- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Puffin Books; First Edition edition (4 May 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0141382201
- ISBN-13: 978-0141382203
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.4 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,037,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Angel Blood
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
X-Ray, Chicken Angel, Lights Out and Cough Cough are the only four children left in the institution known as the Bin. X-Ray and his friends may have terrible things wrong with them, but they're no fools. They know that things have been getting worse since Dr Dearly was put in charge. They have to get out - but how? Along comes hard-case Nail in his dodgy van with his posh bolshie girlfriend, Natalie. All Nail wants is to make some quick money and get off with Nats, but suddenly he has four weirdo stowaways. The children want to find the mythical Sky Boat to sail away from all their problems, but does it exist and will they survive until they reach it? X-Ray's voice is perfect and the way he and the others have created their own world based on their own experience is utterly believable. You long for them to break out and be liberated, even though you suspect the consequences will be terrible.
About the Author
John Singleton trained to be a teacher, and spent most of his professional life teaching kids and students the power of language and the pleasures of reading and writing. He now lives in Canterbury.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Lights Out is squealing and we're all watching and trembling. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Lights Out is squealing and we're all watching and trembling. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Wow. Just - wow. What an amazing read. I love unusual books, and this one is about as unusual as they come. The main story concerns four disabled children who are living in some kind of sanatorium in Scotland. They have lived there all their lives, not knowing parents or the outside world. The narrator is X-Ray, a boy with photosensitive skin which tears under the least pressure. He and his companions all have pet names for each other, although the nurses and the doctor (the sinisterly named Doctor Dearly) all refer to them as Gemini 1 to 4. Due to their extreme isolation, they have developed their own version of language, referring to hugging as `cosy cosy', stroking as `doing gently' and drugs as `dozie'.
I suppose in its basic form, this is about the children's escape - but it's so much more than that. The two young people who become entangled in the escape provide a welcome outsider's viewpoint of the situation - constantly worrying about the ramifications of their actions and endlessly debating whether to take the children back. The sections which focus on them are written in the third person past tense, whereas the sections written by X-Ray are first person present. Some readers might find this gimmicky, but I like the way it jolts you from one section to the next, reminding you that these two small groups are so completely different from each other that common ground is hard to find.
The ending will probably make you cry, even though you can see it coming. Beautifully written and stunningly original. No wonder it was shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.
I suppose in its basic form, this is about the children's escape - but it's so much more than that. The two young people who become entangled in the escape provide a welcome outsider's viewpoint of the situation - constantly worrying about the ramifications of their actions and endlessly debating whether to take the children back. The sections which focus on them are written in the third person past tense, whereas the sections written by X-Ray are first person present. Some readers might find this gimmicky, but I like the way it jolts you from one section to the next, reminding you that these two small groups are so completely different from each other that common ground is hard to find.
The ending will probably make you cry, even though you can see it coming. Beautifully written and stunningly original. No wonder it was shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is so much better than the poor excuse of a synopsis here, if I'd gone by that alone I would have probably over looked this little gem.
This book is amazing, thought provoking, and so very bittersweet.
It's written in a refreshing style that may be hard to get into, but once you do you are transported into these childrens lives, and you can really understand why they say and do the things they do.
It has left me with so many unanswered questions, but I like that about it, because it stays in character with the children and the main narrator, X-Ray, they are so innocent to the outside world and the harshness of life, that they truly don't understand what is happening to them is wrong.
I don't want to give the storyline away, the joy of this book is getting so engrossed in it you miss your bus stop (which I did) and shed a few tears at the end (which I did)
It's a unique read and I encourage everyone to give it a chance, you won't be disappointed.
This book is amazing, thought provoking, and so very bittersweet.
It's written in a refreshing style that may be hard to get into, but once you do you are transported into these childrens lives, and you can really understand why they say and do the things they do.
It has left me with so many unanswered questions, but I like that about it, because it stays in character with the children and the main narrator, X-Ray, they are so innocent to the outside world and the harshness of life, that they truly don't understand what is happening to them is wrong.
I don't want to give the storyline away, the joy of this book is getting so engrossed in it you miss your bus stop (which I did) and shed a few tears at the end (which I did)
It's a unique read and I encourage everyone to give it a chance, you won't be disappointed.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is beautifully written and utterly addictive. Having never known anything of the world out- side the few rooms of the Bin, the children are wrapped in a level of innocence that is almost painful to see and feel and they urge to want to touch them, hold their hand or brush the hair from their face is at times overwhelming. At times it is difficult to understand what is happening told as it is from X-Rays perception of the truth but this makes the story so compelling and utterly, emotionally wonderful.
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