people and encouraging them to help people less well off than themselves. In his letters to the Prime Minister, the Prince of Wales and the local Mayor, we see that Chris is caring, thoughtful and terribly naïve. He can't understand why people don't help as much as he'd like to - if only he had the means.
The story hinges on Chris' attempts to take his mam to Australia. He thinks that her illness will improve if she goes to a warmer country - and it is his dream to reunite her with the twin sister who emigrated many years earlier.
About the Author
Mark Magrs was born in 1973 in County Durham and grew up in Newton Aycliffe. Since graduating from University in 1994 he has worked as an advertising copywriter, radio producer, magazine editor and Secondary School Teacher.
After being treated for panic attacks and depression in 1998, he has spent over a decade living with mental illness. In 2008 he was finally diagnosed as having a bipolar disorder.
In 2007, Chipmunka published 'Too Much Information', an autobiographical account of Mark's experiences with psychiatric care, medication and the effects of mental illness on family and relationships.
'Looking For Atlantis' is his first fictional work aimed at a younger audience. It was written for the kids Mark used to teach at Hebburn Comprehensive School in South Tyneside - the sort of kids who don't usually like reading.
Mark now lives in South Shields with his wife and baby son.