Melvin Burgess

Melvin Burgess is an iconic, award-winning young adult fiction author. He was born in 1954 in Twickenham, but grew up in Sussex and Berkshire.

After a brief early stint as a journalist, Melvin turned his attention to writing fiction, and his novels have been published to wide critical acclaim. His debut novel, Cry of the Wolf, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. In 1997 his hard-hitting and controversial novel Junk won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award.

Hit

A new drug is out. Everyone is talking about it.

The Hit. The best ever week of your life, before a sudden and painless death.

Adam looks around him. His parents are worn out. His brother has gone. And Lizzie, his girlfriend, has dumped him.

If he had one week left to live, how would he want to spend it?