- Told from the differing male viewpoints of Billy, Jackie his dad and Michael his friend, this is the tough, heart-warming story of Billy Elliot with Melvin Burgess, author of Junk, adding power and even greater depth to the characters in this novel. The life of 12-year-old Billy, a coal-miner"s son from Northern England is changed forever when he stumbles on a ballet class during his weekly boxing session. Before long he finds himslef wanting to dance and showing a raw talent seldom seen by the class teacher. But Billy knows he must keep his participation a secret. His mother is dead and his father and brother are fiercely involved in a bitter miner"s strike; they wouldn"t understand his fascination with ballet. This is Billy"s gritty, poignant struggle to realise his talent and find a differnet future.