Druce's new girlfriend is hot, but what's with the weird behaviour, freaky parents and the super-human intelligence? And was that really a forked tongue he saw or did he imagine it? Then he meets someone on the internet who tells him that aliens have infiltrated the planet. Could Angela be an alien? Is she really trying to suck out his brains?
Graham Joyce (22 October 1954 – 9 September 2014) was an English writer of speculative fiction and the recipient of numerous awards for both his novels and short stories.
After receiving a B.Ed. from Bishop Lonsdale College in 1977 and a M.A. from the University of Leicester in 1980. Joyce worked as a youth officer for the National Association of Youth Clubs until 1988. He subsequently quit his position and moved to the Greek islands of Lesbos and Crete to write his first novel, Dreamside. After selling Dreamside to Pan Books in 1991, Joyce moved back to England to pursue a career as a full-time writer.
Graham Joyce resided in Leicester with his wife, Suzanne Johnsen, and their two children, Joseph and Ella. He taught Creative Writing to graduate students at Nottingham Trent University from 1996 until his death, and was made a Reader in Creative Writing.
Joyce died on 9 September 2014. He had been diagnosed with lymphoma in 2013.
Our narrator is Doogie, a fifteen-year-old schoolboy bumbling clumsily through his own life. He fancies the new girl in school and asks her out. Things are going well, despite his ill-judged reliance on a website of dating tips, when he suddenly begins to suspect that Angelica is actually an alien, a notion that rather eats away at his commitment to the relationship...
This is a very funny tale, but since it is written by edgy-horror expert Graham Joyce, it is not without an undercurrent of unease and moments that verge on the creepy. IS Angelica an alien? Is Doogie a paranoid schizophrenic? Is it all some horrible misunderstanding? Can boys simply not understand girls, and vice versa? Will love conquer all? At any rate, the situation leads to any amount of yo-yoing, confused emotions and awkward conversations, sure to entertain teenagers as they fumble, like Doogie, to finding out what matters. Great fun.
This was my first of Graham Joyce's YA novels and it was such a fun read. It took me back to my school days when I was a bit shy with girls especially one in particular who I really liked.Mind you her being an alien never crossed my mind.Any one who just wants a light hearted novel which is hysterical at times and guaranteed to cheer you up give it a try. Graham Joyce never disappoints.
Graham Joyce is one of my favourite authors and after reading all of his ‘adult’ books, I decided to try another if his YA novels. I am glad to say that it was a fun read. I would recommend this book to anyone over 12 as it does contain some bad language.