Another Book for my Childrens Literature course.
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Junk was published by Penguin Books in 1997. And it’s main focus is around drugs and the people/kids that take them.
I actually found this hard to read, even though it took me less time to read than Coram Boy. There is a number of different narratives and each character speaks in their own way. The story is written how they speak.
However, I would say the main characters are Tar (David) and Gemma and this story follows them through when they leave home at 14 until when they arrive back home when they are 18. Although you miss parts of their story the book flows nicely from each section and you see them from other characters points of views. At the start of some chapters there are song lyrics before the narration begins – which link in quite nicely with the section of the book.
I remember reading this when I was in High School so I reckon this must be pretty high up on the YA reading list – what with being about drugs – the whole taboo of things. But it puts a certain light on the whole thing – it doesn’t just describe drugs or Junk as this whole amazing thing which you’d be stupid not to do but towards the end of the book it starts to say what happens when you come off it and the bad side to doing drugs.
Overall, this is well written and no wonder it is a winner of The Guardian Fiction Prize.
Our First Year Here 