Billy Elliot's tough, funny and heart-warming story is given new depth by best-selling author, Melvin Burgess. Billy's mother is dead, and his father and brother are fiercely involved in a bitter miners' fight that has split the local community. Billy's father wants his son to learn boxing, like he did and his father before him. But Billy is fascinated by the grace and magic of ballet and is determined to dance his way to a differet future. Told from the differing viewpoints of Billy, his father and brother and his friend Michael, Melvin Burgess has captured the spirit of the original film screenplay while demonstrating the skill ad inspiration he showed in his award-winning novel, Junk.
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It's not just fans of the film Billy Elliot that are going to love this book. The choice of Melvin Burgess to novelise the hugely successful Billy Elliot screenplay by Lee Hall is inspirational and yields its own rewards beyond the obvious one of revisiting, with compulsive detail, the story of Billy's ballet passion as seen on film.
Burgess is already a much-admired author of several significant books featuring disaffected youth and gutsy teenage drama like Junk and Bloodtide. His interpretation of Billy Elliot, written with additional character insights and advice about unused film scenes as supplied by Lee Hall, has the effect of it almost reading like a sequel - there's so much more to read about, so much more of Billy's motivation and family background on display.
The story of Billy Elliot told in the book is sometimes brutal, with its aptly gritty dialogue, yet it is also engrossing, emotional and well-told. It was all of these qualities to the beat of a foot-tapping soundtrack that made the film a massive international hit. Set against the backdrop of the mining strikes that gripped Britain in the early Eighties, Burgess reveals Billy to be an honest northern lad who doesn't like his politically-obsessed, bullying elder brother, nor the fact that his mam died of Cancer two years previously. He especially doesn't like the way his dad won't let him do ballet instead of boxing.
Billy's good at something for the first time in his life and he won't give it up easily, despite his immediate family's perilous financial woes. The strike is biting and his dad goes bonkers when he finds out about Billy's private dance tuition -- so the air is understandably filled with tensions aplenty. His mates are ribbing him at school about his dancing. His brother is at his father's throat because they disagree about how to settle the strike. His nana, who could have been a professional dancer, is going increasingly senile. There's lots to resolve if Billy's life is to start running more smoothly.
Burgess tells the story of the film to great effect from his trademark multiple viewpoints. He gets under the skin of each character in turn and lays them bare as they each get involved more deeply in the unfolding story of Billy's passion. From anybody but Melvin Burgess, a novelisation of Billy Elliot might not have been a book worth paying a whole lot of attention to. As it stands, its an indispensable slice of teenage life that's definitely worth reading, and keeping, and which will probably stay around at least as long as memories of it's big screen inspiration. (Age 12 and over) --John McLay
Review
"Floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee!" -Sarah Bailey, "Elle"
"Poised to sweep the world off its feet!" -Michael Rechtshaffen, "Hollywood Reporter"
"If you're making up a ten best list of films this year, you'll only need nine more!" -Brandon Judell, "Detour"
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"Poised to sweep the world off its feet!" -Michael Rechtshaffen, "Hollywood Reporter"
"If you're making up a ten best list of films this year, you'll only need nine more!" -Brandon Judell, "Detour"
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is loosely based on the screenplay by Lee Hall and tells Billy's story from the perspective of most of the main characters.
It does contain storylines that are not featured in the movie and although written for a more junior market, this is a great read for all fans of the film. You can easily picture Jamie Bell as Billy on each page.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Jo
Format:Paperback
I thought Billy Eliot was a fantastic book I really enjoyed reading it, and couldn't put it down. Outstanding (5 STAR). BEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ! I would definitely recommend it to all ages above 12 even if you don't like reading, (I don't, much!). Billy Eliot A MUST READ.
Henry age 12
Henry age 12
Format:Paperback
A great book giving the perspectives of a number of different people in the Billy Elliot story.
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3.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliantly written adaptation of an equally fantastic movie
I picked this up in a charity shop for about 50p- it's been a long time since I saw the movie so I wanted a bit of a refresher of the plot, which I definitely got in this short but... Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2010 by Nicola F (Nic)
4.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely Worth Reading!
This book has to have been the best book I have read in a long time. This was definitely a great follow-up to the film. Read more
Published on 10 May 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
An embracing,moving and witty story
Billy Elliot is exceptionally well written. It draws you into the book and puts you into the characters way of thinking. Read more
Published on 7 April 2001 by rosabell@blueyonder.co.uk
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic!
This is a well writen book explooring the ambitions of a child. Fantasticaly writen by Lee Hall the screenplay is almost as good as the film. Read more
Published on 14 Dec 2000 by Mr. D. L. Green
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