Fifteen Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins

Publisher: Oxford

Format: ARC

Published: 5^th January 2012

Number of Pages: 288

Book: For Review*

Genre: Realistic-Fiction, Contemporary, Humorous, Action-Adventure, Mystery, Romance, Psychological Thriller-Suspense, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Mild Violence and Swearing, Alcohol References

No Drug References

Author's Site: Dave Cousins

How far would you go to keep your family together?

The sensational debut novel from Dave Cousins, winner of SCBWI’s Undiscovered voices 2010

Meet LAURENCE, fifteen years old and six feet tall.  Very soon, he’ll dress up as his mum and impersonate a dead man on the radio.

Meet JAY, his six year old brother.  He looks like an angel but thinks he’s a dog.  He’ll sink his teeth into anyone who gets in the way.

Today is Tuesday – and the next fifteen days with change the boys’ lives forever…

                                                                   Review:

What would you do to keep your family together?  Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach is prepared to do anything to keep his little brother Jay with him: See, his Mum has problems.  She drinks a lot and smokes and works two rubbish jobs to get enough money to feed them all.  But one day, she just doesn’t come home.  To start with, Laurence isn’t overly worried.  She’s disappeared before, gone off drinking ‘til her money runs out.  But after a while, he realises this is different.  And to keep Jay with him, Laurence has to pretend his Mum is still there.  And as I said before, Laurence will do anything to keep his family together.  Including dressing up as him mum.

The next fifteen days are going to change both Jay and Laurence’s lives forever…

I started this one as soon as I got it, but had to put it aside because of other review priorities.  It’s been niggling at me ever since them.  I only left it for a little while, and I almost went round the bend, desperate to know more about Laurence.  And after reading the whole book: not disappointed!  I loved every moment, loved Laurence and Mina and especially little Jay!  I was just sucked into the story, and I had to know what happened to the boys.  It was the most amazing debut!

Laurence Roach was someone I loved straight away.  He was funny, but I also knew instantly that he’d been through so much.  He was the most amazing big brother, always looking after Jay, always having to be strong for Jay…  And Laurence really was so, so strong.  He had to deal with too much, poor boy, so much responsibility.    Laurence tried so hard to keep everything together:  constantly looking out for his mum, getting up at 5am to get her ready for her job, even doing it for her.   His biggest fear was that his brother would be taken away and he wouldn’t be able to stop it.  Laurence Laurence Roach just felt so real to me.  I feel Mina described him perfectly: “stupid – but brave”. 

Jay Roach was sweet, and both too naïve and too old.  He had a thing for dogs: he pretended to be one – mainly to bug Laurence.  Strangers loved him because of his angelic looks.  And he was just really funny – even if he didn’t mean to be!  I mean, he turned into “Scooby Doo” – Scooby bites people, not Jay!  I loved the kid, and felt so sorry for him as well.

‘Mum’ – Margret Roach, drank and smoked.  Her kids hid until ‘Happy Hours’, when the drink would make her smile and be all hugs and kisses.  She was so depressed: without drink she stayed in bed or locked herself in the bathroom and cried.  Or she got mad.  All the way through, I was asking: Why did she leave?   By the end of the book, I had my answer.  And everything I thought about her changed.

Mina was in a brass band, sort of bossy and confident.  I liked her straight away!  She was just really funny, and really nice to Laurence, as well as being smart and logical.  Oh – and slightly mad!  Plus I totally felt the Mina-Laurence chemistry!  It was a really strong and sweet romance.

But probably my favourite thing about this story was the relationship between Laurence and Jay; I loved it.  You could tell how much they loved each other: it was really touching and real.  They stuck together through everything.  Laurence always looking after Jay, who was the Scooby to his Shaggy.  Although they were close, there was also just the right amount of exasperation and bickering.  Siblings just aren’t siblings without a little fighting, after all!  Most of all, I loved how the two of them and Mina pretend to be the Scooby Gang!

I love contemporary.  The whole real-life horrors and dramas have become addictive for me.  Fifteen Days Without a Head was an amazing contemporary.  I loved the problems, how real it felt to me.  I loved seeing how an ordinary teen, with extraordinary strength, handled everything, overcame it.  I fell in love with Laurence and Jay, their relationship.  And Dave’s writing was just infectious.  It was totally teenager, without feeling forced.  More importantly, it was Laurence Roach.  I could feel him as I read, but more than that, it was emotional.  I cried (out loud) at some bits, laughed my head off at others (mainly when Jay was involved).  I just fell in love with the voice, and was left wanting more.  Somehow, Dave managed to pull off a heavy subject with a light voice, something that is insanely hard to do, and I applaud him for it.  I can’t wait to see what he brings out next.  Maybe another Roach tale…

Fifteen Days Without a Head sucked me in with the characters, the plot, the writing.  The reality.  And the fact that Laurence was just so relatable.  It was a beautiful but horrible, a moving, emotional and funny story, with lovable and relatable characters and a believable plot, Fifteen Days Without a Head is a stunning book, one I won't be forgetting for a long time, and Dave is an author to look out for!  I loved this story!

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Anything by Keith Gray

Kill All Enemies by Melvin Burgess

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz

Holes or The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

2012 Debut Author Challenge (Hosted by The Story Siren)

YA Contemporary Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Reading Angel & Katie's Book Blog)

British Books Challenge 2012 (Hosted by The Overflowing Library)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from OUP in exchange for an honest review

Kill All Enemies by Melvin Burgess

Publisher: Penguin

Format: Paperback

Published: 1st September 2011

Number of Pages: 320

Book: For Review*

Genre: Realistic-Fiction, Coming of Age, Contempory, Psychological Thriller-Suspense, YA, YA-Adult Crossover

Recommended Age: 15+

Contains: Violence, Suggested Sexual Assault, Drinking, Drugs, Swearing

Author's Site: Melvin Burgess

Everyone says fourteen-year-old Billie is nothing but trouble.  A fighter.  A danger to her family and friends.  But her care worker sees someone different.

Her classmate Rob is big, strong.  He can take care of himself and his brother.  But his violent stepdad sees someone to humiliate.

And Chris is struggling at school.  He just doesn’t want to be there.  But his dad sees a useless no-hoper.

Billie, Rob and Chris each have a story to tell. 

But there are two sides to every story. 

And the question is… who do you believe?

                                                                   Review:

Everyone’s given up on Billie.  They think she’s dangerous, a lost cause.  But her case worker can see her potential.

Rob may get beaten up a lot, but he’s strong.  Strong enough to look after himself and his brother.  But whenever he’s around his stepfather, he feels worse than rubbish.

Chris couldn’t care less about school.  He’s going to be an entrepreneur, and who needs GCSEs for that?  He knows where he wants to go, but all his dad sees is a worthless layabout.

All three are linked together, but not entirely by choice.  They’re on their last chance: can they stay out of trouble long enough to prove themselves?

Kill All Enemies was an emotional rollercoaster, one that has left me reeling.  I was hooked from the first page, never set free until the very last word.  Some parts were very shocking and a little hard to read, but I loved every single moment. This was just an amazing, amazing read.  Bravo to Melvin Burgess!

Billie Trevors got into a lot of fights.  But I could tell she tried to do the right thing.  She’d taken care of herself since she was a little kid, and by the age of ten she had so much responsibility…  Everything that had happened to her… It… well.  It broke my heart.  I mean, Billie cared so much about everything, and tried so, so hard not to fight…  And everyone had such low expectations of her: self-fulfilling prophecy anyone?  She’d had such a hard life.  Deep down, she was a real sweetie: broken, only acting hard to protect herself from being hurt again.  She didn’t think anyone could ever love her, but she couldn’t stop herself from loving.  I cried at one point.  My heart ached, my eyes burned.  It was so strong, what I felt for this girl.  She really does break your heart in a way that makes you love her so, so much.  She went through way too much.  It wasn’t fair and she didn’t deserve it.

Rob had “wrong ears”.  But he was a strong, cheerful boy, who let himself get beat up to stay out of trouble.  Which, in my opinion, takes a lot more strength than throwing a punch.  He used Metallica to protect himself from his mum and stepdad’s fighting, and he looked after his brother.  He was adorably pleased (or well chuffed) to have Billie Trevors as a mate, ‘cause she was “hard”.  And he was funny, if kinda gross.  I liked him.  He was rather weird though…   The fridge was his friend… and he had conversations with the skeleton on his Metallica t-shirt – called him “Skelly”…  I have a feeling he’s slightly mad.  And some of his ideas were kinda odd.  He was a great friend and a great brother.  And he was just so, so optimistic.  Just liked Billie, he did not deserve it – any of it.  I loved him.

Chris Trent found school boring and pointless – he planned to be an entrepreneur.  But he cared, just maybe not about school.  And I just found Chris hilarious!  His sense of humour was mildly twisted, but it really appealed to me.  Plus… he saved snails.  And he helped other people out – kinda.  He got involved – for good reasons – when he maybe should have kept to himself.  He was just too smart for his own good – a real wisecracking guy.  Chris didn’t play by the rules, but he had good human morals: he did not like bullies… and the whole snail-saving business.  He was just really funny – especially when his mouth often got away with him.  Oh, and he was mildly idiotic.  In all the heartbreak, his funniness was a nice break. 

Hannah: who was she?  That was my question for ages.  Billie mentioned her a lot, but not who she was, what she did.  But once I got to know her, our fourth narrater, I realised that she really cared for Billie.  It was obvious, and – like me – she hated everything Billie had gone through.  She was really nice, sympathetic.  But was maybe too close to Billie…

Just because I hate him so much: Philip, Rob’s stepfather.  I hated the guy, and I mean physically hated him.   Like I’ve never, ever hated anyone before.  In my head, I kept calling him very, very bad things that I never actually say.  Urgh.  (Hate him.)

The writing… wow.  All four narrators sounded completely different – I would have been able to tell who was who, even if the chapters didn’t have their names at the start. Sometimes four POVs get confusing, but in Kill All Enemies it completely worked.  It let me get into all of their heads and see all their actions, their fears.  And it was so personal – far more so than 3^rd person or just one POV could have ever been.  Plus, Burgess had the teen voice perfected.  As for the plot; it was one of finding yourself, saving yourself.  There were no epic battles, no foreshadowing prophecy.  There were just the worst parts of life, the worst scenarios and attempting to overcome them.  The plot was suspenseful and powerful: I was never bored, not even for a second.  I was sucked in and I just couldn’t get the book out of my head.  I finished and it’s still stuck in my head.  And, yes, this book is honestly just that good.

Family bonds played a big part in this book.  Or lack of, in some cases.  You had heart-breaking realities, and love – so much love.  Such as the bond between Rob and his mum: it was so special.  He loved his mum so, so much – he’d do anything for her.  I laughed, I cried, I smiled, I cringed.  It was overwhelming.  But isn’t that what love and family are?

Kill All Enemies was so emotional, so powerful.   I felt everything – hate, anger, pain, heartache, depression, let down.  God, everything they went through, those kids… it broke my heart into pieces over and over and over.  Beaten by stepdads, rejected by parents, belittled by parents… It was terrible.  My heart’s still aching.  The things kids put up with… no wonder they acted out.  People made them feel worthless.  And you know what?  None of them deserved it.  People just don’t see the whole story, some don’t even try.  They should, but they don’t.  They need to listen to the so-called trouble makers.  There’s always a reason.  And there is no such thing as a lost cause.  Kill All Enemies was raw, edgy, borderline inappropriate.  It was horrible.  It was beautiful.  It was so powerful it left me breathless.  I can’t wait for my next Burgess book.

Key Quotes That I Can’t Get Out Of My Head:  “You’d be amazed at the things some of our kids have to put up with.  People see them as troublemakers, but if you knew the trouble that’s going on in their lives you wouldn’t think that.”

“These kids, to me, they’re not troublemakers – they’re heroes.  Proper, real-life heroes.”

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Junk by Melvin Burgess

Before I Die and You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Being Billy by Phil Earle

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Book Challenge (Hosted The Bookette)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Penguin in exchange for an honest review