Angus Book Award 2010
Review Competition
Winner
Beth Holehouse, Montrose Academy – Crossing the Line
Crossing The Line by Gillian Phillips is a book with many modern issues. All of which are very difficult to express but very real to the teenagers the book is aimed at.
Nick Geddes is the main character in this book and life isn’t treating him too well. His younger sister Allie’s boyfriend, Aidan was killed in a stabbing. His grandmother has dementia and spends her life in a world of her own. His dad is drinking too much and his mum embarrasses him every morning with her radio slot.
The main themes in this book then are bereavement, bullying, mental illness and knife crime. Allie has a strange way of coping with her grief. The teachers say she has “Issues” and Nick agrees. She pretends Aidan is still there, like a child’s imaginary friend.. As a result of this Allie’s friends have abandoned her, labelling her crazy and weird. Even Nick is slightly confused by her actions, she’s far too old for an imaginary friend, but Aidan is a constant, if invisible attachment nonetheless.
As if the death wasn’t bad enough it wasn’t just an accident or a spontaneous killing. It was cold blooded knife crime.
“Kevin Naughton killed my sister’s boyfriend with a Valu-Pack Stay-Sharp vegetable knife… Kevin Naughton was my friend.”
He became friends with Kevin in his first week at high school. And it all went down hill form there. Nick isn’t a bad person; he got into bullying almost by accident with some pushing form Kevin and his brother Mickey. He regretted the choice soon after, but he couldn’t turn back the clock. By the time he gathered his courage and stood up for himself it was just too late.
The most interesting and strange thread is that of the mental illness within the grandmother, Lola Nan. She and Allie are very similar, both seeing things no-one else can. The most chilling part of the book is a conversation Lola Nan and Nick have.
“What happened to that boy?”
“Who Lola Nan?”
“The Boy”
“Me? I’m here.”
“No, no, no The Boy. That one who always talked to me. Where’s he gone?”
So maybe neither of them are as mad as they seem?
This is a fast paced, gripping story of a mixed up family and a young boy who has made some crucial mistakes but is just trying to do what’s best for himself and those around him.