The Fall

Corpus Christi High School is a dumping ground for kids who are not wanted anywhere else. The school is run by the bullies whether they are in front of the blackboard or in the playground. The best survival technique is to keep your head down.

Into this world steps Chris; he is just cool and by being his friend you take on some of his glamour. Mog, the narrator, and he get on. Chris seems to enjoy his conversation and his wit and Mog thrives on the attention. Then Chris allows Duffy, the lowest on the pecking chain, into their gang and Mog is jealous. He contrives Duffy’s humiliation when they partake in the local dare of jumping the Beck. Things are never really the same again between Mog and Chris and the ending for each comes as no surprise because the book opens with the final chapters in their stories.

This an evocative book but a hard read. Those who come to this book expecting the uplifting tale of Brock or Pike will be disappointed. This
feels a much more personal story for the author. It is dedicated to his contemporaries at school and the teacher who was so tragically killed
and it rings true of the hard lives many young people live and what happens when they are unable to get themselves out of the situation they
were born into. My problem is that it is so personal and such an adult point of view that many young people may not be able to engage with it.

Many will find The Fall depressing and it undeniably is. At the same time for many young people who find themselves written off because they have problems with reading and engaging with education it may offer a taste of reality and glimmer of an alternative future.