TEEN: In the Bag - Jim Carrington

Release Date: 07/02/11

BOOK BLURB:

Joe and Ash are best friends. Ash is the leader, Joe the one who follows. Then one night after a party, Joe and Ash come across a holdall, seemingly abandoned by the side of the road. They open it up ...and find GBP20,000 in cash. Of course they're going to hand it straight to the police. Aren't they? Or is all that money just too tempting? Whoever has lost it won't notice if a bit goes missing, will they? And that is precisely when the trouble starts ...Jim Carrington has already established himself as a fine writer for teens with his debut novel, Inside My Head. With In the Bag, he shows how horribly easy it is for two teenage boys to make a car crash of their lives, through an unlucky combination of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and making a handful of wrong decisions.


REVIEW:

If you’re looking for an author who can bring realistic characters to the fore and deal with subjects thoroughly alongside entertainingly for the young reader then you really have to try Jim Carrington, previously we’ve read about broken homes as well as bullying and in this book he demonstrates how easy it is for one bad choice to lead you into a world that is dangerous and nearly impossible to escape.

It’s dark, it’s frightening and perhaps made even worse as the majority of readers will be able to associate with the characters to one degree or another. Jim makes them real, gives them genuine reactions and above all else makes sure that you really hope that they can manage to get themselves out from the situation before the title ends. Whilst perhaps not for everyone if you like a realistic twist to the authors voice and characters that you can identify with alongside root for then this is definitely the author for you.

12+: Inside my Head - Jim Carrington

BOOK BLURB:

This cleverly constructed narrative consists of three points of view: of Gary, constantly victimised by the school bully in a nasty, name-calling and vindictive way; the bully's friend, David and a new girl to the school, Zoe. All viewpoints are revealing. Gary reveals the painful and often unsuccessful attempts by a young man to control his anger under great provocation - and his inability to communicate. David is someone who is uncomfortable with the bullying but doesn't dare to do anything about it - until the end. Zoe is a young woman who can see Gary through different eyes and is independent, freethinking and brave. Also featured in this title are rampaging tractors, shotguns and cheese puffs.


REVIEW:

Author’s are getting braver all the time so its something to be supported when they create a novel that deals with issues experienced by a number of their readers. Within this offering is a careful look and examination of the problems as well as trauma’s (both physical and mental) caused by bullying as the author lets the reader discover the events and how it made people feel from the three principle protagonists within. Its cleverly written and when you top that off with characters that will just speak not only the same language as the reader but also help them to see that they’re not as isolated as they may feel and it’s a title that I’d recommend all parents to read as well as demanding that their local library purchases a copy.