Tightrope
From AwardAnnals
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| Author(s) | Gillian Cross |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Honors | |
| Ashley is happy to be part of the excitement surrounding Eddie Beale and his gang - it's a relief from the unrelenting drudgery of her life. Then she realizes she is being stalked by someone who leaves uglier and uglier messages. | |
Ashley's life is different from other teenagers. She has to look after her disabled mother full-time and take care of the house. She copes by being relentlessly cheerful and confident. But Ashley has a secret alter-ego: the dare-devil graffiti artist who has been tagging walls. And she has an admirer in the form of Eddie, a local gang boss. Before long, Ashley is sucked into his world and into a sinister plan to destroy the life of a local shopkeeper. Almost reduced to despair, Ashley turns to her mother for help. Together they devise a way to defeat Eddie and at the same time develop a stronger and better relationship.
Honors
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk
Author Gillian Cross is no stranger to writing prize-winning fiction novels for teenage readers. With her latest novel, Tightrope, she has come up with another sharply observed, concisely written thriller that easily matches the superb high standards set by previous works, Wolf and The Great Elephant Chase.
Combining viewpoints from the book's major and minor characters, Cross enlivens a complex tale set amidst an urban community controlled by an old-fashioned gangster. With tell-tale skill and precision, the author gets deep under the skin of Ashley - the teenage protagonist who falls victim to both a stalker and the powerful, community bully. Revolting against the restraints placed on her by her mother's acute illness, it is understandable why Ashley feels the need for her alternative existence as Cindy, a graffiti painter. Unfortunately, her imaginative night-time work is not as invisible as she would like to think.
Eddie Beale, ringmaster of his own local circle of dubious cronies, takes a shine to Ashley's artistic talents. He invites her into his underworld and provides her mother with the care she so desperately needs. Ashley repays Eddie's help by entertaining him with athletic circus tricks. It's only when she calls on him directly to help her deal with a threatening stalker that Ashley realises that she's now too involved and too indebted to this equally deadly character.
Tightrope is a classy piece of writing that is difficult to put down. The characters and plot draw you in and the thrilling climax delivers everything the rest of the book promises. It's Gillian Cross at her best. (Age 11 and over) - John McLay
