YA Book Queen: When I Was Joe

Showing posts with label When I Was Joe. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

When I Was Joe by Keren David

Book: When I Was Joe

Author: Keren David

Release: September, 2010

Pages: 364

Source: Publicist

My {spoiler-free} Summary:

Joe is popular. Joe is an amazing runner. Joe has got everything going for him. Too bad Joe isn't a real person.

Fourteen-year-old Ty witnesses a murder, and does what he thinks is the right thing: tells the police. But now dangerous people are after him and will stop at nothing to keep him from testifying in court, even if it means killing him and anyone who gets in the way.

Now Ty's stuck entering the witness protection program with his mother, Nicki. Ty is gone, and his new identity is Joe. Despite the drastic changes, he's enjoying his new life, especially when he meets a sweet girl who has dark secrets too. But his mom is struggling day to day and can barely keep herself together. Not to mention that any second they could be found, and really be in danger.

Secrets, lies, and danger lurking in every corner....The mysteries all unravel one page at a time in this addictive debut.

Review: Simply stunning in it's ability to keep a reader dangling with anticipation on every page, When I Was Joe doesn't fail to surprise and end with a bang.

Ty/Joe has a unique voice that truly drew me in, made me laugh, as well as really care for him. His life is just turned upside down because of what he's seen, and it's easy to sympathize with him. The complexities of his new life and the people in it kept me curious about what could possibly happen next. Ty's really going through a coming-of-age time in his life, struggling with his morals and his secrets. The contrast between who Ty was and who he is becoming is intriguing to follow. Even when Ty is screwing up, I'm still rooting for him. The other characters are all dynamic as well, but I would have love more of Claire.

Keren David knows just how to keep a reader hooked, because at the end of every chapter I wanted to keep going. There's action, thrilling edge-of-your-seat moments, social issues, the bonds a family has, and a some budding friendships. This book made me laugh, gasp, happy, upset, angry, and in the end I wanted so much more.

Highlights: David makes Ty/Joe a very authentic character, and he's very easy to sympathize with. I think the biggest compliment I can pay David besides the previous sentence is that she genuinely surprised me. I thought I had everything all figured out, and she shocked me towards the end. I loved the cultural aspect too, because this book is definitely full of British slang and societal problems that I just didn't know about. It was a nice change to jump into something real, problematic, unique and different.

Lowlights: The pacing of the story starts slow, but it almost seems necessary for the storyline to work.

Rating:

Monday, September 27, 2010

Interview: Keren David

Quick! Describe When I Was Joe in 7 words or less!

Ty witnesses murder, gets cool new identity.

Awesome answer! What inspired you to write When I Was Joe?

I got the idea of writing about witness protection from an item on the news. It's still an unusual thing in the UK, not like the US. Then there was a terrible spate of knife crime in London, teenagers being killed by their peers. It all worked its way into the book.

What was the most difficult part when writing?

At first I was daunted by the idea of thinking as a 14-year-old boy. I only knew one teenage boy - my nephew - and he wasn't anything like Ty. But gradually that became easier, to the point where I almost felt as though I had a teenage boy in my head somewhere.

Fill in the blank: "I couldn't have written When I Was Joe without_______"

The evening class I attended at City University in Writing for Children. Inspiration, feedback, guidance and encouragement from a great tutor (writer Amanda Swift) and fellow students. The best £140 I ever spent.

What's one thing you hope readers take away with them after finishing this novel?

I hope it'll make them think about crime and punishment and what it's like being a teenage boy.

Sequel to WIWJ, out now in UK

Releases in April for USA

Anything else you'd like to add?

It's a very British book, full of very British words. To help American readers understand words like tossers and naff, I've made a glossary on my blog, which you can find here . It may be incomplete - if there's any words which baffle you, just let me know and I'll translate!

I was so glad Keren had such a fabulous glossary on her site, it was so fun (and helpful) to read all the different slang and meanings :)

Thanks for stopping by and answering my questions, Keren! When I Was Joe is out now in the United States, so go find a copy, because this book is amazing! Don't believe me? Check out all these glowing reviews on the UK Amazon website.