Just in Case
A YA novel that uses emergency preparedness to explore love, death, and the fear of the future with great delicacy. Beneath the light humor, it quietly asks how to accept life itself.
Work Information
A boy who prepares for everything begins to think about the shape of the future.
From a boy trying to avoid disaster, the novel instead reveals the uncertainty and tenderness of living. The premise is unusual, yet it leaves behind a surprisingly soft afterglow.
Review Summaries
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Readers praise the blend of humor and melancholy. It stays with readers who enjoy its unusual premise, though some find the intensity of the metaphor slightly offbeat.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Published
- 2007-06-07
- Pages
- 272 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 12.9 x 1.9 x 19.8 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780141318066
- ISBN-10
- 9780141318066
- Price
- 2276 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Children's Books
Winner of the 2007 Carnegie Medal, the captivating and darkly-comic novel Just in Case is a thrilling coming-of-age story - described by The Times as a modern The Catcher in the Rye - from the bestselling author of How I Live Now Meg Rosoff. Every minute of every day, a million things happen . . . The day David Case saves his brother's life, his whole world changes. Suddenly, every moment is fizzing with what-if's, and it's up to David to outwit fate. Or try to. He changes his name and the way he looks. He leaves home and finds himself caught up in a series of strange and extraordinary adventures. He even falls in love. But is David really in control of his life? And if he isn't - who is? 'Unusual and engrossing' - Independent 'Outstanding' - The Times 'Intelligent, ironic and darkly funny' - Sunday Times Bestselling author Meg Rosoff has received great critical acclaim since the publication of her first novel How I Live Now (winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize). Her other novels, The Bride's Farewell and What I Was , which was described by The Times as 'Samuel Beckett on ecstasy', are also available from Puffin. Follow Meg on Twitter @megrosoff.
Meg Rosoff was born in Boston, USA. Before she started writing, Meg worked in publishing, public relations and most recently advertising but thinks the best job in the world would be head gardener for Regents Park. Her first novel, How I Live Now , won the Guardian Award, the Branford Boase Award and was selected by the Daily Mail Book Club. Meg lives in Highbury, North London.
Reviews
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Dans mes efforts (bien agréables) continus pour lire en anglais, j'ai découvert cette auteure il y a peu. J'avais lu auparavant How I Live Now, qui est un véritable chef-d'oeuvre et du coup, j'ai voulu lire ce roman. Je l'ai adoré, pour son imagination, la narration et les personnages. A recommander
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Sparsely written but essential YA fiction about the adolescent crisis of identity that everyone goes through. Maybe a bit too deliberately "quirky" for some (e.g. an imaginary character). I have read this book multiple times, well into my 20s. Justin is simultaneously archetypal and unique. As the protagonist, you root for him and despise him, which I suppose is the point.
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It's been called "a modern day Catcher in the Rye", but it's actually even better than that. I've reread this over and over until I had to buy a second copy, and I hope I'll have to get a third and a fourth before Fate finally catches up to me. I treasure the cast of characters I met in this novel. They are fictional people who have a place in my heart forever. That's what a brilliant writer is capable of.
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Yeah, this is a weird book and probably deserves another reading. It's quirky and original, and I bought it because one of the reviews said it was a modern day Catcher in the Rye, which I loved. It is, and it isn't. There's plenty of teen angst and it's all a bit surreal, but I found the omnipresent point of view distracting and didn't 'feel' for Justin (nee David) Case in the same way as I felt for Holden Caulfield. Having said that, it did engage me - more from an 'I'm intrigued' stance than an 'I'm in love' one - and I read it in one sitting. 4 stars because I want to love my main characters, and I never really did love this one.
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After reading (and thoroughly enjoying) What I Was and How I Live Now from the same author I bought "Just in Case". Apart from the original title (the main character calls himself "Justin Case") the story is simply something between depressing and boring. I may have missed something along the line but it certainly is not my cup of tea. I don't understand it's been short-listed for a COSTA book award and for the CILIP Carnegie Medal.