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When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan
The Blurb On The Back:
Welcome to the world of Dylan Mint. He’s going to take you on one *#@! of a journey …
Dylan Mint has Tourette’s.
His life is a constant battle to keep the bad stuff in – the swearing, the tics, the howling dog that seems to escape whenever he gets stressed … But a routine visit to the hospital changes everything. Overhearing a hushed conversation between the doctor and his mother, Dylan discovers that he’s going to die next March.
So he decides to grant himself three parting wishes or ‘Cool Things To Do Before I Cack It’.
It’s not a long list, but it’s ambitious, and he doesn’t have much time. But as Dylan sets out to make his wishes come true, he discovers that nothing and no one – is quite as he had previously supposed.
16-year-old Dylan Mint has Tourette’s syndrome, which makes him swear and gives him facial tics. He lives with his mum in Glasgow and attends a special school with his best friend Amir (who’s autistic) and lusts after his classmate Michelle Malloy. His dad is a soldier, fighting overseas but Dylan writes him letters to keep in touch.
While on a hospital check-up, Dylan accidentally learns that he’s going to die in a few months. Determined to make the most of the time he has left, he makes a ‘bucket list’ of three things to do before he dies: (1) have sex with a girl (preferably Michelle Malloy), (2) find a new best friend for Amir and (3) get his dad back from the war. But as Dylan tries to put his list into action he learns some unexpected secrets about himself and those he loves …
Brian Conaghan’s YA contemporary novel is clearly intended to be 2014’s THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME but lacks the clever plotting and sympathetic main character that made that book such a hit. At times, Dylan’s Tourette’s seemed to just be a set-up for cheap jokes about inappropriate swearing and the net effect is to perpetuate popular myths about the condition. I actually wished there’d been more about Dylan’s OCD and other educational needs as these are a part of the condition many people don’t know about. There’s a lot of swearing in the book (notably the f and c words) but that gives it some realism. I had more of a problem with the racial abuse towards Amir because almost every character does it (even Dylan who does so unintentionally), thereby normalising it to the extent that it negates any point that Conaghan’s trying to make. The biggest issue though is that it’s difficult to see why Dylan believes he’s going to die (there’s really no good reason for his assumption) and every twist that arrives afterwards is telegraphed way in advance. The pace sags at times as Conaghan indulges in pointless dialogue between Amir and Dylan, which I think was supposed to establish their friendship but really wasn’t needed and there’s some real nastiness in the abuse directed at Dylan (notably in a scene in the local playground). All in all, this really didn’t work for me and I’m not sure I’d rush to read Conaghan’s next book.
The Verdict:
Brian Conaghan’s YA contemporary novel is clearly intended to be 2014’s THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME but lacks the clever plotting and sympathetic main character that made that book such a hit. At times, Dylan’s Tourette’s seemed to just be a set-up for cheap jokes about inappropriate swearing and the net effect is to perpetuate popular myths about the condition. I actually wished there’d been more about Dylan’s OCD and other educational needs as these are a part of the condition many people don’t know about. There’s a lot of swearing in the book (notably the f and c words) but that gives it some realism. I had more of a problem with the racial abuse towards Amir because almost every character does it (even Dylan who does so unintentionally), thereby normalising it to the extent that it negates any point that Conaghan’s trying to make. The biggest issue though is that it’s difficult to see why Dylan believes he’s going to die (there’s really no good reason for his assumption) and every twist that arrives afterwards is telegraphed way in advance. The pace sags at times as Conaghan indulges in pointless dialogue between Amir and Dylan, which I think was supposed to establish their friendship but really wasn’t needed and there’s some real nastiness in the abuse directed at Dylan (notably in a scene in the local playground). All in all, this really didn’t work for me and I’m not sure I’d rush to read Conaghan’s next book.
WHEN MR DOG BITES was released in the United Kingdom on 16th January 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
Dylan Mint has Tourette’s.
His life is a constant battle to keep the bad stuff in – the swearing, the tics, the howling dog that seems to escape whenever he gets stressed … But a routine visit to the hospital changes everything. Overhearing a hushed conversation between the doctor and his mother, Dylan discovers that he’s going to die next March.
So he decides to grant himself three parting wishes or ‘Cool Things To Do Before I Cack It’.
It’s not a long list, but it’s ambitious, and he doesn’t have much time. But as Dylan sets out to make his wishes come true, he discovers that nothing and no one – is quite as he had previously supposed.
16-year-old Dylan Mint has Tourette’s syndrome, which makes him swear and gives him facial tics. He lives with his mum in Glasgow and attends a special school with his best friend Amir (who’s autistic) and lusts after his classmate Michelle Malloy. His dad is a soldier, fighting overseas but Dylan writes him letters to keep in touch.
While on a hospital check-up, Dylan accidentally learns that he’s going to die in a few months. Determined to make the most of the time he has left, he makes a ‘bucket list’ of three things to do before he dies: (1) have sex with a girl (preferably Michelle Malloy), (2) find a new best friend for Amir and (3) get his dad back from the war. But as Dylan tries to put his list into action he learns some unexpected secrets about himself and those he loves …
Brian Conaghan’s YA contemporary novel is clearly intended to be 2014’s THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME but lacks the clever plotting and sympathetic main character that made that book such a hit. At times, Dylan’s Tourette’s seemed to just be a set-up for cheap jokes about inappropriate swearing and the net effect is to perpetuate popular myths about the condition. I actually wished there’d been more about Dylan’s OCD and other educational needs as these are a part of the condition many people don’t know about. There’s a lot of swearing in the book (notably the f and c words) but that gives it some realism. I had more of a problem with the racial abuse towards Amir because almost every character does it (even Dylan who does so unintentionally), thereby normalising it to the extent that it negates any point that Conaghan’s trying to make. The biggest issue though is that it’s difficult to see why Dylan believes he’s going to die (there’s really no good reason for his assumption) and every twist that arrives afterwards is telegraphed way in advance. The pace sags at times as Conaghan indulges in pointless dialogue between Amir and Dylan, which I think was supposed to establish their friendship but really wasn’t needed and there’s some real nastiness in the abuse directed at Dylan (notably in a scene in the local playground). All in all, this really didn’t work for me and I’m not sure I’d rush to read Conaghan’s next book.
The Verdict:
Brian Conaghan’s YA contemporary novel is clearly intended to be 2014’s THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME but lacks the clever plotting and sympathetic main character that made that book such a hit. At times, Dylan’s Tourette’s seemed to just be a set-up for cheap jokes about inappropriate swearing and the net effect is to perpetuate popular myths about the condition. I actually wished there’d been more about Dylan’s OCD and other educational needs as these are a part of the condition many people don’t know about. There’s a lot of swearing in the book (notably the f and c words) but that gives it some realism. I had more of a problem with the racial abuse towards Amir because almost every character does it (even Dylan who does so unintentionally), thereby normalising it to the extent that it negates any point that Conaghan’s trying to make. The biggest issue though is that it’s difficult to see why Dylan believes he’s going to die (there’s really no good reason for his assumption) and every twist that arrives afterwards is telegraphed way in advance. The pace sags at times as Conaghan indulges in pointless dialogue between Amir and Dylan, which I think was supposed to establish their friendship but really wasn’t needed and there’s some real nastiness in the abuse directed at Dylan (notably in a scene in the local playground). All in all, this really didn’t work for me and I’m not sure I’d rush to read Conaghan’s next book.
WHEN MR DOG BITES was released in the United Kingdom on 16th January 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.