Berserk is a young adult novel by Ally Kennen

Ally Kennen

Ally Kennen is an award-winning British young adult and children's author.- Life :Ally Kennen grew up on a farm in Exmoor, England. Ally studied Archaeology and history at Birmingham University...

, published in 2007. It has been shortlisted for the 2008 Manchester Book Award

Manchester Book Award

The Manchester Book Award is a project run in Manchester, UK, organised by School Services at the Manchester Library & Information Service; it is funded by the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. The project is currently in its fourth year....

 and longlisted for the 2008 Carnegie Medal

Carnegie Medal

The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...

. Like Beast

Beast (novel)

Beast is a young adult novel by Ally Kennen, published in 2006. It won the 2007 Manchester Book Award, and was shortlisted for the 2006 Booktrust Teenage Prize, the 2007 Carnegie Medal and the 2007 Branford Boase Award...

 and Bedlam

Bedlam (novel)

Bedlam is a young adult novel by Ally Kennen, published on January 5, 2009. It is nominated for the 2010 Carnegie Medal. Like Beast and Berserk, there will be a new edition of the book in May which features a new cover.- Plot :...

, there will be a new edition of the book in May which features a new cover.

Plot

Wouldn't it be cool to have a killer as penfriend? 15-year-old Chas is fascinated of this idea. He impersonates his mother and writes to a man, called Lenny, who is in a death row in the USA, because he allegedly had killed a teenager. The Man is from Chas' home town in England. And he actually writes back. A risking game! But that's not all. Chas steals a truck with his friend - only for fun. But the prison, in which the crazy teenagers land, isn't any fun. But he still gets letters by Lenny from America. Just before Chas was released from prison, he is told that Lenny was acquitted because of the absence of proof and that he is on the way to England. What started as game evolved into a nightmare: Lenny wants to pay an old bill. When Chas and his friends realize that THEY are the goal of vengeance, it is nearly too late...