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TURF

3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 · rating details · 23 ratings · 11 reviews

Jay's life seems pretty sorted: 15 years old and already a rising member of the notorious Blake Street Boyz gang, he takes his lessons from the street. With a knife in his pocket and his best friend Milk by his side, their days are spent fiercely defending their turf.

When Jay gets the chance to step up and become a senior of the Boyz, he faces the biggest decision of his l...more

Hardcover, 361 pages

Published August 2nd 2012 by Random House Children's Books

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May 13, 2013 ReadingToTheStarsAndBack rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-book-challenge

Originally posted at: ReadingToTheStarsAndBack

[Just a mini-review today! Less than 200 words!]

From the first page I connected with the main character, Jaylon. He was a very likeable character, even funny at times. I just wanted to jump in between the pages, give him a hug and tell him it’ll be alright. I strongly believe that inside…he was good. Even though he did bad things, he was a good person.

Jaylon is in gang, and the gang leader has told Jaylon that he has to kill a boy from their rivals....more

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Nov 14, 2012 Desolation Culture rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don’t normally read teen fiction, now usually referred to as YA (young adult) fiction, but when I stumbled across Turf by John Lucas I felt compelled to give it a go. This book is set in the area I grew up in, an area that has huge problems with street crime and gang violence, much of which I know all too well. The fact that the author also comes from this area was an additional draw for me. As for it being YA, well it is written from the first person perspective of its fifteen year old protag...more
I don’t normally read teen fiction, now usually referred to as YA (young adult) fiction, but when I stumbled across Turf by John Lucas I felt compelled to give it a go. This book is set in the area I grew up in, an area that has huge problems with street crime and gang violence, much of which I know all too well. The fact that the author also comes from this area was an additional draw for me. As for it being YA, well it is written from the first person perspective of its fifteen year old protagonist, but apart from that, and the fact that the language reflects the narrator of the story, in many ways it’s very adult. The setting for the novel, and its theme, result in adult language, frequent drug use, and violence. In fact this is a pretty grim novel.

It follows the life of Jaylon (Jay) a member of a street gang known as the Blake Street Boys as he struggles to juggle his life in the gang, and his relationships outside of it. He comes from a deprived background on a rough estate. His father is largely absent, and a waste of space. His mother is increasingly withdrawn, and his aunt who is now looking after him is hoping that Christ will save him. Early on in the novel, as Jay approaches his sixteenth birthday, he is presented with a task required of him by the gang leader. That task is to kill a guy named Ram, a member of a rival gang. Jay is told he needs to do this in order to step up to the Olders, and become a true member of the gang. Prove his worth, and his commitment. He is told by Shads, the psychopathic gang leader, that for this initiation he needs to kill Ram with a knife.

“Kill him?” I say, through a mouth full of glue.

“Yeah... but I want you to use a shank, not a piece. Guns draw attention and I’d be worried you wouldn’t have a clue what to do with one. Anyway, stabbing’s more satisfying. It’s more personal, you get me? More intimate."

From this moment Jay finds himself increasingly drawn into a cycle of violence. His life begins to spin out of control, and the more desperate he becomes, the more entrenched in the violence of the gang lifestyle he also becomes.

This book is clearly an attempt to show life from the perspective of a troubled teen, and to highlight some of the pressures young people face when growing up with few opportunities in areas blighted by poverty, drugs, and gang violence. A subject which can be difficult to get right, and which arouses no end of passionate debate across the political spectrum. Is it realistic? Does it glorify gang lifestyles? Does it attempt to apologise for violent behaviour? To what extent can it be said that people involved in gang culture choose to join not out of pressure or circumstance, but out of choice, and perceived reward? Do we really need another tale of inner-city black and ethnic minority youth (Jay and most of the gang are black; Muzza, the right hand man of the gang leader, is Turkish) that focuses on teen violence? Another portrayal of life on estates in places like Hackney that highlight only the negative? I'm not sure there are definitive answers to those questions, although they need to be asked. Regardless, with Turf, Lucas succeeds very well with what is the most crucial aspect of telling a story like this - character.

Jay is a likeable person, he's often funny, and easy to empathise with - noteworthy because many of his actions are not something to applaud. He's not happy with his choices, he doesn't like the circumstances he finds himself him, but for the most part, especially early on, he does what he's expected to do. He seemingly knows no alternative.

"Before secondary school and before the estate, understanding meant listening to my parents, doing my schoolwork, reading books. I didn't even question it. Once I did question it, I couldn't see the point any more. What was it meant to do for me? Get me a job some day? In Hackney - the kind of Hackney I know - getting your education on the street is what matters."

This kind of narrative is not new, and it would have been all too easy for this book to fall into cliché, but it really does a very good job of getting inside Jay's head, his life, and his environment. An environment I myself know intimately, and which if I'm honest, coloured my perception of this book, but not for the worse. On a simple level I enjoyed it taking place in locations I know so well and could instantly conjure to mind. The dialogue too, frequently had me chuckling with recognition. There are some amusing secondary characters, such as the crazy (or maybe not) old Rasta guy, who offers pithy insights to Jay. All of which seemed real to me, and evoked that somewhat randomly chaotic aspect of Hackney life, where you feel you could meet any and every type of bizarre person, and frequently do. But I don't think you need to know the world this novel portrays to enjoy it. On the contrary, I imagine for many it will offer a revealing glimpse into a world they know only through news stories and sensationalist media.

There is another aspect to this book, one which may not appeal to everyone, but which worked for me: it has a spiritual undercurrent. This extra layer adds an almost speculative fiction element to the book. Jay's aunt with whom he lives is deeply religious, and has populated his room with various statues of Christ, saints, and the like. As the novel progresses, Jay begins to see visions in his room, have conversations with the statues, and later mystical encounters on the streets. Encounters that may or may not be real. Is it the drugs? Or something else? There are several reasons why I liked this. It seemed right to me, again authentic to the Hackney I know, a Hackney whose diversity contributes to many people having strong and sometimes unorthodox spiritual beliefs. But it also allowed a different dimension to Jay's internal dialogue. A point of questioning for him with regard to some of his relationships, notably his aunt and girlfriend, as well as his wider social environment.

For teens, especially teen and young adult boys, I think this is an excellent début novel. One that I'm sure many will identify with, at least to some degree. But I think it's also a worthy title for adults. Easy to read, but with much to say, Turf is an insightful, troubling, and powerfully affecting romp through the meaner streets of Inner London.(less)

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Oct 07, 2012 Joe Humphreys rated it 5 of 5 stars

"When you're fifteen," writes Jay, protagonist of Lucas' hard hitting debut Turf, "everything matters." This is the book's opening sentence, and with such high stakes at the core of this powerful tale, it sums up all the pressures of being a wayward teenager searching for acceptance in all the wrong places perfectly. Set in the inner city borough of Hackney, Turf explores what it means to be a gang member faced with an impossible moral dilemma. Jay, under orders from psychotic gang leader Shads,...more "When you're fifteen," writes Jay, protagonist of Lucas' hard hitting debut Turf, "everything matters." This is the book's opening sentence, and with such high stakes at the core of this powerful tale, it sums up all the pressures of being a wayward teenager searching for acceptance in all the wrong places perfectly. Set in the inner city borough of Hackney, Turf explores what it means to be a gang member faced with an impossible moral dilemma. Jay, under orders from psychotic gang leader Shads, has to kill classmateRam, or face the consequences from his own gang, the Blake Street Boyz. As the tagline says, it's a kill or die situation.

So far so familiar, you might think. But Turf approaches its all-too-relevant subject matter in an unfamiliar way. The supporting cast, for one, add some interesting colours to the gritty urban palette. The most obvious example is Jay's aunt Marsha, who he has been obliged to move in with by his mother for fear he will be a bad influence on his younger brother. Ardent Christian Marsha has decked out her flat with numerous religious icons, and coupled with her penchant for preaching the Way of the Lord to Jay, seems to exist as a firebrand preacher who may or may not be Jay's salvation. Then there's Leo, a bizarre, pot-smoking vagrant who spouts cryptic sayings that both unnerve and, paradoxically, offer Jay solace.

Lucas has a canny ear for inner city teen dialogue, and, fittingly enough for a tale like this, is unflinching in his portrayal of the brutal violence that is the way of gang life. He succeeds in cutting through hoodie stereotypes to create a complex, well rounded character in Jay, a fundamentally decent young man who is a victim of spirit sapping circumstance more than anything. In spite of his catastrophic mistakes, he is an easy character to root for, particularly as the novel hurtles towards its inevitably intense conclusion. Turf is certainly not a pleasant read, but it is engaging, thought provoking without being preachy, and surprisingly moving.(less)

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Sep 07, 2012 Rosy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Turf was an incredibly strong and powerful book that completely blew me away. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that this isn’t my typical fare of book, but the premise was so intriguing, and the lovely people at Random House were so passionate when talking about this book that I had to give it a go.

The novel is fraught with tension, and Jay’s sense of entrapment is made very real for the reader – there’s almost a sense of claustrophobia the further into the book you get. Lucas creates...more

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$Faye {Daydreaming_Star}$

Sep 18, 2012 Faye {Daydreaming_Star} rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, rhcb-brunch

This review originally appeared on my blog on the 23rd August, here

It all starts somewhere
I feel it imperative to start of this review by saying something about the inspiration not only behind the book but behind my reasoning in picking it up. Unfortunately there is a lot of violence and crime on the streets, especially in London amongst the youths. I don’t personally live in London myself but I do leave near to the city and the events of last summer truly shocked me. I was horrified and petrifi...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-debut-author, amazon-vine, for-review-read, read-in-2012, british-author

Turf is a gritty and raw debut from British author John Lucas that offers a no holds barred insight into today's youth gang culture. Set on an estate of run down council tower blocks in London it is easy to imagine teens today who are caught in the same trap as fifteen year old Jaylon.

Jay never really made the choice to join the Blake Street Boyz, it was just something that all the kids on his estate aspired to. Those who aren't in the gang desperately want to be but those who are in soon find t...more Turf is a gritty and raw debut from British author John Lucas that offers a no holds barred insight into today's youth gang culture. Set on an estate of run down council tower blocks in London it is easy to imagine teens today who are caught in the same trap as fifteen year old Jaylon.

Jay never really made the choice to join the Blake Street Boyz, it was just something that all the kids on his estate aspired to. Those who aren't in the gang desperately want to be but those who are in soon find that there is no backing out. Every decision you make is monitored by the gang and if you make the slightest mistake then you risk losing your spot in the pecking order. Lines are drawn between the territory owned by the Boyz and the territory belonging to the Yoot (a gang from the neighbouring estate). Everything from where you buy your food, to which benches you can sit on and even the desks you choose at school comes down to which gang you are a member of. Kids who have known each other their entire school lives are enemies just because of the estate they live on.

Now Jay is about to turn 16 it is time for him to face his initiation to move from the Youngers to become a fully fledged member of the Older Boyz. In order to pass the test he must kill a member of the Yoot, a boy from his class at school whose main crime is to live in the wrong area. Jay doesn't want to become a murderer but he doesn't really have much of an option. He lives in a world where it is kill or be killed, even his fellow gang members won't hesitate to take him out if he fails and when they threaten the lives of his family and girlfriend his decision becomes even harder.

You have to give John Lucas credit for not being afraid to tell it like it is, he doesn't hesitate to show the downside of gang life, the way the gang leader motivates the members with fear, the nasty side of fighting both within the gang and outside it along with the drug taking and dealing that goes along with it. This isn't a story for the faint of heart but it does show just how hard it is to escape from the gang life once you've been caught up in it. I have to admit that I wasn't so keen on the heavy religious tone that flows through the story although I can see what the author was trying to achieve with it. There were also parts of the story that were quite surreal, I think it was mainly down to the drugs that narrator Jay was using but it did leave me feeling confused in places.

Overall I have to say that Turf is an impressive debut, one that is hard hitting and that will appeal to fans of books like Keren David's When I Was Joe. It will be very interesting to see what John Lucas comes up with next.(less)

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Oct 14, 2012 Bungle Midnight Reads added it

I can't give this book a rating because I did not finish it and not because I thought the writing was bad it's because I couldn't get past the way the characters spoke. I know this might make me sound snobbish, & I'm in no way posh or speak the Queens English but I really hate thing like 'innit' I just can't stand it! I know it's in keeping with this story but I just couldn't bring myself to read past 100 pages.

I do like the authors writing though and I'd be more than happy to read something...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Marnie rated it 2 of 5 stars

this book started off so well with so much potential but as I got further and further into it, it took a turn for the worse. The religious twist at the end made no sense at all and to be completely honest seemed like a quick escape from a book that could have continued to be really rather good. If you want to read it, just stick to the first half or you'll ruin a good book for yourself

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Sep 13, 2012 Charli rated it 2 of 5 stars

While reading TURF, the only thing I could think was that this would be the type of thing 13 boys would love to be reading, if they could be bothered to find their own reading material. In my experience, 13 year old boys would rather be watching 15 and 18 rated films and/ or playing games, and the very people to thrust a book into their hands would recoil at the thought of giving them a book which contains all the swearing, casual violence and glorified drug taking that this book contains. While...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Joanna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great book set in hackney. Could have been unrelentingly grim but the addition of fantastical references lend it a "size" and weight which belie it's YA tag. They lift it out of one genre into the general canon of literature for all.

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Oct 16, 2012 Phillip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Please tell me there is a sequel

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Apr 07, 2013 Melissa is currently reading it

Mar 29, 2013 Marceline marked it as to-read-maybe

Mar 25, 2013 Librisaurus_rex rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-fiction

Mar 09, 2013 Siry Carter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Feb 28, 2013 Rooky rated it 5 of 5 stars

Feb 27, 2013 Emma Bushell marked it as to-read

Jan 02, 2013 Leilani rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dec 31, 2012 Andrea marked it as to-read

Jan 08, 2013 Graham East rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: f-young-adult

Dec 24, 2012 Chloe Goodall rated it 1 of 5 stars

Dec 15, 2012 Nour marked it as to-buy

Dec 01, 2012 Stephen Allan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: brookes

Oct 24, 2012 Iraya Martin rated it 1 of 5 stars

Oct 18, 2012 Fiona rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oct 15, 2012 Emma Pass rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oct 11, 2012 Katja marked it as to-read

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Oct 02, 2012 Linda Endersby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jan 06, 2013 Tom Hocknell added it

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