The Knife That Killed Me
Encyclopedia
The Knife That Killed Me is a young adult
novel
by Anthony McGowan
, published in 2008. It has been shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize
, longlisted for the Guardian Award
and longlisted for the Manchester Book Award
.
At the beginning of the book, he is a loner, looking into the groups from the outside. A series of events in which he stands up for members of a group known as "The Freaks" lead to him becoming included by them. "The Freaks" are different from the other groups as they do not live under the rule of the school thug, Roth.
As Paul becomes more involved with "The Freaks", he also begins to become influenced by Roth. Roth uses Paul as a messenger between himself and a rival school and gives him a knife. The relationship between the two schools develops, with Roth leading the way to war between them.
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Anthony McGowan
Anthony McGowan
Anthony McGowan is a British author of novels for adults and children.- Biography :Anthony McGowan was born in Manchester and now lives in London with his wife, author and fashion designer Rebecca Campbell, and their two young children...
, published in 2008. It has been shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize
Booktrust Teenage Prize
The Booktrust Teenage Prize is an annual award given to young adult literature published in the UK. The prize is administered by Booktrust, an independent charity which promotes books and reading.-List of Prize Winners:...
, longlisted for the Guardian Award
Guardian Award
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award is a prominent award for works of children's literature by British or Commonwealth authors, published in the United Kingdom during the preceding year. The award has been given annually since 1967, and is decided by a panel of authors and the...
and longlisted for the 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....
.
Plot summary
The Knife that Killed Me is a novel which follows a teenager, Paul Varderman, as he tries to fit in with a group in his school.At the beginning of the book, he is a loner, looking into the groups from the outside. A series of events in which he stands up for members of a group known as "The Freaks" lead to him becoming included by them. "The Freaks" are different from the other groups as they do not live under the rule of the school thug, Roth.
As Paul becomes more involved with "The Freaks", he also begins to become influenced by Roth. Roth uses Paul as a messenger between himself and a rival school and gives him a knife. The relationship between the two schools develops, with Roth leading the way to war between them.