The Death Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean
Published by Oxford University Press, 2009.

On the morning of his birthday, as Pepper comes to, he realizes it’s the day he must die. But he is not ready to go yet. He is determined to do it all in just a few hours, never mind the trail of chaos he will leave behind him. Pepper Roux is on the run. His adventures range from captaining a ship to rustling horses in the few short hours he has before he must submit to the inevitable. Setting a course through dangerous waters, Pepper becomes embroiled in the most unimaginable campaign of disaster and mayhem.

This thrilling adventure will capture your imagination from start to finish and its memorable characters will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Geraldine McCaughrean is one of the most highly-acclaimed writers for young people. She has won the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Children’s Book award three times, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award.