The Five Sneeze Theory

"An old man once told me that if you sneezed five times in a row on a rainy day in May something strange would happen. I never really believed him, but his words remained tucked away somewhere in my memory for years.” Three unlikely Grade 7 friends believe in an old man’s five sneeze theory and attempt to find out what happened to a boy called Sam Aberfeldy, who mysteriously went missing in their city. In this fast moving adventure, which takes place over twenty days, the children manage to find enough new evidence to get the Sam Aberfeldy case re-opened after three years of being shelved as a cold case. What do Garreth Williams, Busi Masimango and Anthea Poulos discover? How do The Five Sneeze Theory and Busi’s ESP abilities help them to uncover the truth of this sinister mystery?

Heather D Francis has been teaching and writing short stories for children for many years. Her main reason for writing The Five Sneeze Theory was to write a novel that students could read with ease, particularly those who are reading resistant or find studying literature a challenge. When she first began writing this novel the only thing she knew for certain was that the concept of the Five Sneeze Theory would steer the plot in some way. One of her intentions in this story was to recapture that element of innocence young teens still possess when you look past the bravado and outside influences which bombard them. It is about that sense of believing in the un-provable, of trusting that adults are there to help and take one seriously, and the knowledge that, even in the face of perceived danger, there are people who can, and do, keep one safe.