| Title | : | The Edge |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1842550942 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781842550946 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2002 |
| Awards | : | Booktrust Teenage Prize (2003), Angus Book Award (2004), Carnegie Medal (2002) |
We've got to go. Now.
It's early morning and Danny's mother is at his bedside, urging him to get up. They're on the run from Chris, his mother's boyfriend, a violent man who beats them both up, and won't let them go.
Chris pursues Danny and his mother from London to the north, where they take refuge with Danny's grandparents. But even there, nothing is safe. Danny is conspicuous as the only mixed-race boy in their small community, and with the ever-present threat of discovery, he has to learn how to live continually on the edge.
A tense and chilling story with terrific drama, THE EDGE shows the depth of character and the understanding of the predicaments of children today that gives Alan Gibbons his special quality.
The Edge Reviews
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Description:
Danny is a boy on the edge. A boy teetering on the brink of no return, living in fear.
Cathy is his mother. She’s been broken by fear.
Chris Kane is fear- and they belong to him
But one day they escape. They’re looking for freedom, for a promised land where they can start really living. Instead they find prejudice, and danger of another kind.
^^
Blurb of the book
Characters:
Danny: He feels powerless and he is always scared of what Chris could do, and when he gets given the chance to escape he takes it, and does everything to help his mum escape. But they do, but other things start happening.
Cathy: A women who is scared and wants to escape Chris who hit she, and makes her feel alone, so when she gets the chance she takes her son, and runs, they manage to escape but that’s not the last of Chris Kane.
Chris: The man, both Danny and Cathy are scared of, and ran away from him, he thinks he owns Cathy and Danny, he thinks he is in love with her, and by that, he controlled her, and will do anything to find them, anything at all, to be able to control them both once again, even if it means hurting other people.
Abbie: Danny’s best friend, who gets caught in all of this, Chris Kane will stop at anything to get information, even if it id through Abbie.
Harry: Danny’s granddad and Cathy’s dad, he thinks the worst of them both, especially Danny, because of the colour of Danny’s skin, he is racist but he may have it in him, to change his views, and maybe Danny will be the one to change it.
Joan: Danny’s grandma and Cathy’s mum, she is so pleased to see them, and doesn’t even ask why they are back, she just wants everything to be a family, and she even argues with Harry, because of the way he acts.
Steve: He is a racist boy who has nothing better to do then pick on Danny, but Danny is allot stronger than he thinks, and he should of thought about that before being racist in front of Danny.
My thoughts:
I got this book, when i was in year 8, so 3 years ago, but i never read it, because i was nto into reading then, but the book is signed and i met the Author!!
I am glad i finally read it, and i was pleased i did, it’s not normally a book i read, but it was good, i liked how Alan Gibbons wrote the parts from different perspectives, it told the way i would like most stories to be, it showed, the victims, the person who causes the pain, and also the friends, and people who have witnessed or is part of it.
The ending was good, and i want to tell everyone to read it, it’s about, abuse, freedom, courage and prejudice. -
I hated this book, and not because I read this book at school, I gave this book a shot. I could not connect with the characters, I told my friend and she asked me if I was ok with Racism and sexism, I said no (which is true) and that the story just felt like you were reading it in a room and where not emerged in the story
the characters were very stereotypical and plan. Danny is a Back boy who loves the track, In my school every boy in my class loves track. Cathy is a woman who had a teen pregnancy and her dad would not help her. Chris Kane is a white abusive step-boyfriend who hates the black kid in the town. and those are the main characters but all of the characters where stereotypical.
the story was tedious and slow. the story dragged on and on. and when the most 'climatic' part of the story, that just dragged on and on and on, like this sentence. -
15 year old Danny and his mum run to the edge to escape ‘the animal’. Despite it not seeming like the promised land Danny imagines on arrival, it doesn’t stop them beginning a new life. Did they cover all their tracks or will the animal find them?
The book that got me into reading! Having not read a book since school this was such a great starting point and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more! The way it flicks through characters covers the story from different points of views and never leaves you wondering about someone. I loved the way it switched on cliff hangers and no matter what point you stopped reading you were always left wondering what was going to happen next! I couldn’t stop thinking about it and was picking it up any chance I got! -
I read this in January but forgot to mark as read. This book was so boring and predictable halfway through I had to skip to the end to see how it finished. I now see that if I did read it all, I would have wasted my time. Boring book with very predictable and boring ending.
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He awakes with a start. Somebody is shaking him. Roughly.
"What..."
A hand covers his mouth, choking off the question. For a moment he gives a surge of panic, then he makes out a face in the darkness. His mother.
Their journey begins there. Danny's mother wakes him up and they run away. From what? From Chris Kane, who is all about fear. trying to find a better life they run to Danny's grandparent's place. But then again there is a problem. Danny is a dark-skinned boy. His mother is white. His real father has left him long ago with his mom. In his new town, there is a big problem. Racism. Will Danny be okay from Chris who is chasing him? Will the town accept him for being who he did not choose to be? -
I have to say, this book really surprised me. Lately I've been trying to get through these shorts novels that have just been accumulating over the years, between my more lengthy reads, and I have not been very happy. There have been several now that have just been bad, but no not this one. I mean you look at the cover, read the first page and just think ugh, a YA novel author thats trying to make a breakout. I expected cheesy writing and a half assed plot, but boy this one shocked me. It really is on the edge of being all the things I mentioned above with its adolescent perspective, predictable character arcs, and font changing, however I found it to be blunt and real. it really was straightforward in that what happened happened. It turned out to be a harrowing tale of abuse that made my heart pound and my fingers flick pages. The writing was expressive, but it really was the whole mood that stole the show. I sort of had this vague idea of what was going to happen, so I was filled with this dread throughout. The book was engaging, and shocked me so bad. Honestly just never just a book by its cover, ever.
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Like several of Gibbons' other books, The Edge is officially billed as a children's book, but deals with themes that are equally relevant and interesting to adults. Also like some of his other work, it is a story with an agenda to communicate, and that can often be detrimental to the story itself as the author tries to ram his of her point home. Such is not the case with this book, however, as Gibbons offers an excellent and very believable plot with few 'Deus Ex Machina' moments and lots of everyday events. The story is presented as the internal monologues of the characters involved with clear headings every time there is a change in the point-of-view letting you know whose thoughts you are now looking into. This excellent delivery, combined with a few fancy fonts for the headings, makes for a very compelling multi-faceted narrative and allows the development of every character through the story to be clearly seen. Overall I recommend this heartily to everyone, it isn't hugely long but it packs a lot in, you won't be disappointed.
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I really, really, really did not like this book at all.
I thought the plot was very boring and tedious and I found the story dragged on impossibly long. I didn't find myself caring very much about the characters either - I mean, the only one I actually did like was the racist grandfather who redeemed himself by not being racist. Other than that, I really didn't like the characters at all: Danny was big-headed, Cathy was naive, Joan and Des were silly, pointless side characters and Chris wasn't in it that much.
I also found myself disapointed with the ending. It was too happy and very anticlimactic.
Although the writing in this book isn't bad, I still didn't like it very much, however it was unlikely I would have liked it anyway as this genre isn't my favourite. -
I first read this when it came out, and I was a teenager at the time. I recently found a copy of it on a 'take a book, leave a book' shelf and couldn't resist reading it again.
It's a good story, very readable, and the multiple perspectives are great. Definitely deserves its award and should be at the top of every young adults list.
The writing is stippled with cliches and dialogue that made me wince at how unbelievable it was, but, as it's a book aimed at a younger audience, I'm inclined not to make a stink about it. This is a book that's all about the story, and it kept me riveted, then and now. -
This was a fabulously written book, and a great attempt to get into the minds of those involved in domestic abuse, both perpetrator and victim. Disturbing thought patterns bring a chill to you as you read the obsessive comments of Chris Kane as he hunts down and pursues Cathy Mangam across the country.
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This book surprised me. I thought it would be a childrens' book with typical themes of the genre, yet it is centered around violence and racism. By being told from a teenagers point of view, it provides an emotional insight into what it is like to deal with such isues growing up in a difficult environment.
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Written really well, at first I wasn't sure about this one, but it's gripping and intriguing and it was great to read from so many of the different characters to understand their mind sets. It tackles two very difficult topics, domestic abuse and racism and I think it was interesting to see both sides of them and to see some of the characters develop over the story. Particularly the grandad.
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I dont really read books like this.
It was fasted paced. A very easy novel about running from a boyfriend who is nasty to your mum and setting up a life in a place that you grew up in.
It was sentimental and makes you think a lot. -
The book is about a boy (Danny) being born to a 16 year old girl Cathy. Chris is Cathy's husband and does not accept Danny as their child so they have a big runaway type chase. The book is filled with mysterious stories and is perfect for the ones who enjoy suspense and mystery.
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Great book...! Really had me on edge throughout the whole book, and towards the end i was trying to shout at the characters THROUGH THE BOOK what was happening that they didn't know about! As you can probably tell, I found this book rather gripping... :)
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Till today I still wish we had finished reading this book in school. it was such an amazingly captivating book and very well written too. it's definitely one of the books I'll read again this time from start to finish.
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Harrys a Prick.
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ugh gone off loads of books idk
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this book is very good
