Quarry
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Review
''This is all excellent, page-turning stuff... Quarry will reassure [Ally Kennen's] older fans that her grip on noir is as muscular as ever.'' --Guardian
Product Description
When he receives anonymous texts challenging him to bizarre dares, Scrappy's sure one of his mates is having a laugh. Anyway, his confusing teenage life just got more exciting. But the unknow sender cannot be a friend - and the challenges become increasingly dangerous. Someone knows all the secrets of Scrappy's troubled family - and is luring him into a deadly trap ..
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
YA thriller isn't a genre I've read a lot of, as there just doesn't seem to be many out there. I like thrillers, though - suspense and scares are high on my list of 'likes', and I'm happy to have found a new author with a backlist of titles for me to wade through. Quarry is Ally Kennen's latest offering - as well as the first of her books I've read - and I liked it.
I didn't know what to expect when I started Quarry. What I ended up getting was a fast-paced, chilling story of dares and boundaries, with an underlying message of just how far would you go? Main character Scrappy lives with his father and sister, along with his slightly batty grandad who thinks bad people called 'Geebos' exist and are out to get him. Grandad Ted provided much of the book's humour, and he was my favourite character. I liked his impulsiveness and his ability to ignore those around him - getting old and finding your mind deteriorating isn't by any means a fun thing to go through, but the way Ted deals with it is fairly light and easy to read.
Although I sympathised with Scrappy and his situation, I never became as attached to him as I would have liked. He was a bit too much of a mystery for me to completely get inside his head, and I also had some trouble believing he wouldn't have involved an adult when strange, dangerous text messages started appearing on his phone. I'd be too scared to not talk to someone about it, though maybe that's just me!
Quarry is tense and genuinely chilling, with a conclusion that never even occurred to me. Honestly, I think I've been born without the gene to work things out. It never, ever happens! In this case, at least I was as gobsmacked as Scrappy was, and I experienced the shock at the same time he did. I'm interested in reading more of Ally Kennen's books, as they appeal to my jumpy, thriller-loving side. A refreshing read with a sinister twist, Quarry isn't for those of a nervous disposition!
3.5/5
I didn't know what to expect when I started Quarry. What I ended up getting was a fast-paced, chilling story of dares and boundaries, with an underlying message of just how far would you go? Main character Scrappy lives with his father and sister, along with his slightly batty grandad who thinks bad people called 'Geebos' exist and are out to get him. Grandad Ted provided much of the book's humour, and he was my favourite character. I liked his impulsiveness and his ability to ignore those around him - getting old and finding your mind deteriorating isn't by any means a fun thing to go through, but the way Ted deals with it is fairly light and easy to read.
Although I sympathised with Scrappy and his situation, I never became as attached to him as I would have liked. He was a bit too much of a mystery for me to completely get inside his head, and I also had some trouble believing he wouldn't have involved an adult when strange, dangerous text messages started appearing on his phone. I'd be too scared to not talk to someone about it, though maybe that's just me!
Quarry is tense and genuinely chilling, with a conclusion that never even occurred to me. Honestly, I think I've been born without the gene to work things out. It never, ever happens! In this case, at least I was as gobsmacked as Scrappy was, and I experienced the shock at the same time he did. I'm interested in reading more of Ally Kennen's books, as they appeal to my jumpy, thriller-loving side. A refreshing read with a sinister twist, Quarry isn't for those of a nervous disposition!
3.5/5
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have read all of Ally Kennen's earlier books and this is definitely the one I have enjoyed most.
I found Scrappy's unusual family life interesting. I loved the fact that his parents had started bringing up their children while living in the cabin of a wrecked aircraft! Mum had left the family just before the story starts, so Scrappy and his sister are living with Dad, who is a depressed workaholic and even sleeps at his desk, and Grandad who is slowly going senile. In contrast his friend Silva's life with his hippy, artist parents seems quite normal. Scrappy starts receiving weird dares by text message from an anonymous sender and, thinking they are being sent by someone in his class, he finds himself carrying out the instructions - and strangely, earning some money for doing it. The denouement is tragic. Long hidden secrets are revealed and the family will never be the same again.
The imagery is quite bleak. The school is closed due to a cockroach infestation, but it's almost devoid of pupils anyway as it is about to be demolished. The scrap yard is, unsurprisingly full of wrecked cars, the quarry is deserted - no longer even the place where children gather, there is also a disused tower and it is always raining! In spite of all this, I really liked the book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a mystery.
I found Scrappy's unusual family life interesting. I loved the fact that his parents had started bringing up their children while living in the cabin of a wrecked aircraft! Mum had left the family just before the story starts, so Scrappy and his sister are living with Dad, who is a depressed workaholic and even sleeps at his desk, and Grandad who is slowly going senile. In contrast his friend Silva's life with his hippy, artist parents seems quite normal. Scrappy starts receiving weird dares by text message from an anonymous sender and, thinking they are being sent by someone in his class, he finds himself carrying out the instructions - and strangely, earning some money for doing it. The denouement is tragic. Long hidden secrets are revealed and the family will never be the same again.
The imagery is quite bleak. The school is closed due to a cockroach infestation, but it's almost devoid of pupils anyway as it is about to be demolished. The scrap yard is, unsurprisingly full of wrecked cars, the quarry is deserted - no longer even the place where children gather, there is also a disused tower and it is always raining! In spite of all this, I really liked the book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a mystery.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I read Quarry in a day, it kept my interest and had me hooked enough to really want to find out what was going on. The action starts quickly and the whole story is very pacey - there are a few instances where it feels as though the character is repeating himself as he constantly wonders who is sending him these dares, but they don't detract too much from the pace of the story.
Like another reviewer, I worked out who was behind it all around two thirds of the way through, but then I annoy my kids by doing that a lot - too much time spent reading and watching detective and mystery stories! The suspense was very well sustained throughout, and Scrappy's family connections well dealt with.
Overall, a very enjoyable read, and I'd happily search out and read more books from this author.
Like another reviewer, I worked out who was behind it all around two thirds of the way through, but then I annoy my kids by doing that a lot - too much time spent reading and watching detective and mystery stories! The suspense was very well sustained throughout, and Scrappy's family connections well dealt with.
Overall, a very enjoyable read, and I'd happily search out and read more books from this author.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
exciting and full of suspense
I got this for my son who is 12. He enjoyed this book, he said it was well-written and keeps the suspense up. The story is quite spooky and he would recommend it. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Becky P
Great teen read book
Ally Kennen's previous books Beast, Berserk and Bedlam really appealed to my teenage son. This book follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, with a gripping opening line 'I... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ms. C. R. Stillman-lowe
creepy
I haven't ever read anything by Ally Kennen before and I was pleasantly surprised by how good her book was. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Kirsty at the Overflowing Library
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