"This conversation-starting thriller sees seven teenagers confront uncomfortable truths as they battle to survive being stranded on a desert island - and each other"
Utterly gripping and of-the-moment, The Trial addresses vital issues around consent, coercive control, victim-blaming and male entitlement with a desert island survival scenario providing the perfect set-up for a tinderbox situation. With this novel, Laura Bates, award-winning writer, activist and founder of the Everyday Sexism project, has created a thought-provoking thriller with page-turning potency and resonance.
When a group of cheerleaders and footballers are washed up on a desert island following a plane crash (and a post-game party no one seems comfortable talking about), their attention is initially focussed on survival - what they’ll drink and eat, when they might get rescued. But then, as time passes and a series of strange, apparent accidents befall them, suspicions mount and paranoia reigns: “There’s something ‘off’ about the fabric of the group. Like a jigsaw where all the pieces have been reshaped and none of them fit together any more”.
As the tension escalates, vital truths about gender relations are raised (and class disparity, too), such as when one of the characters observes, “The things that scare us are very different from the things that scare them” of the differences between her female peers and the guys in the group. This is Lord of the Flies with a powerful feminist message and cinematic scope.
After a plane crash sees a group of seven teens washed up on a desert island, their first thought is survival. But a terrible secret from a party the night before has followed them ashore. Facing deadly threats and the fear of being stranded forever, they quickly discover that being the most popular kid in High School doesn't help when you're fighting to stay alive. As the island deals each of them a dangerous blow, it's clear that someone is looking for justice. Now survival depends on facing the truth about that party: who was hurt that night, and who let it happen?
The Trial features in the following genres: Young Adult Fiction, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Relationship stories, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Places and peoples, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Bullying, violence, abuse and peer pressure, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Dating, relationships, romance and love, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Self-awareness and self-esteem, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Body and health, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Children’s / Teenage: Personal and social topics, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Relationships (non-family / groups)
The Trial is available in Paperback
The Trial was written by Laura Bates and published by Simon & Schuster Childrens Books an imprint of Simon & Schuster Ltd
The Trial has 253 pages
£7.19
