Junk: 25th Anniversary Edition
No. of pages 352
Published: 2021
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This book is the winner of numerous awards
This book features in the following series: Puffin, Puffin Audiobooks, Puffin Teenage Fiction .
This book has been graded for interest at 13-17 years.
There are 352 pages in this book.
It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.
This book was published in 2021 by Andersen Press Ltd .
Melvin Burgess was born in London and brought up in Surrey and Sussex. He has had a variety of jobs before becoming a full-time writer. Before his first novel, he had short stories published and a play broadcast on Radio 4. Three of his novels have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Coming Of Age in literature
Mental Illness in literature
Depression in literature
Homelessness And Poverty in literature
Physical And Emotional Abuse in literature
Dating And Relationships in literature
Dating And Sex in literature
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
Carnegie Award
Whitbread Children's Book Award: 1971-2005
This book has been nominated for the following awards:
Guardian Fiction Award
This book was recognised by the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize Award. This award was founded in 1967 and winners are selected by fellow writers. It is awarded annually to fiction written for children aged eight and above.
Whitbread Book Award
This book was recognised by the Whitbread Book Award.
Carnegie Medal
This book was recognised by the Carnegie Award. The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people.
"Everyone should read Junk." * The Times *
"Melvin Burgess's ground-breaking Junk remains the best book about teenagers and drugs to this day" * Julia Eccleshare, Guardian Online *
"Junk has a perfect sense of time and place, characters who feel real and it may just be the best YA book ever." -- Robert Muchamore * Big Issue, Top 5 Young Adult Books *
"Occasionally a 'teenage novel' comes along which makes one reconsider the whole genre and its potential. Such a book is Melvin Burgess's Junk." -- Robert Dunbar * Children's Books in Ireland *
"Personally I prefer the love triangle in Melvin Burgess's Junk, in which Tar's devotion to heroin split he and Gemma apart." -- Juno Dawson * Guardian *
"This book is beguiling, layered and filled with a boldness that comes with youth." * Gemma Cairney *
"Brilliantly and sensitively written, it encompasses the raw, savage and ecstatic world of the adolescent mind... a superbly crafted and important book" * TES *
"Beautifully written" * The Times *
"Believable and rivetingly readable. I couldn't put it down." * Evening Standard *
"Moving and provocative" * Observer *
