Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen

Ambrose lives with his single mum who's a professor which means they move around a lot for her work. When at his current school, bullies take their game to the extreme and nearly kill him by not believing in his peanut allergy, his mum allows him to be schooled from home through the school so long as she works night classes and Mr and Mrs Economopolus look after him.

However when their criminal son, Cosmo randomly returns after being let out of his six month jail sentence he got for drug use and thus breaking and entering, the two become friends even though his mum doesn't want them hanging around together.

Ambrose and Cosmo join a Word Nerd scrabble group and Cosmo keeps going under the guise of being Ambrose's big brother to try and get somewhere with Amanda, the scrabble group leader until she finds out about his prison time and the two guys have to appeal to her to give Cosmo another chance.

Cosmo's ex con buddy who he used to steal with Silvero however keeps making threats and while Ambrose fakes his mum's signature to carry on attending his scrabble group, enter a tournament there and win a prize while his mum goes on a date with his teacher, just what is Silvero  planning?

Susin's books are always so fresh and fun, Ambrose was a great literally colourful character in nature as well as his choices of clothing. Being twelve, he made me empathise with him as if he was my younger brother, I'm twenty and don't have any siblings but Ambrose would be ideal as he's so different and doesn't stop being himself despite the bullying he endures!