Junk (Puffin Modern Classics) [Paperback]

Melvin Burgess (Author)

Book Description

Series: Puffin Modern Classics | Publication Date: March 6, 2003

This is an uncompromising, compelling and true-to-life story of two teenagers drawn into the dangerous and destructive world of heroin addiction. This tour de force by an acclaimed and provocative writer should become a definitive teenage novel on this subject.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Occasionally a 'teenage novel' comes along which makes one reconsider the whole genre and its potential. Such a book is Melvin Burgess's Junk -- Robert Dunbar Children's Books in Ireland The most talked-about children's book for years Mail on Sunday Brilliantly and sensitively written, it encompasses the raw, savage and ecstatic world of the adolescent mind... a superbly crafted and important book TES Beautifully written The Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Melvin Burgess was born in London in 1954. He began to train as a journalist but left after six months. He has had a variety of jobs as diverse as bricklaying and silk-screen printing. An Enterprise Allowance Scheme gave him the chance to develop his writing and his books for children are very highly regarded. Melvin lives in Lancashire.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (March 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141315938
• ISBN-13: 978-0141315935
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,837,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Junk is smack, April 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Junk (Hardcover)

When i bought smack i could not put it down. then i was told that junk was the sequel to smack. so i bought that and it is the same book. i was mad. so don't be folled because the athour re-named the book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Negative Metamorphosis, March 8, 2006

By 

L. Linkes "avid reader" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Junk (Paperback)

Burgess's "Smack," written a year before his short novel "Junk," is a terrific novel that captivies and evokes emotion. "Junk," however, is a poorly written screen-play version of that novel. The point of creating such a thing is beyond me. He should have stopped while he was ahead with "Smack."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book., April 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Junk (Hardcover)

A slow start to what then became one of the most fantastic books I have ever read. The characters become your friends and you emphasise with their choices and actions. This is the first book I have ever read that has enabled me to see a reason why people use herion. The book takes you through the good and the bad times.

I for one after reading the book would never try heroin. I was shown how this drug could take away dignity, dreams and even lifes.

A brilliant book!!!