Junk: Amazon.ca: Melvin Burgess: Books

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Review

"John Retallack's excellent adaptation of Melvin Burgess's controversial Carnegie Medal winning novel is splendidly unpatronising…a truly cautionary tale"—Independent

Book Description

Tar loves Gemma, but Gemma doesn't want to be tied down—not to anyone or anything. Gemma wants to fly. But no one can fly forever. One day, somehow, finally, you have to come down.

"Retallack's excellent adaptation of ... Burgess's controversial Carnegie Medal winning novel is splendidly unpatronizing ... a truly cautionary tale."—Independent

"Junk is perhaps the clearest sign yet that British theatre for children and young people is beginning to grow up."—Guardian

"Melvin Burgess is a writer of the highest quality with exceptional powers of insight."
—The Sunday Times

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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First Sentence
A boy and a girl were spending the night together in the back seat of a Volvo estate car. Read the first page

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars an unforgettable read, Jan 10 2004

By

Shelly (British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Junk (Paperback)

one of the best books i have read in a long time, "junk" by melvin burgess delivers everything i look for a in a young adult novel, but its believable and relatable characters make this a superb choice regardless of your age.

the story is really about gemma and tar, though the plot unfolds through the voices of seven or eight people, each voicing their view on living a drug-filled life in london's squats. "junk" is a subtle love story that is harsh, warming, and always... real.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Handle Like Hendrix reviews Junk, Jun 22 2009

By

C. Dey "HandleLikeHendrix" (Winnipeg, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Junk (Paperback)

Let me just start by saying that JUNK is my most favorite book only after THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.

JUNK is just so raw and so real. It tells you honestly what heroin addiction is like, displaying the bliss and the sorrow, and what you have to do to keep the addiction intact.

I don't want to give away what happens but I will say that the ending is not what you'd expect. Tar and Gemma are a really neat couple-- they started their journey with heroin at age 14. And Gemma has quite a unique attitude. It's also cute how they always say 'dandelion'. Tar is really cute and a talented artist who runs away from his alcoholic/abusive mother.

JUNK gives insight into the characters mind and also their lives before junk. JUNK also gives imense detail into what its really like to be addicted to heroin and the attraction that comes with it.

In JUNK along with heroin addiction comes shoplifting and teen pregnancy and prostitution. And this book is British and takes place in the 1980's I believe, right after the huge punk movement there. That's one of the reasons why this book is so authenic and completely fascinating. Highly HIGHLY reccomended.

Reviewed by Callie at Handle Like Hendrix

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2.0 out of 5 stars trainspotting jr, July 28 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Junk (Paperback)

When I first read junk i thought that it was a good if not great look at children and heroin. Then I read trainspotting and noticed that not only had Melvin Burgess stolen his idea of heroin addiction off of the scottish author but he had also stolen the disconnected writing style used by Welsh. If you want a kids read, read junk, if however you want an adult look at addiction read an original book like Junky or Trainspotting. Junk is a n enjoyable read but the characters are too tame to provoke a true emotional response.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great
This book is great. It was originally publishes as Smack, so don't think of it as sequel. Its just under a different name. Read more

Published on July 15 2003 by Kat Smock

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
After reading the reviews for this book I quickly went out and bought it. It really is a great book. There's only 71 pages but alot happens. It's written in the way a play is. Read more

Published on April 3 2003 by Jo