The Drop

This novel explores the violent underside of inter-gang rivalry in a school and looks at what can happen when a character who is out of control assumes a position of power in a group. Greg, a new boy at St. Peter's, Wandsworth, becomes caught up in tensions between the sporty Sweats and the Geeks, a mixture of outsiders led by Oliver Cole who is more of an outsider than most. 'The Drop' is a potentially lethal form of punishment meted out to their adversaries by the Geeks. Greg, anxious to make friends and establish himself in the school, tries to steer a course between the two factions. Apart from Greg and his family, the characters are somewhat two dimensional, but plenty of dialogue and a plot which moves along at a lick is likely to keep readers, especially boys, engaged right up to the dramatic finale.