David Case believes
fate is out to get him. When he sees his 18 month-old little brother
about to jump out of the window, he thinks, “What if I looked two
seconds later?” His little brother would have been dead. In an
attempt to escape from Fate, David changes his clothes, makes new
friends (Agnes and Peter), creates an imaginary pet dog, Boy, and
even changes his name to Justin. But will all this help him in his
vain attempt to get away?
Justin is an isolated teenager who is depressed, mad … what else can
I say? Although she has portrayed the story line well, I think that
I think Meg Rosoff takes the fate idea too far and in the end you
sense she is writing about this depressed teenage boy for the fun of
it, not to make a constructive novel. Maybe I am being a bit harsh
as there is the occasional spellbinding page. One or two loose ends
is no bad thing at the end of a book but in my opinion at the end of
this novel there are too many paths that have landed up in the
middle of nowhere.
I would praise Meg for her imagination and the most original book I
have read in a while; and to make it onto a Carnegie shortlist is an
amazing achievement in itself. But somehow I doubt Just In Case
will go on to win. I rate this book 5.5/10.
