The Knife That Killed Me
by Anthony McGowan
A novel about knife crime in a school might be dismissed as merely an "issueÓ book. Not so here. Paul Varderman lives in a nightmare world: itÕs something of a shock to realise it is a normal comprehensive school. The ruler in this dystopic society is Roth, clever, manipulative, inherently evil. Though everybody wants him to think well of them, he treats them all with contempt and heartless capriciousness. Š none more so than his unintelligent sidekicks, Bates and Miller. Paul is singled out for harsh treatment, yet somehow craves RothÕs approval. ThatÕs why he performs an errand for him Š to deliver a package to Goddo, RothÕs black equivalent in a rival school. This gives him a temporary ascendancy in RothÕs circle, yet his errand has appalling consequences.
Standing aside from RothÕs malign influence are a group known as "the FreaksÓ: Shane, Maddy, Billy. Paul rejects them as everybody else does, but then he comes to know them and sees there is another way. Even so, he is deceived: he feels he is becoming one of them but when he tries to date Maddy he is stood up. Everything leads to a gripping and terrible climax, in which the knife crime which we knew would come is committed Š but neither its victim nor its perpetrator are who we expected. The ending is as bleak as anything I have read in a young adult novel.
This is a brilliant book. ItÕs shocking and highlights an urgent issue. But its structure is subtle, its presentation of character (in this dreadful world even the surnames are slightly odd and unsettling) is compelling, its psychology exact and piercing, its sheer narrative pace is unremitting. Anthony MacGowan has shown us already what a resourceful novelist he is, especially with Henry Tumour. This doesnÕt have the moving gallows humour of the earlier book but itÕs a riveting read none the less.