Born Scared

by Kevin Brooks

Elliot is terrified of almost everything.

From the moment he was born, his life has been governed by acute fear. The only thing that keeps his terrors in check are the pills that he takes every day.

It's Christmas Eve, there's a snowstorm and Elliot's medication is almost gone. His mum nips out to collect his prescription. She'll only be 10 minutes - but when she doesn't come back, Elliot must face his fears and try to find her. She should only be 400 meters away. It might as well be 400 miles...

~ Paperback Princess Blurb ~

Born Scared by Kevin Brooks is a unique story about a day in the life of a teen who is anxious and scared of the world, but when his Mother goes missing in search of his much needed medication, he soon finds himself venturing outside, first time in a long time, to find and maybe save his Mother. Brilliantly written, gripping and thrilling.

Born Scared by Kevin Brooks is a fast paced story that truly takes the reader into the world of Elliot, a teen who suffers major anxiety, who rarely leaves his room, let alone his house. 

When his Mother heads out to his Aunty's to pick up his medication he desperately needed, she doesn't come back. So with the monster in his head kicking in, he finds himself in a desperate situation. Does he search for his Mother? Or does he stay put in case his Mother returns.

On the other side of town, 2 criminals are laying wait at a home with a hostage in tow, awaiting the return of a bank Manager, who is extremely late for their heist.

How does these two fit together? I am unable to say without giving away spoilers, but somehow Kevin manages to merge these two stories into one in a thrilling, fast paced and one hell of a day! 

Kevin Brooks' writing truly have you inside Elliot's head, better understanding what he is going through. Taking the adventure with Elliot was truly an experience. The writing is well researched, raw and poignant and the best part was how he managed to intertwine two seemingly unrelated stories, into one and slowly unfolded it for it's readers. This was probably the best part of this book for me.

I only gave Born Scared 2 stars as whilst it was gripping and interesting, I didn't find myself engrossed or heavily attached to any of the characters. Apart from that, the book was an exciting read, but it just wasn't the kind of thriller I was looking for. It is nice to have more representation of mental health on YA books though. 

The writing is different and speaks to a certain type of reader, but I  unfortunately was not connecting with it. However, Kevin still wrote it interestingly enough that I persevered to finish the novel, despite wanting to DNF it a few times, so I gave it an extra star for that.