Concentr8
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Borrow
Source: Copy courtesy of Bloomsbury (released in paperback 30th June 2016)
In a future London, Concentr8 is a prescription drug intended to help
kids with ADD. Soon every troubled teen is on it. It makes sense, doesn't it?
Keep the undesirable elements in line. Keep people like us safe from people
like them. What's good for society is good for everyone.
Troy, Femi, Lee, Karen and Blaze have been taking Concentr8 as long as
they can remember. They're not exactly a gang, but Blaze is their leader, and
Troy has always been his quiet, watchful sidekick - the only one Blaze really
trusts. They're not looking for trouble, but one hot summer day, when riots
break out across the city, they find it.
What makes five kids pick a man seemingly at random - a nobody, he works
in the housing department, doesn't even have a good phone - hold a knife to his
side, take him to a warehouse and chain him to a radiator? They've got a
hostage, but don't really know what they want, or why they've done it. And
across the course of five tense days, with a journalist, a floppy-haired mayor,
a police negotiator, and the sinister face of the pharmaceutical industry, they
- and we - begin to understand why...
Now, I just want to start this review off by
saying that it was a great storyline.
I loved the plot and the characters but the way it was written, it just annoyed
me. I’m a real grammar geek and I found that instead of getting into the story,
I spent most of the time correcting the grammar in my head. Mostly, it’s
written in “street” style, which obviously makes the content seem more genuine
and authentic as the story focuses on 5 troubled youths but I found it
difficult to get used too, hence the rating of 3/5.
Bloomsbury sent me a copy of this to review
and I’m glad I read it because apart from the narrative, I thoroughly enjoyed
this book. Once I’d got past the initial 50 pages of struggling (which took me
a few days), I finished it in one sitting.
Concentr8 is written from a LOT of different perspectives. There are the 5 main characters;
Blaze, Troy, Femi, Lee and Karen but also some chapters from the perspective of
the hostage, the mayor, the negotiator and the journalist.
I’m not going to lie; I’m struggling to write
this review as I don’t feel as though I connected with this book in the way the
author intended the reader to.
There’s a prescription drug available for
children which is supposed to be
given to children only with ADD as it
subdues the condition but it seems more children are being given this drug than
supposed to…
The group of 5 teens have all been taking this
drug and for some reason, the Government have withdrawn it and refuse to give
it. The teens are angry and want to rebel against this decision so decide to
kidnap an unbeknownst man and hold him hostage until they get what they want…but
what do they want?
As the story unfolds, you discover more about
the secrets of the drug and the effects on the children and what the teens
really do want from this kidnapping…
I’ll end this review here as once again, I’m
struggling. I think if you’re good with different narratives and like unique
books, give it a read but this book just wasn’t for me.
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