The Sketched School Boy is Adam Hartland's first novel and accurately depicts the fears, loneliness and trauma a young boy endures at the hands of a bully. To escape from reality, victims immerse themselves in various hobbies or tasks in the hope that the problem would disappear - but it never does. Yet despite the mental and physical abuse, victims are afraid or feel too ashamed to tell anyone of the torment they are going through. The Sketched School Boy is the tale of tiny Ned Oakes, an eleven year old boy, whose days are spent pre-occupied with fantasies of being a superhero, fighting Knights, discovering Dragons and other creatures who lurk in the darkness. But like most boys his age, Ned has just begun the daunting procedure of beginning Comprehensive School in a new area, with new people. Yet Ned has a dark and disturbing secret that is plaguing both his dreams as well as his first term in secondary school...he's being bullied and he's too afraid to reveal it to anybody. Gifted with an incredible thirst for drawing as well as a vivid imagination, this is the heart-warming tale of how one eleven year old boy conquers his biggest fears, discovers a magical land and learns a valuable lesson with nothing more than a sketch pad and a few pencils.