Sugar Rush

. . . I watched Maria dance, slowly at first, the length of her body moving smoothly, none of those flailing hippie limbs for her, her feet together and her arms by her sides, her neck and head and long swoosh of hair totally at one with the rest of her. . . - Extract from Sugar Rush by Julie Burchill.

I've read a great deal of books in my time. But one of those books that really stood out for me is 'Sugar Rush' by Julie Burchill. This is for a number of reasons, which I shall give you some of.

The book tells the story of fifteen year old Kim. She lives with her Dad, Nathan, and younger brother, Matt, leading an understandably difficult life due to her mother departing to The Bahamas with a new man. Kim is a good-girl student at a posh all-girls school in Brighton and she is horrified when her Dad she has to leave her school and go to Ravendene Comprehensive, school for the 'rough-ans' as one might say. But then Kim meets Maria Sweet, aka Sugar, in her new teenage jungle. As their friendship develops and the pair get closer, Kim begins to feel things for Sugar that might be considered wrong. She then has to face herself and ask a worrying question, has she fallen in love with Sugar?

Being a Channel 4 viewer, I was already familiar with the major TV series of 'Sugar Rush' when I heard about the book it was based on. I fell in love with the TV series and decided I'd read the book as well. I figured the two would be similar; boy, was I wrong!

I think one of the main reasons for Sugar Rush having such an impact on me is how in-tune Julie Burchill is with the mind of a fifteen year old girl in the 21st century. Especially as this book is her first novel for teenagers. Some authors, I've had to laugh at, but I applaud Julie Burchill.

Burchill also has an incredible knack for creating romantic imagery one minute and then suddenly switching to crude and unpredictable moodswings seconds later; very much like your average hormonal teenage girl. A good example of this would be when Kim (main character of the story) attempts to please Sugar by using a saying involving shoes due to Sugar's love for shoes. Kim doesn't quite get the reaction she was hoping for.

I also fell in love with the originality of the idea. How many other novels are out there about falling in love with your best friend who happens to be the same gender as you?

In contrast to the wild expeditions of Kim and Sugar in the Channel 4 TV series, the novel has a slightly more realistic and believable feel to it as it doesn't need the drama and crazy antics of a television series; there's hotwiring cars and driving to London to escape the police in the middle of the night for Kim and Sugar in the novel.

Overall, a wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable read that I had difficulty in putting down. I'd highly reccommend it to any keen reader out there.