Boy A: Movie Tie-in Edition

Boy A: Movie Tie-in Edition

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97  ·  rating details  ·  587 ratings  ·  93 reviews
A is for Apple. A bad apple.

Jack has spent most of his life in juvenile institutions; he's about to be released with a new name, new job, and a new life. At 24, he is utterly innocent of the world, yet guilty of a monstrous childhood crime.

To his new friends, he is a good guy with occasional flashes of unexpected violence. To his girlfriend, he is strangely naive and unr...more
Paperback, 248 pages
Published April 1st 2008 by Serpent's Tail (first published May 1st 2004)
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Nancy
Feb 23, 2012 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Nancy by: Mariel
If I hadn’t come across Mariel's review, I’d probably never have found out about this chilling story. To my surprise, it won multiple literary awards and was adapted to film. I really need to get out from under my rock more often.

Boy A is Jack, newly released from prison for the brutal killing of a young girl. He was a child himself when the crime occurred. Now he is 24 years old and trying to adjust to a world that has passed him by while he was imprisoned.

This story is not an exploration of...more
Mariel
Jun 19, 2011 Mariel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mobs
Recommended to Mariel by: the movie
This isn't a spoiler tag but a longwinded tag. (I'm embarrassed tag.)

Words are not my first emotional language. I'll think without words and later try to come up with some that fit what I was feeling, if enough of it sticks by me through the thickness and thinness. The way I understand (assuming I understand what I believe I understand) things is feeling out what people mean based on whatever I can get out of posture, tone, facial movements, eyes that don't smile, spaces between words and silen...more
Jasmine
Aug 30, 2008 Jasmine rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone on the planet
Shelves: british
Okay I went back and took stars off some of my other reviews because this is one of those pieces of art that reminds you that most people are not hitting the ideal. Yes art is subjective, but somethings seem to just have something special that other pieces don't have. This is one of those pieces. Out of five stars I give it 7 and 1/2.

This book has a format that makes it flow. Instead of a few long chapters there are a lot of short chapters named for the letters of the alphabet such as A is for...more
Lorna
Is it really possible for someone who has committed a dreadful crime as a child to be given a fresh start into adult life after prison? It's a question, of course, that has been debated whenever such a crime has hit the headlines - whether it's Mary Bell, Thompson and Venables, or the anonymous boys who recently tortured two young lads in Doncaster.

This novel, written after - and doubtless influenced by - the notorious killing of James Bulger, was dramatised on television in 2007, and was a powe...more
Lindsay
"Given the challenging subject matter, Boy A is a surprisingly easy book to read. Jonathan Trigell's prose is literary, poetic in places, always compelling and never obstructive. Jack, the Boy A of the title, is the central figure of the book but throughout its 26 chapters, Trigell explores the lives of the people around him, from those who helped shape him into the man he is at the novel's beginning, and those he meets during his new life outside prison. Jack is an immensely sympathetic charact...more
Thais
Credo sia uno dei libri più angoscianti che abbia mai letto. Una storia sconvolgente narrata dal punto di vista dell'assassino. Ma non un assassino qualsiasi, bensì uno che a soli dieci anni ha ucciso una coetanea insieme a un amico bulletto, e che ora è uscito dal carcere ormai uomo, ma senza alcuna esperienza della vita a parte quella della prigione. Si è scelto un nuovo nome, perché l'opinione pubblica era contro la sua scarcerazione e lui rischia il linciaggio. Ora è semplicemente Jack, un r...more
Phil
This book was recommended to me by a couple of members of my family (the same books have a habit of being passed around!). And I did enjoy it. But I didn’t love it.
The story line is fascinating and reflects the life of one of the Jamie Bulger killers from the early 90’s. This was in real life a brutal murder of a toddler committed by 2 boys of age circa 12. I understand this was reported on around the world but certainly in the UK, there was much hysteria and a number of laws and practices in th...more
Lee Ann
The capacity some human beings have for committing acts of violence stuns me. I just do not comprehend how someone can lose their head to the point where they are able to inflict pain and/or death on another person—especially pain which requires a direct act of violence in which the aggressor experiences physical contact with his or her victim. This all becomes exponentially more horrifying and incomprehensible when the crime involves children.

Somehow, all these feelings were pushed to the sidel...more
Marcia
After watching the movie Boy A a while ago, I was really looking forward towards reading the book. The movie impressed me so much! I couldn't stop thinking about this story.

I liked reading Boy A, but I wasn't as captivated by the book as I was by the movie. I liked the titles of the chapters and the changes in POV and time (flashbacks etc). I also thought the story line was amazing. Sad, but amazing.
I did think the writing style was a bit boring, sometimes I really wanted to put this book down....more
Rachel
Boy A touches a subject that not many are willing to explore or even think about. Even reading the book is a difficult journey, as I found out after I (stupidly) decided to read the ending before I started the book (I HAD to know, right?).
The book itself does a good job of exploring the imagined scenario of a released murderer trying to crawl his way back into society, while explaining the steps he and others created that placed him in prison in the first place. The novel is hard, gritty; it ne...more
Serena!
E' un libro crudele e doloroso da far male, come un pugno nello stomaco.
E' un libro che mi fa sentire fortunata e ringraziare per ogni sciocchezza che possiedo.
E' un libro che mi ha scosso profondamente: per me esiste il bianco o il nero, nessuna sfumatura nel mezzo.. E quindi MAI avrei potuto pensare di provare pietà, tristezza e dolore per i due bambini, BOY A e BOY B, che non hanno èiù diritto nemmeno ad un nome.
Se avessi letto la notizia su un giornale (Il libro si ispira infatti ad un orr...more
Lena Hillbrand
I wish I could find a way to adequately convey my love for this book without sounding like a gushing groupie. But, I can't, so I'll soldier on with my groupie flag flying.

What can I say other than this book is amazing. I can't begin to say how amazing it is in a short review, and I'm a fair hand at wordplay. I'll do my inadequate best.

Trigell takes the story of Jack, a newly-released-from prison, twenty-something convicted child murderer--as in, he was a child when convicted of murder (the vict...more
Elizabeth
Jun 25, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of the phrase, "I saw that coming from a mile away"
Shelves: 2011
The chapters in this book are all part of the alphabet: A is for Apple. A bad apple. or my favorite, Q is for Queen. Pleasuring her majesty. Very clever indeed and they go from A to Z. The book follows the participant in a juvenile crime as he tries to start his life over. Most of the book is told from the perspective of Boy A aka Jack with only a few chapters giving voices to other characters.

We don't know what the crime is, it is doled out in alternating chapters with the present. We do know...more
Virginia
A very well constructed, well written look at the life of the young offender. Although there is a time shift, and towards the end we hear other characters' points of view, the focus is on the period post release as the boy, now adult, struggles to build a new life out of the shadows of his crime.

Trigell gives us just enough about the boy's childhood and the years in prison. He avoids plotting a heavy handed back story, which would turn the 'did he or didn't he' question into the only issue, or...more
Elizabeth
This book was incredibly heart-wrenching from start to finish. I just wanted so badly for Jack to have a second chance in life and I felt his longing for love and companionship. But the author does not let you forget about all the obstacles in his way of being 'normal' after prison, which I suppose are all part of the consequences of committing a childhood murder. And of course, the media play a strong role in this book, giving it another level of controversy.

I also enjoyed the writing style as...more
Ruth Jalfon
very tough subject matter. No one in britain can forget the awful crime 10? years ago of the two boys who lured away a younger boy from his mum in a mall and then tortured and murdered him with no seeming motive - children killing children. This book is a work of fiction about one boy who was convicted along with his friend of murdering a girl when they were all between 10-12 years old. It is mostly from the boy's perspective and tries I guess to show that there are many faces to being a human,...more
Julie
I gave up. I read most of it but I feel I was misled by the description. This is supposed to be loosely based on the story of the murder of Jamie Bulgar. He was a young child kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in England by ten year old boys. The boys were found guilty and served time. When they were released, they were given new identities for their protection. Many British people were appalled at this and felt they did not deserve the privacy.

This story brings up some of the same issues, but is...more
Jm Embate
Boy A tells the story of 'A' who as a boy was involved in a murder of a virtuous girl, which was grieved over by the entire nation and made A the object of loath and contempt by all. 'A' struggled to break away from his past and the shadows that it created, and when freed from prison, began to live in an invented identity in his new name Jack to start anew and reclaim the life that was lost to him. He finally learnt to be live, to love, to gain friends, to enjoy life, but his journey towards a '...more
Moltobene
I discovered this book through the movie, which was amazing enough to make me buy the book right when I finished it. The way we meet Jack, how he works, and how he sees the world is so intimate you can not help but feel his pain and awkwardness. The alternating chapters give a view of his past as Boy A as well as a perspective for people he has met or were involved in his eventual actions. The subject of a child murder is something that has been difficult for me to wrap my head around in reality...more
Lauren
I think I need to bury this book in my backyard so I'll be able to part with it and begin a new book. I read it in two sittings and the second I finished it, I spent another hour just rereading different chapters and scenes from the book. I can't get it off my mind!
Boy A was a great story and wonderfully written, but it's refreshing to read a book where you feel like every sentence holds such significance. In addition to the author's portrayal of Jack, I also loved the perspectives of other char...more
Ramarie
Saw the movie first, then became interested in the book. It's an interesting premise--set in England, a boy and his friend are convicted of the murder of a young girl. Fast forward about 15 years and Boy A is being released from prison. How does he transition? How does he adjust when he's stunted in social and emotional ways? The public hatred for the boys means they must establish new identities. And so Boy A comes out of prison as "Jack" and Boy B never makes it that far. While the book's a li...more
Gina
A book with the difficult subject matter of young man being released from proson after serving a sentence for murdering and abusing a little girl. It's a sympathetic portrait of the man's life which although never tries to justify his crimes does try to explain how he arrived at the crisis and explores whether he can ever forgive himself or escape his history.
I felt it was too short, and could have had a little more depth, but I think the author has succeeded in his aim - to make us aware of oth...more
M
I was hooked by this book from the first page. I cared about Boy A instantly, and my sympathy towards him just kept growing as I kept reading which, considering his background, is a sign of some first-class writing! The book is lean and pacy, with a cracking ending, and all of the characters are well-drawn and interesting. The writing sparkled and there were some really thought-provoking observations. It's a book that stays with you, and I didn't want it to end and was rooting for Boy A, regardl...more
Jackie Molloy
It mirrors the tragic story of Jamie Bulger. We meet Jack as he is released back in to society secretly after spending all his young life in institutions and prisons. He is supported by the child like faith his support officer, Terry, has in him to be a functioning member of society. Everything is difficult for Jack as he hasn’t had a life yet and he suddenly has a freedom to experience what for others are ordinary things. Of course, inevitably events catch up with him and through the unrelentin...more
Mike Puma
Sometimes, award committees get it right—often they don’t. The Pulitzer committee may leave you puzzled; the Caldecott or Newbery committees do what they must to arrive at some sort of consensus (often the lack of consensus is apparent in the staggering number of Honor books they also award). With Boy A, the 2004 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the 2005 Waverton Good Read Award committees got it right.

Told with a relentless dread, the novel presents the story of a damaged youth (Boy A) as a steady...more
Julia
"Boy A"
A child. A murderer. A 'sicko'. "THAT sicko". Evil by birth. Or a moment of madness? A torturer. Or a victim?

"Jack" - the adult, now free; free of his old identity - being given the chance to enter a new life. His real past hidden by carefully constructed 'memories' developed by his rehabilitation mentor.

Can the evil "Boy A" ever really become the ordinary "Jack Burridge" and lead a normal life?

How free is freedom when the public and media, outraged at the premature release of such a...more
Kelly
I seem to be the only person who really didn't like this book. There were so many technical problems and other instances of "bad writing" that it seems like no one edited it. For example, the author changed his point of view too often, putting us in the minds of unnecessary characters (like Elizabeth, the psychologist) and not enough in Jack's mind for me to get very involved in his story. The book is full of cliches and metaphors that are unbelievable coming from someone who's spent his whole l...more
Nancy
Jan 04, 2009 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: own
Portrait of a boy's efforts at rehabilitation and redemption after committing a horrific act as a child.Tender and moving.The characters are realistic,humane and believable.A raw and gritty insight into a sheltered life turned around.

''And,like he suspected,there is a moment,when ascension has stopped but before the drop,where everything pauses.Neither falling nor flying.An instant where time is frozen.It doesn't last as long as in the cartoons.It could be less than a second.But it's long enou
...more
Barbi
If there were half-stars, I would add an extra half-star to my rating...It was a very disturbing, interesting read, but it didn't quite live up to its full promise. The ending in particular felt rushed and unresolved, which I might have accepted if the story had only been told from one perspective. But since the book jumped around several different viewpoints, I was looking for more resolution.
Karen!
I am certainly not a fan of capital punishment. I have always been a believer, however, in the prison system. This book does a fabulous job of challenging my views of parole, trial-by-jury, press and media influence in the judicial process, trying minors as adults, and second chances.

This novel disturbed me--as it was meant to. I couldn't sleep for days.
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Jonathan Trigell is a British author. His first novel, entitled Boy A, won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 2004, the Waverton Good Read Award and the inaugural World Book Day Prize in 2008.

Jonathan completed an MA in creative writing at Manchester University in 2002. He spent most winters in Alps working in the Ski Industry and now lives in Chamonix, France.

Boy A is the story of a child criminal rel...more
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Genus Cham Boy A Boy A

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“Si ricordava, ai tempi del processo, come tutti quelli che conosceva erano rimasti sconvolti al pensiero di cosa sarebbe stato avere una figlia uccisa in quel modo. Così brutale, insensato, malvagio. Nessuno si era fermato a pensare invece, a cosa sarebbe stato avere un figlio che era l'assassino. E' per questo che i due dovevano per forza essere malvagi, essere diversi: altri, demoni. Non potevano essere quello che un bambino normale sarebbe potuto diventare, nelle stesse circostanze.” 1 person liked it
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