Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13652 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
'A modern Catcher in the Rye . . . written with generosity and warmth but also with an edgy, unpredictable intelligence' – The Times 'Just in Case is brilliant. Meg Rosoff writes like a dream. Even the unbelievable was believable' – Sally Gardner, author of I, Coriander Praise for How I Live Now: 'That rare, rare thing, a first novel with a sustained, magical and utterly fauntless voice. I knew she could persuade me to believe almost anything' – Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 'A crunchily perfect knock-out of a debut novel' – Guardian

The Times
'A modern Catcher in the Rye'- this text refers to the hardcover
edition

Guardian
'A vibrant, questioning and unpredictable read'- this text refers
to the hardcover edition

Customer Reviews

Not just for kids.
Yes, it's supposedly a teenage book, and at 22 I am not a teenager. After reading 'How I Live Now' as part of a Children's Literature course in my final year of university and enjoying it greatly however I could not resist finding out what the pages of Meg Rosoff's latest book contained.

'Just In Case' is not an easy book to describe - the plot centres on the teenage David Case, who changes his name to Justin Case, attempts to change his image (helped along by a slightly older photographer who he comes to have feelings for) and becomes obsessed by fate and how long he is destined to live - to say anymore would spoil the plot.

The strength of the book lies in its delivery - the narrative occupies a unique, almost dream-like space that is rare in essentially realist fiction - this is believable, readable, surrealism. It isn't the masterpiece that 'How I Live Now' is, but readers of that particular tome will not be disappointed here, providing they can overlook the slightly "emo" teen angst that develops in some parts of the book.

An excellent read
After not overly loving How I Live Now I went into Just in Case with a bit of trepidation but came out the other end absolutely loving it.

OK, so you have to suspend belief for some of the book but the writing is just right, with the precise amount of humour mixed in with all the worries of a teenage boy growing up and finding out about himself and about the real world and his part in it.

David's moment of realisation happens when he saves his brothers life and it suddenly becomes clear to him that he has to escape from fate otherwise he could end up falling victim to its pursuing clutches. In what could be seen as 'shirking' from responsibility, as I'm sure most teenage boys try to do as much as they can (I once was also included, and probably still am in this) David changes his name and tries a number of different ways to hide from fate.

All-in-all a great read that will have you thinking for a long-time afterwards

Brilliant and hilarious story of teen angst
I bought this for my teenage daughter, as we both loved How I Live Now. We've also both read Just in Case & it doesn't disappoint. Thought-provoking and very funny, it's a joy to read. Justin's grapplings with Fate, first love and just being a teenage boy make this a highly original book. Highly recommended for adults and teens alike.