Dawn

by Kevin Brooks

Overview

Magical realism and gritty mystery meet in Brooks's provocative dissection of family, friendship, and faith. "A tense psychological thriller...hard-hitting."--Publishers WeeklyDawn Bundy lives in a cave. In her head. Where's she's been hiding for two years. Hiding behind headphones. From the two hottest girls at school, in their impossibly short skirts and unbearably tight tops, their skin close enough to touch. Not talking to her mother, not about what matters. Not thinking of her dad, the drug addict, the ex-con, born-again but far gone. Two years is a long time. Enough for the cave to grow so small that her breath feels like stone in her throat. Two years is no time at all. Nowhere near enough to forget. To pretend that nothing happened. Deep one perfect morning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545328869
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	11/01/2010
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
File size:	417 KB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Kevin Brooks is the groundbreaking author of the internationally acclaimed novels DAWN; BLACK RABBIT SUMMER; BEING; THE ROAD OF THE DEAD, a Mystery Writers of America "Edgar" nominee; CANDY; KISSING THE RAIN; LUCAS; and MARTYN PIG, which received England's Branford Boase Award for Best First Novel. Brooks lives in Yorkshire, England.

Date of Birth:

March 30, 1959

Place of Birth:

Exeter, Devon, England

Education:

B.A. in Cultural Studies, Aston University, 1983

Editorial Reviews

Brooks (Black Rabbit Summer) delivers a tense psychological thriller narrated by 15-year-old Dawn, traumatized after an event that prompted her father to disappear two years earlier and left her with an alcoholic, pill-popping mother. A loner, Dawn walks her dogs Jesus and Mary, listens to the Jesus and Mary Chain, and plots how she might kill God (who she blames for her father's transgression and absence) even though “He doesn't exist. Which is why it's going to be kind of difficult to kill him.” The “two badass-iest girls from school” insert themselves into Dawn's life and begin to untangle the web of secrets that keep Dawn and her mother in stasis. Dawn's narration, punctuated with lists and song lyrics, proves compelling as the mystery unravels about her father's crimes, what transpired between Dawn and her father, and what her mother knows about it. Brooks presents the story's dark underpinnings—including substance abuse, drug dealing, and sexual abuse—responsibly and with suspense. Though this hard-hitting novel does not deliver happy endings, acceptance of the truth offers the characters a new beginning. Ages 14–up. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Dawn Bundy wants to kill God. The 15-year-old knows it's an impossible task, but she blames him for her ex-con, drug-dealing father's final addiction to religion, his inexcusable act that forced part of her mind to retreat in a cave and his disappearance two years ago. She also hides her alcoholic mother, possible attraction to girls and her father's duffel bag full of money and a gun behind baggy, shapeless clothes and a dingy apartment, describing her life in an irreverent, edgy, first-person narration laced with dark humor and guiding lyrics from '80s band The Jesus and Mary Chain. Questions about religion and sexuality turn to mystery when the two most popular girls at high school take a sudden interest in socially awkward Dawn and a delivery van appears to be following her. Complete answers to these questions are sacrificed to create a rushed, gut-wrenching conclusion sure to shock readers. Even when Brooks is not at his best, however, he still produces compelling fiction that will leave teens clamoring for his previous titles. (Mystery. YA)

Kirkus Reviews

Gr 9 Up—Fifteen-year old Dawn Bundy wants to kill God. Her home life makes the reasons for her disillusionment clear. Two years ago, her drug-dealer and ex-con father abruptly abandoned the family after falling under the twin sway of religious fanaticism and substance abuse, and Dawn now serves as caregiver for her mother, who has turned to alcohol and prescription pills to cope with her pain. Dawn seems to have mostly numbed herself to the trauma of her father's disappearance and the events that led up to it, spending her time walking her dogs, Jesus and Mary, and obsessively listening to the band The Jesus and Mary Chain. And somehow Dawn and her mother have held on financially, living on cash left behind by her father. When two tough, popular girls unexpectedly befriend her, she finds herself unavoidably swept up in their efforts to make her over into a "cool girl" like them. She knows they're using her somehow, but she has no idea how sinister their motives really are. Despite her outward passivity, Dawn is bright, strong-minded, feisty, and extremely funny—the kind of character that teens are likely to connect with immediately. The story's dark themes—including religious fanaticism and sexual abuse—are also likely to appeal to eager readers of the "problem novel" genre. Some students may be puzzled by the questions Brooks leaves unanswered, including the ambiguous ending, but this is a provocative and compelling read for fans of suspense thrillers and realistic fiction alike.—Meredith Robbins, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, New York City

School Library Journal