Dawn by Kevin Brooks YP FIC BROOKS

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Dawn Bundy is 15 years old, but there is another Dawn that is 13 years old and lives in a cave in Dawn’s head. On the first of January she decides (even though it’s definitely NOT a New Year’s Resolution) to kill God. Dawn lives with her alcoholic mother and hasn’t seen or heard from her father since he disappeared two years ago leaving a green duffel bag filled with cash and a gun. She refuses to talk about why her dad left and why there is a 13 year old girl living in her head, but soon everything she’s trying to hide from in life will come crashing down around her.

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Dawn is a dark look at a teen in enormous pain, but Dawn’s humor and likability make it enjoyable to read. Dawn is a great narrator because she keeps the reader wanting to know more about her by only revealing a little at a time. She organizes her world in lists and sometimes speaks in short fragments which really bring you into her disjointed mind. The plot starts slowly but things pick up pretty quickly and the book becomes really suspenseful. There is always a sense that something terrible is going to happen and when it finally does it is ends up being very sudden and surprising. Dawn is probably best for older readers because it deals very frankly with some very tough issues.

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Kevin Brooks has been awarded several times for his past novels like Candy and Black Rabbit Summer and this novel stands strong beside them. You can check out his other books in YP FIC BROOKS.