A tense yet thrilling novel from Alan Gibbon that tackles the issues of domestic violence, fear and prejudice with great pace and vitality. Danny is a boy on the edge. A boy teetering on the brink of no return, living in fear. Cathy is his mother; she has been broken by fear. Chris is fear -- and they belong to him...When Danny and Cathy break free of their fear and escape to start a new life, instead of freedom they find danger an prejudice of a different kind. The Edge is a tense and dramatic thriller, the story is incredibly well plotted and paced with excellent characterisation.
The Edge
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Certificate, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
"Alan Gibbons is committed to writing books boys will read...No film or television could compete with the immediacy of this intense plotting." Sunday Herald
Book Description
Crackling with tension a novel about a mother and son desperate to start a new life.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By "jjb890"
Format:Paperback
The main charcters in this book are fifteen - year old Danny and his mother Cathy. Cathy is white, while Danny is mixed race. (His mother became pregnant a sixteen with him by a black man named Des who is introduced later on). In the beginning they both run away from Cathy's violent and abusive boyfriend Chris Kane to Cathy's Northern hometown, Edgecliff. When they arrive, they are made to feel unwelcome by Cathy's father who disapproves of mixed - race relationships and regards Danny as a 'mistake'. Elsewhere in the town, racism is a major issue and Danny starts to find himself in complicated webs; especially when he starts the local high school. And then Chris starts to track them down...
This book is FANTASTIC. Its characters are well-formed and fully believable, its plot is meaty yet easy to follow and it is consistently fast paced and exciting, which is rare. It investigates the capacities of humans for love, emotion, violence, prejudice and stereotypical behaviour amazingly well, and allows further expression for the different characters's views as the book is told in mini - sections, each titled with the name of the character concerned. Congratulations to Alan Gibbons for writing such an excellent book that in my opinion should win every award going.
This book is FANTASTIC. Its characters are well-formed and fully believable, its plot is meaty yet easy to follow and it is consistently fast paced and exciting, which is rare. It investigates the capacities of humans for love, emotion, violence, prejudice and stereotypical behaviour amazingly well, and allows further expression for the different characters's views as the book is told in mini - sections, each titled with the name of the character concerned. Congratulations to Alan Gibbons for writing such an excellent book that in my opinion should win every award going.
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I found this book to be one of the best I have ever read.
It kept me interested, intrigued and constantly wanting to find out what happened next. The book is set out as if it were a diary, each chapter being split up into each characters entry for that particular day.
The characters are well portrayed and each of the them show very different personalities but all coming together in the end, giving a dramatic scene and climax to the novel, sorting out the bad from the good.
I found the book carefully and perfectly written the whole way throughout; and I feel that other readers will think the same.
As this is the first book I have read by this particular author it definitely made me want to read other books and set a very good example.
An excellent book by an excellent author!
It kept me interested, intrigued and constantly wanting to find out what happened next. The book is set out as if it were a diary, each chapter being split up into each characters entry for that particular day.
The characters are well portrayed and each of the them show very different personalities but all coming together in the end, giving a dramatic scene and climax to the novel, sorting out the bad from the good.
I found the book carefully and perfectly written the whole way throughout; and I feel that other readers will think the same.
As this is the first book I have read by this particular author it definitely made me want to read other books and set a very good example.
An excellent book by an excellent author!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Leah
Format:Paperback
`The Edge' is an enticing novel covering some of the main modern day issues and concerns such as domestic violence, single parenting, drugs, psychotic disorders and racism. The author uses short, sharp sentences to give a sense of a hurried and rushed opening to the book. The story is written by Alan Gibbons and is in a multi-narrative form which means that different characters can convey their different emotions about the same parts of the story. This is an unusual technique and it is very difficult to write in this way because you have to understand the characters yourself and also understand their emotions in order to express their feelings through yourself as the author. Alan Gibbons has done this very successfully because his technique gives you an insight into their previous lives, however, meeting Chris Kane, Cathy is not `allowed' a past because Chris thinks he is her past, present and future but she still refers back to her youth when he's not around. Cathy is not the main character in this story but she does give us some information about the way Chris behaved before the beginning of the book. You might be thinking that Chris Kane is the main character in the book, he does have a large part in the book but Cathy's son, Danny, is the main character. He is living with his mother and her ex-boyfriend who still loves her and will not let her go. In this novel Cathy is escaping from her deluded, `abusive' and extremely `possessive' ex-partner with Danny and they are venturing out of London to stay with Cathy's parents.
The characters in this novel have very different personalities because Danny is a traumatised, `insecure' and an `abused' teenager; Cathy is low in self-esteem, damaged but independent and Chris is a `psychotic', antisocial `animal'.... Read more ›
The characters in this novel have very different personalities because Danny is a traumatised, `insecure' and an `abused' teenager; Cathy is low in self-esteem, damaged but independent and Chris is a `psychotic', antisocial `animal'.... Read more ›
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
From the first page you are gripped, straight away you are hooked into this fast moving story - couldn't put it down.
By Lauren
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book had made me want to just keep reading, it was really interesting and I had not thought even once about not finishing it.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Ben
Format:Audio Cassette
After reading this book (The Edge - Alan Gibbons) I felt uplifted by the struggle of a young mother and her teenage son. Although people realise domestic violence goes on, not much is known why. Through Chris you can see how these people think. This book is cleverly written to show the opinion of each character all the way through the book. A top class book!! Highly recommended!
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Tom123
Format:Paperback
`We've got to go!'
These are the first words Danny hears in the morning from his mum. They are running away from her boyfriend, Chris, who is violent and cruel to them. They are very close to getting caught but manage to get away, but Chris isn't giving up without a fight. When he finds a simple page from an old newspaper about where they've gone he's got them cornered and there's no way out. But thanks to Cathy's dad who saves the day putting his life at risk for there's.
This book is a very tense book and makes you want to read on and on to see if Chris will ever find them or if they get away from him forever.
The book is not written in chapters but where each person writes there thoughts at a time which I really enjoy reading as it makes a difference from your everyday book.
I would not change one bit of this book as I just loved every one of the 192 pages in this book
These are the first words Danny hears in the morning from his mum. They are running away from her boyfriend, Chris, who is violent and cruel to them. They are very close to getting caught but manage to get away, but Chris isn't giving up without a fight. When he finds a simple page from an old newspaper about where they've gone he's got them cornered and there's no way out. But thanks to Cathy's dad who saves the day putting his life at risk for there's.
This book is a very tense book and makes you want to read on and on to see if Chris will ever find them or if they get away from him forever.
The book is not written in chapters but where each person writes there thoughts at a time which I really enjoy reading as it makes a difference from your everyday book.
I would not change one bit of this book as I just loved every one of the 192 pages in this book
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews
2.5 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Just coz
Just coz i found it dull and boring
by me, helped by me, me, me, me, me, me, me, and me
by me, helped by me, me, me, me, me, me, me, and me
Published 18 months ago by Me
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping, Fast-Paced and utterly believable!
The Edge by Alan Gibbons.
A gripping and exciting read this book will have you glued to your seat and wanting more at the end. Read more
A gripping and exciting read this book will have you glued to your seat and wanting more at the end. Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2011 by Tom
4.0 out of 5 stars
Real life gets a real working in Gibbons shocking novel
Danny and his mother Cathy have been living in fear from Chris and one day they make a break for freedom, only the Promised Land has its own problems. Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2009 by Stampy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping, vivid and insightful
This book had both me and my sons gripped from beginning to end. It is the story of a boy and his mother who move out to a small village to escape the mother's violent... Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2007 by Jaybird
4.0 out of 5 stars
VERY GOOD
The Edge By Alan Gibbons is a story about bullies and life in abbuse.
It's a great book and it's easy to read for Young Adult. Read more
It's a great book and it's easy to read for Young Adult. Read more
Published on 20 April 2007 by Al Thraves
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
I'm reading this at school (I picked it out to read before lessons). Let me just say, I haven't read a book as entertaining and thrilling as this in years. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2006 by Laurence B.
5.0 out of 5 stars
An older readers view
I bought this book for my teenage daughter, however after reading the first page I was hooked!
The moving story of a boy and his mother escaping domestic violence sets off a... Read more
The moving story of a boy and his mother escaping domestic violence sets off a... Read more
Published on 31 July 2004 by "janeab38"
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Children's Books > Fiction > Issues > Family
- Books > Children's Books > Fiction > Issues > Social
- Books > Study Books > Schools > Key Stages 1-4 > Key Stage 3 > Arts & Music
- Books > Study Books > Schools > Key Stages 1-4 > Key Stage 3 > English
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
