The Hit

 

Title: The Hit

Author: Melvin Burgess

ISBN- 978-1-908435-33-0

Out in April!

Imagine the most amazing drug in the world, with the greatest price. For one week, your intelligence, your strength and appearance becomes superhuman and your senses of taste, smell sight and hearing are heightened. However at the end of the hit is one colossal come down; death. The drug binds itself to the human brain and within a week the user is dead. Soon the drug becomes so popular that suicide rates among young people have tripled in a year, particularly after a famous singer, Jimmy Earle, dies suddenly, spectacularly at the end of his concert due to the drug. A teenage couple, Lizzie and Adam are at the concert and witness the riots that follow, encouraged by the Zealots a revolutionary gang who are handing out hundreds of free ‘death’ pills on the streets of London. At one point Adam would never have dreamed of suicide, but from that night on his life begins to spiral downwards dramatically. He never feels good enough for his rich pretty girlfriend, Lizzie who is constantly encouraged by her parents and friends to dump him. On the day they promise to lose their virginities to one another Adam finds out the terrible news that he will never see his brother again; now he must give up school in order to work as his father is handicapped and his brother Jess had been the main source of income. He feels he is on the brink of losing everything anyway, and is tempted by the ultimate high followed by escape from life. It’s up to Lizzie to save him from the worst decision he could possibly make. However she has her own problems as the Christian Ballentine, the heavily medicated, unbalanced son of an immensely powerful drug dealer has taken an interest in her and he refuses to give up. The Ballentines are linked with the drug ‘death’ and with the Zealots, but who is in control? 

                This book is dramatic and difficult to put down, however I would have preferred it longer, or split into a few books in order to learn more about the characters and focus on the events; I had to read the end a couple of times before I actually understood everything- it all happened so quickly! Nevertheless it’s an amazing storyline and it will have you on the edge of your seat!

I would rate this 8/10!