Melvin Burgess

Tar loves Gemma, but Gemma doesn't want to be tied down - not to anyone or anything. Gemma wants to fly. But no one can fly forever. One day, somehow, finally you have to come down. Commissioned and produced by Oxford Stage Company, Junk premiered at The Castle, Wellingborough, in January 1998 and went on to tour throughout the UK in 1998 and 1999. "John Retallack's excellent adaptation of Melvin Burgess's controversial Carnegie Medal winning novel is splendidly unpatronising...a truly cautionary tale" (Independent)

“This fantasy about a drug that gives users a perfect week, then sudden death, is compelling fiction—and nearly a masterpiece.” —The Guardian A new drug is on the street. Everyone’s buzzing about it. Take the hit. Live the most intense week of your life. Then die. It’s the ultimate high at the ultimate price. Adam thinks it over. He’s poor, and doesn’t see that changing. Lizzie, his girlfriend, can’t make up her mind about sleeping with him, so he can’t get laid. His brother Jess is missing. And Manchester is in chaos, controlled by drug dealers and besieged by a group of homegrown terrorists who call themselves the Zealots. Wouldn’t one amazing week be better than this endless, penniless misery? After Adam downs one of the Death pills, he’s about to find out. “A boundary pushing thriller. . . . Amid violent action, existential anguish, and the heightened appreciation for life that death can bring, Burgess has created a premise that readers will find hard to forget.” —Publishers Weekly “Viscerally exciting and emotionally engaging. . . . A clear winner from Burgess.” —Booklist “An exciting, dark story of sex, drugs, and revolution that is sure to grip readers.” —School Library Journal

Dino's girlfriend won't give him what he wants. Jonathon is afraid of what his mates will think of the girl he likes. And Ben is having extra lessons from his sexy teacher. Three seventeen-year-old boys discover sex for the first time: but do they really know what they’re doing?

Winner of the 1996 Carnegie Medal in Literature and the Guardian Prize for fiction, two of England's most prestigious awards, Smack tells a penetrating story about heroin use, a topic that is becoming familiar in the news and one of importance to teens everywhere. The story begins with Tar, a fourteen-year-old, who runs away from home. He convinces his girlfriend, Gemma, to come with him, and it is not long before they are engulfed in a loose community of people living in abandoned buildings. Everything seems to be turning out so well: they have a roof over their heads, food to eat, and a brand-new group of friends. And when Tar and Gemma try their first hit of smack, they think life will keep on getting better. But before long, they find they've lost control. The search for the next hit becomes all-consuming--until a disaster forces Gemma to take matters into her own hands. Insightful, haunting, and real, Smack is the Go Ask Alice of the '90s. It's a book that every teenager should read--then pass along to a friend.

When Beth wakes up one morning covered in dirt, she puts it down to an extreme case of sleep-walking. But when reports of a desecrated grave start to circulate, her night-time wanderings take on a sinister air. Soon the city is being plagued by strange sightings and sudden disappearances. Beth knows that something is changing within her. Something that's filling her with an urgent, desperate hunger that demands to be satisfied – at any cost ...

Everyone says fourteen-year-old BILLIE is nothing but trouble. A fighter. A danger to her family and friends. But her care worker sees someone different. Her classmate ROB is big, strong; he can take care of himself and his brother. But his violent stepdad sees someone to humiliate. And CHRIS is struggling at school; he just doesn't want to be there. But his dad sees a useless no-hoper. Billie, Rob and Chris each have a story to tell. But there are two sides to every story, and the question is . . . who do you believe?

'Love. Hate. So what? It's family. It's business.' Fifteen-year-old Sigurd, son of King Sigmund, is the last surviving member of the Volson clan. His father’s kingdom – the former city of London – is gone. And his father’s knife, a gift from the gods, has been shattered to dust. Armed with a powerful sword forged from the remnants of the knife, Sigurd faces death, fire and torment as he travels through Hel and back to unite his country once again. Packed with political intrigue and violence, love, lust and family feuds, Bloodsong is perfect for fans of Game of Thrones. 'Burgess's great triumph is not so much in inventing new stories as in finding fresh ways of retelling the ones that are themselves in danger of falling into extinction' Guardian 'A gripping story of horrific proportions from a prize-winning author' - Publishing News 'Teenage boys with strong stomachs should enjoy it' - Independent on Sunday 'A thrillingly readable and evocative narrative' - Daily Telegraph

If you gotta be a dog, be a bitch. "My tail was going bananas as I rounded the corner and headed into Platt Fields park. The pavement was alive; my nose was an eye that sees into the past. I speeded up. Oh, I was in love with Terry, but to run and sniff and feel my ears catching sounds out of the air! But what do you know? Only a dog could understand what I mean." Sandra Francy is seventeen and having way too much fun. Everyone wants to stop her but the problem is, she likes it. When she accidentally gets turned into a dog she's horrified at first, but soon she starts to wonder if being human is worth the effort. Her attempts to hang on to her humanity are bizarre and often hilarious-but her life as a dog leads her to pleasures she hardly knew existed. Award-winning author Melvin Burgess brilliantly captures the realities of teenage life and hormone imbalance.