book cover

Sugar Rush

by Julie Burchill

Interest age: 14+
Reading age: 11+

Published by PanMacmillan, 2016

  • Chapter books
  • Classics
  • Coming-of-age
  • Love and romance

About this book

Not only has Kim's mum run off with a toy boy but now her dad says she has to leave her posh school and go to the local comprehensive. Luckily she is taken under the wing of the Top Girl herself, Maria Sweet, otherwise known as Sugar.

Kim finds herself overwhelmingly attracted to Sugar and the two embark on a passionate lesbian affair. For Kim, this is true love but she soon suspects that Sugar may not be as committed.

Despite a warning about explicit content, the sex scenes are mild and inoffensive, focusing on the psychological rather than the physical. The casual attitude to drugs and alcohol abuse is far more worrying but, disturbingly, probably paints a realistic picture.

Shortlisted for the 2005 Booktrust Teenage Prize, this is a controversial and daring look at the gritty reality of teenage experience.

About the author

Julie is an English journalist, writer and broadcaster who describes herself as a "militant feminist". Beginning as a staff writer at the New Musical Express at the age of 17, she has since contributed to newspapers such as The Sunday Times and The Guardian. She has been involved in legal action resulting from her work on several occasions. Burchill is also an author and novelist, and her 2004 ground-breaking novel Sugar Rush was adapted for television.

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