- Paperback: 252 pages
- Publisher: Airstrip One Publications; 1st edition (1 Feb 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0955685508
- ISBN-13: 978-0955685507
- Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,367,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
'This is the most terrifying book I've ever read...it's scary because it bleeds truth...Incendiary reading. Exemplary writing. I read it in one sitting and couldn't move for about an hour afterwards. In fact, I'm still having nightmares about it.' -- Amazon review, 2008
'Stunning, gritty, heartbreaking' --Amazon review, 2008
'This book knocked me sideways...will speak for the disenchanted voice of a generation much like Catcher in the Rye did to the youth in the 50s.' --Amazon review, 2008
'A brilliant book which should be on the syllabus of every secondary school.' --Amazon review, 2009
'Exceptional'
--Amazon review, 2009
'Stunning, gritty, heartbreaking' --Amazon review, 2008
'This book knocked me sideways...will speak for the disenchanted voice of a generation much like Catcher in the Rye did to the youth in the 50s.' --Amazon review, 2008
'A brilliant book which should be on the syllabus of every secondary school.' --Amazon review, 2009
'Exceptional'
--Amazon review, 2009
Product Description
A hard-hitting novel following two months in the life of 14 year old Lisa as she runs away and learns to survive on the streets. Random House said: 'Extremely well-written. The narrative voice is particurly strong and supple, conveying both Lisa's teenage defiance and her immense vulnerability.' A Lulu reviewer said: 'GREAT book, very authentic! All teenagers should read it and definitely all parents. Will become a classic.' NEW REVIEWS JUST IN! 'Brilliant - all teenage girls should read it.' 'Breath-taking...I was totally amazed by it. By god it deserves a hearing.' 'I really applaud your capacity to speak in the voice of a 14 yr old - it's so genuine, honest, comic at times and vivid.'(reader review) 'Great book, very impressed.' (reader review) 'Great narrative voice and really well-paced.' (reader review) 'I'm halfway through your book - it's brilliant! Is it wrong that I really fancy a barrack buster and a couple of pills?' (reader review)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just finished this book and I can't rate it highly enough. Its what a teenage book should contain.
It is a good example of how your life can spiral out of control with no warning and it addresses so called sensitive and taboo subjects in a refreshing way. Reading the book had me laughing one minute and almost crying the next. It is a tragic tale and well written and like others, I await a sequel.
It is a good example of how your life can spiral out of control with no warning and it addresses so called sensitive and taboo subjects in a refreshing way. Reading the book had me laughing one minute and almost crying the next. It is a tragic tale and well written and like others, I await a sequel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Like many other reviewers I grew up in the areas mentioned in the book.
The author portrays a flawed childhood which I and many others experienced in a way that is not condescending and avoids the pitfalls of the usual cliched teenage novel. The dialogue is gritty and realistic and the reader experiences the emotional rollercoaster that Lisa embarks on.
The intentional use of bad grammar is actually quite clever and makes the narrative more authentic. It is a rather poignant novel and impressive more so as it is a debut novel. There is no storybook happy ending and it leaves the reader with a hollow feeling of wanting more. Perhaps there may be another adventure for Lisa on the horizon? I for one look forward to a sequel.
The author portrays a flawed childhood which I and many others experienced in a way that is not condescending and avoids the pitfalls of the usual cliched teenage novel. The dialogue is gritty and realistic and the reader experiences the emotional rollercoaster that Lisa embarks on.
The intentional use of bad grammar is actually quite clever and makes the narrative more authentic. It is a rather poignant novel and impressive more so as it is a debut novel. There is no storybook happy ending and it leaves the reader with a hollow feeling of wanting more. Perhaps there may be another adventure for Lisa on the horizon? I for one look forward to a sequel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I came across this book by accident as i`m from the area I bought it.
Within a couple of pages I was brought right back in the craigavon I grew up
in also back to the teenage confusion I thought I had forgot.
The language the imagery and the characters were
absolutely convincing.
If someone doesn`t make a screenplay/film of this there is
something wrong as thats what it reads like.
It is a work of complete honesty and authenticity.
Laura Canning has managed to get into the head of a problem teenage girl and brings you with her in sympathy and a complete understanding of why someone would make the seemingly crazy choices she makes, you are left understanding how a child could end up going from a bad A to a horrendis B and the worrying thing is that it seems to the child a logical and correct route.
This amazing work should be on school sylabus as a warning to children and teachers alike.
and by the way it is also not without humour despite the subject matter
Amazing work is there a follow up?
Within a couple of pages I was brought right back in the craigavon I grew up
in also back to the teenage confusion I thought I had forgot.
The language the imagery and the characters were
absolutely convincing.
If someone doesn`t make a screenplay/film of this there is
something wrong as thats what it reads like.
It is a work of complete honesty and authenticity.
Laura Canning has managed to get into the head of a problem teenage girl and brings you with her in sympathy and a complete understanding of why someone would make the seemingly crazy choices she makes, you are left understanding how a child could end up going from a bad A to a horrendis B and the worrying thing is that it seems to the child a logical and correct route.
This amazing work should be on school sylabus as a warning to children and teachers alike.
and by the way it is also not without humour despite the subject matter
Amazing work is there a follow up?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fantasic Read
What a great book! Got totally into the main characters story and felt real emotion toward her and her experiences. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2010 by David Savage
Taste the Bright Lights - brilliant and compelling
Taste the Bright Lights by Laura Canning is a great book. It's full of insights about life on the streets for kids today. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2010 by Kathryn Clarke
Gripping story
Excellent 1st book, hope there are more to come. The story just keeps you hooked and you have to follow Lisa's story. It is well written, witty and thought provoking. Read more
Published on 19 Aug 2009 by Flojomo
didnt want to set it down
wasnt to sure at the start im not a reader but gripped me from the first page and i truly didnt want it to end,what a story. Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2009 by Ms. E. Mcconaghy
How teenagers should NOT live their lives
There's a lot to say about Laura Canning's TASTE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS. It's surely destined for great things, one of those "important" novels that critics sometimes harp on about. Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2009 by Keith Robinson
Exceptional!
I came across Taste The Bright Lights by chance and, having read some of the author's excellent journalism, bought it principally for my 15 year old son. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2009 by T. W. Jones
Light years Ahead of its time.
A firmly realistic, and utterly harrowing tale of teenage life lived on the most extreme forgotten edge, of an extreme and overlooked society; dripping with razor sharp wit,... Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2009 by David Ellison
Very impressive.
This is a book which manages the enviable feat of being both brutally stark and genuinely touching. Protagonist Lisa is so well wrought as to be completely believable, and as a... Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2008 by M. McCullough
rockin book!!
so many things i cud say.
as a reader i couldnt put it down
as a fledgling writer,something to aspire to. Read more
as a reader i couldnt put it down
as a fledgling writer,something to aspire to. Read more
Published on 8 Sep 2008 by Imelda McFaul
taste the bright lights !
I have wanted to review this book for a long time , this was one of the best books I had read in a long time , esp coming from a local author! Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2008 by S. Patton
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