Almost True Review

Book. 4

Title: Almost True

Author: Keren David

Release Date: 2^nd September 2010

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Ruthless killers are hunting Ty. The police move him and his Mum to a quiet seaside town. But a horrific attack and a bullet meant for Ty prove that he’s not safe yet.

 

On the road again, Ty’s in hiding with complete strangers... who seem to know a lot about him. Meanwhile, he’s desperate to see his girlfriend Claire, and terrified that she may betray him.

Ty can’t trust his own judgement and he’s making dangerous decisions that could deliver him
straight to the gangsters.
 

Ty isn’t coping well with his current life and longs to go back to how things were when he wasn’t a witness to a murder. After another failed attempt on his life, Ty has to move in with his Dad’s parents, which turns out to be an exercise in learning about his past. While relationships with his Mum and girlfriend, Claire, seem to be breaking down, can he build a relationship with his new family or will he ruin it with recklessness and lies?

I really enjoyed ‘When I was Joe’ and so was looking forward to finally getting to read Keren David’s next novel about Ty’s life under witness protection. The opening chapter explodes with ferocity and the violence that has plagued Ty’s life since he was a witness to murder. While I did find the entirety of the book really engaging, I felt that actually, there were several plotlines going on at the same time and in fact, this tale could have been made into several books.

Keren David tackles several of Ty’s key relationships within this novel with main characters such as his Mum, his Grandma, his Dad, his girlfriend, his Dad’s parents and his new-found cousin Archie. While it was brilliant to get to know a lot more about Ty’s life previous to ‘When I was Joe’ which is revealed to him through forming relationships with his Dad’s family, I felt like the reader is thrown into information overload. However, despite this, I understand that this kept me engaged (I was desperate to know what had happened when Ty’s Mum and Dad separated) and also threw me into Ty’s world. He has to deal with the trauma of being under witness protection, his Mum’s shocking news and the truth about his past as well as worrying about lying to the police.

There is so much going on in Ty’s life that it is hard to keep up but the characters are so believable and captivating that they push through the narrative. My favourite characters in this novel have to be Helen and Patrick (Ty’s grandparents) as they offer guidance and support while he is struggling to come to terms with what is happening. The introduction of so many new characters meant that this novel is very unlike ‘When I was Joe’ in that it has a different setting and the reader is given much more background information on the crime.

I think if you liked ‘When I was Joe’ then you’ll like this too. I was surprised by how much content was covered in the novel and how many new characters were included but every page managed to maintain my interest. I look forward to reading ‘Another Life’ (Book 3 in the series) and seeing what happens to all the characters I have come to know and love.

4/5 A mammoth of content included!

When I was Joe Review

With the release of Another Life on 6^th September I wanted to read When I was Joe which has been on my ‘to read’ list since its release! When I was Joe won the Lancashire Book of the Year award in 2011 and I am pleased to say, it did not disappoint!

Title: When I was Joe

Author: Keren David

Release date: 7^th January 2010

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

It’s one thing watching someone get killed. It’s quite another talking about it.

But Ty does talk about it. He names some ruthless people and a petrol-bomb attack forces him and his mum into hiding under police protection.

Shy loser Ty gets a new name, a new look and a cool new image. Life as Joe is good. But the gangsters will stop at nothing to silence him. And then he meets a girl with a dangerous secret of her own.

Ty has witnessed something awful. When he tells the police, things only becomes more horrific as he and his mum have to go into witness protection after his life is threatened. Becoming Joe is strange and Ty’s mum is struggling to deal with their new life. But Ty finds he quite likes being popular Joe.

However, how long can Ty’s perfect life as Joe last when he can’t control his temper and how long will it be before the gangsters track him down?

I really really enjoyed this book. It offers comedy in the form of Ty’s humour and his mum’s young behaviour (I literally laughed out loud when she texted him with ‘wtf’). However, the book has a very serious back bone and I became emotionally involved with Ty and his ‘friend’ Claire. What Ty and his mum go through is truly awful. Not only are they constantly surrounded by the threat of violence from those Ty has accused but their everyday world is turned upside down too.

 Ty’s mum is studying for a degree with the Open University and doesn’t know if her credits can be transferred now that she has a new name. I know how hard my mum is working for her own Open University degree and something as simple as this revealed a new sense of the day to day difficulties of becoming someone else.  It was these little details that made the story totally believable and immersed me in the narrative.

Ty/Joe is a brilliant character. He attempts to withdraw himself emotionally from what is happening but finds that his emotions vent themselves in other ways. Keren David has created a character with lots of depth and I actually felt like I was delving into the mind of a teenage boy.

The reader is drip fed details of the crime that Ty witnessed and this made me want to continue reading to find out what had happened. Throughout the book I came to different conclusions as to what had happened and all were wrong! David’s withholding of information also offers different dimensions to Ty’s character as it is gradually revealed the extent of Ty’s involvement in the crime.

I’ve ordered a copy of Almost True (the second book in this series) from my local library and the first chapter was included at the back of this book but I didn’t want to get hooked before my copy came! An absolutely fantastic book, suitable for anyone who likes brilliant YA literature.

5/5 Give it a go if you haven’t already!