This was the first book by Melvin Burgess that I read. I read it because it was the favourite book of a boy I had a crush on at the time. But by the time I finished reading it, I had realized 2 things: the book was great, the boy was lame. I continue to be a fan of Burgess. The boy and I never went anywhere.

This book formed part of the contemporary teen fiction module of my Children's Literature course. It is a brutally realistic portrayal of teenage runaways that fall into the world of drugs, sex and crime. It is not an easy read but it is fascintating and certainly a clever deterrant since Burgess uses the unreliable characters of the book to narrate their own stories, in the process inadvertantly revealing their ignorance, delusion and naivety. It is a book I would recommend for teens and adults alike - it may deal with some challenging subject matters but I think this is the kind of literature that can actally get through to teenagers and perhaps make them think.

This book made me realize: I'm old. I spent my teen years trying to convince my friends to write letters about the injustices of banning books; I stood by my "right" to read. Now I see the vast problems with some YA books.

This novel glorifies drugs. It has the feeling of, do them, feel great, suffer a little, get off them whenever you want. The horror of addiction is not present. I loved Go Ask Alice, but it felt the same way. It made me more curious than careful. Sure, that book doesn't end well, but as most teens see themselves as invincible, who cares, right? "It won't happen to me." "I'm in complete control."

I was under the impression this book was more like Tweak, a true story of someone's addiction to heroin; I found out it was a fiction novel, although based on some people the author once knew.

If you want a gritty, scare the pants off you drug book, read Tweak. You don't know if he's going to live or die, you fear for his every moment. You want so badly for Nic to succeed, but time and time again see him falling in. That's real. That makes you think twice. More YA readers should get that side of the story. Not the, "drugs are a walk in the park" book.

Now, I'm going to go sit on the porch with my cane and yell at passing children. That's what I sound like in this review.

This book was excellent I couldn't put it down. Riveting and scary at the same time.

Not something that I would usually read, but I was kinda forced to by the English Department.....
Anyway. Interesting but depressing, as I thought it would be. The protagonist girl is a junkie, prostitute, homeless, oh and did I mention that she is ummm 17!?

I really wanted to like this, and I did mostly. I'll admit, it was pretty hard to understand at some points with some of the slang and different terms I'm not aware of.
I've read a lot of books about heroin, and this doesn't make it to the top of the charts in that aspect. As a whole, I felt for the characters. I loved Tar. I wanted nothing but the best for him, because I felt like he deserved it. It was an emotional roller coaster watching how his life unfolded.
I hated Gemma for a huge chunk of it, and it makes me upset to think she drug him down for so long.
Either way, 3 stars for the emotional connection you build with the characters!!

I read this book for the first time a long time ago. I forgot all about it, until I came across it again when I was older. I loved it then, and love it still. It's very raw and shows you a intense perspective into a drug addict's word. The only negative thing I would say about this book is the setting was in Europe, so some of the slang and terms didn't make all that much sense to me, BUT there is a lovely glossary in the back to help you with that. Highly recommend.