An edgy, affecting, and darkly funny debut novel — narrated by Skunk, an eleven-year-old girl in a coma — that explores innocence and i...
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Nov 17, 2011
ivana18
rated it: 
Shocking!!!!
This book jars the readers minds and emotions with the series of violent and unexpected blows. It tells the intertwining stories of three families and it reminded me of the movie Crash. I loved that movie and I absolutely love this book. It made me wonder why do some people learn how to survive and some don't.
Can a lamb learn how to fight off a lion?
Eleven year old Skunk Cunningham (love the name) is playing on the curb in front of her house (on Drummond Squ More...
This book jars the readers minds and emotions with the series of violent and unexpected blows. It tells the intertwining stories of three families and it reminded me of the movie Crash. I loved that movie and I absolutely love this book. It made me wonder why do some people learn how to survive and some don't.
Can a lamb learn how to fight off a lion?
Eleven year old Skunk Cunningham (love the name) is playing on the curb in front of her house (on Drummond Squ More...
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Jan 14, 2012
Guillaume
rated it:
Wow. This was amazing. I was really looking forward to reading this book, but I had no idea what I was in store for. Let me start by saying that I've finished this book, and I still feel in the pit of my stomach that something horrible is going to happen. Yes, it's one of those books. Now, I realize that some people are going to hate this book because a lot of the stuff that happens is a bit over the top, but to me it all seemed to be reasonable. Sure, I'd hope people don't deal with shit the wa
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Jun 04, 2008
Rob
rated it: 
Page one - what the hell am I reading?
One third through - this isn't so bad after all.
Two thirds through - damn, I can't put this down.
Epilogue - wow, what a good book.
Well, that's my mini-review. The full review goes something like this: someone recommended this first novel from a British writer to me and wasn't exactly sure how to describe it. It's part drama, part comedy, told from the perspective of an eleven year old girl. There's a lot of British slang and More...
One third through - this isn't so bad after all.
Two thirds through - damn, I can't put this down.
Epilogue - wow, what a good book.
Well, that's my mini-review. The full review goes something like this: someone recommended this first novel from a British writer to me and wasn't exactly sure how to describe it. It's part drama, part comedy, told from the perspective of an eleven year old girl. There's a lot of British slang and More...
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Jan 11, 2009
Banafsheh
rated it:
Skunk is 11 and in a coma. From her hospital bed she guides the reader through the events in her neighbourhood.
Across the street to Skunk, live the Buckleys, a mild mannered couple with their awkward son Rick. In the same square live the Oswalds, a family of foul-mouth bullies.
Saksia Oswald, out of a bet with her older sister, went for a drive with Rick Buckley, seduced him and then proceeded to humiliate him throughout the neighborhood. Later in the day, Saksia's younger More...
Across the street to Skunk, live the Buckleys, a mild mannered couple with their awkward son Rick. In the same square live the Oswalds, a family of foul-mouth bullies.
Saksia Oswald, out of a bet with her older sister, went for a drive with Rick Buckley, seduced him and then proceeded to humiliate him throughout the neighborhood. Later in the day, Saksia's younger More...
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Dec 03, 2011
Zeb
rated it: 
Don't judge a book by its cover. The girl on the cover looks about six, the one in the book is eleven. I kind of liked the style of the woodcut image on the cover. But other than that, I should have been warned by girls legs and the title both suggesting something aweful. I found the book aweful. Not just aweful because of the sadness of the story, but bad plot, badly written, full of characters that are poorly developed and altogether unlikeable. The only one who at any stage behaves like an ad
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Jun 11, 2011
Cherry
rated it: 
Broken is not a bad book. \it just seems to have aspirations beyond what it is -- or rather, what it's capable of being. It is narrated by a young girl, Skunk, as she lies in a coma and leads the reader through the chain of events that led her to this point. The problem for me is that this horrible chain of events is not inevitable -- there are many almost outlandish coincidences that conspire in the culmination of the novel, too many places where I can't believe that no one stepped in. The
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Jan 19, 2012
El
rated it:
This is one messed up little book.
I'm going to say something here now that I wasn't sure about until I finished the book and read the author interview at the end, but that I think could have helped me enjoy the book more if I had realized it sooner: This book was inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird. I thought it was obvious throughout, but then I started thinking that maybe Clay was going to try to pass it off like it's nothing like Lee's novel, and that concept turned me off. I coul More...
I'm going to say something here now that I wasn't sure about until I finished the book and read the author interview at the end, but that I think could have helped me enjoy the book more if I had realized it sooner: This book was inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird. I thought it was obvious throughout, but then I started thinking that maybe Clay was going to try to pass it off like it's nothing like Lee's novel, and that concept turned me off. I coul More...
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Dec 06, 2011
Miranda
rated it:
Skunk Cunningham was a bright, curious young girl who was full of energy. She spent most of her free time playing Xbox with her brother Jed and dreaming of her beloved teacher Mr. Jefferies. One afternoon while playing, Skunk and Jed witness a fight between their neighbors. Bob Oswald a loud, widowed biker guy who enjoyed loud music, drugs and drinking ran across the square and beat Rick Buckley nearly to death.
After the incident and a demeaning investigation including a physical ex More...
After the incident and a demeaning investigation including a physical ex More...
Jan 13, 2012
Dani (Voguedotcom)
rated it:
Like this review? I have more! Come and follow me at Pen to Paper.
This review is going to be a difficult one to write, I think. It may be a good idea for readers of this review to keep reminding themselves of the four star rating that I have given the book. This may get confusing.
I do want everyone reading this to remember that I did like this book. It was compelling, poignant, and gripping throughout. It had deeply affected me by the time I was finished, and it is something More...
This review is going to be a difficult one to write, I think. It may be a good idea for readers of this review to keep reminding themselves of the four star rating that I have given the book. This may get confusing.
I do want everyone reading this to remember that I did like this book. It was compelling, poignant, and gripping throughout. It had deeply affected me by the time I was finished, and it is something More...
Aug 12, 2010
Courtney
rated it:
After the first few pages, I was turned off by how much Clay was trying to imitate To Kill a Mockingbird in such an obvious manner (i.e. solicitor Archie being the father of Jed and Skunk) but it turned out to be a lot more than that.
There were a couple of things that I thought could have been better. One was the way Clay developed Skunk's character. It's clear he was never an 11 year old girl. He made her thoughts seem way too elementary. Another thing that threw me off was the lan More...
There were a couple of things that I thought could have been better. One was the way Clay developed Skunk's character. It's clear he was never an 11 year old girl. He made her thoughts seem way too elementary. Another thing that threw me off was the lan More...
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Apr 19, 2009
Karen
rated it:
The author states that this book is his version of To Kill a Mocking Bird. And yes those similarities are present. But I believe the story is good enough to stand on its own.
The story follows the lives of three families and how one bad apple can can rot the whole bunch. I found myself completely engrossed with this story getting quite mad at one family in particular. The Oswald family, the bad apples. They are the ones put there to tear down everything. At times the things this family get More...
The story follows the lives of three families and how one bad apple can can rot the whole bunch. I found myself completely engrossed with this story getting quite mad at one family in particular. The Oswald family, the bad apples. They are the ones put there to tear down everything. At times the things this family get More...
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Apr 14, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
I have to say I enjoyed this book more than an average 3 star rating would allow and was impressed that "To Kill a Mockingbird" was author Daniel Clay's main inspiration for finishing this 'debut' novel (he'd written others that just weren't published).
What truly works is the third-person omniscient POV and then also getting snippets of young Skunk's POV as she floats in limbo between life and death while in a coma. The characters are well developed, even the ones you desp More...
What truly works is the third-person omniscient POV and then also getting snippets of young Skunk's POV as she floats in limbo between life and death while in a coma. The characters are well developed, even the ones you desp More...
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Jan 10, 2009
Teresa
rated it:
fabulous book, made me laugh, made me cry (especially at the end). I'm not usually a fan of modern British novels especially those with chav type characters but this novel really drew me in and in the end I even felt a bit sorry for the head of the Oswald family (evil incarnate!) This is a real roller coaster first novel, not for the faint hearted but I feel the denouement leaves the reader with some sort of hope for the future or maybe I'm too much of an optimist!
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Feb 03, 2012
Erin
rated it:
I picked this book up for $4.00 at a used book store. The cover is what drew me in, I love it. Then, I read that it was inspired by 'To Kill a Mockingbird', one of my favorites. This is a classic case of 'don't judge a book by it's cover'. I actually want my $4.00 back.
The synopsis made it sound like a pretty good book. A neighborhood mystery. I started reading it and saw that the main character and narrator was in a coma, that just intrigued me more. Sadly, that was the high point a More...
The synopsis made it sound like a pretty good book. A neighborhood mystery. I started reading it and saw that the main character and narrator was in a coma, that just intrigued me more. Sadly, that was the high point a More...
May 31, 2009
Shirley
rated it:
Excellent book by a first time novelist. It's about a family who lives across from a violent single father of 5 girls. One day Skunk Cunningham sees her teenage neighbour get beat up by the single father. One of the daughters had lied and accused the teenage boy of raping him. Then everything goes haywire as the book follows the various characters in the neighbourhood.
The author said he was inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird. Skunk is Scout, her brother Jed is Jem, and their gyp More...
The author said he was inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird. Skunk is Scout, her brother Jed is Jem, and their gyp More...
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Aug 10, 2009
Katrina
rated it:
Page one - what in the world is going on?
One third through - this isn't so bad after all.
Two thirds through - damn, I can't put this down.
Epilogue - wow, what a good book.
Well, that's my mini-review. The full review goes something like this: someone recommended this first novel from a British writer to me and wasn't exactly sure how to describe it. It's part drama, part comedy, told from the perspective of an eleven year old girl. There's a lot of British sla More...
One third through - this isn't so bad after all.
Two thirds through - damn, I can't put this down.
Epilogue - wow, what a good book.
Well, that's my mini-review. The full review goes something like this: someone recommended this first novel from a British writer to me and wasn't exactly sure how to describe it. It's part drama, part comedy, told from the perspective of an eleven year old girl. There's a lot of British sla More...
Nov 14, 2011
Cazna
rated it:
Totally and utterly enjoyed Broken. It did not bother me in the slightest that there was a slight mirroring of To Kill A Mockingbird, in fact Other than Jed being a lawyer and his daughter being just absolutely gorgeous, for me, the comparison ended there. I didn't think this to be a comedy or a tragedy. Maybe a bit between the two. To me it was a true to life exploration as to how one can crumble at the slightest slur, some are stronger than others. I felt most for Brokens dad and the poor
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May 06, 2009
Paula
rated it:
The writing was decent and the characters were interesting but it was the plot that was most compelling. I kept reading because I was hoping the more vicious characters would get what was coming to them, that there would be some justice. Unfortunately, the book, like life sometimes, didn't work out that way. It was unbearably grim with just the barest spark of hope at the very end, which is why I gave it only one star.
The author admits that Broken was greatly influenced by To Kil More...
The author admits that Broken was greatly influenced by To Kil More...
Jul 02, 2011
Many8
rated it:
...A che gli è servito l'amore? Amore. È solo una parola di cinque lettere, una cosa cattiva, brutta, devastante...
la frase che ho scelto per citare il libro è questa, e con altre due o tre sono le più belle e quelle più introspettive.
Malgrado le belle parole non ho apprezzato molto questo libro; lo stile dell'autore a volte è scorrevole, altre invece può essere ripetitivo. Una storia che inizia col come della bambina e poi racconta tutta la sua storia: sinceramente non mi sono im More...
la frase che ho scelto per citare il libro è questa, e con altre due o tre sono le più belle e quelle più introspettive.
Malgrado le belle parole non ho apprezzato molto questo libro; lo stile dell'autore a volte è scorrevole, altre invece può essere ripetitivo. Una storia che inizia col come della bambina e poi racconta tutta la sua storia: sinceramente non mi sono im More...
Jul 20, 2009
Emma
rated it:
Firstly, I wish to say, that this is one of the most original, intriguing and eerie books I have read in a long time. I was literally holding my breath most of the time. Spooky, real characters and shocking plot lines, that left you unsettled but weirdly enough, craving more.
Brief synopsis:
In a small, England town, a story plays out of the Oswalds, a low-life and intimidating family, who, through a series of shocking events, have driven 'Broken Buckley' to a point of utter dist More...
Brief synopsis:
In a small, England town, a story plays out of the Oswalds, a low-life and intimidating family, who, through a series of shocking events, have driven 'Broken Buckley' to a point of utter dist More...
Apr 28, 2009
Chandani
rated it:
Amazing. Simply breathtaking. With a childish and innocent voice taking us through skunks life, it reminded me of to Kill a mockingbird, yet this amazing author was able to alternate to the helpess hopeless and dying girl that Skunk became after her encounters. It took us through the sex, love and confusion of life on Dummond, Square, and it redefined what innocence was for me, and it reminded me how few of us still have it, and how lucky we are. Oh my goodness i simply do not have enough words
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Nov 11, 2011
Zoom
rated it:
I liked this book, and found myself eager to get back to it each day. The characters were interesting, the storyline was intriguing, and the writing was good (although it tended to be repetitive in places). I would have given it four stars if the ending had been more satisfying; I found it anticlimactic.
I also found the parallels between this book and To Kill a Mockingbird a little too contrived. For example, the main characters in TKAM were Scout, Jem, and their lawyer dad Atticus. More...
I also found the parallels between this book and To Kill a Mockingbird a little too contrived. For example, the main characters in TKAM were Scout, Jem, and their lawyer dad Atticus. More...
Apr 27, 2010
Heather
rated it:
Definitely not for the faint of heart, not only because of the copious profanity and painful bully scenes, but also because of the heart wrenching finale. If you take To Kill a Mockingbird (the main character's name is Skunk, her brother is named Jed, her friend is Dillon, and then there is Broken) and set it in modern day South London, mix in a little Silence of the Lambs and a little Heavenly Bones, then you get a pretty good idea of what this novel reads like. It is certainly very unique an
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Feb 04, 2012
Matt
rated it:
I don't remember what made me want to read Broken, it may have been sheer luck, but whatever the reason it's one of the best literary finds I've made in many years. You'll be able to see the clear and distinct correlation between this story and Daniel Clay's inspiration, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
Skunk Cunningham is 11 years-old. Things on her suburban square seem somewhat normal until one day while playing she watches the neighborhood goon Bob Oswald walk down the street an More...
Skunk Cunningham is 11 years-old. Things on her suburban square seem somewhat normal until one day while playing she watches the neighborhood goon Bob Oswald walk down the street an More...
Sep 23, 2008
Tara
rated it: 
I have to say, while I really enjoyed this story for the nature of its own content, I was a little disappointed by the alliteration to Mockingbird. I know, I know, the WHOLE point was that it WAS alliterating to Mockingbird.
Call me a purist, but one of the things that really drives Mockingbird is the nature of the ear in which the story takes place. Murder, assault, and rape can happen under any cicumstances, but the Southern ideal of race and class structure drives the alleged rape More...
Call me a purist, but one of the things that really drives Mockingbird is the nature of the ear in which the story takes place. Murder, assault, and rape can happen under any cicumstances, but the Southern ideal of race and class structure drives the alleged rape More...
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Oct 02, 2008
Kerri
rated it:
I LOVED THIS BOOK. I have a feeling though that I'm going to rave about this book and other people will pick it up and say "it was ok."
In a novel with no chapters, Daniel Clay introduces us to Skunk Cunningham, an innocent, curious, loveable young girl who might remind you of Scout Finch from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. In fact, Clay actually acknowledge's the book in the end. Skunk (I know Seana, I know), witnesses her terrifying, bully of a neighbor More...
In a novel with no chapters, Daniel Clay introduces us to Skunk Cunningham, an innocent, curious, loveable young girl who might remind you of Scout Finch from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. In fact, Clay actually acknowledge's the book in the end. Skunk (I know Seana, I know), witnesses her terrifying, bully of a neighbor More...
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Dec 20, 2011
Andy
rated it:
Personally I loved this book. I will be honest in saying it was the first book I have ever read on my own accord. Though what is sad is almost all of the books I have read after this... seem to lack character and emotion. This book to me wasn't shocking, but it was just a GOOD book. And I cried like a baby at the end. Loved it.
The biggest reason I liked it was because I tend to like darker books now. Books more like Fight Club or Lunar Park by Ellis. But this book is still in my top
The biggest reason I liked it was because I tend to like darker books now. Books more like Fight Club or Lunar Park by Ellis. But this book is still in my top
Jul 28, 2011
Derek
rated it:
Certainly a truthful novel, giving an honest account of what it's like to live in modern England, particularly if you happen to have a houseful of people who think an ASBO is a sign of honour down the road. But the over-written stream of consciousness sections, in particular those for Broken Buckey, and for Skunk, are much too reminiscent of the bits of Stephen King novels that you skip through because they are so irritating. Even so, this is worth a read.
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Apr 17, 2009
Emma
rated it:
The cover of this book caught my eye as soon as I stepped in the store so I felt compelled to buy it. I was initially disappointed and annoyed by the parallels to "To Kill a Mockingbird." After a few chapters, however, it began to tell its own story. I enjoyed it. I think I read a brief review that praised the novel for its ability to connect the reader with the complicated world children face. That is what I liked the most.
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Jul 27, 2011
I couldn't really get into this book until I stopped thinking about the author's comparison to "To Kill a Mockingbird". "Broken" stands up well on its own as a fairly interesting and suspenseful story about social issues so I found the comparison unnecessary. There also aren't many sympathetic characters in this story but by the time I hit the halfway point I did find myself unable to put the book down.
