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He's After Me by Chris Higgins (view source)
Revision as of 12:51, 19 June 2011
, 12:51, 19 June 2011no edit summary
I ''really'' liked this book! It's really quite dark - tense and intense. Deep down, Anna knows that her relationship with Jem isn't a healthy one, but she's never been in love before and she just can't get a sense of proportion. As the book goes on, she falls behind at school, loses her best friend, lies to her family - and even worse, but I shan't elaborate and spoil it. And, ironically, she begins the book with a sneering and condescending attitude to both her sister and her best friend when they've behave in clinging or needy ways over boys. We've all been there, or will be there. Sadly for Anna, though, this boy is dangerous and the sneering is all over.
The book is largely narrated by Anna herself and she has a clear, strong voice which will be immediately recognisable to readers. She is a bright, articulate girl with a promising future but she is beset with the same issues as every teenage girl - ''Will I ever fall in love? Will anyone ever fall in love with me? Does my bum look big in this? '' - and she has the added stress of the recent and acrimonious break up of her parents to cope with. She's at a vulnerable age ''and'' it's a fragile time for her family, so poor Anna is even more vulnerable to an abusive personality than many of her peers. And she falls for Jem hook, line and sinker.
We see snippets of what is going on from Jem's point of view in little inserts between chapters and it's quite chilling. They really ratchet up the tension and they leave the reader in no doubt that this relationship will end badly. And it does, but not in the way the reader is expecting. This story has a shocking twist in its tail.