What do you think?
Rate this book
Drive By
Johnny and his friends have finished school for the summer. One sweltering day, on their way back from a water fight at the park, they spot an old lady who has wound them up by bursting their football. They make a bad decision. The boys pedal up to the old lady's parked car and commit a drive-by soaking, before pedalling away as quickly as they can. Revenge isn't all that's on Johnny's mind, however, as he spots an impossibly cool, black-clad, pale-skinned girl on the bus. He can't stop thinking about her, but has she even registered his existence? When Johnny discovers that the old lady suffered a heart attack after the drive-by and subsequently died, he is totally guilt-stricken. And when Johnny wakes up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, feeling a presence in his room, he believes that he's being haunted and the strain starts to show ...An incredibly dramatic, pacy novel about getting in over your head, guilt and facing up to your decisions. Jim Carrington is fast establishing himself as an accomplished writer for teens. New and existing fans alike will devour his latest offering.
397 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
5 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 30, 2012
This is my favourite so far of all Jim Carrington's books. The action takes place in London and it feels so authentic. There's a great moment where Johnny, the boy whose guilt forms the core of the story, meets up with Summer, a girl with her own secrets to uncover. The date has been anticipated for a while, but when it actually happens, there's that lovely teenager-in-the-suburbs moment when you realise the only place you can go is the food court in the mall. This novel captures the excitement and awkwardness of first love so well. This romance brings a great new dimension to the author's work, while still remaining true to the darker themes of his earlier books.
April 25, 2012
This contemporary young adult novel by Jim Carrington is an intriguing read with an unique premise. Johnny and his mates, Jake, Drac and Badger, are teenagers enjoying the freedom of summer holidays in suburban London. When a kicked ball goes astray into an elderly couple's yard the boys are indignant that they refuse to return it. A few days later the group exacts their revenge on the 'Poisoned Dwarf', drenching the woman from water guns shot through her open car window. The boys ride away laughing over the incident until Johnny discovers that the woman had a heart attack as a result of their prank. As strange things begin to happen in the dead of night, Johnny is overwhelmed by his feelings of guilt, and when the old woman dies he is haunted by the consequences of his actions. Even his new girlfriend, Summer, isn't enough to distract Johnny from his tortured thoughts, is he responsible for the murder of an old woman?
In modern society, where careless actions are too easily mitigated by pleas of "I didn't mean to do it", Drive By explores the theme of personal responsibility, asking where fault lies when a seemingly harmless prank goes wrong. When Johnny and his mates take their revenge on an elderly woman for puncturing their soccer ball, and she dies, are the boys murderers? His mates seem largely unconcerned upon hearing the old woman they nicknamed the 'Poisoned Dwarf' had a heart attack but Johnny's twinge of guilt grows exponentially when she dies shortly afterwards. It's interesting to witness Johnny wrestle with his emotions, he is haunted by the consequences of the incident and his guilty conscience is reinforced by seemingly ghostly occurrences. You never quite know if the night time incidents are simply manifestations of his guilt or if he is being haunted by the old woman or taunted by some unknown person that knows about his role in the death. It's difficult not to feel some pity for Johnny as he considers what may happen to him and how his family, mates and new girlfriend would feel if he confesses.
It is Johnny's relationship with Summer that pushes him to make a decision, their fledgling relationship comes under threat when he becomes aware that by horrible coincidence, Summer's grandmother was the 'Poisoned Dwarf'. Summer brings her own issues to the story, her father died in a car accident before she was born and while she has been led to believe it was simply a tragic accident, her grandmothers death throws the story into doubt and Summer is determined to discover who was responsible for his death.
I enjoyed Carrington's honest insight into such a complex question in Drive By and was satisfied with the conclusion. With a lesson to deliver in way that youth can relate to Drive By should probably be on every teenage boy's (and girl's) reading list, it might just be enough to make them think twice.
In modern society, where careless actions are too easily mitigated by pleas of "I didn't mean to do it", Drive By explores the theme of personal responsibility, asking where fault lies when a seemingly harmless prank goes wrong. When Johnny and his mates take their revenge on an elderly woman for puncturing their soccer ball, and she dies, are the boys murderers? His mates seem largely unconcerned upon hearing the old woman they nicknamed the 'Poisoned Dwarf' had a heart attack but Johnny's twinge of guilt grows exponentially when she dies shortly afterwards. It's interesting to witness Johnny wrestle with his emotions, he is haunted by the consequences of the incident and his guilty conscience is reinforced by seemingly ghostly occurrences. You never quite know if the night time incidents are simply manifestations of his guilt or if he is being haunted by the old woman or taunted by some unknown person that knows about his role in the death. It's difficult not to feel some pity for Johnny as he considers what may happen to him and how his family, mates and new girlfriend would feel if he confesses.
It is Johnny's relationship with Summer that pushes him to make a decision, their fledgling relationship comes under threat when he becomes aware that by horrible coincidence, Summer's grandmother was the 'Poisoned Dwarf'. Summer brings her own issues to the story, her father died in a car accident before she was born and while she has been led to believe it was simply a tragic accident, her grandmothers death throws the story into doubt and Summer is determined to discover who was responsible for his death.
I enjoyed Carrington's honest insight into such a complex question in Drive By and was satisfied with the conclusion. With a lesson to deliver in way that youth can relate to Drive By should probably be on every teenage boy's (and girl's) reading list, it might just be enough to make them think twice.
April 28, 2012
This review originally appeared on my blog Thoughts from the Hearthfire.
This is a many-layered, thought-provoking thriller for teens and up.
I enjoyed this book so much. The blurb intrigued me and - although it is a great premise - the book delivers so much more than the premise offers. What you get is a novel with real depth meditating on themes of responsibility and guilt via a pacy and thoroughly enjoyable read.
The novel is told via two first person narrators: Johnny, our hero, and Summer, the girl on the bus. Their voices and interactions are convincing as contemporary British teens, and it's easy to feel for them both as characters. Jim Carrington clearly has a good ear for dialogue, allowing him to create characters who get under your skin and have you rooting for them, in spite of their flaws. Johnny's friends are also effectively characterised and differentiated, and allow an exploration of a range of reactions to the same event. I also enjoyed Johnny's relationship with his annoying little brother - a further light touch that adds colour and shade to Johnny's character.
It's hard to classify this in terms of genre. It unfolds in a contemporary setting, over a summer holiday, and has elements of thriller and ghost story as well as romance. All these threads are expertly woven together to create a book that I would definitely recommend from young teens upwards.
This is a many-layered, thought-provoking thriller for teens and up.
I enjoyed this book so much. The blurb intrigued me and - although it is a great premise - the book delivers so much more than the premise offers. What you get is a novel with real depth meditating on themes of responsibility and guilt via a pacy and thoroughly enjoyable read.
The novel is told via two first person narrators: Johnny, our hero, and Summer, the girl on the bus. Their voices and interactions are convincing as contemporary British teens, and it's easy to feel for them both as characters. Jim Carrington clearly has a good ear for dialogue, allowing him to create characters who get under your skin and have you rooting for them, in spite of their flaws. Johnny's friends are also effectively characterised and differentiated, and allow an exploration of a range of reactions to the same event. I also enjoyed Johnny's relationship with his annoying little brother - a further light touch that adds colour and shade to Johnny's character.
It's hard to classify this in terms of genre. It unfolds in a contemporary setting, over a summer holiday, and has elements of thriller and ghost story as well as romance. All these threads are expertly woven together to create a book that I would definitely recommend from young teens upwards.
June 13, 2012
Drive By is a book by Jim Carrington. It is written in two people’s point of view: Johnny, a 16 year old boy living in London, and Summer a girl of the same age who happens to live in the same area too. Johnny leads a normal life in the beginning of the story. But then he meets a girl on the bus and immediately falls for her. They catch on very fast and before they knew it they had a date planned.
One evening, Johnny and his friends were cycling down a busy road with water guns in their hands. Johnny spotted an old lady sitting in her car outside a shop with the windows rolled down. That old lady was the same one who had deflated their football a week back. They absolutely hated her for that. So they knew exactly what to do. They immediately shot her with water and cycled away as fast as they could. They were completely satisfied with their revenge attack. But little did they know that the old lady had heart problems and got a heart attack because of the drive by soaking. When Johnny heard about the heart attack, he’s horrified. He couldn’t believe that he nearly killed somebody. But most of his friends told him to just relax. They thought that she wasn’t going to die, but unfortunately she did. Johnny could never forgive himself and he couldn’t get over the fact that he killed somebody, even though he didn’t intend for her to die.
Summer also had a few questions oh her mind. She wanted to find out about her dead dad, because she’d never met him. She visited medium along with Johnny and thought that she heard grandmother’s ghost (her grandma was dead). But she only got more curious. She listened to some tapes of her grandma talking to a medium, which filled her head with more and more questions about her dad’s death. She read an article about the car crash on the internet and got shocked when she found out that his death wasn’t exactly an accident, unlike what everyone had told her.
And everything got a lot more mixed up when Johnny found out that Summer was the old lady’s grand-daughter. Johnny started to have the feeling that he was being watched every night. When he woke up every night at the exact same time, he came to the conclusion that he was being haunted by the old lady’s ghost. He ran away from home after giving his brother a beating up because he suspected that it was brother who was playing tricks on him every night and not a ghost. In the end he decides it was too much to hide from Summer and he decided to tell her that it was him who sprayed her grandma and in a way resulted her death. He didn’t want to see her reaction and just left her a letter telling the whole story, and he went and turned himself in at the police station. But the police didn’t press charges and so he was free to go. When he got back home, his suspicion was confirmed. It was his brother, not a ghost, who kept scaring him every night.
The story is open-ended. The author doesn’t tell us what exactly Summer’s reaction was to Johnny’s confession and whether they get back together. And also Summer doesn’t find out everything about her dad like she wanted to. It was frustrating not to know what happens but I liked the book anyways. I liked the part when Johnny beat up his brother because I really thought he deserved it. I also kind of liked the part when Johnny left Summer the letter because I knew that even if they may never be together again, at least everything was clear between them. This book was pretty good and I really loved how the story was written in two points of views.
One evening, Johnny and his friends were cycling down a busy road with water guns in their hands. Johnny spotted an old lady sitting in her car outside a shop with the windows rolled down. That old lady was the same one who had deflated their football a week back. They absolutely hated her for that. So they knew exactly what to do. They immediately shot her with water and cycled away as fast as they could. They were completely satisfied with their revenge attack. But little did they know that the old lady had heart problems and got a heart attack because of the drive by soaking. When Johnny heard about the heart attack, he’s horrified. He couldn’t believe that he nearly killed somebody. But most of his friends told him to just relax. They thought that she wasn’t going to die, but unfortunately she did. Johnny could never forgive himself and he couldn’t get over the fact that he killed somebody, even though he didn’t intend for her to die.
Summer also had a few questions oh her mind. She wanted to find out about her dead dad, because she’d never met him. She visited medium along with Johnny and thought that she heard grandmother’s ghost (her grandma was dead). But she only got more curious. She listened to some tapes of her grandma talking to a medium, which filled her head with more and more questions about her dad’s death. She read an article about the car crash on the internet and got shocked when she found out that his death wasn’t exactly an accident, unlike what everyone had told her.
And everything got a lot more mixed up when Johnny found out that Summer was the old lady’s grand-daughter. Johnny started to have the feeling that he was being watched every night. When he woke up every night at the exact same time, he came to the conclusion that he was being haunted by the old lady’s ghost. He ran away from home after giving his brother a beating up because he suspected that it was brother who was playing tricks on him every night and not a ghost. In the end he decides it was too much to hide from Summer and he decided to tell her that it was him who sprayed her grandma and in a way resulted her death. He didn’t want to see her reaction and just left her a letter telling the whole story, and he went and turned himself in at the police station. But the police didn’t press charges and so he was free to go. When he got back home, his suspicion was confirmed. It was his brother, not a ghost, who kept scaring him every night.
The story is open-ended. The author doesn’t tell us what exactly Summer’s reaction was to Johnny’s confession and whether they get back together. And also Summer doesn’t find out everything about her dad like she wanted to. It was frustrating not to know what happens but I liked the book anyways. I liked the part when Johnny beat up his brother because I really thought he deserved it. I also kind of liked the part when Johnny left Summer the letter because I knew that even if they may never be together again, at least everything was clear between them. This book was pretty good and I really loved how the story was written in two points of views.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2012
Your conscience is a pretty scary thing sometimes, isn't it?
I guess all of us, at some point in their lives, have done something we shouldn't have done which led to some undesirable consequences, and that we felt guilty about it when we were afraid to take up the responsibility. Our conscience then nagged and nagged, until we probably couldn't take it anymore and just owned up to it.
The Story:
Johnny and his friends wanted to take a little revenge on an old irritating neighbour nicknamed the Poisoned Dwarf, by shooting water from water pistols as they rode their bikes past her car. A drive-by soaking, in other words. Yet when they found out she had a heart attack and later died, they felt guilty and were afraid to own up. Among the four of them, Johnny felt the worst, because it was his idea to give a drive-by soaking. As his conscience nagged at him, unexplained things started to happen to and around him.
Summer was growing bored. Her friends were not around and her sister was at university. Apart from visiting her grandparents occasionally, she hanged around town alone. When a turn of events triggered Summer to find out about her father's death, she didn't expect the process to hurt her so badly.
When Johnny and Summer crossed paths, that's when things became a little complicated.
What I Like About "Drive By":
1. It's a pageturner. I devoured the book like a zombie hungry for flesh and yet I didn't know why. It's not exactly an outstanding read, but the author did a great job at making readers fly through the pages!
2. The whole process of Johnny dealing with his guilty conscience was quite well executed, though I thought there were a couple of loopholes here and there.
3. It's a lesson to us all about taking responsibility for the wrongs we have done. Owning up can be difficult, but if we don't, we'd definitely have a hard time coping with our conscience nagging at us. It's not a nice thing to experience, really.
What I Don't:
1. I get the crossing paths idea of Johnny and Summer, but I felt that Summer's story of her father's death was awkward for the most part, except until the end of the book. It wasn't a very strong link, in my opinion.
2. I thought Summer was a little too desperate for Johnny. I've never read about a female character who would hug and kiss her 'boyfriend' on the SECOND date as a greeting.
3. The creep factor wasn't strong enough.
4. The ending wasn't satisfying. It just didn't close good enough! There were plenty of unanswered questions which wasn't a good thing at all.
Verdict:
It was a nice read, though not exactly an excellent one. Flaws abound but I still liked the 'guilty conscience' concept.
I guess all of us, at some point in their lives, have done something we shouldn't have done which led to some undesirable consequences, and that we felt guilty about it when we were afraid to take up the responsibility. Our conscience then nagged and nagged, until we probably couldn't take it anymore and just owned up to it.
The Story:
Johnny and his friends wanted to take a little revenge on an old irritating neighbour nicknamed the Poisoned Dwarf, by shooting water from water pistols as they rode their bikes past her car. A drive-by soaking, in other words. Yet when they found out she had a heart attack and later died, they felt guilty and were afraid to own up. Among the four of them, Johnny felt the worst, because it was his idea to give a drive-by soaking. As his conscience nagged at him, unexplained things started to happen to and around him.
Summer was growing bored. Her friends were not around and her sister was at university. Apart from visiting her grandparents occasionally, she hanged around town alone. When a turn of events triggered Summer to find out about her father's death, she didn't expect the process to hurt her so badly.
When Johnny and Summer crossed paths, that's when things became a little complicated.
What I Like About "Drive By":
1. It's a pageturner. I devoured the book like a zombie hungry for flesh and yet I didn't know why. It's not exactly an outstanding read, but the author did a great job at making readers fly through the pages!
2. The whole process of Johnny dealing with his guilty conscience was quite well executed, though I thought there were a couple of loopholes here and there.
3. It's a lesson to us all about taking responsibility for the wrongs we have done. Owning up can be difficult, but if we don't, we'd definitely have a hard time coping with our conscience nagging at us. It's not a nice thing to experience, really.
What I Don't:
1. I get the crossing paths idea of Johnny and Summer, but I felt that Summer's story of her father's death was awkward for the most part, except until the end of the book. It wasn't a very strong link, in my opinion.
2. I thought Summer was a little too desperate for Johnny. I've never read about a female character who would hug and kiss her 'boyfriend' on the SECOND date as a greeting.
3. The creep factor wasn't strong enough.
4. The ending wasn't satisfying. It just didn't close good enough! There were plenty of unanswered questions which wasn't a good thing at all.
Verdict:
It was a nice read, though not exactly an excellent one. Flaws abound but I still liked the 'guilty conscience' concept.
April 5, 2015
This book poses the question of responsibility. Four boys shoot their water pistols at an elderly lady who has a heart attack and dies. Are they the people responsible for her death? Johnny, one of the boys, is struck by guilt. He believes he is being haunted by the lady who they name the poisoned dwarf.
It took me a few chapters to get properly engaged with the story but I liked the interesting ethical dilemma which the characters face. The plot was thought provoking and realistic and made me question my own actions if I had been in the same situation.
A good contemporary YA by a British author who I will definitely read more by in the future.
It took me a few chapters to get properly engaged with the story but I liked the interesting ethical dilemma which the characters face. The plot was thought provoking and realistic and made me question my own actions if I had been in the same situation.
A good contemporary YA by a British author who I will definitely read more by in the future.
May 17, 2014
This was a very good, enjoyable book. I loved Johnny and felt so sorry for him - his little brother is such an evil little troll. It was a good solid storyline with really believable characters and an intriguing background mystery surrounding Summers' Grandmother and Father. Summer & Johnny's relationship was really sweet and added a nice flow to the story. The best bit of the book for me was when he confronts his brother in the middle of the night because he realizes what a fool he has made of him by playing on his guilt and his mental anguish. This is the first book I have read by this author and I will definitely try others.
May 13, 2013
I enjoyed this book and thought the plot was very interesting. A group of teenaged boys play a prank on a bad-tempered old lady and it goes terribly wrong. The boys react with varying degrees of guilt. The story gets more intriguing when one of them gets attracted to a girl who turns out to be the old lady's granddaughter. While reading the book, I kept wondering how the story would end! I was not disappointed, the story had a satisfying end.
May 31, 2013
Brilliant premise. One of those "what would you do if this happened to you?" scenarios. Believable characters. Lots of layers and some unexpected twists. A well crafted thriller that I couldn't put down.
September 20, 2014
Such a great book! I enjoyed this so much it's so great!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews