Lucas by Kevin Brooks

Lucas by Kevin Brooks
Buy Lucas by Kevin Brooks at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Conor Murphy
Summary: A stunning book with a realistic setting and a tiny dose of spiritual fantasy, Lucas will stay with you for a long time after you've finished reading.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 368	Date: January 2006
Publisher: Chicken House Ltd
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1905294176
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Caitlin McCann lives on Hale. Hale is a small island separated from the mainland of England by a causeway called The Stand. It is quite an isolated place and all the people who live there know each other really well. When Cait and her father return to the island after picking up her brother Dominic who is on holiday from university, they pass the mysterious figure of a blond haired boy walking across The Stand.

The blond haired boy is Lucas and he will change everything on Hale forever. Cait's mother died in a car accident and Cait's father is still sad about it. His sadness makes life really difficult for both Cait and Dominic. Hale's teenagers have made themselves into a nasty gang, led by Jamie, the son of the island's richest family. Cait doesn't want to follow their path of drinking and drugs and so she feels lonely outside of her house as well as in it. Even her best friend Billy decides to join the gang.

Lucas isn't like the others on Hale. He is mysterious and attractive and Cait becomes quite obsessed with him. But he is very different and he makes the others afraid. When Lucas is falsely accused of abusing a little girl on the beach by the people who hate him it sets off a chain of really terrible events.

Caitlin and Lucas are very like each other in a lot of ways. They are both quiet and they like to be on their own rather than in a group. They both stand out from the crowd. But in some ways they are very different. Caitlin is very passionate and thinks she can change her destiny but Lucas thinks that his future is already mapped out. I liked Lucas because he is a very mysterious person with a lot of power that he tries to hide. I also liked Cait because she's always trying to do the right thing.

Lucas is a realistic book and it is about all the things that affect teenagers such as drinking and smoking and even drugs, going out with people for the first time and their relationships with their parents. So it would appeal to most teenagers as it is about all the things that matter to them. If you like reading fantasy books you would also like Lucas because although it has a realistic setting it also has a little bit of fantasy and magic because you are never quite sure about Lucas. Is he a real person? Or is he a kind of magical spirit? Or is the magic just inside Cait's imagination because she is obsessed with him?

Lucas is one of my all time favourite books. I have read it about ten times. I like it because Kevin Brooks lets you decide for yourself whether you think it's all real or all fantasy. I also like it because the ending is half happy and half sad for Cait which is actually more like real life than most books. The style is quite easy to read but it does make you think about things for a long time after you've finished reading it.

I would recommend this book to girls and boys, people who like realistic books and people who like mystery and magic. I would recommend it to everyone really!

Kevin Brooks has a new book out called Being.

Reviews of other books by Kevin Brooks

Being

The Road of the Dead

Black Rabbit Summer

Lucas by Kevin Brooks is in the Top Ten Love Stories For Teenagers.

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Comments

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Jill said:

Excellent stuff Con!

I still think you're at a bit of a stretch with the magical spirit thing though. I think Lucas is definitely a real human being. I think he is a bit of a Jesus figure - he knows things won't end well for him but he goes to Hale anyway because he knows the people there need someone or something to show them how wrong they are being.

But that's the good thing about Kevin Brooks, like you say - it's all about what you believe, not what I believe. He doesn't tell you to believe anything, does he?

I reckon you should use this for your ILP. Bloodsong or Bloodtide (sorry, can't remember which is the Sigurd one) would be great but probably a lot more difficult to do. Write a review of it though and see how you go!

Sue said:

I think Con should write lots of reviews...

Keith said:

Lucas and Cait sound like really inspirational characters, not giving into peer pressure, whilst forming deep friendships. It sounds great.

Keith

Claire said:

This sounds like a very good read, Conor. It sounds intriguing.

emily.r said:

i really dont beleive that lucas is a jesus like figure having read the book, i believe that he is just wise in many ways and that he should not be categorized.

Jill said:

I agree that it's tremendously difficult to categorise Lucas but I also think there are many parallels between his character and Christ - he does not judge, he deliberately puts himself in harms way, he sacrifices himself for the good of others, and the list goes on. There is certainly a 'saviour' aspect to him that I'm sure is directly comparable to Christ.

clickiesharpie28 said:

This is one of those books that is open to interpretation... It's like high school all over, just a little more extreme. It's one of those books that just captures you. I read it twice in one day and now it's on my favorite books bookshelf.