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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
A knife is a deadly weapon. Paul Varderman knows that. Well, he does now ...
Paul Varderman is about to die - killed by a "kitchen knife from Woolworths" with a handle made from "cheap black plastic" and a blade that "wobbled like a loose tooth". In this book, he retells the events leading up to his death and it's sober reading that never falls into moralistic cliche.
An only-child from a poor background (his dad is a lorry driver, his mum a cleaner who works two jobs), he goes to the local comprehensive where he's failed to fit in with any of the existing social groups. When he stands up to school bully Roth and side kicks Miller and Bates, Roth encourages him to join his gang, giving him a knife as a sweetener to the deal. At the same time, Paul becomes friendly with the school freaks - a mixture of geeks, goths and nerds, led by the charismatic Shane - and is attracted to Maddy, a bright girl in the group who seems to like him. Torn between the violent Roth and too-cool Shane, Paul also finds himself sucked into the rivalry between Roth and Goddo, gang leader at a rival school, which eventually erupts in violence and his own death.
Paul's characterisation is excellent - it is very easy to see how he ended up in a situation he didn't really want to be in. Weak-willed, lost and lonely, he's really just looking for somewhere to belong and despite being intimidating, Roth's offer of friendship would give him an identity within the school. Shane however offers him a chance to be valued for himself and in doing so, work out who he is and the confidence that this gives Paul seems to give him some much needed hope.
McGowan does well in teasing out the tension - right from the start you think you know how this is going to end, but it doesn't detract from Paul's story. There is also a truly heart-breaking moment mid-way through the book involving Paul's plan for a date with Maddy - it would have been very easy for such a familiar scenario to descend into cliche, but the voice that McGowan gives Paul keeps you rooting for him all the way.
Where I wasn't convinced was in the depiction of Shane who's a little too good for me to believe in him (in contrast to Roth who, while completely vile, is always credible). McGowan tries to offset this by giving Paul a rival for Shane's attention in the sly Kirk, who's constantly trying to do him down but it didn't quite come off for me, mainly because I didn't quite feel that I knew who Shane was except for how other characters saw him. I also had issues with the ending. Although it doesn't pull its punches, it still feels a little rushed when it comes and I think that slightly more could have been made of the consequences (which are basically summarised in a few paragraphs). Finally, there were times when stylistically this felt a little too reminiscent of the excellent Henry Tumour - partly because I think that it's set in the same school, but also because of the way some of Paul's thoughts are set out (not helped by a scene where he talks about having a brain tumour).
That said, this is a tense and chilling book and definitely makes you think about why teens might carry knives and the consequences of doing so without preaching any morals at you. It's easy to see why this has had such positive reviews in the press.
The Verdict:
Tense and chilling, this is a book that makes you think without ever being preachy. My only complaint is that it felt a little too similar to Henry Tumour at times, although this didn't detract from the book's impact.
Paul Varderman is about to die - killed by a "kitchen knife from Woolworths" with a handle made from "cheap black plastic" and a blade that "wobbled like a loose tooth". In this book, he retells the events leading up to his death and it's sober reading that never falls into moralistic cliche.
An only-child from a poor background (his dad is a lorry driver, his mum a cleaner who works two jobs), he goes to the local comprehensive where he's failed to fit in with any of the existing social groups. When he stands up to school bully Roth and side kicks Miller and Bates, Roth encourages him to join his gang, giving him a knife as a sweetener to the deal. At the same time, Paul becomes friendly with the school freaks - a mixture of geeks, goths and nerds, led by the charismatic Shane - and is attracted to Maddy, a bright girl in the group who seems to like him. Torn between the violent Roth and too-cool Shane, Paul also finds himself sucked into the rivalry between Roth and Goddo, gang leader at a rival school, which eventually erupts in violence and his own death.
Paul's characterisation is excellent - it is very easy to see how he ended up in a situation he didn't really want to be in. Weak-willed, lost and lonely, he's really just looking for somewhere to belong and despite being intimidating, Roth's offer of friendship would give him an identity within the school. Shane however offers him a chance to be valued for himself and in doing so, work out who he is and the confidence that this gives Paul seems to give him some much needed hope.
McGowan does well in teasing out the tension - right from the start you think you know how this is going to end, but it doesn't detract from Paul's story. There is also a truly heart-breaking moment mid-way through the book involving Paul's plan for a date with Maddy - it would have been very easy for such a familiar scenario to descend into cliche, but the voice that McGowan gives Paul keeps you rooting for him all the way.
Where I wasn't convinced was in the depiction of Shane who's a little too good for me to believe in him (in contrast to Roth who, while completely vile, is always credible). McGowan tries to offset this by giving Paul a rival for Shane's attention in the sly Kirk, who's constantly trying to do him down but it didn't quite come off for me, mainly because I didn't quite feel that I knew who Shane was except for how other characters saw him. I also had issues with the ending. Although it doesn't pull its punches, it still feels a little rushed when it comes and I think that slightly more could have been made of the consequences (which are basically summarised in a few paragraphs). Finally, there were times when stylistically this felt a little too reminiscent of the excellent Henry Tumour - partly because I think that it's set in the same school, but also because of the way some of Paul's thoughts are set out (not helped by a scene where he talks about having a brain tumour).
That said, this is a tense and chilling book and definitely makes you think about why teens might carry knives and the consequences of doing so without preaching any morals at you. It's easy to see why this has had such positive reviews in the press.
The Verdict:
Tense and chilling, this is a book that makes you think without ever being preachy. My only complaint is that it felt a little too similar to Henry Tumour at times, although this didn't detract from the book's impact.
