Biography

Kevin Brooks born in 1959, grew up in Devon and now lives in North Yorkshire.
He studied psychology and philosophy at Birmingham Aston University, and Cultural
Studies in London, and held a variety of jobs before becoming a full-time writer.

He writes young adult books, many of which have crime and thriller elements. Two of his
books make up the "Johnny Delgado" series: Like Father, Like Son (2006) and Private
Detective (2006).

His first novel, Martyn Pig (2002), a black comedy about a 15-year-old boy who decides
not to tell the authorities when his alcoholic father accidentally dies, was shortlisted for the
2002 Carnegie Medal and won the 2003 Branford Boase Prize. Her second novel, Lucas,
which tells the story of Caitlin, who falls in love with a mysterious boy with tragic
consequences, was published in 2003 and won the 2004 Northeast Book Award.

Subsequent novels include Candy (2005), its eponymous heroine is a drug addict and
prostitute, her tale was told through the eyes of Joe, who falls in love with her; The Path of
the Dead (2006), a story of murder and revenge; Black Rabbit Summer (2008), shortlisted
for the 2009 Carnegie Medal, and Killing God (2009).

These were followed by iBoy (2010), a teen science fiction suspense thriller, and Naked
(2011), set in London in the hot summer of 1976.

In 2014, his novel The Bunker Diary, about a group of children kidnapped by an invisible
torturer, was awarded the CILIP Carnegie Medal; Since then, he has published books such
as The Devil's Angel (2014), Dumb Chocolate Eyes (2015), and Born Scared (2016).

Critical perspective
Kevin Brooks' young adult novels are by no means typical teen novels.
On the contrary, they tend to be dark, intense and powerful stories, influenced by Brooks'
reading of thrillers and crime fiction. These genres have influenced both his style and
subject matter: his novels are well-planned and gripping, heightening tension with deft
sophistication. Most of the novels are narrated in the first person by teenage characters
who, for the most part, are multifaceted, sympathetic, and skillfully drawn, although they
often find themselves in dark and traumatic situations. Each of the novels is very different
in its story, but there is a recurring theme of isolation, as the characters often discover that
they are somehow an outsider, different from the norm. Although Brooks addresses
difficult and sometimes controversial issues (child abuse, teenage prostitution, drug
addiction, murder), his tone is never cautious or moralistic. He doesn't offer clear answers,
but instead explores and questions, encouraging readers to do the same. The author displays
a keen sensitivity to the emotions and experiences of adolescence, encouraging empathy
with his characters rather than judgment.
Martyn Pig (2002) enters very difficult territory for a young adult novel, but he pulls it off
beautifully, creating a darkly comic novel. The title protagonist, bullied at school for his
unfortunate name, and abused at home by his alcoholic and violent father, reaches boiling
point when he finds himself once again on the receiving end of his father's fists. Martyn's
attempt to defend himself triggers a terrible accident: "All I did was walk away. I barely
touched it. He must have been unbalanced, I guess [...] I can still hear the sound now. That
disgusting crack of bone on stone. I knew he was dead. Instantly. I knew it. "This is a
gruesome story as Martyn and his friend Alex find themselves involved in all sorts of
absurd situations in their attempt to hide the body. However, Brookes combines the serious
issues of abuse and bullying with a likeable, likable protagonist and a deft use of dark
humor that lightens the subject matter without being flippant.
Lucas (2003) has a very different setting, but is equally gripping and dramatic. There is
isolation in both setting and circumstance: the location is Hale Island, separated from the
mainland, while Lucas, a rather mystical character, is the outsider, treated with suspicion by
the locals. As Caitlin, the narrator, falls in love with Lucas, others in the community
wrongly accuse him of sexual assault, and the novel thus explores the workings of the
group mentality, particularly the fear of "otherness" that can lead to terrible persecution. .
As always, Brookes maximizes the potential of first-person narration so that the story
doesn't just offer a limited view. Caitlin is a perceptive and intelligent teenager who has
already made up her mind not to "follow the pack" even before Lucas's arrival. His
narrative, therefore, offers keen insights not only into his own character but also into the
people and society around him.
The protagonist of Kissing the Rain (2004) is another stranger. 15-year-old Moo Nelson (a
male character) is severely obese and severely bullied because of it. The "rain" of the title is
Moo's term for the daily assault of abuse leveled at him; he copes (or tries to) by "dazzling"
him. For Moo, like Martyn Pig, it is not just other children who make his life miserable:
when he witnesses (or partially witnesses) a street murder, he is intimidated and
blackmailed by the police who want him to lie in court, and at the same time time let down
by inadequate parents who cannot offer support as he struggles with the burden of the
terrible decision he has to make. Brookes is therefore not afraid to explore the dark side of
life, not just the overt horrors like murder and corruption, but the terrifying reality that
some children and teenagers face when surrounded by adults who are abusive or dishonest
or just too weak to offer. Emotional support. Moo's narration is sometimes confused and
disoriented, in contrast to Caitlin's in Lucas, but this is extremely effective in reflecting her
state of mind. Brooks doesn't opt for cute happy endings either: Lucas's Caitlin experiences
heartbreak, although her relationship with her father has improved, while Moo's future
looks bleak.
The Road of the Dead (2006) features another sinister underworld, as the title implies. The
novel shows the influence of the Western genre, although it has an English setting,
Dartmoor, which is evoked as a dark and heartbreaking place. Two brothers, Ruben and
Cole, seek justice for their sister Rachel, who has been raped and murdered. Although the
brothers and their pain are portrayed with sympathy, they are not exempt from vice and this
is a quite disturbing novel, permeated with violence and sinister things. In this and several
novels, Brooks has a tendency to veer into the supernatural, although this is usually very
carefully woven in without detracting from the realism of the story. Lucas (mentioned
above) hints at mystical and otherworldly qualities in the main character, while Rubén, the
narrator of The Way of the Dead, possesses a certain clairvoyance and supernatural powers,
which works on two levels: it gives the novel an eerie tone that increases tension, while
expanding the limitations of Rubén's first-person narrative; can, for example, perceive the
thoughts of others.
In Black Rabbit Summer (2008), Brooks once again creates a new environment in which to
place a scary and suspenseful story, and this one is particularly chilling. It centers on a
group of teenage friends who get together one summer night "for old times' sake," but
spiked drinks lead to a night of terror that leaves two people missing. It's a crime story and
a psychological thriller: Brooks' depiction of the psychological dynamics between the
group of friends is acutely perceptive, and the emergence of tensions and old rivalries
between them builds up the suspense, layer by layer, with chilling sophistication.
Killing God (2009) has some similarities to Candy: the story is very different, but both
novels explore the various ways addiction can manifest. Dawn is 15 years old and her
father is an ex-criminal and drug addict. He then turns to religion and becomes a born-again
Christian, but this also turns into a new form of addiction that distances him from his
family, leaving Dawn with intense anger toward the God who, in her opinion, has her. has
deprived someone she loves. Like Martyn Pig, this is a black comedy with a likable and
insightful protagonist who is struggling with inadequate parents who have failed him.
Dawn determines to read about God and Christianity to understand her "enemy" and thus
"kill" God (i.e., disprove God's existence). However, although the novel debates and
questions the existence of God, its intensity is that this is actually Dawn's way of dealing
with the pain of her father's disappearance, and she is perceptive enough to understand this:

'It doesn't mean anything, okay? Killing God means nothing. It's just one thing, that's all.
Just an idea, something to do, something to keep me busy. (And no, it's not a New Year's
resolution either.) I just like to do things that distract me from the things I don't want to
think about (or, to be more specific, what I don't want to think about).'

Awards
2014Carnegie Medal
2009Carnegie Medal (short list)
2008Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (Germany)
Carnegie Medal 2007 (shortlist)
Kingston Youth Book Award 2007
2005Buxtehude Bulle (Germany)
2004 Northorth Book Prize
2003 Branford Boase Award
2002 Carnegie Medal (short list)

Plays
2016Born Scared
2016Five miles
Chocolate eyes from 2015Dumb
2015The Serpent Trap
2014The Danger Game
2014The Devil's Angel
2014The maximum truth
2013 wrapped in white
2013The Bunker Diary
2012 Until Darkness Comes
2011A Ghost Dance
2011Naked
2010iBoy
2009Killing God
2008Black Rabbit Summer
2007Be
2006The Way of the Dead
2006Private Detective
2006 Like father, like son
2005I See You, Baby
2005Candy
2004Bloodline
2004Kissing the Rain
2003Lucas
2002Martyn Pig