The Way My Battery Works

By Daniel Leonard

Everyone notices when a phone is about to die. Nobody notices when Zara is.

Zara Mitchell keeps a battery in her head. Not a real one - but it's real to her. Some mornings she wakes up at a hundred per cent. Some mornings she's already down to forty before she's even reached the school gate. Crowded corridors, scratchy uniforms, a voice that's a little too loud - every one of them takes a bit of charge.

The trouble is, nobody else can see the number. So when Zara's battery drops into the red, the people around her just see a girl who's gone quiet, or sharp, or still. They don't see how hard she's been working to keep going.

Then Zara starts to understand something that changes everything: if she can learn to read her own battery - what drains it, what charges it, and when to stop and recharge - she doesn't have to run herself flat just to keep up.

The Way My Battery Works is a warm, richly illustrated story for readers aged 11-14 who have ever felt like they run on a different kind of power. It's the first book in the Zara series - honest, hopeful, and built on one simple idea: the way your energy works isn't a flaw to fix. Once you understand it, it's yours to work with.

(And yes - there's a cat. His name is Pumpkin, and he has opinions.)

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1067293604
• ISBN13: 9781067293604
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Daniel Leonard
• Length: 154 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 13 to 16 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 11