Monday, 18 March 2013
The Traz is a YA book and
part of the BackTracker series that explores the good choices and bad choices
that young people can sometimes make. Katrina gets herself involved with a biker
gang and witnesses things no young girl should. The man mountain Shrug, one of
the bikers, takes her under his wing but for what reason? Does he have an
ulterior motive? Is Katrina in over her head and who will protect her? Is Shrug
even all he appears? And, who is the new mysterious biker Chad? Well worth a
read!
I liked this book, despite
it not being something I would usually read. It has many messages for young
people within the story and explores issues such as drugs, murder, sexual
vulnerability and grief. The book offers important lessons to its readers and
explores the consequences a particular course of action may lead to. I liked the
way the book also had a Discussion and Teaching guide at the end. As a social
worker I am always interested in any teaching guides that open up areas for
discussion with young people. The characters in the book
are very complex. Part of me felt sorry for Katrina yet part of me disliked her
manipulative side a little too. In contrast, another part of me was saddened by
her vulnerability. She tends to illicit a whole range of emotions in the reader
and reminded me at times of a young version of the character Lisbeth Salander from the Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo books.
There were times during the
book when I felt a little uncomfortable that Katrina, whilst essentially still a
child, was very savvy with regards to how she could exploit men using her
sexuality. However, that said, being a social worker I have come across such
young women and this is the reality of life. The book was extremely well
written. It ended, I felt quite abruptly and I found myself shouting at the
Kindle desperate to find out what happened next! This is a very clever piece of
writing, making the reader desperate for more in the series which I shall look
out for with interest.
Also available on Amazon.com
Thank you for reading my book and taking the time to write a review. I'm happy you liked THE TRAZ and that you found the discussion guide useful. The sequel FATAL ERROR is now out in both eBook and paperback.