Tag Archives: Real_life

Floored

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Floored by Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood

Book of the Week: 16 September 2018

Illustrations by Laura Callaghan

A book choice for older readers this week which has been written by seven writers.

Six young people get in a lift at the television company UKB for various reasons. Dawson is visiting his mum’s office: he thinks of himself as a sixteen year old has-been because he was once in a successful tv show but now can’t find work. Velvet is on work experience and worried about her uncomfortable shoes, whilst Kaitlyn’s school sent her to UKB for work experience because her failing eyesight means she can no longer pursue her dream of being a beautician. Joe is on a school trip, but has sneaked into the lift to pretend he’s also on the work experience scheme, and Hugo, the son of an MP and a UKB executive, is on work placement for the sake of his CV. The sixth young person is Sasha who is trying to deliver a parcel. A seventh person gets into the lift with them and then something horrible happens that has a lasting effect on their lives.

We meet up with all the characters over the years as they deal with successes and difficulties and their relationships with one another change and grow. Events are told by each character in turn with a narrator’s voice making brief appearances throughout. Some events are told in the form of messages in the WhatsApp group that they all drop in and out of.

All the authors are experienced writers for teenagers and young adults and if you have enjoyed books by any of them you may be able to spot their writing styles.

Due to the story containing some strong language, sexual content, drinking and drug-taking it is more suited to older readers in Year 11 and above.

Joe All Alone

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Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin

Book of the Week: 14 June 2015

Joe All Alone

A quick glance at the cover would make you think this was a funny story about getting by without your parents, a bit like the film Home Alone, starring Macaulay Culkin. It looks like a quick read for younger readers. It turns out to be a realistic story about coping alone in difficult conditions whilst managing to be tense, funny and sad.

Joe’s Mum and her unpleasant boyfriend Dean go on holiday to Spain, telling Joe to stay out of sight at all costs. At first, Joe is relieved to be out of the way of Perry Fletcher, the school bully, and Bradley his ex-best-friend. He spends his time playing games and watching tv and gets to know a sassy girl called Asha who is staying with her grandfather in a nearby flat. But then Joe’s countdown to his mum’s return becomes a tally of how many days late she is. She and Dean fail to come back on the promised day and Joe struggles to find food and, with no money for electricity, spends his time in the dark. There is also the matter of a secret parcel that Dean has hidden in the flat and which may belong to someone else.

Despite the bleakness of Joe’s situation, this is an uplifting and hopeful story. Joe is quirky and sympathetic and Asha and her grandfather Otis are warm and likeable. The convincing and realistic atmosphere extends to the ending of the book too.

If you enjoyed previous Books of the Week such as Smart by Kim Slater or I Predict a Riot by Catherine Brunton, this story has similar themes.