Sweet [Unabridged] [Paperback]

As a proud-as-heck long-term Sugar Rush fan (well, for the 3 years or so Burchill's wonderful characters have been allowed to assault public morals with their binge-drinking, drug-taking, lustful antics) and being utterly gutted when the fabulous TV series was axed to make way for the ever-more-festering Big Brother, I was delighted to get the news that Burchill finally wrote a sequel to the eponymous novel that started the whole roller coaster ride. After a rather sad year of being Sugar Rush-less, this punchy, smutty and surprisingly moving novel doesn't disappoint. In a nutshell, Sugar is back after a stay in the clinker, and having discovered her religious hubby Mark has done a runner with their daughter, starts a new chapter of her life in her own inimitable way. Before long Sugar has kicked her way into the lives of a couple of gay fashion designers, a foxy abortion doctor, a shy but sexy Pakistani Christian and a rowdy hen party - all the while keeping one eye open for her baby daughter, and another eye open for the now-absent Kim Lewis...This read made me howl with laughter several times, and kudos to Burchill for having the guts to be as thought-provoking and non PC as ever. However, it's apparent to the reader well-versed in the TV series that Burchill has tried to combine both TV series and previous book, and this is no surprise considering she wrote the book on the strength of having loved Leonora Critchlow's depiction of teen hell-raiser Sugar on the small screen. So, continuity wise, the story is rather all over the place, (for example, Saint being removed completely from the book even though she was 'the love of Kim's life' in both book and TV: perhaps because she changed age, context and race in the book/TV cross-over) while there are several lines in the text that have been taken straight from the TV script (a brief account of when Kim and Sugar steal Stella's credit card crops up, despite the fact that in the book, Stella had had her affair long before Kim met Sugar and would therefore not have been around for the girls to take her card). This is rather unsatisfying if you love both book and TV series, particularly as the TV show tried so hard to retain continuity over a supposed long period of time. Despite this I'm hoping against hope that the popularity of this latest addition to the Sugar Rush franchise pushes the TV executives into making Season 3. Even if they don't, though, we should thank Burchill for having made the final phase of the Sugar Rush saga so darn memorable.

a good book and recommended read for all sugar rush fans. it is slightly different in style as it is written from the point of view of sugar (rather than kim).

the ending was a little disappointing as i felt it was a little ...rushed. i would liked to have known a little more. but maybe it's left open for a third book? please?!

i must admit i didn't notice the 'continuity issues' between the tv version, the previous book and this until i read about it in a review here! so it certainly didn't spoil things for me!

definitely worth a read.

Book was written more as a sequel for the first series of sugar rush than of the original book 'sugar'. Predictable ending but if you like the series then you should like this book. Do not need to read the first book if you have watched the series.