Play follows the lives of four teenage boys, Luc, Johnny, Matt and Mark, as they manage their way through secondary school. Despite their differing personalities and backgrounds, the friends spend their free time together, hanging out in the Lanes, coming up with new games (most of which would be considered anti-social), drinking and taking drugs. Each has their own hopes for the future but when Mark starts helping out one of his brother's friends, things change.
Having read Grow when it was published, I knew that Play would pull no punches and I was right. This is a straight-talking novel that takes four very different friends who are trying to navigate their teenage years and shows what can happen to them. The writing is realistic and the dialogue brings depth to the characters.
One of the main themes of the book is county-lines and how easy it is to become embroiled in drug dealing. It happens almost without Mark realising; he's simply helping out one of his brother's associates, but the lure of expensive phones, plenty of cash and a bit of status very quickly snowballs into something much more serious and dangerous. It's chilling to read but something that is very real, as the book shows.
Navigating friendships, drinking, drug taking, sexuality, relationships and pushy parents are all covered in the course of the book. Each topic is believably woven into the plot and is done in a way that is relatable and things that many teenage readers will be able to associate with. There are points in the book that can make for uncomfortable reading (Luc on holiday; many of the things Mark becomes embroiled in...) but this is all the more reason for the book to be read for they are incidents that teenagers (boys in particular here) can get themselves into and the book highlights the consequences of their actions. My teenage son read this before me and said that he feels it needs to be in every school library and is an important read - I couldn't agree more.
The end of the book is thought-provoking and sobering. When I finish a book, I generally simply close it and move on, but with Play, I sat for quite a while just thinking about the book and the boys within its pages. This is a book that needs to be in every secondary school in the country and will show teenagers and adults alike the dangers that our teenagers face today.
Publishing on the 5th October, Play is a hard-hitting, important read that is an important read for older teenagers.
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