Fifteen Days Without a Head [Paperback]

I'll admit that this isn't the sort of book I would have immediately picked up - there are no werewolves, zombies, vampires, ghosts or other paranormal paraphernalia. Yet after reading 15 Days Without a Head I've gone off my paranormal diet!
I fell in love with poor Lawrence who is desperately trying to hold his family together in the face of a mother who has completely given up. In fact, she's tearing the family apart, with her drinking and ultimately her own absence. Lawrence is a fifteen year old boy who bears the responsibility of an adult. How does he hold down school, while also getting his little brother to do the same and getting them both fed on the few pennies their mother left in the house when she abandoned them? All this while searching for his absentee mother, avoiding the social services (who have let him down in the past), competing to win a holiday in the sun AND getting the girl?
I'm making this sound a little depressing, but it isn't. Somehow Cousins manages to make this a life-affirming story. Part of this is down to Jay, the little brother, a boy obsessed with Scooby Doo, who puts up with the behaviour of the adults in his life with marvelous forbearance.
I'd like to meet Jay and Lawrence.
More importantly I'd like David Cameron to meet Jay and Lawrence.

I've just finished reading this book to my eleven year old son J for his bedtime story (you're never too old for a bedtime story) and he absolutely loved it; every night he pleaded with me to keep reading for longer.

Other reviews here have given details of the story so I won't repeat those. I just wanted to say that this is a lovely story, giving real insight into what it must be like for a family living in this situation, but with humour and poignance too. The use of present tense is a great way of feeling the immediacy of what is happening in the story.

I don't want to give away any of the story, but one of my favourite parts is to do with the building society book. This really reminded me of how my grandmother in the last few years of her life had deposited small bits of money in an account for my children - talking to J about that made me really sad, but gave a great opportunity to talk about something we've hardly ever discussed. Not many bedtime stories give you that!

What would you do to keep your family together? Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach is prepared to do anything to keep his little brother Jay with him: See, his Mum has problems. She drinks a lot and smokes and works two rubbish jobs to get enough money to feed them all. But one day, she just doesn't come home. To start with, Laurence isn't overly worried. She's disappeared before, gone off drinking `til her money runs out. But after a while, he realises this is different. And to keep Jay with him, Laurence has to pretend his Mum is still there. And as I said before, Laurence will do anything to keep his family together. Including dressing up as him mum.

The next fifteen days are going to change both Jay and Laurence's lives forever...

I started this one as soon as I got it, but had to put it aside because of other review priorities. It's been niggling at me ever since them. I only left it for a little while, and I almost went round the bend, desperate to know more about Laurence. And after reading the whole book: not disappointed! I loved every moment, loved Laurence and Mina and especially little Jay! I was just sucked into the story, and I had to know what happened to the boys. It was the most amazing debut!

Laurence Roach was someone I loved straight away. He was funny, but I also knew instantly that he'd been through so much. He was the most amazing big brother, always looking after Jay, always having to be strong for Jay... And Laurence really was so, so strong. He had to deal with too much, poor boy, so much responsibility. Laurence tried so hard to keep everything together: constantly looking out for his mum, getting up at 5am to get her ready for her job, even doing it for her. His biggest fear was that his brother would be taken away and he wouldn't be able to stop it. Laurence Laurence Roach just felt so real to me. I feel Mina described him perfectly: "stupid - but brave".

Jay Roach was sweet, and both too naïve and too old. He had a thing for dogs: he pretended to be one - mainly to bug Laurence. Strangers loved him because of his angelic looks. And he was just really funny - even if he didn't mean to be! I mean, he turned into "Scooby Doo" - Scooby bites people, not Jay! I loved the kid, and felt so sorry for him as well.

`Mum' - Margret Roach, drank and smoked. Her kids hid until `Happy Hours', when the drink would make her smile and be all hugs and kisses. She was so depressed: without drink she stayed in bed or locked herself in the bathroom and cried. Or she got mad. All the way through, I was asking: Why did she leave? By the end of the book, I had my answer. And everything I thought about her changed.

Mina was in a brass band, sort of bossy and confident. I liked her straight away! She was just really funny, and really nice to Laurence, as well as being smart and logical. Oh - and slightly mad! Plus I totally felt the Mina-Laurence chemistry! It was a really strong and sweet romance.

But probably my favourite thing about this story was the relationship between Laurence and Jay; I loved it. You could tell how much they loved each other: it was really touching and real. They stuck together through everything. Laurence always looking after Jay, who was the Scooby to his Shaggy. Although they were close, there was also just the right amount of exasperation and bickering. Siblings just aren't siblings without a little fighting, after all! Most of all, I loved how the two of them and Mina pretend to be the Scooby Gang!

I love contemporary. The whole real-life horrors and dramas have become addictive for me. Fifteen Days Without a Head was an amazing contemporary. I loved the problems, how real it felt to me. I loved seeing how an ordinary teen, with extraordinary strength, handled everything, overcame it. I fell in love with Laurence and Jay, their relationship. And Dave's writing was just infectious. It was totally teenager, without feeling forced. More importantly, it was Laurence Roach. I could feel him as I read, but more than that, it was emotional. I cried (out loud) at some bits, laughed my head off at others (mainly when Jay was involved). I just fell in love with the voice, and was left wanting more. Somehow, Dave managed to pull off a heavy subject with a light voice, something that is insanely hard to do, and I applaud him for it. I can't wait to see what he brings out next. Maybe another Roach tale...

Fifteen Days Without a Head sucked me in with the characters, the plot, the writing. The reality. And the fact that Laurence was just so relatable. It was a beautiful but horrible, a moving, emotional and funny story, with lovable and relatable characters and a believable plot, Fifteen Days Without a Head is a stunning book, one I won't be forgetting for a long time, and Dave is an author to look out for! I loved this story!