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Scared To Death by Alan Gibbons (view source)
Revision as of 14:15, 23 January 2021
, 14:15, 23 January 2021no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Scared To Death
|author=Alan Gibbons
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=384
|publisher=Orion Childrens
|date=15 Jul July 2007
|isbn=978-1842551776
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>1842551779</amazonuk>|amazonusaznuk=1842551779|aznus=<amazonus>1842551779</amazonus>
}}
When Paul meets Redman on the tube on his way home one evening, something inexplicable happens. The usually sensible, straight-laced, cautious Paul is completely charmed by this enigmatic and charismatic older boy. Before he knows it, Paul has phoned his mother and told her that he's staying at a friend's house for an all-night computer game session. The following morning, a hungover Paul wakes up on a sofa in a student house - scene of a party he and Redman gatecrashed. The evening's "entertainment" had included alcohol, far too much alcohol, joy-riding, police chases and the snogging of girls only just met. It's just not like Paul. He goes home, feeling somewhat abashed, but also very slightly liberated.
Paul is a tremendously sympathetic character - he's completely normal (aside from his dormant supernatural abilities, obviously) and his life is completely normal too. He has immediately recognisable problems and immediately recognisable habits. He's not the class boffin, or the class joker, or the class rebel. He's just a normal young boy, happily minding his own business until Redman appears. I like reluctant heroes and so do children. They love to see a protagonist draw on hitherto unrealised depths. They like to imagine that they too could rise to the occasion. This homeliness, this unremarkableness, helps to create a comforting background for the reader too, and this is, cleverly, what allows Gibbons to get away with the scary passages.
The book doesn't rush - it's a welcome relief from the bang-crash-wallop, high-octane stuff for young teen boys so prevalent at the moment. It builds tension slowly and cleverly, and is ultimately a more rewarding read for it. The evocation of London's East End, both past and present, is also a powerful one and ''Scared to Death'' captures urban life in all its verve and vividness. It's a vigorous, strong book and will appeal to even the most reluctant of readers. I'm going to have a slight moan that it couldn't just finish with the resolution of the Redman story but had to set us up with a cliffhanger for a second book about Paul - if a book is good, we'll read another; if it isn't, we won't. Cliffhangers do try my soul. But aside from that, ''Scared to Death'' is a fabulous book, hitting all the right notes, and Bookbag recommends it.
My thanks to the good people at Orion for sending the book. We also have a review of Gibbons' [[Raining Fire by Alan Gibbons|Raining Fire]].
If they enjoyed this, they might also enjoy Frances Hardinge's supernatural thriller [[Verdigris Deep]]. Older readers might enjoy [[The Cleaner by Mark Dawson]].
{{toptentext|list=Top Ten Books For Children Who Love To Be Scared Silly}}
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[[Category:Fantasy]]
[[Category:Thrillers]]