Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence
Jun. 12th, 2016 09:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Not cool enough, not clever enough, not street enough for anyone to notice me. I was the kid people looked straight through.
Not any more. Not since Mr Orange.
Sixteen-year-old Marlon has made his mum a promise – he’ll never follow his big brother, Andre, down the wrong path. So far, it’s been easy, but when a date ends in tragedy, Marlon finds himself hunted.
They’re after the mysterious Mr Orange, and they’re going to use Marlon to get to him. Marlon’s out of choices – can he become the person he never wanted to be, to protect everyone he loves?
16-year-old Marlon Sunday promised his mum never to follow his big brother Andre into gang culture and so far he’s kept that promise – keeping his head down and studying for his exams. But when the beautiful Sonya asks him out on a date, he can’t say no and ditches revision for a trip to the fair where they share an ecstasy tablet. When Sonya dies suddenly on a ride, a shocked Marlon finds himself arrested for possession of Sonya’s ecstasy tablets and because he’s black and Sonya’s white, the police think he’s responsible for her death.
Things get worse when Marlon starts getting phone calls warning him that they’re coming for Mr Orange and they’ll hurt Marlon and everyone he cares about to get to him. Marlon doesn’t know who Mr Orange is but that won’t stop them and now Marlon’s being forced down a path he never wanted to take – becoming a gangster to save those he loves …
Patrice Lawrence’s debut YA novel is a thoughtful mix of thriller and contemporary drama with well drawn characters. Marlon’s home life and how his family have already been tainted by violence due to Andre’s involvement with gang culture forms a strong central spine. Andre is sensitively drawn – having been left brain-damaged as a result of a car accident brought about by a rival gang leader – and his scenes with his mother and Marlon (who he doesn’t remember) are touching. Also good is Marlon’s friendship with neighbour, Tish, a mouthy teenage girl drawn to bad boys but who always has Marlon’s back, while Marlon’s mother is easy to sympathise with – determined for Marlon to make the most of his life, fiercely defensive of him and all the time scared to death that he’s going to get drawn into making the same mistakes as Andre. Unfortunately Sonya didn’t work for me (mainly because she’s such a cypher) and I think that the thriller elements didn’t work as well as they should, mainly because the pacing isn’t there to maintain tension while there are a couple of scenes where I didn’t believe Marlon’s reactions (notably with regard to knowing he needs to get rid of incriminating items). That said, this is a strong debut that gives a new perspective on what it is to be a black teenager in London and the prejudices and pressures that they face.
The Verdict:
Patrice Lawrence’s debut YA novel is a thoughtful mix of thriller and contemporary drama with well drawn characters. Marlon’s home life and how his family have already been tainted by violence due to Andre’s involvement with gang culture forms a strong central spine. Andre is sensitively drawn – having been left brain-damaged as a result of a car accident brought about by a rival gang leader – and his scenes with his mother and Marlon (who he doesn’t remember) are touching. Also good is Marlon’s friendship with neighbour, Tish, a mouthy teenage girl drawn to bad boys but who always has Marlon’s back, while Marlon’s mother is easy to sympathise with – determined for Marlon to make the most of his life, fiercely defensive of him and all the time scared to death that he’s going to get drawn into making the same mistakes as Andre. Unfortunately Sonya didn’t work for me (mainly because she’s such a cypher) and I think that the thriller elements didn’t work as well as they should, mainly because the pacing isn’t there to maintain tension while there are a couple of scenes where I didn’t believe Marlon’s reactions (notably with regard to knowing he needs to get rid of incriminating items). That said this is a strong debut that gives a new perspective on what it is to be a black teenager in London and the prejudices and pressures that they face.
ORANGEBOY was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd June 2016. Thanks to Amazon Vine for the ARC of this book.
Not any more. Not since Mr Orange.
Sixteen-year-old Marlon has made his mum a promise – he’ll never follow his big brother, Andre, down the wrong path. So far, it’s been easy, but when a date ends in tragedy, Marlon finds himself hunted.
They’re after the mysterious Mr Orange, and they’re going to use Marlon to get to him. Marlon’s out of choices – can he become the person he never wanted to be, to protect everyone he loves?
16-year-old Marlon Sunday promised his mum never to follow his big brother Andre into gang culture and so far he’s kept that promise – keeping his head down and studying for his exams. But when the beautiful Sonya asks him out on a date, he can’t say no and ditches revision for a trip to the fair where they share an ecstasy tablet. When Sonya dies suddenly on a ride, a shocked Marlon finds himself arrested for possession of Sonya’s ecstasy tablets and because he’s black and Sonya’s white, the police think he’s responsible for her death.
Things get worse when Marlon starts getting phone calls warning him that they’re coming for Mr Orange and they’ll hurt Marlon and everyone he cares about to get to him. Marlon doesn’t know who Mr Orange is but that won’t stop them and now Marlon’s being forced down a path he never wanted to take – becoming a gangster to save those he loves …
Patrice Lawrence’s debut YA novel is a thoughtful mix of thriller and contemporary drama with well drawn characters. Marlon’s home life and how his family have already been tainted by violence due to Andre’s involvement with gang culture forms a strong central spine. Andre is sensitively drawn – having been left brain-damaged as a result of a car accident brought about by a rival gang leader – and his scenes with his mother and Marlon (who he doesn’t remember) are touching. Also good is Marlon’s friendship with neighbour, Tish, a mouthy teenage girl drawn to bad boys but who always has Marlon’s back, while Marlon’s mother is easy to sympathise with – determined for Marlon to make the most of his life, fiercely defensive of him and all the time scared to death that he’s going to get drawn into making the same mistakes as Andre. Unfortunately Sonya didn’t work for me (mainly because she’s such a cypher) and I think that the thriller elements didn’t work as well as they should, mainly because the pacing isn’t there to maintain tension while there are a couple of scenes where I didn’t believe Marlon’s reactions (notably with regard to knowing he needs to get rid of incriminating items). That said, this is a strong debut that gives a new perspective on what it is to be a black teenager in London and the prejudices and pressures that they face.
The Verdict:
Patrice Lawrence’s debut YA novel is a thoughtful mix of thriller and contemporary drama with well drawn characters. Marlon’s home life and how his family have already been tainted by violence due to Andre’s involvement with gang culture forms a strong central spine. Andre is sensitively drawn – having been left brain-damaged as a result of a car accident brought about by a rival gang leader – and his scenes with his mother and Marlon (who he doesn’t remember) are touching. Also good is Marlon’s friendship with neighbour, Tish, a mouthy teenage girl drawn to bad boys but who always has Marlon’s back, while Marlon’s mother is easy to sympathise with – determined for Marlon to make the most of his life, fiercely defensive of him and all the time scared to death that he’s going to get drawn into making the same mistakes as Andre. Unfortunately Sonya didn’t work for me (mainly because she’s such a cypher) and I think that the thriller elements didn’t work as well as they should, mainly because the pacing isn’t there to maintain tension while there are a couple of scenes where I didn’t believe Marlon’s reactions (notably with regard to knowing he needs to get rid of incriminating items). That said this is a strong debut that gives a new perspective on what it is to be a black teenager in London and the prejudices and pressures that they face.
ORANGEBOY was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd June 2016. Thanks to Amazon Vine for the ARC of this book.
