Title: 15 DAYS WITHOUT A HEAD
Author: Dave Cousins
Release date: 5th January 2012
Publisher: Oxford
University
How far would you go
to keep your family together?
Meet LAURENCE, fifteen
years old and seven feet tall. Very soon, he’ll dress up as his mum and
impersonate a dead man on the radio.
Meet JAY, his six year
old brother. He looks like an angel but thinks he’s a dog. He’ll sink his teeth
into anyone who gets in the way.
Today is Tuesday – and
the next fifteen days will change the boys’ lives forever…
Not suitable for
younger readers because Jay Roach says so (and he bites).
Laurence looks after his little brother Jay… and up until a
couple of days ago, also had the responsibility of looking after his mum.
Getting her up to get to work on time is just one of his problems and it can be
difficult when she is suffering from a hangover. Laurence has a plan to change
things… it might involve spending his evenings in a phone box spurting out
general knowledge on the radio (sometimes accompanied by a growling Jay) but
surely this will bring his family back together and give them a happily ever
after? If only Laurence knew where his mum was……
As sad as it is funny, this book (despite only lasting 15
days) offers a rollercoaster ride. The reality of it is, some children live
like Laurence and his brother (although probably without pretending to be their
mum or lying on the radio) but as well as making me laugh and cry, this book
made me think and be so grateful. So many children aren’t as lucky as I was and
don’t have family around them to look after them and make them feel safe.
Laurence really cares for his brother and for me that was what drove the story
forward. Of course Laurence wants his mum back but he also wants Jay to have a
proper family and he truly believes that winning a holiday will solve his mum’s
problems.
The book wouldn’t be nearly half as effective if the
characters weren’t so believable and one of my favourite ones is Nosy Nelly. We
all know someone like her, the local gossip who knows everybody’s business and
asks those awkward questions when she already knows the answer! But in some
parts of this book, you just wish that there was someone who did know what was
going on and could come to the boys’ rescue.
Keith Gray describes the book as ‘A tough and turbulent tale
of growing up… There’s heart and soul on every page’ and I have to agree. For
anyone who has never experienced this dark world where children are left to
fend for themselves, the book will offer an insight into the stark reality that
many children have to face on a daily basis.
However, I don’t want this to put you off if you are after a
bit of humour. This is not ‘A child called It’ and will disappoint if you are
after a childhood abuse memoir. It is full of humour, love and best of all
imagination (as well as being fictional!).
I really appreciated the world that this book had to offer
and I think many others will too. There is an interview with the author at the
end of the tale which grounds the story as fiction as well as contact details
for Childline and NSPCC which offers support to readers who face a life like
this in reality.
4.5/5 This book offers so much and I don’t feel that this
short review has done it justice.
For support relating to some of the issues raised in the
book contact:-
Childline
Freephone 0800 1111
NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children)
0808 800 500
NACOA ( National Association for Children of Alcoholics)
Freephone 0800 358 3456
The Who Cares? Trust
0207
251 3117
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