Fifteen-year-old Justin Billings wants nothing more than to break the destructive chain of enmeshment clouding his deliberately sheltered adolescence. However, autonomy is fiercely chastised in the Billings household. Justin’s newfound dignity threatens his scheming single-mother Wendy’s benefit scam, of which Justin’s fabricated autism diagnosis serves as an integral cog.
Whether forced into spending time with unsavoury babysitters, or following Wendy on her endeavours, Justin lives a burdensome life. Never fully welcome, wherever he goes. Being the only kid at school without a mobile phone only adds to his isolation.
Determined to flee Wendy’s unbearable psychological abuse, Justin wittingly enters the north Wales care system. Unbeknown to him, only compounding his brittle vulnerability. While desperate for independence, engrained self-abhorrence sees him perpetually preyed on by society’s wolves. Local tearaway and fellow resident, Darcy Quinney, sniffs his diffidence from a mile off, and gleefully assumes Wendy’s puppeteer role.
A masterful telling of a young man’s struggle to survive in the modern world. Child abuse is always a difficult topic and George Veck handled it with professionalism and humanity – Madalyn – https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5800757399
If you have not read anything by this author then can only recommend giving this brilliant book a go – Mark Fearn – https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5781479767
I liked how relatable the characters were, and how accurate the struggles were especially when they feel lost. It calls back to the environment in my own community and how, despite all the “help” around, people still lose their way.” -. Robin Goodfellow – https://hollieshappinessandhealing.wordpress.com/2023/09/17/book-review-for-monotone-masquerade-by-george-veck/