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Junk
Two teens fall in love with each other and heroin. Tar has reasons for running away from home that run deep and sour, whereas Gemma, with her middle-class roots firmly on show, has a deep-rooted lust for adventure. Their first hit brings bliss, the next despair.
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 1996
360 people are currently reading
17914 people want to read
About the author
Melvin Burgess
92 books434 followersMelvin Burgess is a British author of children's fiction. His first book, The Cry of the Wolf, was published in 1990. He gained a certain amount of notoriety in 1996 with the publication of Junk, which was published in the shadow of the film of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, and dealt with the trendy and controversial idea of heroin-addicted teenagers. Junk soon became, at least in Britain, one of the best-known children's books of the decade.
Burgess again courted predictable controversy in 2003, with the publication of Doing It, which dealt with underage sex. America created a show based on the book, Life As We Know It. In his other books, such as Bloodtide and The Ghost Behind the Wall, Burgess has dealt with less realist and sometimes fantastic themes. In 2001 Burgess wrote the novelisation of the film Billy Elliot, based on Lee Hall's screenplay. Polyphony is typical for his most famous novels.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/melvin...
Burgess again courted predictable controversy in 2003, with the publication of Doing It, which dealt with underage sex. America created a show based on the book, Life As We Know It. In his other books, such as Bloodtide and The Ghost Behind the Wall, Burgess has dealt with less realist and sometimes fantastic themes. In 2001 Burgess wrote the novelisation of the film Billy Elliot, based on Lee Hall's screenplay. Polyphony is typical for his most famous novels.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/melvin...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,048 reviews
November 26, 2018
"Not suitable for younger readers" - the warning on the back cover is well worth taking seriously.
A classic and well-deserving Carnegie Medal winner, Junk is painful to read for the reason that it is truthful, accurate and told in the voices of young people falling victim to heroin addiction. They go through the various phases of invincibility delusion, adjustment to ever sinking standards, criminal behaviour, prostitution, desperate pain and physical downward spiralling while telling their life stories through their teenage perspective.
It strongly reminded me of the true story of Christiane F., whose witness account on teenage drug addiction in Berlin in the 1970s was made into a book and later into a film, Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo. It haunted me for years after I read it in my early adolescence, and it leaves me pondering on what to do with Junk. Should I let my students and children read it? It is very good, and it will hardly trigger a healthy and stable young adult to try drugs. But it is a brutal account of violence and prostitution, and it might leave them with nightmares. Should one shield teenagers from the worst hardships, or let them discover the world in all its ugliness?
That question always comes up when the American Library Association announces the latest banned or challenged books in school libraries. Most of the time, it concerns sexuality, bad language, violence or politically motivated messages. But this is teenage health and wellbeing potentially at risk.
I guess there is no definitive answer to what is suitable for young adults, but I tend towards letting them read whatever interests them, while being ready in the background to talk to them and offer a platform for reflection.
I will go with Oscar Wilde:
"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.
Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."
This one is well written.
A classic and well-deserving Carnegie Medal winner, Junk is painful to read for the reason that it is truthful, accurate and told in the voices of young people falling victim to heroin addiction. They go through the various phases of invincibility delusion, adjustment to ever sinking standards, criminal behaviour, prostitution, desperate pain and physical downward spiralling while telling their life stories through their teenage perspective.
It strongly reminded me of the true story of Christiane F., whose witness account on teenage drug addiction in Berlin in the 1970s was made into a book and later into a film, Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo. It haunted me for years after I read it in my early adolescence, and it leaves me pondering on what to do with Junk. Should I let my students and children read it? It is very good, and it will hardly trigger a healthy and stable young adult to try drugs. But it is a brutal account of violence and prostitution, and it might leave them with nightmares. Should one shield teenagers from the worst hardships, or let them discover the world in all its ugliness?
That question always comes up when the American Library Association announces the latest banned or challenged books in school libraries. Most of the time, it concerns sexuality, bad language, violence or politically motivated messages. But this is teenage health and wellbeing potentially at risk.
I guess there is no definitive answer to what is suitable for young adults, but I tend towards letting them read whatever interests them, while being ready in the background to talk to them and offer a platform for reflection.
I will go with Oscar Wilde:
"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.
Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."
This one is well written.
July 1, 2016
5 Words: Toxic, addiction, manipulation, love, realisation.
This book is one of my favourites of all time. It's so real and brave and gritty and it's UKYA at its absolute prime. It's difficult and challenging.
At the start, I always love Tar and hate Gemma. By the end I've always changed my mind about both of them. This book allows me to empathise with a type of person I would usually avoid at all costs.
Gemma is probably my favourite character, even though I can't stand her (at all!) at the beginning.
As shocking as this book is, as controversial as the subject matter is, that isn't what the book is about. The book is about relationships and growing and trying to find yourself. That the main characters are all junkies is just a fact, something that makes the whole process a little harder.
I think Junk is a book that everyone should read at least once.
This book is one of my favourites of all time. It's so real and brave and gritty and it's UKYA at its absolute prime. It's difficult and challenging.
At the start, I always love Tar and hate Gemma. By the end I've always changed my mind about both of them. This book allows me to empathise with a type of person I would usually avoid at all costs.
Gemma is probably my favourite character, even though I can't stand her (at all!) at the beginning.
As shocking as this book is, as controversial as the subject matter is, that isn't what the book is about. The book is about relationships and growing and trying to find yourself. That the main characters are all junkies is just a fact, something that makes the whole process a little harder.
I think Junk is a book that everyone should read at least once.
July 10, 2023
Reread 2023: I still state that this is one of the first YA novels, and it's influence opened up so many doors and helped shape the world of YA into what it is today.
Original review (but still a reread): Another find from my mother's house. I think this was the first true 'young adult' book I read at the age of 11 and it really opened my eyes to what the world truely had to offer outside of my fantasy bubble. Themes involved recreational drug abuse, squatting, prostitution and underage pregnancy. At the time there were no books really aimed at young adults, and I think this was certainly a pioneer in offering young readers a more mature theme, with the confidence that they were emotionally ready for this kind of content. I know I was deeply affected by the story, to the point where I even wrote an email (with dial up, so I had to put some effort in) to Melvin Burgess asking about the fate of Lily, Tar and Gemma. I got a reply too. I read it pretty much every year up until I was 18.
So thank you, Melvin Burgess. I owe you a lot.
Original review (but still a reread): Another find from my mother's house. I think this was the first true 'young adult' book I read at the age of 11 and it really opened my eyes to what the world truely had to offer outside of my fantasy bubble. Themes involved recreational drug abuse, squatting, prostitution and underage pregnancy. At the time there were no books really aimed at young adults, and I think this was certainly a pioneer in offering young readers a more mature theme, with the confidence that they were emotionally ready for this kind of content. I know I was deeply affected by the story, to the point where I even wrote an email (with dial up, so I had to put some effort in) to Melvin Burgess asking about the fate of Lily, Tar and Gemma. I got a reply too. I read it pretty much every year up until I was 18.
So thank you, Melvin Burgess. I owe you a lot.
October 19, 2010
Junk is the drugs book against which I judge all drugs books, and so far nothing’s come close to matching Melvin Burgess’s unflinching portrayal of Bristol’s City Road in the 1980s through a heroin-addled lens.
Burgess has no time for either hushed, poetic contemplations on heroin or clumsy, moralistic incitements to Just Say No. Without pretension, he wades into his milieu – with its squats, street kids and punk music – and matter-of-factly delivers a taut, compelling drama. Two naive 14-year-olds (poor, abused Tar, the son of two alcoholics, and his restless, reckless girlfriend, Gemma) run away from home and, over the course of the novel, they drift into drug addiction and slowly dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole out of which they can’t climb.
However miserable their comedown, Burgess doesn’t cheat and pretend there’s any black-and-white to be found in heroin addiction: the initial sense of freedom is intense, the good times are sweet and the friendships genuine. The characterisation is sharp and wonderful, which helps to stop the novel from devolving into either a morality tale or a dark fantasy sequence. The teenagers feel like teenagers – lofty know-it-alls – until, gradually, the reader realises they’ve been beaten down into adulthood.
Even peripheral characters like old codger Skolly or do-gooder Richard are nuanced, displaying both sympathetic quirks and hard-to-like weaknesses. Burgess skilfully uses first-person narrative to catch his characters in their lies and contradictions. It adds an important layer to what, at other times, feels like a straightforward teen novel.
I hadn’t read Junk for a few years and I wondered if some of its gleam might have worn off for me. But no. I’m still mesmerized by Lilly in her string vest; I still catch myself hoping that the perfection of the characters’ heroin highs can last forever; I still sob at the broken pieces that are left at the end.
Burgess has no time for either hushed, poetic contemplations on heroin or clumsy, moralistic incitements to Just Say No. Without pretension, he wades into his milieu – with its squats, street kids and punk music – and matter-of-factly delivers a taut, compelling drama. Two naive 14-year-olds (poor, abused Tar, the son of two alcoholics, and his restless, reckless girlfriend, Gemma) run away from home and, over the course of the novel, they drift into drug addiction and slowly dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole out of which they can’t climb.
However miserable their comedown, Burgess doesn’t cheat and pretend there’s any black-and-white to be found in heroin addiction: the initial sense of freedom is intense, the good times are sweet and the friendships genuine. The characterisation is sharp and wonderful, which helps to stop the novel from devolving into either a morality tale or a dark fantasy sequence. The teenagers feel like teenagers – lofty know-it-alls – until, gradually, the reader realises they’ve been beaten down into adulthood.
Even peripheral characters like old codger Skolly or do-gooder Richard are nuanced, displaying both sympathetic quirks and hard-to-like weaknesses. Burgess skilfully uses first-person narrative to catch his characters in their lies and contradictions. It adds an important layer to what, at other times, feels like a straightforward teen novel.
I hadn’t read Junk for a few years and I wondered if some of its gleam might have worn off for me. But no. I’m still mesmerized by Lilly in her string vest; I still catch myself hoping that the perfection of the characters’ heroin highs can last forever; I still sob at the broken pieces that are left at the end.
Read
July 28, 2011I’m conflicted about this book.
On the one hard, it’s absolutely brilliant. It really is. It’s slow to start, but after the first chapter I was pulled in and just kept turning page after page. I was desperate to know what happened next. The character voices sang to me – sang to me through the pages.
On the other hand, the subject matter.
I’m not one to mark a book down purely because of the subject matter. This deals with teenager runaways, teenage junkies, spoilt bitches who get everything they ever wanted…
What worries me is that there’s not really enough of an impact. Not enough goes wrong. There’s not enough to dissuade young impressionable minds from using drugs, from dipping in, from experimenting with needles and tablets and powder.
Now, I’m not an impressionable teenage mind. I’ve never done drugs, never smoked, and I only drink alcohol once in a blue moon. I’m 24 years old.
But, in light of recent events to deal with my personal situation, I have contemplated self-harm.
I thought about cutting myself when I was so deep into stress, anxiety, and depression. And I only thought about it because from everything I’ve read, it’s not actually that bad. It helps with release. It helps make you feel better. Sure, you scar up afterwards, but I was looking for something to help me deal with my situation (which, in case you’re wondering, is this: I’m Australian, and I’m as good as trapped in shitty-town England for the foreseeable future. Which is not fun. There’s a lot of other factors contributing but that’s the main one.)
I didn’t do it. By complete chance I accidentally opened a vein in my leg and bled all over my bathroom. My fiancée kept me calm and we eventually managed to close the vein. But the sight of all that blood scared me off thinking of cutting myself anymore.
By the way, if you’re reading this? Don’t cut yourself. I am being completely honest when I say there are better ways of dealing with things. You don’t have to harm yourself to feel better. You don’t have to starve yourself or get drunk or shoot up. Talk to someone you trust and they will help you through whatever shit it is that you’re going through.
But I was reading the book I was appalled, because here are a bunch of strong-voiced characters telling us how easy it is to get into drugs, how good it makes you feel, how easy it is to quit and pick you life back up.. The kids run away from home – one from an abusive family and the other because she’s a bratty spoiled little bitch who only wants her own way – and at the end of the book . That’s what bothers me.
What if someone younger and more impressionable than I picks up this book, sees how apparently easy it is to dabble in drugs, and decides to experiment themselves? What if they fuck it up – because it’s just not as simple as the book makes it seem.
I suppose that’s why this book was challenged and talked about going on the banned list for a while. Because of the message it sends.
But it also won a Carnegie Medal, so what the fuck do I know?
I only know that I wouldn’t want my children to read this. I’d only want other adults, adults who know who they are and what they want out of life to read it. Adults who have decided whether or not they’re into drugs, alcohol, self-harm. Adults who won’t be swayed by such a sweet message.
And I doubt that was the message, to be honest. The book’s not advocating drug use. It’s supposed to be some sort of warning. It’s supposed to turn kids off wanting to do drugs.
I only know that if I had read it when I was younger, maybe I wouldn’t have had the strength to say no when something was offered to me.
And truth be told, it really is an amazing book. Each character has such a distinct voice – and we jump around rather a lot. From a purely technical point of view, I don’t like how many different characters we jump into the POV from. Some of them seem completely irrelevant, telling a piece of the story that could have easily been told by someone else and therefore reduced the cast of characters. But then, I realised that each and every character has something important to say. Whether it’s a junkie trying to come down off a high or a lonely shopkeeper who visits prostitutes. It reflects the real world – Burgess even says so himself in a foreword: This is based on real stories, real events, and real people. People admit things in this book that they’d try to keep hidden from the other characters. Weakness. Shame. Regret.
I had to put it down about half way through. I was fully expecting the appearance of the heroin, but I wasn’t expecting the Now, don’t call me a hypocrite. I do some pretty awful things to my own characters. But those awful things happen in a high fantasy setting: it’s always a bit distant from a story set in the real world, based on real damn events.
Characters are never given an introduction. They just randomly show up. At one point, I was wondering who the fuck one character was and it turns out it was . Time jumps forward in increments from a few minutes to a few months. I could never keep in my head how old they were. Those are the technical issues I had with the book, but I don’t think it’s enough to reduce a star. Eventually you could figure everything out.
I suppose when it comes down to it, I didn’t even really like the characters, either. Gemma’s a selfish bitch. Tar’s weak. The other characters dance around the edges giving us their point of view when all I really want to do is read more about how Gem and Tar are fucking up their lives. I suppose I take one star off a five star rating because that promise never came to be. I was disappointed. But still, I loved this book so much and I think it is important that it be read – and yeah, maybe even teenagers SHOULD read it, so long as it’s with a guided discussion about it as well so they can dissect what happens in the book and come to the conclusion that is Don’t Do Drugs.
And I know I’m probably not in the best place to be reviewing such a hard-hitting book because of this situational depression I’m in, but I want to hug it to my chest and the same time burst into tears.
On the one hard, it’s absolutely brilliant. It really is. It’s slow to start, but after the first chapter I was pulled in and just kept turning page after page. I was desperate to know what happened next. The character voices sang to me – sang to me through the pages.
On the other hand, the subject matter.
I’m not one to mark a book down purely because of the subject matter. This deals with teenager runaways, teenage junkies, spoilt bitches who get everything they ever wanted…
What worries me is that there’s not really enough of an impact. Not enough goes wrong. There’s not enough to dissuade young impressionable minds from using drugs, from dipping in, from experimenting with needles and tablets and powder.
Now, I’m not an impressionable teenage mind. I’ve never done drugs, never smoked, and I only drink alcohol once in a blue moon. I’m 24 years old.
But, in light of recent events to deal with my personal situation, I have contemplated self-harm.
I thought about cutting myself when I was so deep into stress, anxiety, and depression. And I only thought about it because from everything I’ve read, it’s not actually that bad. It helps with release. It helps make you feel better. Sure, you scar up afterwards, but I was looking for something to help me deal with my situation (which, in case you’re wondering, is this: I’m Australian, and I’m as good as trapped in shitty-town England for the foreseeable future. Which is not fun. There’s a lot of other factors contributing but that’s the main one.)
I didn’t do it. By complete chance I accidentally opened a vein in my leg and bled all over my bathroom. My fiancée kept me calm and we eventually managed to close the vein. But the sight of all that blood scared me off thinking of cutting myself anymore.
By the way, if you’re reading this? Don’t cut yourself. I am being completely honest when I say there are better ways of dealing with things. You don’t have to harm yourself to feel better. You don’t have to starve yourself or get drunk or shoot up. Talk to someone you trust and they will help you through whatever shit it is that you’re going through.
But I was reading the book I was appalled, because here are a bunch of strong-voiced characters telling us how easy it is to get into drugs, how good it makes you feel, how easy it is to quit and pick you life back up.. The kids run away from home – one from an abusive family and the other because she’s a bratty spoiled little bitch who only wants her own way – and at the end of the book . That’s what bothers me.
What if someone younger and more impressionable than I picks up this book, sees how apparently easy it is to dabble in drugs, and decides to experiment themselves? What if they fuck it up – because it’s just not as simple as the book makes it seem.
I suppose that’s why this book was challenged and talked about going on the banned list for a while. Because of the message it sends.
But it also won a Carnegie Medal, so what the fuck do I know?
I only know that I wouldn’t want my children to read this. I’d only want other adults, adults who know who they are and what they want out of life to read it. Adults who have decided whether or not they’re into drugs, alcohol, self-harm. Adults who won’t be swayed by such a sweet message.
And I doubt that was the message, to be honest. The book’s not advocating drug use. It’s supposed to be some sort of warning. It’s supposed to turn kids off wanting to do drugs.
I only know that if I had read it when I was younger, maybe I wouldn’t have had the strength to say no when something was offered to me.
And truth be told, it really is an amazing book. Each character has such a distinct voice – and we jump around rather a lot. From a purely technical point of view, I don’t like how many different characters we jump into the POV from. Some of them seem completely irrelevant, telling a piece of the story that could have easily been told by someone else and therefore reduced the cast of characters. But then, I realised that each and every character has something important to say. Whether it’s a junkie trying to come down off a high or a lonely shopkeeper who visits prostitutes. It reflects the real world – Burgess even says so himself in a foreword: This is based on real stories, real events, and real people. People admit things in this book that they’d try to keep hidden from the other characters. Weakness. Shame. Regret.
I had to put it down about half way through. I was fully expecting the appearance of the heroin, but I wasn’t expecting the Now, don’t call me a hypocrite. I do some pretty awful things to my own characters. But those awful things happen in a high fantasy setting: it’s always a bit distant from a story set in the real world, based on real damn events.
Characters are never given an introduction. They just randomly show up. At one point, I was wondering who the fuck one character was and it turns out it was . Time jumps forward in increments from a few minutes to a few months. I could never keep in my head how old they were. Those are the technical issues I had with the book, but I don’t think it’s enough to reduce a star. Eventually you could figure everything out.
I suppose when it comes down to it, I didn’t even really like the characters, either. Gemma’s a selfish bitch. Tar’s weak. The other characters dance around the edges giving us their point of view when all I really want to do is read more about how Gem and Tar are fucking up their lives. I suppose I take one star off a five star rating because that promise never came to be. I was disappointed. But still, I loved this book so much and I think it is important that it be read – and yeah, maybe even teenagers SHOULD read it, so long as it’s with a guided discussion about it as well so they can dissect what happens in the book and come to the conclusion that is Don’t Do Drugs.
And I know I’m probably not in the best place to be reviewing such a hard-hitting book because of this situational depression I’m in, but I want to hug it to my chest and the same time burst into tears.
November 13, 2022
Now first and foremost, with regard to Melvin Burgess's homelessness and drug abuse/drug addiction themed young adult novel Junk (which won the 1996 Carnegie Medal and is known as Smack in the United States), while I can on an academic and intellectual level totally and absolutely appreciate WHY Junk won the Carnegie (and that I have certainly found my perusal of Burgess's narrative enlightening in an informational kind of manner), I also have to admit that I have not at all found ANYTHING even remotely a reading pleasure in Junk and that I in fact only managed to finish reading Junk because I am trying to read all of the or at least as much of the Carnegie novels as possible from the inception of the Carnegie Medal in 1936 until now, until 2022. Because honestly, for me personally, how Melvin Burgess in Junk textually puts a group of teenage runaways and squatters through four absolutely nightmarish years of heroin addiction, well, this is simply so far removed from both my reading interest and even more from my personal comfort level that I really have found my time with Junk horribly, terribly painful and often majorly disgust and horror inducing (and thus not at all joy creating), and that reading how Tar and his girlfriend Gemma run away from their families and their small English town to the big city, to Bristol and get involved not only with anarchical punks and other newly found but questionable acquaintances but also with heroin really just makes me want to scream.
But even though Junk has been pretty much a reading chore/horror and that (as mentioned above) I had to often really force myself to continue my perusal, there is also something rather strangely and oddly compelling in Junk and how with the multiple narrators, Melvin Burgess realistically and with a clear and present anti-drug message chronicles how substance abuse starts and how at least in its initial stages, there is usually something irresistible and even seemingly wonderful to it, but that what follows is of course devastatingly destructive, with the teenaged runaways and varied narrators of Junk being shown by the author, being described by Burgess as totally losing their souls, their personalities, their self-respect (although throughout Junk Melvin Burgess also never judges his characters and also never pontificates, which does for and to me make the anti-drug use stance hiding below the surface of Junk much stronger and much more persuasively believable, much more compellingly tragic, as is the fact that in the author's note Burgess points out that albeit his story is fictional, Junk is in fact loosely based on actual people and incidents).
And thus, even though on a personal reading pleasure level, I have really not found Junk all that appealing, I do still consider Melvin Burgess' story both internally and externally well written and presenting important textual details on in particular how heroin both seduces and destroys, and therefore, a solid three stars for Junk (and I also hope that during the recent book banning frenzies in especially some US states, that Junk, that Smack is not going to fall too much afoul of the puritanicals).
But even though Junk has been pretty much a reading chore/horror and that (as mentioned above) I had to often really force myself to continue my perusal, there is also something rather strangely and oddly compelling in Junk and how with the multiple narrators, Melvin Burgess realistically and with a clear and present anti-drug message chronicles how substance abuse starts and how at least in its initial stages, there is usually something irresistible and even seemingly wonderful to it, but that what follows is of course devastatingly destructive, with the teenaged runaways and varied narrators of Junk being shown by the author, being described by Burgess as totally losing their souls, their personalities, their self-respect (although throughout Junk Melvin Burgess also never judges his characters and also never pontificates, which does for and to me make the anti-drug use stance hiding below the surface of Junk much stronger and much more persuasively believable, much more compellingly tragic, as is the fact that in the author's note Burgess points out that albeit his story is fictional, Junk is in fact loosely based on actual people and incidents).
And thus, even though on a personal reading pleasure level, I have really not found Junk all that appealing, I do still consider Melvin Burgess' story both internally and externally well written and presenting important textual details on in particular how heroin both seduces and destroys, and therefore, a solid three stars for Junk (and I also hope that during the recent book banning frenzies in especially some US states, that Junk, that Smack is not going to fall too much afoul of the puritanicals).
March 26, 2011
Meet Gemma and Tar, two 14 year old friends. Tar is a nice lad, thoughtful, intelligent and full of puppy love for Gemma, but Tar is also the victim of abuse from his parents. Gemma is a devoted friend, likes a good time and is all for helping Tar. She has parents the opposite of Tar's, they care too much and show this bytbeing too stric for Gema's liking. Both end up on the streets of Bristol to escape their parents, fall in love and get involved with fascinating but destructive couple Lily and Rob who lead them further and further into squalid existence. They head into a devastating spiral of destruction from the first time they 'chase the dragon'.
Melvin Burgess holds nothing back, it makes for an addictive if slightly stomach churning read. The story is told from different points of view of the various people involved in the lives of Gem and Tar which makes it more chilling and horrifying as the main characters think they have a grip on their addiction and can stop anytime they like. As the reader you can see what is going to happen and it is very realistic. Any prejudices and preconceptions you have ever had about junkies will be confirmed but also dispelled in this book, it punches real hard and even though you can see the destruction and know it's not going to end well, you can still feel empathy for the characters, especially Tar.
A brilliant read that will remain with you and should be a lesson to all!
Melvin Burgess holds nothing back, it makes for an addictive if slightly stomach churning read. The story is told from different points of view of the various people involved in the lives of Gem and Tar which makes it more chilling and horrifying as the main characters think they have a grip on their addiction and can stop anytime they like. As the reader you can see what is going to happen and it is very realistic. Any prejudices and preconceptions you have ever had about junkies will be confirmed but also dispelled in this book, it punches real hard and even though you can see the destruction and know it's not going to end well, you can still feel empathy for the characters, especially Tar.
A brilliant read that will remain with you and should be a lesson to all!
February 21, 2018
The cover is so fucking ugly but it's actually good
January 14, 2025
Puiki knyga. Tobulai aprašyti laipteliai link bedugnės ėjimo. Daug stiprių minčių. Bet ne filosofiška.
January 30, 2012
I find myself just thinking "meh" about this book--which is pretty good since I HATED it throughout the first half. I found the characters, particularly Gemma, to be shallow and annoying. Basically I wanted to pull my hair out anytime I read a chapter from Gemma's point of view. Looking back though, I'm not sure that I was supposed to like any of the characters. I imagine that a 14-year-old bratty runaway turned drug-addict would probably be pretty close to how Burgess paints Gemma. So points for authenticity I suppose.
Other than Gemma or Tar, I found the characters to be somewhat poorly developed. I especially wanted to hear more from Rob. I felt like he was just kind of there. I wanted to know how he felt, particularly as his relationship with Lily evolves. **I won't spoil it**
The story was a bit slow at the beginning, but I got into it at about the halfway point. It provided some good discussion about drug use, family relationships, growing up, etc. for my reading circle, but beyond that I didn't love it. I did appreciate that it wasn't too preachy, and felt like it approached the issues from a more realistic place that kids might appreciate.
Other than Gemma or Tar, I found the characters to be somewhat poorly developed. I especially wanted to hear more from Rob. I felt like he was just kind of there. I wanted to know how he felt, particularly as his relationship with Lily evolves. **I won't spoil it**
The story was a bit slow at the beginning, but I got into it at about the halfway point. It provided some good discussion about drug use, family relationships, growing up, etc. for my reading circle, but beyond that I didn't love it. I did appreciate that it wasn't too preachy, and felt like it approached the issues from a more realistic place that kids might appreciate.
August 12, 2016
Wow. This was a powerful book.
Tar and Gemma are fourteen year old friends. Tar comes from an unhappy background, filled with abuse. Gemma comes from a smothering family when all she wants to do is have a good time. When Tar decides to run away, Gemma supports him and then decides to join him on the streets of Bristol, thinking that being homeless for a while might be a bit of a laugh and alleviate the boredom of her existence.
Once in Bristol, the pair live in a squat for a while and get involved in the punk scene. Gemma is determined to sample all the delights a thriving city has to offer.
Including heroin.
This wasn’t an easy read at all - I consider myself moderately unshockable, but there are some fairly graphic descriptions of heroin use, violence and prostitution that made me cringe - but it was definitely a worthwhile one. It read like a Trainspotting for teenagers, although in some ways it was even more disturbing because the characters are so young. After a fairly slow start, the action ramps up and towards the end I couldn’t put it down. As a reader you have to just stand by and watch as these people flush their lives further and further down the toilet. Without giving anything away, there is redemption of sorts at the end. It’s not what I would call a happy ending, exactly, but it’s a satisfying one.
The narrative is told from multiple first person viewpoints, which is a tricky thing to pull off but here it actually works because you get Tar and Gemma’s stories from lots of different directions. New narrators only come in once they’ve already been introduced as characters, so you kind of get a feel for who they are before they start moving the story along. You have the main characters - Gemma and Tar - who take up most of the narrative, but other characters chime in too, like a kind of smacked- up Greek chorus.
There was plenty of character development in the story, considering the MCs use a whole bunch of heroin to effectively smoosh out any actually emotions they might be experiencing. Gemma is probably the best-developed character. She goes from this deeply irritating brat at the beginning of the book to a thoughtful, battle-scarred woman by the end. Tar doesn’t develop quite as much, but his reason for getting involved in heroin was to blank out his horrible home life, so I guess that makes sense.
Like I said, this isn’t a happy read, but I’d recommend it to anyone.
Tar and Gemma are fourteen year old friends. Tar comes from an unhappy background, filled with abuse. Gemma comes from a smothering family when all she wants to do is have a good time. When Tar decides to run away, Gemma supports him and then decides to join him on the streets of Bristol, thinking that being homeless for a while might be a bit of a laugh and alleviate the boredom of her existence.
Once in Bristol, the pair live in a squat for a while and get involved in the punk scene. Gemma is determined to sample all the delights a thriving city has to offer.
Including heroin.
This wasn’t an easy read at all - I consider myself moderately unshockable, but there are some fairly graphic descriptions of heroin use, violence and prostitution that made me cringe - but it was definitely a worthwhile one. It read like a Trainspotting for teenagers, although in some ways it was even more disturbing because the characters are so young. After a fairly slow start, the action ramps up and towards the end I couldn’t put it down. As a reader you have to just stand by and watch as these people flush their lives further and further down the toilet. Without giving anything away, there is redemption of sorts at the end. It’s not what I would call a happy ending, exactly, but it’s a satisfying one.
The narrative is told from multiple first person viewpoints, which is a tricky thing to pull off but here it actually works because you get Tar and Gemma’s stories from lots of different directions. New narrators only come in once they’ve already been introduced as characters, so you kind of get a feel for who they are before they start moving the story along. You have the main characters - Gemma and Tar - who take up most of the narrative, but other characters chime in too, like a kind of smacked- up Greek chorus.
There was plenty of character development in the story, considering the MCs use a whole bunch of heroin to effectively smoosh out any actually emotions they might be experiencing. Gemma is probably the best-developed character. She goes from this deeply irritating brat at the beginning of the book to a thoughtful, battle-scarred woman by the end. Tar doesn’t develop quite as much, but his reason for getting involved in heroin was to blank out his horrible home life, so I guess that makes sense.
Like I said, this isn’t a happy read, but I’d recommend it to anyone.
November 24, 2014
This book was recommended to me by a heroin addict, a beloved person who has since tragically died from an overdose. I'm still immersed in grief and read this to look for more answers. As difficult an account as it was, it definitely unsparingly showed the reality of what it's like to be under the influence of such a devastating drug. I can't even imagine what it's like to live with such an addiction but this was the closest I came to glimpsing what so many people have fallen victim to. The horror of it is eye opening and harrowing. Heroin takes away one's dignity, identity, values and personality and replaces all of that with a person unrecognisable to themselves and those who love them. It creates a need so intense for the next fix that everything else is obliterated.
I had previously read Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction and consider that to be the best perspective of what it's like to helplessly watch your loved one become someone you don't know while under the influence of heroin. Smack, orignally called "Junk", is now it's counterpart for me as the most accurate story of the addict's perspective. In many ways this addiction is a terminal illness. The rate of recovery is low but not impossible. A very important drug called naloxene counters the deadly effect of an overdose and needs to be readily available in our society. The alternative is a mounting death toll and aching hearts as lives are ripped apart.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is a disease and not a choice. The stigma of addiction needs to be removed so more people can be saved and better treatment options are developed for rehabilitation. We are losing wonderful, loving people by the minute. Heroin is a cheap drug and can be acquired easily. There is not enough public knowledge of its effects or help for those who are afflicted. I hope to be part of the change somehow.
I had previously read Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction and consider that to be the best perspective of what it's like to helplessly watch your loved one become someone you don't know while under the influence of heroin. Smack, orignally called "Junk", is now it's counterpart for me as the most accurate story of the addict's perspective. In many ways this addiction is a terminal illness. The rate of recovery is low but not impossible. A very important drug called naloxene counters the deadly effect of an overdose and needs to be readily available in our society. The alternative is a mounting death toll and aching hearts as lives are ripped apart.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is a disease and not a choice. The stigma of addiction needs to be removed so more people can be saved and better treatment options are developed for rehabilitation. We are losing wonderful, loving people by the minute. Heroin is a cheap drug and can be acquired easily. There is not enough public knowledge of its effects or help for those who are afflicted. I hope to be part of the change somehow.
November 7, 2017
4.5
This is a tale of a group of runaway teenagers who end up addicted to smack/junk, aka heroin. We watch the characters spiral out of control, thinking "oh, I'll just be able to quit when I want to" which we find out is definitely not the case. Love happens, pregnancies happen (one in which the baby is basically born an addict as well), and death happens in one occurrence.
Every chapter is told from someone else's perspective, which was one of my favorite aspects of this book. We hear about the addicts from their perspective as well as the perspectives of others. Great book for those who don't know what it's like to experience the disease of addiction, as well as for those who have walked that path before (be it their own or someone close to them).
May be triggering for anyone in recovery.
This is a tale of a group of runaway teenagers who end up addicted to smack/junk, aka heroin. We watch the characters spiral out of control, thinking "oh, I'll just be able to quit when I want to" which we find out is definitely not the case. Love happens, pregnancies happen (one in which the baby is basically born an addict as well), and death happens in one occurrence.
Every chapter is told from someone else's perspective, which was one of my favorite aspects of this book. We hear about the addicts from their perspective as well as the perspectives of others. Great book for those who don't know what it's like to experience the disease of addiction, as well as for those who have walked that path before (be it their own or someone close to them).
May be triggering for anyone in recovery.
October 15, 2014
I usually like books like this, but this one didn't do it for me. I was totally bored and didn't care much for the characters.
May 17, 2022
Such a great read. I read it in 2 days, I literally couldn't put it down.
Set in England in the early 80's, 14 year olds Gemma and Tar run away from home and end up in a squat with other runaways. They are introduced to heroin aka "junk" and become rapidly addicted despite telling themselves they can quit at any time they want.
Things rapidly escalate and we see the devastating effects of drugs on their individual lives.
Think Trainspotting for teenagers. Loved it.
Set in England in the early 80's, 14 year olds Gemma and Tar run away from home and end up in a squat with other runaways. They are introduced to heroin aka "junk" and become rapidly addicted despite telling themselves they can quit at any time they want.
Things rapidly escalate and we see the devastating effects of drugs on their individual lives.
Think Trainspotting for teenagers. Loved it.
February 24, 2024
Read for Uni.
I'm not rating this one as I'm not really sure how to 😂
Critically, it's a really good book and has plenty of scope for discussion in my Children's Literature assignment, but I never would have chosen to read this for pleasure and I can't say I enjoyed it at all.
As a book lover, for me this just wasn't my cup of tea. I'm completely anti-drugs, this is all about heroin addicts....🤷🏻♀️ So its never really going to be an enjoyable book for me!
Like I said, it's hard to rate because I didn't personally enjoy it, but I can see why it's an award winning book.
I'm not rating this one as I'm not really sure how to 😂
Critically, it's a really good book and has plenty of scope for discussion in my Children's Literature assignment, but I never would have chosen to read this for pleasure and I can't say I enjoyed it at all.
As a book lover, for me this just wasn't my cup of tea. I'm completely anti-drugs, this is all about heroin addicts....🤷🏻♀️ So its never really going to be an enjoyable book for me!
Like I said, it's hard to rate because I didn't personally enjoy it, but I can see why it's an award winning book.
January 10, 2023
DNF
Moim zdaniem tego sie nie da czytac.
W ogole mi sie nie podobalo
Bohaterowie wszyscy odklejeni, jedynie “smółka” byl naprawde spoko ale jezeli chodzi o Gemme to masakra jakas. Ona jest pp glupia, samolubna, ma totalnie w dupie swojego chlopaka, uwaza ze wszystko jej sie nalezy i chyba nie zdaje sobie sprawy z tego ze dzialania maja konsekwecje.
Ona doslownie uciekla z domu bo jej sie nudzilo i liczyla na “przygode”
Bro bffr
Moim zdaniem tego sie nie da czytac.
W ogole mi sie nie podobalo
Bohaterowie wszyscy odklejeni, jedynie “smółka” byl naprawde spoko ale jezeli chodzi o Gemme to masakra jakas. Ona jest pp glupia, samolubna, ma totalnie w dupie swojego chlopaka, uwaza ze wszystko jej sie nalezy i chyba nie zdaje sobie sprawy z tego ze dzialania maja konsekwecje.
Ona doslownie uciekla z domu bo jej sie nudzilo i liczyla na “przygode”
Bro bffr
August 17, 2017
** spoiler alert **
I first read this in my teens and have been through about five copies of it.
Wonderful because of its harshness.
The nature of addiction shown through the gradual destruction of the characters, the acceptance of doing horrible things in order to get a fix and not a particularly happy ending.
No one is really redeemed, just destroyed.
Grace
I first read this in my teens and have been through about five copies of it.
Wonderful because of its harshness.
The nature of addiction shown through the gradual destruction of the characters, the acceptance of doing horrible things in order to get a fix and not a particularly happy ending.
No one is really redeemed, just destroyed.
Grace
October 10, 2017
This review contains some spoilers as I mention things that happen in the story to make some points
Well, let me sum up this book in one gif (and I feel this is really appropriate)
Oh, first off I need to say that I'm REALLY CONFUSED about how this is a children's book. I mean, it won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, among others, and I had to read this for my Children's Literature module. I- well, I would not let my child read this under the age of like 15. It's full of drugs (obviously, and they're going on about how great they are it's like !!), sex, OD'ing/death, rape, attempted murder, theft, vandalism, prostitution, underage pregnancy, homelessness, abuse, domestic violence, prison, it's literally all in this and it's like......woah. Not suitable for a child, that's for sure.
Anyway, getting that out of the way with, this was required reading for university that I actually kind of dreaded reading because I don't tend to read things like this. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed it! It follows two 14 year olds Gemma and Tar who run away from home to be together (although it's not very romantic because the girl is literally like 'I love you' then 'I don't like you' and it's proper frustrating) and they mix with the wrong crowd. As in, some other homeless youths who do heroin and, to sum it up, get them addicted.
First, we have David. Tar is his nickname due to his constant anti-smoking 'you'll get tar in your veins' (or something along those lines) which he preached in his pre-heroin days. I actually liked him a lot. At the start he was kind, hopeful, he saw the beauty of the world and his irritating girlfriend Gemma (I'll get to her in a minute..) and I found him to be pure. Sometimes gullible, stupid and weak, but I guess everyone has their weaknesses. Sadly his got him addicted to drugs and he struggled the most to get off it. He took so much shit from everyone, especially Gemma, and I just felt so sorry for him. He had it so bad and I just- *hugs him*
Sadly he was a completely different person at the end of the book and that's the harsh reality of his lifestyle.
And speaking of, I need to rant about Gemma.
This bitch. She was basically some spoiled brat who couldn't get her own way at home so she ran off, became homeless and treat Tar like her little bitch. And basically the main reason I hate her: her need to be accepting started the whole drug shit in the first place! I will forever blame her for the way Tar ended up. It makes me mad that she becomes irritated with him at the end due to his issues with getting off the heroin when it was her fault in the first place, fucking cow. Anyway, I know she's not a real person but still, it really grinds my gears. Anyway, she is always on and off with Tar, not to mention she basically calls him a boring basic bitch before they do the drugs and as soon as they do them, he's all ~interesting. Fuck you.
I just- me no like her.
Lily and Rob were the bad apples in this, they were really bad influences and reading about them was just like reading about two people who were literally 'gone' and who are past helping completely. Especially Lily. I mean, in real life, she'd scare me because she's just completely bonkers. She loves drugs so much that she even does drugs while holding her baby and then breastfeeds, and injects whilst pregnant. It's just awful.
I won't even start on the parents because none of them will get 'Parent of the Year' awards. Especially Tar's, JFC.
The POV's in this story are interesting because it's so many people throughout the story, and it's always cool to see what everyone's thinking in specific parts of the book with a topic like this. Parents, each of the heroin kids in the house, people they know who don't agree with the lifestyle, it's all fascinating. Sometimes I'm like 'wait, who is this again?' but that's because I don't always pay attention! My own fault.
I also feel like the story is written kind of like a diary? It's really weird, its such an unusual way of being written. Some words were written as if they were saying them like 'mouf' instead of 'mouth'.
It's quite a long book but I think it was really interesting. I don't know much about drugs or anything but I do think it opened my eyes to what goes on in the world. Funnily enough when I took a break from reading, I turned the T.V on and saw a documentary from Louis Theroux about heroin addicts and I had to watch. I felt really helped me understand things in this book and get what's going on.
Anyway, in conclusion, let me round this off by saying; this isn't a book for children, lots of bad things happen and nobody really catches a break, drugs are bad, this book is not. It was funny at times but kinda depressing to see some young hopefuls throw their life away because of something so horrible. Give this to a teen and it'll be a wake up call, a good example of what they could end up like if they do drugs.
Don't do drugs, kids.
Well, let me sum up this book in one gif (and I feel this is really appropriate)
Oh, first off I need to say that I'm REALLY CONFUSED about how this is a children's book. I mean, it won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, among others, and I had to read this for my Children's Literature module. I- well, I would not let my child read this under the age of like 15. It's full of drugs (obviously, and they're going on about how great they are it's like !!), sex, OD'ing/death, rape, attempted murder, theft, vandalism, prostitution, underage pregnancy, homelessness, abuse, domestic violence, prison, it's literally all in this and it's like......woah. Not suitable for a child, that's for sure.
Anyway, getting that out of the way with, this was required reading for university that I actually kind of dreaded reading because I don't tend to read things like this. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed it! It follows two 14 year olds Gemma and Tar who run away from home to be together (although it's not very romantic because the girl is literally like 'I love you' then 'I don't like you' and it's proper frustrating) and they mix with the wrong crowd. As in, some other homeless youths who do heroin and, to sum it up, get them addicted.
First, we have David. Tar is his nickname due to his constant anti-smoking 'you'll get tar in your veins' (or something along those lines) which he preached in his pre-heroin days. I actually liked him a lot. At the start he was kind, hopeful, he saw the beauty of the world and his irritating girlfriend Gemma (I'll get to her in a minute..) and I found him to be pure. Sometimes gullible, stupid and weak, but I guess everyone has their weaknesses. Sadly his got him addicted to drugs and he struggled the most to get off it. He took so much shit from everyone, especially Gemma, and I just felt so sorry for him. He had it so bad and I just- *hugs him*
Sadly he was a completely different person at the end of the book and that's the harsh reality of his lifestyle.
And speaking of, I need to rant about Gemma.
This bitch. She was basically some spoiled brat who couldn't get her own way at home so she ran off, became homeless and treat Tar like her little bitch. And basically the main reason I hate her: her need to be accepting started the whole drug shit in the first place! I will forever blame her for the way Tar ended up. It makes me mad that she becomes irritated with him at the end due to his issues with getting off the heroin when it was her fault in the first place, fucking cow. Anyway, I know she's not a real person but still, it really grinds my gears. Anyway, she is always on and off with Tar, not to mention she basically calls him a boring basic bitch before they do the drugs and as soon as they do them, he's all ~interesting. Fuck you.
I just- me no like her.
Lily and Rob were the bad apples in this, they were really bad influences and reading about them was just like reading about two people who were literally 'gone' and who are past helping completely. Especially Lily. I mean, in real life, she'd scare me because she's just completely bonkers. She loves drugs so much that she even does drugs while holding her baby and then breastfeeds, and injects whilst pregnant. It's just awful.
I won't even start on the parents because none of them will get 'Parent of the Year' awards. Especially Tar's, JFC.
The POV's in this story are interesting because it's so many people throughout the story, and it's always cool to see what everyone's thinking in specific parts of the book with a topic like this. Parents, each of the heroin kids in the house, people they know who don't agree with the lifestyle, it's all fascinating. Sometimes I'm like 'wait, who is this again?' but that's because I don't always pay attention! My own fault.
I also feel like the story is written kind of like a diary? It's really weird, its such an unusual way of being written. Some words were written as if they were saying them like 'mouf' instead of 'mouth'.
It's quite a long book but I think it was really interesting. I don't know much about drugs or anything but I do think it opened my eyes to what goes on in the world. Funnily enough when I took a break from reading, I turned the T.V on and saw a documentary from Louis Theroux about heroin addicts and I had to watch. I felt really helped me understand things in this book and get what's going on.
Anyway, in conclusion, let me round this off by saying; this isn't a book for children, lots of bad things happen and nobody really catches a break, drugs are bad, this book is not. It was funny at times but kinda depressing to see some young hopefuls throw their life away because of something so horrible. Give this to a teen and it'll be a wake up call, a good example of what they could end up like if they do drugs.
Don't do drugs, kids.
September 20, 2023
Skarbs stāsts par to, kā narkotiku atkarība pamazām, bet tajā pašā laikā strauji iznīcina jaunus, nenobriedušus prātus un ievelk tos heroīna tīklos, no kuriem izkļūt reti kuram ir pa spēkam.
February 4, 2012
Rating: 4.3 stars,but I'm giving it 5 stars on here because I think the book's overall rating on this site is too low.
Genre: Edgy Young Adult.
Subject: A realistic look at heroine addicts in England.
Synopsis: Gemma runs away from home because her parents are too strict, Tar runs away because his father hits him. Different reasons, but the same end result. They become addicted to heroine and will do anything to get a high. Over the span of five years we are taken through their lives and meet the same people that they do, from addicts to the few that want to help them.
My Thoughts: As with Nicholas Dane this story was very sad, but well-written and captivating. Though, I did like Nicholas Dane better, I still got very much involved in the lives of Gemma and Tar, especially Tar. He was by far my favourite character, even though he had many faults. He was the type of person that you wanted to wrap up in cotton wool and keep away from the bad crowd, because he was so easily led into things. He was also the only one in the story that captured my heart, his sweet personality taking a real hammering with what he went through.
Gemma was a much stronger character than Tar. But at the beginning very selfish. Like Vonny, she frustrated the hell out of me, and at one point I really disliked her. But, she grew as a person. However, she had to go through absolutely horrible experiences to do so. In the end I did come to appreciate her character and it took a lot of guts for her to do what she had to in the end, which was admirable.
Lily was a horrifying character, because of how extreme she was. She was the biggest addict of all the friends, and her insistence that she was a good mother even when she shot up between her breasts while breastfeeding highlighted this perfectly. Her boyfriend, and the father of her child, was also a sad, sad character, especially with what we found out he had done in the end to get more junk.
I thought the author did a good job of portraying the characters in the story, and I also liked how he named each chapter according to the narrator, because I also do this in my Behind the Lives series. The internal monologues were well done, although at times they did get a little laborious. Nonetheless, the story was still captivating enough to get me through those moments.
Because of this, "Smack" isn't the type of book that is read quickly. It took me a while, because of the slightly duller moments. But, I think this was also because Melvin Burgess was taking us through a realistic portrayal of life, and as with life you get both the lulls and the highs (pun intended). And, I think certain moments in the book also overrode the more duller points, making me appreciate this story very much.
Keywords: Drugs, Heroin, Addiction, Prostitution, Teens, Young Adult, England, Squatting.
P.S. I remember reading a review, I think it was on Amazon, complaining that the author used the word "junk." This person complained that "junk" was an old-fashioned word and thus shouldn't be used. My thoughts were that the reviewer didn't read the book properly. Melvin Burgess uses appropriate words for the time period this story is set in: The 1980s. If he didn't, it wouldn't have felt right or have come across as so realistic.
Conclusion: A bittersweet story that was definitely worth the read.
Genre: Edgy Young Adult.
Subject: A realistic look at heroine addicts in England.
Synopsis: Gemma runs away from home because her parents are too strict, Tar runs away because his father hits him. Different reasons, but the same end result. They become addicted to heroine and will do anything to get a high. Over the span of five years we are taken through their lives and meet the same people that they do, from addicts to the few that want to help them.
My Thoughts: As with Nicholas Dane this story was very sad, but well-written and captivating. Though, I did like Nicholas Dane better, I still got very much involved in the lives of Gemma and Tar, especially Tar. He was by far my favourite character, even though he had many faults. He was the type of person that you wanted to wrap up in cotton wool and keep away from the bad crowd, because he was so easily led into things. He was also the only one in the story that captured my heart, his sweet personality taking a real hammering with what he went through.
Gemma was a much stronger character than Tar. But at the beginning very selfish. Like Vonny, she frustrated the hell out of me, and at one point I really disliked her. But, she grew as a person. However, she had to go through absolutely horrible experiences to do so. In the end I did come to appreciate her character and it took a lot of guts for her to do what she had to in the end, which was admirable.
Lily was a horrifying character, because of how extreme she was. She was the biggest addict of all the friends, and her insistence that she was a good mother even when she shot up between her breasts while breastfeeding highlighted this perfectly. Her boyfriend, and the father of her child, was also a sad, sad character, especially with what we found out he had done in the end to get more junk.
I thought the author did a good job of portraying the characters in the story, and I also liked how he named each chapter according to the narrator, because I also do this in my Behind the Lives series. The internal monologues were well done, although at times they did get a little laborious. Nonetheless, the story was still captivating enough to get me through those moments.
Because of this, "Smack" isn't the type of book that is read quickly. It took me a while, because of the slightly duller moments. But, I think this was also because Melvin Burgess was taking us through a realistic portrayal of life, and as with life you get both the lulls and the highs (pun intended). And, I think certain moments in the book also overrode the more duller points, making me appreciate this story very much.
Keywords: Drugs, Heroin, Addiction, Prostitution, Teens, Young Adult, England, Squatting.
P.S. I remember reading a review, I think it was on Amazon, complaining that the author used the word "junk." This person complained that "junk" was an old-fashioned word and thus shouldn't be used. My thoughts were that the reviewer didn't read the book properly. Melvin Burgess uses appropriate words for the time period this story is set in: The 1980s. If he didn't, it wouldn't have felt right or have come across as so realistic.
Conclusion: A bittersweet story that was definitely worth the read.
December 10, 2016
This isn't a terrible book, but I feel like I want to jump into it and smack every single one of these frustrating characters. It does a good job of simply saying FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODDESS'S SWEET BOOBS DON'T DO HEROIN! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! It will RUIN your life and you'll talk like you know everything and everyone will want to hit you as a result.
12/2016
So I read this book again and it still stresses me out. I reckon I'm trying to scare myself into not trying heroin since I am on medicinal marijuana.
Everyone insists marijuana is a gateway drug, but really alcohol is. It's more socially acceptable at least.
This book still stresses me out. Especially Lily. I hate her. She struts around half nekkid going on and on about doing heroin and I just want to say, you are a silly teenager, stop making such bad decisions! Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh
Also, reefer is so nice. Why even do heroin? Marijuana does have actual health benefits. It's can be soothing and relaxing. I don't understand the use of hard drugs. I want to avoid them like the plague. i swear this book should be called Teenagers Making Bad Decisions such as Using Heroin when they should not.
12/2016
So I read this book again and it still stresses me out. I reckon I'm trying to scare myself into not trying heroin since I am on medicinal marijuana.
Everyone insists marijuana is a gateway drug, but really alcohol is. It's more socially acceptable at least.
This book still stresses me out. Especially Lily. I hate her. She struts around half nekkid going on and on about doing heroin and I just want to say, you are a silly teenager, stop making such bad decisions! Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh
Also, reefer is so nice. Why even do heroin? Marijuana does have actual health benefits. It's can be soothing and relaxing. I don't understand the use of hard drugs. I want to avoid them like the plague. i swear this book should be called Teenagers Making Bad Decisions such as Using Heroin when they should not.
October 3, 2014
Been almost a decade since I last read this. Bloody marvellous. Gritty and real, harrowing and beautiful and poignant and heart breaking and funny and terrifying and interesting. Enjoyed it just as much on the second read as I did the first time.
I see a lot of bad reviews from Americans about the writing. Stop expecting 'American English' and read the bloody thing as its written - listen to a Bristol accent on YouTube if it will help!
I see a lot of bad reviews from Americans about the writing. Stop expecting 'American English' and read the bloody thing as its written - listen to a Bristol accent on YouTube if it will help!
October 27, 2012
Not as bad as I thought it might have been, another "heroin is bad" tale told from multiple angles centered around some young British runaways in the 80's. A novel that seems it wouldn't be too difficult to write yourself, even if you can't relate to the setting.
January 23, 2018
After an exciting trip to a different library near me as my closest is very small and the YA section is even smaller. I went into this library with the intention to get a couple of extra books and ended up coming out with 12 books. I could’ve easily got more but my library account would not let me. This book really stood out to me and not just because of the reflective needle plastered across the front cover. I had already seen reviews saying how it so gritty and one of the best UKYA they had read in a long time.When I saw the introduction was written by Malorie Blackman I was really excited to read it as I have always loved books written by Malorie Blackman although I actually didn’t enjoy the introduction as much as I thought I would. I really enjoyed the rest of the book, which I found surprising due my previous love for Malorie Blackman.
At first, I struggled with the constant changing point of views and I had to keep going back to the start of the chapter to remind myself who’s point of view it was in. Although, this was only a problem when I was reading lots at once as I had gotten use to one narrator for it to change.
I really enjoyed this book and from the writing I could really resonate with the characters even though I’m not a drug addict. The development of the characters were slow but it was done in such a way I still felt very emotionally connected to the characters and when something bad happened to one of them I did feel sad.
At the start of the book I really loved the character Tar but less so Gemma. I felt she was very dependent and her life that she thought was so bad was just her parents caring about her unlike Tar. At the end of the book however that had completely changed. I could really empathise with the people who in real life I would avoid at all costs.
This book was very eye opening and really allowed me to observe the life of a group of underage teenagers who are all addicted to heroin, who had genuine struggles and what it must be like from their point of view which people don’t usually take into consideration.
I have questions to ask Melvin Burgees as to how he portrayed it so well and from the reviews I have read I have seen that I am not the only impressed with the detail and accuracy of the book.
It showed such a huge commitment to friends who despite will do anything for their next hit of heroin are always there for each other and despite not being successful whenever one of them decided to stop they all gave up together to help the other. When their friend is pregnant they all move away and have a cleanse and as a team try and quit heroin even though they don’t last it is the commitment of the group of friends that amazed me throughout.
This book is one of those books that I think that everybody should read at least once in their life.
At first, I struggled with the constant changing point of views and I had to keep going back to the start of the chapter to remind myself who’s point of view it was in. Although, this was only a problem when I was reading lots at once as I had gotten use to one narrator for it to change.
I really enjoyed this book and from the writing I could really resonate with the characters even though I’m not a drug addict. The development of the characters were slow but it was done in such a way I still felt very emotionally connected to the characters and when something bad happened to one of them I did feel sad.
At the start of the book I really loved the character Tar but less so Gemma. I felt she was very dependent and her life that she thought was so bad was just her parents caring about her unlike Tar. At the end of the book however that had completely changed. I could really empathise with the people who in real life I would avoid at all costs.
This book was very eye opening and really allowed me to observe the life of a group of underage teenagers who are all addicted to heroin, who had genuine struggles and what it must be like from their point of view which people don’t usually take into consideration.
I have questions to ask Melvin Burgees as to how he portrayed it so well and from the reviews I have read I have seen that I am not the only impressed with the detail and accuracy of the book.
It showed such a huge commitment to friends who despite will do anything for their next hit of heroin are always there for each other and despite not being successful whenever one of them decided to stop they all gave up together to help the other. When their friend is pregnant they all move away and have a cleanse and as a team try and quit heroin even though they don’t last it is the commitment of the group of friends that amazed me throughout.
This book is one of those books that I think that everybody should read at least once in their life.
September 16, 2021
I cannot believe I have never read ‘Junk’ before now. It has to be the one of the first books that paved the way for what ‘YA’ is today; a genre that can depict harsh realities in an honest and thought provoking way and Burgess really achieves that here.
The story is set in the 1980's and focuses on the problems of young runaways and the temptation of drugs, especially heroin. Tar and Gemma are only fourteen when they decide to run away from home; Tar has been physically abused whereas Gemma cannot put up with her parent’s strict rules anymore. The two end up in Bristol and befriend some people who believe in opening up squats in empty homes and peaceful protesting but ultimately the two get pulled away from these friends in want of more excitement and fall in with the destructive couple, Lily and Rob.
As soon as Lily and Rob come into the story you know it’s going to go downhill quickly because the pair thrive on heroin and before long Tar and Gemma start using too. I don’t think I’ve ever read such an unflinching description of the lives of drug users and I had to keep reminding myself that these characters were only in their mid teens. The entire story is dark and gritty and is still powerful now.
Ultimately this book is harrowing and blunt but also I think it has to be one of those books you have to read as a teenager because it stays with you. Also with all of those different viewpoints woven together through Tar and Gemma’s story their experiences are fully realised in a way that is haunting yet immersive.
The story is set in the 1980's and focuses on the problems of young runaways and the temptation of drugs, especially heroin. Tar and Gemma are only fourteen when they decide to run away from home; Tar has been physically abused whereas Gemma cannot put up with her parent’s strict rules anymore. The two end up in Bristol and befriend some people who believe in opening up squats in empty homes and peaceful protesting but ultimately the two get pulled away from these friends in want of more excitement and fall in with the destructive couple, Lily and Rob.
As soon as Lily and Rob come into the story you know it’s going to go downhill quickly because the pair thrive on heroin and before long Tar and Gemma start using too. I don’t think I’ve ever read such an unflinching description of the lives of drug users and I had to keep reminding myself that these characters were only in their mid teens. The entire story is dark and gritty and is still powerful now.
Ultimately this book is harrowing and blunt but also I think it has to be one of those books you have to read as a teenager because it stays with you. Also with all of those different viewpoints woven together through Tar and Gemma’s story their experiences are fully realised in a way that is haunting yet immersive.
July 1, 2021
Melvin Burgess is the Godfather of Young Adult fiction and it's hard to believe that "Junk" was first published a quarter of a century ago. It's an incredibly brave piece of work, tackling the most serious of themes including domestic violence, homelessness, addiction and prostitution. Especially at a time when such topics were not regularly explored in books for young people. Burgess touches on the hopes and aspirations of youth and the yawning chasm between parents and their teenage children. His narrative breaking the fourth wall hammers home the insidious nature of peer pressure. "Junk" is told from various perspectives and each character is distinct. The book concludes with more hope than I expected although it is a satisfactory end to an exceptional novel.
September 25, 2024
Kai kurias knygas patikrina laikas. Ši - kaip tik tokia! Skaičiau seniai seniai paauglystėje, tada man ji paliko labai didelį įspūdį. Paskaičiau dabar jau po daug metų - įspūdis dar didesnis. Kiekvienam jaunam ir vyresniam. Ypač jaunimui. Kiekvienam.
December 19, 2013
I would recommend this book to high school students because it can be an experience that relates to teens. The relatable part of the book for me was not that the Tar and Gemma did drugs, but that they looked for adventure and a way to escape from the world. I could, however, relate to the fact that they lost friends to overdoses. In Tar’s case, doing heroin was the only way to cope when he got abused. I can relate to the moment after Jenny talks about the overdose. After Jenny talks about it “she thought of all the things she and Muriel had been through together, to OD now, when weeks and months went by without either of them using. To have her life snatched away just when she was making something of herself” (Burgess 8). I had a friend who had a very close friend that passed away from an OD and it was very hard for her. Even though she wasn’t a close friend to me, I had to help my friend get through it and deal with the pain. I felt the pain, probably not anywhere near what she was feeling, just watching her miss someone that could’ve been considered a sister. It was very difficult. Another quote that can be related to by many teens is “’My life is coming to an end, I cannot go on without her, oh, woe, oh, woe . . .’” (Burgess 146). Tar asks about Gemma and Lilly responds with that. I see my friends mocking each other about the people they are interested in. In a way, people in my life already do those types of things, but not using the exact words. Many people talk about being “in love,” but we are only 16 years old, so it could be easily mocked just as Lilly is doing. That is probably how Lilly feels in this situation. Overall, I feel that this would be a good book for teens to read because it could be easily relatable and insightful to what other teens with troubles go through.
December 11, 2008
Smack was one of those books that made me miss dinner and not get any of my homework done. It was as addicting as the drug it describes. The story of two runaway lovers and they're tale of the people they met and the adventerous ride of being an addict of herion, and the struggle of getting out of addiction. Tar, a victim of an abusive father, and an alcoholic mother who clings to Tar's side, decides he's had enough and runaways to Bristle, England. Tar is also in love with Gemma, who runs away with Tar, but only because she was bored of her old life, and was ready for something new. Together they meet another couple and they are introduced to Herion and are hooked immideatly. As the story continues, you see that this drug has changed each and every one drastically. One character, Lily, was very unique. She had her own religion, everything you do is amazing and beautiful, even if you get hurt, it was meant to happen. Five years later, Gemma has permantly kicked the habit, but that took a long journey and alot of thinking. Her and Tar have a child and start living together, but Gemma realized that she doesn't feel the same way about Tar like she did. This broke Tar completely. He doesn't say it straight out but in his last entry he talks about his new girlfriend and how great she is, but then he talks about him and how he's getting off of herion gradually, and he says that if he's completely off he may get Gemma back. Whenever i think about that it makes me want to crush Gemma for kicking him out! But this book was amazing, and i definatly recomend it.
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