Just in Case (novel)

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Just in Case
Just in Case cover.jpg
Front cover of first edition
Author Meg Rosoff
LanguageEnglish
Genre Young-adult novel, magic realism
Publisher Penguin Books
Publication date
3 August 2006
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Pages231 pp (first edition)
ISBN 978-0-14-138078-0
OCLC 224849493
LC Class PZ7.R719563 Jus 2006 [1]

Just in Case is a young-adult novel by Meg Rosoff published by Penguin in 2006. Its adolescent protagonist David Case spends the majority of the book attempting to avoid fate. Rosoff won the annual Carnegie Medal, recognising the year's best children's book published in the U.K. [2] In a press release announcing the award, the librarians called it "a story about death, depression, sex, choice and survival." [3]

Contents

Just in Case also won the German Jugendliteraturpreis and made the shortlists for the Booktrust Teenage Prize [4] and the 2006 Costa Book Awards.

Random House (Wendy Lamb Books) published the first U.S. edition, also in 2006. [1]

Plot summary

The book is set in Luton, Bedfordshire [5] where fifteen-year-old David Case saves his younger brother from falling out of an open window. Scared by the experience, he starts to see danger everywhere, believes that Fate is stalking him, and decides to change his identity in order to escape his destiny. Fate at various points takes over the narration revealing David is right but it also lampshades that David is somewhat responsible for making things so interesting thus it’s implied fate only became actively interested after David began trying to hide. Fate seems to treat human life as a game of cat and mouse and notes David plays well. He changes his name to Justin, adopts a new wardrobe, seeks out new friends, acquires an imaginary dog, all in the hope of avoiding Fate. His new, moody, self-absorbed persona attracts attention, not all of it good, and Fate is not fooled at all. Fate eventually speaks to David/Justin in his head and mocks him he also reminds him that as the good the good things are also down to fate. Eventually David’s little brother a genius realises how he set off events in motion by inadvertently giving his brother the idea of fate stalking him. He apologises to David and gets him to think of his new friends and his family and realise that all fates are connected and there is just as much chance as bad happening. With this realisation fate loses interest in singling David/Justin and let’s him exist. The title and David's adopted name Justin Case refer to his preparation phobia.

Translations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Just in case" (first U.S. edition). Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  2. ↑ Carnegie Winner 2007. Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners. CILIP. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  3. ↑ "Releases for 2007 Awards" Archived 2013-01-06 at the Wayback Machine . Press Desk. CILIP. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  4. ↑ Booktrust Teenage Prize. [ dead link ]
  5. ↑ "Just in Case" Archived 2016-04-20 at the Wayback Machine . Discussion with fans. Meg Rosoff.
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