A bestselling YA thriller exploring death, revenge and morality.
Bernard Beckett has a degree in Economics, and has taught in the Wellington region for several years. He has published a book of non-fiction (Falling for Science: Asking the Big Questions (2007)), and eight novels, for which he has won many awards. His novel Genesis (2006) won the Young Adult Category in the 2007 NZ Post Book Awards and has been pubished in several countries. Bernard lives in Wellington with his wife, Clare Knighton (his co-author on Deep Fried).
Originally released in New Zealand in 2001, Jolt has been described as part Tomorrow When The War Began, and part One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Marko is 16 and bored. When an opportunity to join an outdoor education program at school to trek coast-to-coast presents itself, he signs up on the spot. Here he is teamed up with an eclectic mix of students. Ms Jenkins their teacher is strong and capable and despite the bickering and chaotic group dynamic, Marko starts to enjoy himself. Then the earthquake hits, tearing the ground apart and forcing the group to pull together. When Ms Jenkins meets a group of men in the woods Marko is powerless to stop their violent act, and then Jolt hits high gear as the group must fight the ravages of the earthquake, and the men who seek to silence them. Told in counterpoint between the vivid detail of the trek, and Marko's drug-induced thoughts in a journal, Jolt delivers all of the elements of a fine thriller. A less than satisfactory resolution and relatively predictable plot, result in a book that will entertain most readers, but won't be elevated to the success of the novels it references. Ben Beaton is a writer and teacher in Perth
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