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Kill All Enemies by Melvin Burgess
The Blurb On The Back:
Everyone says fourteen-year-old Billie is nothing but trouble.
A fighter. A danger to her family and friends.
But her care worker sees someone different.
Her classmate Rob is big, strong.
He can take care of himself and his brother.
But his violent stepdad sees someone to humiliate.
And Chris is struggling at school.
He just doesn’t want to be there.
But his dad sees a useless no-hoper.
Billie, Rob and Chris each have a story to tell.
But there are two sides to every story, and the question is … who do you believe?
14-year-old Billie’s violent tendencies have resulted in her bouncing between school and the Pupil Referral Unit (also known as the Brandt). Warned by her care worker Hannah that she risks being sent to a young offender’s unit, Billie tries to take control of her life but her estranged relationship with her mother (a recovering alcoholic) threatens to send her spinning out of control.
The last thing she needs is for fellow-pupil Rob to publicly humiliate her. She doesn’t realise that Rob has problems of his own after his mum walks out on his violent step-father, leaving Rob to protect his younger brother from his rages. All he has to hold onto is a Metallica tee-shirt that his mum bought him and which he wears all the time to the mockery of his classmates.
Rob in turn doesn’t need the smart-mouth antics of Chris, who’s opted for a campaign of passive resistance at school and hasn’t done any homework in years. Smart and articulate, he finds schoolwork difficult and just wants to leave so he can concentrate on his Ebay business. But when a teacher fabricates a complaint against him, he too finds himself in the Brandt and subject to his parents’ campaign to make him focus on his schoolwork again.
But their individual problems help Billie, Rob and Chris to come together and maybe they can find something in common to help them turn their lives around …
Melvin Burges’s YA novel is a strong contemporary tale of teens whose behaviour would normally make society write them off. By looking at the reasons for their behaviour, he makes a strong case for re-evaluating so-called ‘problem teens’.
Burgess weaves together the three teens’ stories really well done and I loved their strong first person narration. The book wears its politics on its sleeve and although he does show some weaknesses for his characters (particularly Billie and Chris), I wasn’t completely convinced by all three being fundamentally decent and would have liked to see a little more ambiguity. There are some great lines and funny moments but also a lot of dark scenes. The violence suffered by Chris is unflinching as is a scene where Billie realises her boyfriend’s friends want to rape her.
All in all, it’s a strong book that does make you re-evaluate what makes a teen behave badly and as such is well worth a read.
The Verdict:
Melvin Burges’s YA novel is a strong contemporary tale of teens whose behaviour would normally make society write them off. Although it wears its politics on its sleeve, by looking at the reasons for their behaviour, he makes a strong case for re-evaluating so-called ‘problem teens’. For this reason, I found it an absorbing read that’s well worth a look.
Everyone says fourteen-year-old Billie is nothing but trouble.
A fighter. A danger to her family and friends.
But her care worker sees someone different.
Her classmate Rob is big, strong.
He can take care of himself and his brother.
But his violent stepdad sees someone to humiliate.
And Chris is struggling at school.
He just doesn’t want to be there.
But his dad sees a useless no-hoper.
Billie, Rob and Chris each have a story to tell.
But there are two sides to every story, and the question is … who do you believe?
14-year-old Billie’s violent tendencies have resulted in her bouncing between school and the Pupil Referral Unit (also known as the Brandt). Warned by her care worker Hannah that she risks being sent to a young offender’s unit, Billie tries to take control of her life but her estranged relationship with her mother (a recovering alcoholic) threatens to send her spinning out of control.
The last thing she needs is for fellow-pupil Rob to publicly humiliate her. She doesn’t realise that Rob has problems of his own after his mum walks out on his violent step-father, leaving Rob to protect his younger brother from his rages. All he has to hold onto is a Metallica tee-shirt that his mum bought him and which he wears all the time to the mockery of his classmates.
Rob in turn doesn’t need the smart-mouth antics of Chris, who’s opted for a campaign of passive resistance at school and hasn’t done any homework in years. Smart and articulate, he finds schoolwork difficult and just wants to leave so he can concentrate on his Ebay business. But when a teacher fabricates a complaint against him, he too finds himself in the Brandt and subject to his parents’ campaign to make him focus on his schoolwork again.
But their individual problems help Billie, Rob and Chris to come together and maybe they can find something in common to help them turn their lives around …
Melvin Burges’s YA novel is a strong contemporary tale of teens whose behaviour would normally make society write them off. By looking at the reasons for their behaviour, he makes a strong case for re-evaluating so-called ‘problem teens’.
Burgess weaves together the three teens’ stories really well done and I loved their strong first person narration. The book wears its politics on its sleeve and although he does show some weaknesses for his characters (particularly Billie and Chris), I wasn’t completely convinced by all three being fundamentally decent and would have liked to see a little more ambiguity. There are some great lines and funny moments but also a lot of dark scenes. The violence suffered by Chris is unflinching as is a scene where Billie realises her boyfriend’s friends want to rape her.
All in all, it’s a strong book that does make you re-evaluate what makes a teen behave badly and as such is well worth a read.
The Verdict:
Melvin Burges’s YA novel is a strong contemporary tale of teens whose behaviour would normally make society write them off. Although it wears its politics on its sleeve, by looking at the reasons for their behaviour, he makes a strong case for re-evaluating so-called ‘problem teens’. For this reason, I found it an absorbing read that’s well worth a look.