Customer Reviews
Excellent but fell down at the end - By: Lovejoy, 27 Apr 2008 
My three star rating might make you think that I thought it was an average read - which I didn't. I thought it was excellent, but fell down at the end, & also by being long-winded in a couple of places. It's been reverred by prize givers, but I think the judges might have been a little swayed by the horror of the subject matter. However, on the whole it was very well handled.
This was a very, very provocative read, drawing you into sympathy for the character, Jack, while at the same time keeping you once step apart from him as you know that he has, with another much tougher boy, murdered a child, whilsts still a child himself. I felt very drawn into the account of his disguise in freedom, & my heart was usuallly in my mouth anticipating he will be 'found'.There is even the vague whiff that he might, actuallly, be innocent of the actual crime. As another reviewer has noted 'fatherhood' was a very scrutinised issue.
My criticisms were that some scenes went on for too long - the clubbing night out, & the eel - which made me anxious to get on with the story. But the real crash came at the end. I won't give anything away as the end was actuallly a 'real' ending, & not a cop-out, but the speed at which events came to pass were far too fast & glossed over for the sake of impact.
Very thought-provoking - By: Annabel Gaskell, 19 Apr 2008 
I didn't want to enjoy reading this book due to its subject matter - I didn't want to admit that I could empathise with someone who was capable of doing such an awful act, but I did - particularly because he was only ten when 'it' happened.
Having to start afresh when released into a world of which he has no experience requires courage & the guiding hand of 'Uncle Terry' - Jack's surrogate father. Jack's doing well, trying hard at working, making friends, & getting a girlfriend, but the media continuallly keeps nibbling away at the fact that a (child) child-killer is lose in the community - surely it can't end happily ever after?
The author cleverly builds up the tension, interweaving layers of the Boy A's neglected childhood & the crime itself, with life in prison, & life outside in the real world. Told mainly from Jack's PoV, but also from his friends, case-worker Terry & girlfriend Michelle. Things are never black & white, just different shades of grey... A reallly thought-provoking book that I'm glad I read.
Uncomfortable and sad, but very well observed - By: Helen Simpson, 20 Feb 2008 A cleverly written account of a boy who has had to do most of his growing up in detention centres & prison. He is now 24 & is having to deal with a new experience...freedom...or is it?
Having been helped to choose a new name he has to try & learn how to fit into a life most of us take for granted. Meanwhile the media (red top newspapers specificallly) bay for blood using photograph enhancements to guess what he looks like now & campaigns for the public to "...know who's living down their street."
As we read we learn about Jack both before his crime as well as the man he's trying to become. It is not however a story that cries out for sympathy 'because I had an unfortunate childhood'. It is far more subtle than that.
I like the way the chapters are alphabeticallly titled ("A is for Apple. A Bad Apple" / "T is for Time. Teachers & Trainers") which highlights the child Jack was, as well as relating to his experiences in life.
A disturbing story which we can alll relate to in some form, even if only from the baying for blood/lynch mob mentality we saw at the time of the Jamie Bulger case. Whether it's the 'red top' readers who will be likely to read it though is another matter!
Disapointing - By: Jerry Healy, 20 Jan 2008 
I finished the book yesterday & found it to be ultimately very disapointing. It starts well but fizzles out with too many poorly drawn characters & a clumsy plot.
It does not surprise me that the book was made into a half decent TV drama, because in my experience books that are not overly complex travel well.
With the subject matter this book should have been so much better. Boy A & Boy B were characterised reasonably well, but almost every other character is one dimensional. The plot is impatient, contrived & not alllowed to develop naturallly. There is no excuse for this as the book is short & consequently has a slightly rushed feel. Furthermore the background detail to the plot - the location & environment is paper thin.
Excellent - By: S. P. Northwood, 16 Jan 2008 The idea of creating a book trying to draw sympathy for a suspected child killer is bold, beautiful & brilliant.
The book is absorbing, drawing you into Jack's new world while never letting you forget his past.
I read this after seeing the TV special (which I usuallly try & avoid doing), & for a change they stick very closely to each other - the only real difference being that the book contains much more backstory to the characters in Jack's world: his mum, Terry, Boy B, etc.
Would recommend this book to anyone, especiallly mature teen readers who can always do with a bit of a moral grey area to get them thinking.
