Amazon.co.uk Review
Junk is an extraordinary book, and walks a terrain that is at once terrifying
and totally compelling.
Tar and Gemma are in love. Tar has reasons for running away from home that run
deep and sour, whereas Gemma, with her middle-class roots firmly on show, has a
deep-rooted lust for adventure. Together they explore the dark world of the
streets as, together, they explore the dark world of drugs, moving quickly on
from the first hit of heroin that takes them towards bliss, to the next hit
that ultimately leads to despair.
Melvyn Burgess packs one hell of a punch in Junk, a book that is certainly
unnerving in its honesty about two teenagers and their very different reasons
for wanting to flee their families and their lives.
The narrative is simple and to the point, adding fire to the characterisation
of the two main protagonists as they dive deeper into their love affair with
heroin and each other. Burgess hits hard with his convincing handling of
controversial subjects ranging from alcohol abuse, prostitution, teenage
pregnancy and child abuse, skilfully moving the plot and the characters forward
with a pace that mirrors Tar and Gemma’s spiralling relationship.
Junk is a must-read for any teenager who enjoys gritty realism and a gutsy,
honest approach to the books they read. But be warned, this book is not for the
faint-hearted: the language is realistic, the situations are occasionally
terrifying, and Burgess certainly does not glamorise any aspect of Tar and
Gemma’s lifestyle. Parents of teenagers should take a close look too. Age 12
and over–Susan Harrison –This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
Occasionally a ‘teenage novel’ comes along which makes one reconsider the
whole genre and its potential. Such a book is Melvin Burgess’s Junk (Robert
Dunbar Children’s Books in Ireland )
The most talked-about children’s book for years (Mail on Sunday )
Brilliantly and sensitively written, it encompasses the raw, savage and
ecstatic world of the adolescent mind… a superbly crafted and important book
(TES )
Beautifully written (The Times ) –This text refers to an alternate Paperback
edition.”