Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
September 5, 2016/in Fiction 14+ Secondary/Adult /by Angie Hill
BfK Rating:
BfK 220 September 2016
Reviewer: Val Randall
ISBN: 978-0349002354
Price: £16.99
Publisher: Atom
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 14+ Secondary/Adult
Length: 272pp
Buy the Book

Cuckoo

Author: Keren David

Jake has always been an actor-principally in a long-running and hugely popular soap. However, his character has been in limbo for 6 months and Jake is beginning to realise that the work which he has relied on for so long has finally come to an end. Suddenly, life presses in on him: his father cannot keep a job because of his violent temper; his older brother is severely autistic and the family has run into financial difficulties which have resulted in his father using all Jake’s savings-without his knowledge-in a vain attempt to hold on to their family home.

They must all now cope in a cramped flat and Jake decides this intolerable situation can only be avoided by sleeping at friends’ houses-until their parents’ patience runs out. He becomes homeless and, at his lowest ebb, resolves to tell his story through a serialised film which he and his friends then post online, inviting comments from those who view it.

This is an intriguing and cleverly constructed book, thoroughly modern in format but timeless in the issues with which it deals-and there are many of them! Celebrity, Alzheimer’s, anger and confrontation, homelessness, friendship, autism, the power of the spoken word……yet they weave together in a fast and entertaining read. Disappointingly, for all the book’s freshness and contemporary feel there is a happy Hollywood ending which grates rather against the realism of the rest of the narrative. Despite this irritant, David has produced a book which hits the Young Adult market dead centre and which will have much which is familiar to say to its readers.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Angie Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Angie Hill2016-09-05 13:15:002021-07-01 12:17:04Cuckoo

Search for a specific review

Author Search

Search







Generic filters




Filter by Member Types


Book Author

Download BfK Issue Bfk 272 May 2025
Skip to an Issue:

About Us

Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.

Read More

Follow Us

Latest News

Margaret McDonald and her editors Alice Swan and Ama Badu win the 2025 Branford Boase Award

July 9, 2025

‘The magic of poetry by heart’ Champions of the 2025 National Poetry Speaking Competition Announced

July 8, 2025
IBC

New National Year of Reading launching January 2026

July 8, 2025

Contact Us

Books for Keeps,
30 Winton Avenue,
London,
N11 2AT

Telephone: 0780 789 3369

ISSN: 0143-909X (this is our International Standard Serial Number).

© Copyright 2025 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
Lydia. The Wild Girl of Pride & Prejudice There’s an Owl in my Towel
Scroll to top