The Fire-Eaters by David Almond

Bobby Burns knows he's a lucky lad. Growing up in sleepy Keely Bay, Bobby is exposed to all manner of wondrous things: stars reflecting off the icy sea, a friend that can heal injured fawns with her dreams, a man who can eat fire. But lately it seems that something is changing. Darkness is approaching Bobby's world from all sides. His new school is a cold, cruel place where he's told he'll never amount to anything because he's "working-class." His father suffers from a mysterious illness that threatens to tear the family apart. And across the ocean, near a country called Cuba, the United States and the Soviet Union are readying their nuclear missiles, creeping closer and closer to a world-engulfing war. With his wonder-working friend, Ailsa Spink, and the fire-eating illusionist McNulty, Bobby will learn to believe in miracles that will save the people and place he loves. - Book Jacket