Blade: Playing Dead

by Tim Bowler

Overview

Nobody knows the city like Blade. He lives on his own, by his wits - you have to when you're on the run from your past. Blade is practically invisible, until one day when he gets jumped by a gang and finds himself being pursued by a bunch of thugs. Even worse, he's unintentionally picked up a couple of followers: sixteen-year-old Becky and her daughter, Jaz. Before he knows it, Blade is leading the two girls on a chase through the streets of London, and he'll need to find a way to outsmart the people after them in order to make it out alive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780142416006
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/27/2010
Series:	Blade , #1
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Tim Bowler is the author of numerous acclaimed novels for teenagers and is the recipient of many honors, including the prestigious Carnegie Medal for his third novel, River Boy. He lives in Devon, England.

Editorial Reviews

Bowler delivers an intense, gripping novel that introduces Blade, a 14-year-old British boy with a mysterious past, who is living on the streets. After Blade suffers a beating by a local gang, an offer of help from a Good Samaritan goes awry and he finds himself on the run from a group of mysterious armed men. Along the way, he ends up protecting a toddler named Jaz and the girl's teen mother, Becky (she, in turn, inspires memories of Blade's long-dead love). There's little joy in Blade's world: characters steal, cheat, abuse drugs and kill, and to Blade, little of this bleakness is out of the ordinary (the first chapter reveals that he's lived this way since at least the age of seven). Bowler (Frozen Fire) imbues Blade with a voice that throws around slang ("porker," "gobbo," "Bigeyes") without needing to stop to explain it, and his reader-directed narration ("I don't trust you one little bit. Why should I?") carries the novel, even as the plot frustratingly ends with a cliffhanger. Readers who like their thrillers brutally realistic will find much to enjoy. Ages 14-up. (May)

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Publishers Weekly

Gr 9 Up—From the beginning of this novel, fear and suspense are palpable as 14-year-old Blade is chased and savagely beaten by a gang of ruthless teenage girls. He is a gritty, British street kid constantly on the run for his life, but readers don't find out why until the end. He has amazingly keen instincts and startling skill with a switchblade, and he knows how to seem invisible, to go unnoticed and stay alive. Blade watches silently from the shadows to learn whether homeowners are in or not, and then uses unoccupied houses as snugs, safe havens where he sleeps, eats, and reads. Books are Blade's one solace, and his love of books softens the character of this streetwise thief. This is a solid choice for reluctant readers who are willing to accept the British slang, which is easy enough to interpret in context. "Quite a few nebs here too but they're all muffins" translates to, there's lots of people out in the neighborhood, but they're harmless. Bowler's use of short, clipped sentences creates a breathless tone that keeps readers on edge and turning pages at breakneck speed as Blade eludes murderers, drug users, and thugs.—Patricia N. McClune, Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA

School Library Journal

Fourteen-year-old Blade (aka Slicky) is a smart homeless kid who gets caught in many wrong places at a lot of wrong times. He's been on the run from the police since he was seven, sneaking into houses and stealing people's wallets to survive. After an attack from a girl gang, he both witnesses and is accused of multiple murders. On the run from both the girl gang and the boys who murdered their leader, he joins up with Becky, a 16-year-old mother who is trying to get away from the gang. Although he has always operated alone, Blade decides to let Becky and her daughter accompany him as he attempts to bring justice to the murderers. The action is fast-paced, but the book is thin on character development and the ending lacks resolution, perhaps because it is the first book in a series. Much about Blade's present but little about his past is revealed, which may entice readers to pick up the sequel if they don't put this book down in frustration. (Fiction. YA)

Kirkus Reviews