Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Junk by Melvin Burgess

12 reviews

nalakoala's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Challenging but beautiful.

Explores the lives of drug addicted youth in Bristol in the 80s. 
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secre's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Junk is a hard hitting read that showcases both the dangers and the allure of addiction and hard, hard drugs. With split perspectives between two teenage characters, it follows Tar and Gemma; one an abused young man, desperate to escape his alcoholic household and the beatings from his father, the other a spoilt and whiny girl determined to 'show' her parents by running away from home. The two are tied together by their teenage relationship, and start to make a life for themselves in Bristol. Only it doesn't take a lot before Gemma finds less savoury contacts and soon both of them are utterly enmeshed in a heroin dependent life style, resorting to theft and even prostitution to fuel their destructive habit.

It's a young adult book, but I can see why many parents may want to keep it til their child is older. Whist Burgess doesn't linger too deeply on the horrors of the drugs, they don't shy away from the consequences of the addiction. It also doesn't shy away from what makes drugs interesting, shiny and appealing. In the early moments of the novel, it doesn't seem like Gemma and Tar are particularly badly effected by their new life style choice. If anything, they are deeply in love with it. Their lives fall apart in gradual stages, one thing leads to another and devastating their lives.

It's a stark novel. You don't necessarily like the characters, but you're along for the ride anyway. It's well written, well portrayed and engaging. You watch the characters teetering on the edge of the abyss, waiting for them to take the final fall. It's absolutely a novel I'd recommend for teenagers and adults alike.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title. 
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mayasowerby's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I would never have read this if it wasn't a book club pick and while it's not really my kind of book, I am glad read it. It's a bleak read and the characters are extremely frustrating but I did like the writing and the effective use of multiple POVs. Melvin Burgess is an author I never read as a teenager but somehow the style felt familiar to me, maybe because I read other 1990s YA.  
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maireada21's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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kshertz's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book is like A Little Life but written in the 90s. It’s UK teenagers that run away from home and the romantic gesture turns into a genuine hell. They are unhoused and have no money. It devolves into drugs and worse. I was in a good headspace for it but had to take it slow. It was just so sad. But important as a viewpoint to understand more about what people need that end up in these situations.
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christinasingh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Conveys empathy. Helped me to understand complex issues more clearly
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hannahwillacy's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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dustandstarlight's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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sofiajearally's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I gave this book 3 stars but I would have probably rated it better had I read it when I was a teenager (I think it's perfect for teens between 14 and 19).
It started kinda slow and I gotta say I disliked Gemma a great deal, couldn't relate to her, while I related to Nico and thought he should be protected at all cost. Melvin Burgess did a great job writing complex characters and turning things around (at least for me) and, by the end of the story, Gemma's character arc was inspiring and I ended up being very proud of her. Nico indeed suffered from prior, serious issues, so it's logical that his path went differently. It was sad but it wasn't surprising, even though I was rooting for him until the very last chapters...
The moment I started not being able to wait before picking up the book  was around the middle of the story, when the subject of heroin is introduced and it just gets grimmer and grimmer. From that moment on, it was a real page-turner with powerful writing, until the very end (Nico's father's chapter stirred me).
I loved that the story covered the before, during and the after of heroin addiction, without going - I think - overboard, nor glossing over dark themes.
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