The Edge

By: Alan Gibbons

Narrated by: Malcolm Freeman

Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

"We've got to go. Now."

It's early morning and Danny's mother is at his bedside, urging him to get up. They're on the run from Chris, his mother's boyfriend, a violent man who beats them both up, and won't let them go. Chris pursues Danny and his mother from London to the north, where they take refuge with Danny's grandparents. But even there, nothing is safe. Danny is conspicuous as the only mixed-race boy in their small community, and with the ever-present threat of discovery, he has to learn how to live continually on the edge.

A tense and chilling story to which the chase gives terrific drama, The Edge shows the depth of character, and the understanding of the predicaments of children today, that gives Alan Gibbons his special quality.

©2000 Alan Gibbons

Critic reviews

"What makes a familiar plot outstanding is the tense of dialogue, convincing characterisation, and the unexpectedness with which the story is resolved." (The Times
"Fast-paced and economical, The Edge is an award-winning novel for adolescents, but it is for grown-ups, too. Its insights place the listener both inside and outside the three generations in the story, each struggling with what seems insoluble and intractable. The dual narration reflects the novel's narrative voices, and the readers' down-to-earth delivery adds an even deeper sense of empathy and reality." (The Observer)