Junk by Melvin Burgess

Title: Junk

Author: Melvin Burgess

Publisher: Penguin

Originally published in 1996

Pages: 278

Genres: YA fiction

Format: paperback

Junk = Heroin = Bliss = Despair = A love affair you’ll never forget

Tar loves Gemma, but Gemma doesn’t want to be tied down - not to anyone or anything. Gemma wants to fly. But no one can fly for ever. One day, somehow, finally, you have to come down. 

This is a very challenging book. Not because of the language, the language is very accessible. Not because of the storyline, the story is quite simple. It’s challenging because of the content. When I was a teenager I used to read a lot of books halfway through before abandoning them, and in this case that’s a very bad idea. The first half of this book gives the reader a romanticised view of addiction, the rock-and-roll lifestyle and idealised notions of living a life without restraint, answerable to no one. The second half displays, slowly, insidiously, and with a creeping sensation of eventual disintegration, the effects of addiction.

Books are amazing, and one of the things that makes them amazing is their ability to allow the reader to experience the experiences of others without actually going down that road for themselves. This is a book aimed at teenagers, and I ardently believe that all teenagers should read it, but I also believe that all parents should read it beforehand so that they are somewhat aware of the life lessons being taught.

The narrative format is first person and the chapters jump between characters. This gives a wide reaching view of the situation and, explores the ‘unreliable narrator’ convention excellently. In one character’s narrative they will swear blind to the reader that they would never use needles, in the next character’s narrative they describe watching the former inject themselves. This method is subtle, allowing the reader to come to steady realisations that the characters themselves are finding hard to face.

Everyone should read this book. If nothing else it introduces themes that most people try to avoid, it forces the reader to face an uncomfortable reality, that kids do make these decisions, they do get into these situations, and the more we talk about it the better our society will be.   

How I went to Hogwarts... and what happened after I graduated

Like most people of my generation my first experience of genuine heartbreak came when, aged 11, September the first rolled on by without any sign of my letter from Hogwarts. I waited by my window that whole summer with bated breath, scanning the horizon for any sign of a largish bird that might be carrying the news that I was not ordinary, that I was talented, that I was magical. So instead of beginning High School with excitement and anticipation, I began it with a lump of broken heart in the pit of my stomach that added a bitter twang to the reality that I, Emily Grenfell, was nothing more than a muggle.

This experience is one I have come to accept as formative in my teenage development. I tasted absolute rejection early, and every setback from then on was a mere hiccup in comparison. The dream and the hope that was Hogwarts would never be my reality, but that did not mean that I couldn’t replicate it as closely as possible. When it came to choosing what Universities to apply to I found that I had the opportunity to make a decision for myself, and I chose to go to Hogwarts. 

My applications, then, consisted of what universities boasted adjoining castles. I applied to Durham, St Andrews, Edinburgh (this one is not technically in a castle, but there is one right there that you can look at) and Glasgow. Luckily for me I ended up at Glasgow, and the turreted Gothic architecture boasted quadrangles and cloisters, marble staircases and oak paneling that satiated even my thirst for a magical educational experience. 

This method of selection may appear ridiculous, a childhood fantasy indulged for a little too long coupled with an overactive imagination that may have led to a very bad decision, if it weren’t for one brilliant fact: only good universities have castles attached. 

Think about it: in every large town there are a few universities, a primary one and one or two secondaries, and you never find a secondary university in a castle. A classic example is Oxford and Oxford Brookes, Oxford was a dream too far for me, and Oxford Brookes lacked the architecture I needed to function on an academic level, so the Oxford option did not look great. As it was I ended up in a first rate Russell Group University, studying under some of the most respected academic minds in the world, and did I mention the turrets? 

For me the Hogwarts dream was one I made my reality as soon as I had the agency to do so, and I’ll never look back. Unfortunately, however, I had to graduate. It's an uncomfortable reality to face for someone like me, but last year it happened and after the reading frenzy that was my final year had passed I was faced with previously unknown freedom. I started reading books that i'd always wanted to read, books that as a Literature student I probably should have read, but no reading list called for them and no time permitted, so they've, until now, been neglected. 

This book-review blog will be varied and eclectic. I will explore my new found freedom and, hopefully, entice some of you to join me along the way. I might, at times, delve back to my years of study and review a book that is well worth revisiting. I will, always, be exploring literature from all genres, from Gothic Horror to Children's Literature to Romance to Sci-Fi to the Romantics. I may at times delve into deeper literary analysis... I don't plan to do this, but as a recent graduate writing about literature it's something of an occupational hazard! 

My aim is to read as widely as possible, so if you're searching for inspiration, if you're on the hunt for a book that is nothing like you've ever read before, you might just find it here.