Author | Meg Rosoff |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Young-adult novel, magic realism |
Publisher | Penguin Books |
Publication date | 3 August 2006 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Pages | 231 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]
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]
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. 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.
The title and David's adopted name Justin Case refer to his preparation phobia.
The Carnegie Medal for Writing, established in 1936, is a British literary award that annually recognises one outstanding new English-language book for children or young adults. It is conferred upon the author by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), who calls it "the UK's oldest and most prestigious book award for children's writing". CILIP is currently partnered with the audio technology company Yoto in connection with the award.
The Carnegie Medal for Illustration is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) which inherited it from the Library Association. CILIP is currently partnered with the audio technology company Yoto in connection with the award, though their sponsorship and the removal of Greenaway’s name from the medal proved controversial.
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Meg Rosoff is an American writer based in London, United Kingdom. She is best known for the novel How I Live Now, which won the Guardian Prize, the Printz Award, the Branford Boase Award and made the Whitbread Awards shortlist. Her second novel, Just in Case, won the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians recognising the year's best children's book published in the UK.
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