| …this is sometimes very funny, always entertaining and shot through with real honesty. Five out of five stars
Flipside
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He is coming to kill me.
Now would be a good time to run.
I cannot run.
I am too afraid to run.
Paul Varderman could be at any normal school - bullies, girls and annoying teachers are just a part of life. Unfortunately 'normal' doesn't apply when it comes to the school's most evil bully, Roth, a twisted and threatening thug with an agenda quite unlike anyone else. When Paul ends up delivering a message from Roth to the leader of a gang at a nearby school, it fuels a rivalry with immediate consequences. Paul attempts to distance himself from the feud, but when Roth hands him a knife it both empowers him and scares him at the same time . . .
This thought-provoking and original novel highlights the terrible consequences of peer pressure and violence, and casts a spotlight on the worrying rise in knife crime among teenagers. |
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| ...a compelling read, from the most imaginative opening chapter I’ve read this year to the shocking twist at the close. McGowan is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.
Keith Gray The Scotsman
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| ...a tragedy, so dramatic and harrowing that my reluctant reader son couldn't put it down...a vivid recreation of the nightmare of school.
Amanda Craig The Times
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| ...this novel for teens is tense, funny and topical.
The Times
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| 3 out of 5 stars
Bliss
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| A book you want to talk about with other people, and it’s totally gripping. Five out of five stars.
Sunday Express
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| A powerful, outstanding teenage read which shows how easily peer pressure can cause good boys to be sucked into violence.
Jennifer Taylor The Bookseller
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| A roller-coaster of violent emotions
Nicholas Tucker The Independent
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| A timely expose of knife crime, this is a richly nuanced, stylish and unflinching thriller that draws on wide influences, lithely avoiding glorification while not compromising dramatic or ethical drive.
The Bookseller
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| a visceral, gritty and frightening warning to those at the root of knife crime...It is hard-hitting and graphic; a necessary and gripping book that addresses an issue that cannot be ignored
JIll Morris Batley News
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| Acutely observed story of the law of the playground and the potential impact of peer pressure and bullying...McGowan certainly pulls no punches in this honest and thought-provoking novel.
The Bookseller
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| Anthony McGowan has constructed a gripping teenage read, one that not only addresses difficult issues in today's society, such as knife crime and bullying, but is also thought-provoking and original.
Sean Martin, 17 South Wales Argus
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| Anthony McGowan's insight is razor-sharp. If there's an author writing for children today who can really inhabit the skin of his characters, it's McGowan.
The Guardian
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| Chillingly realistic... heartbreaking and riveting. A gripping novel.
Bookfest (CBI)
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| Combining brief flashes of ironic humour with the unstoppable momentum of unfolding tragedy, this sadly timely book offers a cogent reminder of the far-reaching consequences of knife violence.
Kate Agnew The Guardian
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| Every writer hates to hear the words “stunning new talent” applied to someone else, but in the case of Anthony McGowan nothing else will do
Meg Rosoff
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| Exploring knife crime and unwritten codes of conduct among young people, it disturbs with its immersion in violence, drugs and self-harm. This fast-paced topical novel stands out. We are embroiled in the twisted doings of a school bully. The nightmarish tension throughout makes it not for the squeamish. McGowan does not let us down lightly and ends the book with a twist that will leave even teenage boys gasping.
The Daily Telegraph
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| Gripping and thought-provoking...an informative and interesting read.
Alice Gane, 17 The South Wales Argus
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| I thought it was brilliant, beautifully sustained and utterly heartbreaking
Natasha Farrant, Literary scout
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| Interview
Yorkshire Post
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| It is a violent novel, as its title suggests, but it does capture the reality of the dangerous world in which today's young adult males find themselves.
Irish Independent
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| It is hard-hitting and graphic; a necessary gripping book that addresses an issue that cannot be ignored in the hope that it will go away...this is a book that demands to be read with urgency
Jill Morris Dewsbury Reporter
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| It is hard-hitting and graphic; a necessary gripping book that addresses an issue that cannot be ignored in the hope that it will go away...this is a book that demands to be read with urgency
Jill Morris Spenborough Guardian
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| It was amazing, ten out of ten! The language was astounding and the characters were cleverly thought up . . . It was definitely in my top five best books I've ever read. I'm imagining it will go a long way.
Harry (teen reviewer), aged 12
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| The Knife that Killed Me is a thought-provoking novel that demonstrates the immense talent of Anthony McGowan.
Caitlin Bennett The South Wales Argus
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| The story of how Paul, the narrator, is dragged into using a knife by Roth, a bullying teenager he fears and hates, is gripping, but what makes you sit up is that its author, Anthony McGowan, is one of the most talented new writers around
The Times
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| This is a masterfully written and dark story of contemporary teen life, which deserves to be widely read and discussed.
Jean Allen Carousel
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| This is stylish and mature writing for teenagers that deserves to be read widely.
School Librarian
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| This is vivid, powerful writing, going well beyond conventional portrayals of young male bullying and humiliation. Not, perhaps, since Julia Golding's Lord of the Flies has there been such a searing reminder of what the strong schoolboy is capable of inflicting on the weak.
Irish Times
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| Up-to-date and relevant to the teenagers reading today. The style was very well written, sympathetic to the teenagers' point of view.
Teen Titles
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| very well written,with tension, with fast action and amazing pace
The Bookfiends Kingdom
More
Information
Definitions • Fiction dealing with specific issues •
12 + year olds •
Previous
ISBN: 1862306060
Publication date: 03/04/2008 • 256 pages • B format
• EAN: 9781862306066
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