Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1177140 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

x_Imaginatively Brilliant_x
I think this is a fantastic book. Although gritty and serious it is told in a amusing and humorous way which keeps the reader hooked from cover to cover. Portraying a young high school teenager struggling with life- both at school and at home it is a must! As it is written in such a unique way it is so unlike other books. I recommend it or anyone and everyone, xxx

Different in a great way
You don't know me is the story of John, a teenager coping with the usual ups and downs of school and some less usual difficulties at home. The book is written quirkily, with John's imagination describing things the way he sees them. Why he sees things in the way that he does - and how he describes them - is why you end up being so interested in what he's going through.
The characters are great, John doesn't have super powers or amazing friends but is a believable and likeable narrator. The fact that answering questions in maths or asking a girl out hold as much terror for him as his mother's violent, criminal boyfriend somehow rings true; this isn't a book about teen-age issues written by an adult, it's one boy's story - and a good one.
Spoilt, selfish, beautiful Gloria is predictable, if enjoyably hateful, but on the whole the quirky characters are fun to read about. John never asks you to pity him and deflects most of the unpleasantness of his circumstances with humour, making the book funny to read as well.
The fact that the ending is moving proves that you have become involved with John's story; this is a really interesting and worthwhile book.

funnily sad
This is the sort of book that stands out from the rest. Its humour is fantastic on its own let alone tied in with the violence and sadness of the story. If someone had told me the storyline before reading it, then i would not have thought it possible to write it so well. It describes the life of a classic schoolboy named John, his life is described from the his point of view, and his wild imagination can have you in fits of laughter, or tears of sadness. his life at home is not so typical, and he endures great diffuculties,most of which are entirely unpredictable. and the way klass cleverly ties the fear of a questions in class with being abused by his mother's boyfriend is enjoyable to read. you also meet some other enjoyable characters during the journey, including billy beazer, a hilarious stubborn character who fancys the same girl as his best friend john, and ends up in jail. and gloria, the girl that they fancy is also a funny and unpredictable character, one minuite she is caring and kind, the next she is a spoilt, selfish girl with a sharp attitude. The mother's boyfriend is also a very belivable character, big and bulky and unforgiving. overall, this is a great read, and one that you will remember for a while to come.