Junk (novel)

Junk

Front cover of first edition
Author	Melvin Burgess
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Young adult fiction, realist novel
Publisher	Andersen Press
Publication date	14 November 1996
Media type	Print (hardcover & paperback)
Pages	278 pp (first edition)
ISBN
OCLC	37873825
LC Class	PZ7.B9166 Ju 1996 PZ7.B9166 Sm 1997

Junk, known as Smack in the U.S., is a realistic novel for young adults by the British author Melvin Burgess, published in 1996 by Andersen in the U.K. Set on the streets of Bristol, England, it features two runaway teens who join a group of squatters, where they fall into heroin addiction and embrace anarchism. Both critically and commercially it is the best received of Burgess' novels. Yet it was unusually controversial at first, criticized negatively for its "how-to" aspect, or its dark realism, or its moral relativism.

Burgess won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's outstanding children's book by a British author. For the 70th anniversary of the Medal in 2007 Junk was named one of the top ten winning works, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite.Junk also won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a similar award that authors may not win twice. It is the latest of six books to win both awards.

In the U.S., Henry Holt published the novel in 1997 as Smack —another slang term for heroin.

The novel is told in the first person from various points of view; much of the narration is by Gemma and Tar, and takes place over the course of a few years in their lives. At the beginning of the story, Gemma is spending time with Tar, a gentle teenager who is planning to run away from home after suffering abuse at the hands of his father. Gemma is a rebellious 14-year-old and, despite having loving parents, decides to leave home and join Tar in Bristol.

In Bristol, Tar is introduced to Richard through Skolly, the tobacconist that took pity on Tar. Richard is a nervous, vegan anarchist, and he and his friends Vonny, a motherly character, and Vonny's boyfriend Jerry break into an abandoned house to squat there and invite Tar to stay with them. Tar is eager for them to meet Gemma as she arrives in Bristol; they are less pleased because they think Gemma is young and impulsive and would be better off at home with her parents. Gemma and Tar experiment smoking marijuana while they are living in the abandoned house. Tar phones his mother to let her know he's safe. However she makes him feel guilty for leaving her alone with his father, upsetting Tar greatly.