This was my second read through of The Fire Eaters. I really enjoy the way David Almond writes children and builds such a vibrant sense of place. The ways in which the young experience fears and anxieties This book feels like a snapshot into the lives of the people in a small town - the kids on the precipice of growing up and the adults leaving their youth behind, excited to see how their kids will save the world. The life and death of the fire eater, McNulty, as an outcast in their society, cared for by the children and adults at what feels like the end of the world acts in parallel to the children growing into their own agency and away from the awe that comes with being young and new to the world.