The Knife that killed me by Anthony McGowan

This is one of the saddest books I have ever had to review because it is a book without hope.

It is set in an English school where there are only two types of student, bullies and victims. The only qualities that are respected are toughness and the ability to fight. If it is reality, no wonder we have lawlessness and social problems. If it is the future, we are doomed.

Paul Vaderman is a victim. He is not a bad lad and at the start of the book he proclaims "The knife that killed me wasn't a special knife....but it did the job".
What happens in the rest of the book leads up to the big event.

The social groups that exist within the school are all well described but even in the victims groups there is a culture of humiliation and put down and amongst the bullies, of which Roth is the king, there is a culture of cruelty and inhumaneness. Roth has only two facial expressions - agitation and blank. He manipulates through fear and bullying and is tribal in mentality. It is the law of the jungle.

This novel is absolutely compelling. You can't put it down. The difficulty is that those who should read it probably won't or can't and it is sad that such topics are part of children's literature.

For High School and young adult readers.

Reviewed by Bob

Published by Definitions 2008.

Also read the Guardian review