Thursday 24 September 2015

Survivor by Tom Hoyle



I bought this book for the course I teach at Salford University: Intro to Children’s Literature. I always like to source some of the latest publications and I actually go to the Urmston bookshop to do this. It has a special sort of clientele. People who shop here are serious about books.        
Survivor did not disappoint. I’d label teen / young adult.  The cover says “For Fans of Cherub and Gone”.  Yes, that seems right too. It’s a thriller / whodunit. It keeps us guessing right until the end and even then you can’t be 100% sure. It’s really up to the reader to decide. That makes it absolutely spot on for young adults.  
Some really nasty things happen as protagonist George Fleet takes part in the Ultimate Bushcraft adventure holiday. He gives his account. After each part of this another voice speaks, often leading us to believe the perpetuator of the crime is someone we’ve met in the previous account. There will then be a text that looks like an official statement.  
George’s statements are somewhat longer than the others and read like a normal first person narrative. Nevertheless, they remain reasonably short and that with the shortness of the other texts makes this book very readable. You’re often tempted to read a little bit more as you can see that the next section is so short.
I read it very quickly.
I look forward to reading more from Tom Hoyle.