The Edge
by Alan Gibbons
Danny and his mother Cathy are on the run from her abusive boyfriend, Chris. They go back to the Edge, Cathy's childhood home, which she left after having Danny at the age of sixteen.
Although Danny's grandmother is happy to see them, his grandfather is reluctant to accept him because he is black, and Danny soon realises that many people in the Edge share his grandfather's racist views.
However, Danny is unwilling to give up his hopes for a new way of life and his struggle to make the Edge his home starts to bear fruit. Unfortunately, Chris does not give up easily and events reach a violent climax. This is a hard-hitting page turner, focusing on both domestic and racist violence.
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
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Alan Gibbons
Alan Gibbons has been writing children's books for 17 years. He is the winner of the Blue Peter Book Award 2000 'The book I couldn't put down' for his best-selling book Shadow of the Minotaur. He has also been shortlisted twice for the Carnegie Medal and twice for the Booktrust Teenage Prize. He has won the Catalyst Award, the Leicester Book of the Year, the Angus Book of the Year, the Stockport Book Award and the Salford Librarians' Special Award. His books have been published in languages including Japanese, German, Italian, French, Thai, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Swedish.
Alan was a teacher for 16 years. He is now is a full-time writer and independent educational consultant and a campaigner for library services. He lives in Liverpool.
http://www.alangibbons.com/
Alan Gibbons Photo: Barrington Stoke
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What you thought
I read this book in school, I'm in year 9 and at first I thought this book was kind of boring. However that was because I wasn't concentrating. When I got into the book it was great.
It's very clever the way Gibbons put a split narrative. At first Danny and his mother Cathy run away from her boyfriend, Chris. When they reach 'The Edge' at Cathy's parents house, the grandfather doesn't welcome Danny because of his skin colour. He is, at the beginning, a very prejudiced and racist character. At school a gang also are racist towards him, and call him 'Chocolate drop'. He meets a friend Nikky who he really likes and later become best friends. Chris somehow finds out when they run to and chases them down right to their home. He is known as 'The animal' in this novel. At this point of the novel, Harry the grandfather becomes more loving and caring, he looks over Danny's skin colour and loves them like a grandfather should. When Chris Kane comes to their home it is Harry who protects the family...
Basically it's an awesome novel.
amazing, the first two pages are gripping, i never ever read and this book has got me going, i love it so much.
