You Killed Me!

by Keith Gray

Len Grimsby is dead and he blames Toby. When Len's ghost appears at the end of his bed, Toby is taken back in time to see the repercussions of his actions and unravel the series of events that led to Len's death. Can he save Len from being killed? And can he manage not to screw everything else up in the process?

Genres: Young Adult

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Keith Gray grew up in and around Grimsby and Cleethorpes on the east coast of England and decided he'd better take his writing ambition seriously after achieving 0% in his accountancy exams. His debut, 'Creepers', was published when he was only 24 and was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize. Since then his books have either won or been shortlisted for awards all over the world including the Sankei Cultural Publishing Prize of Japan, the American Library Association Best Books (YA) and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. In the UK his bestselling novel 'Ostrich Boys' was shortlisted for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie Medal, the Costa Children's Book Award and won the Scottish Children's Book Awards, and has been adapted for the stage. Keith has been a reviewer for both the Guardian and Scotsman newspapers. In 2017 he moved to live in Vienna, Austria, with his partner, their daughter and a parrot called Bellamy. Keith is a co-founder of Sunday Writers’ Club.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me think of the Christmas Carol a bit. It was basically about a ghost who comes to this boy about how he died. It was because of a chain of events, and now the boy needs to go back to that day and fix it so that this man doesn't die. It was a good quick read. I was hoping for a little bit scary but the only thing scary to me was the first chapter when the ghost comes.

[Kirsikka71 · Rating 3 out of 5]

About the consequences of our actions.

[Daria · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice quick book .I went into this book not expecting much but a fun little read. This book shows the theme of consequences from your actions .

The writing wasnt anything special but it still made me happy even though it only took me 40 minutes to read as it was a really quick book

I would of liked maybe more character dept and in a more depth story but it is ment for young children so .it was kinda like a Christmas Carol but a more children based (just like nichole said on her review )

[Elsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Även om jag tyckte boken i sig va bra och en snabb läsning liksom är att förändra det förflutna något jag inte gillar, hade verkligen hoppats att han Toby skulle
Insett att förflutet var förflutet och att om alla skulle tänka att varje liten sak dom gjorde ledde till saker långt borta skulle inget funka. Bara för att han råkade starta ett led av händelser kan man ut e heller säga att han är den som var ansvarig för att sak 5 inträffade liksom. Aja den va ju bra i alla fall. Men temat med att våra handlingar har konsekvenser var ba och jag gillade det

[Marite Juul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toby blir oppsøkt av spøkelset Len Grimsby som påstår han har blitt drept fordi Toby kastet balltreet sitt over et gjerde dagen før. Toby må bli med Len tilbake til gårsdagen, hvor det viser seg at kastet utløste en kjedereaksjon som ganske riktig førte til Lens død. Nå vil spøkelset at Toby skal leve gårsdagen om igjen og ikke kaste balltreet. Problemet er at kastet også førte til gode ting. Hva skal Toby gjøre? Lettlest og riktig fiffig liten historie.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining short yarn which asks deeper questions about what happens when you change an incident to help somebody - and the ramifications on others - suprisingky thoughtful although the execution could have been a little different - still a great little story.

[raya_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes even the simpler thoughts can become a jumbled vine.

Although simple, plain it's near and just right for a short read.

Enjoyed it, I'd say I liked it much better than Grisham's Bleachers (don't hate me for comparing) :)

This author deserves a good recognition for his efforts!!!!

[daisy · Rating 1 out of 5]

keith, don't quit your day job, and if this is it, please consider a new career path

[⭐️⭐️⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book. Quick and action packed

[Jack Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

While crime stories aren't typically my cup of tea, I'm an absolute sucker for time travel narratives. The plot twists and varied perspectives in this story had me hooked from start to finish.

[Sinead · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a very quick read, I read it to make sure it would be suitable for my daughter to read.

[Lorraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what possessed me to pick this up, maybe the ghost of Len Grimsby. Picked this up in the YA section of a library and the blurb seemed interesting enough but I think this was more for kids. I continued reading anyway to see where it'd go and for a story about resetting time it's intriguing to see he butterfly effect play out. Who'd have thought one action could lead to such a massive chain reaction. What this book explores is how even if we try to undo mistakes, there are people who'd be worse off without the mistake having been made and it's fun to see how Toby tries to keep the good stuff happening by his own actions and stop the bad stuff (no spoilers here. It's 70+ pages, you don't need spoilers). Len Grimsby is not a believable character, really haunting a kid who set in motion a really random series of events that led to your death instead of the one directly responsible? Maybe if I was eight I'd enjoy this book more but as it is I'm just unsatisfied. I have no idea why The Sunday Times would say Keith Gray is an exceptional writer for teens unless his other books aren't catered to a significantly younger crowd. 2 stars because of a somewhat different take on changing the past and time travel or this would have just gotten 1 star.

[Anthony Burt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short, sharp little book that I read in an hour. About a ghost who shows a boy how he accidentally killed him. It's fun and has a nice, twisty plot and I also love the fact the book is printed on especially designed yellowish paper (with words spaced out) so dyslexic young people can read it more easily.

It's not a high scorer on the stars as it kind of feels like the book was written in a couple of hours - there isn't a great deal of depth to it. Still an enjoyable read though, especially for young readers struggling at school.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's important to remember that books like this are written for kids who don't usually want to pick up a book. And this is really well-written compared to the standard books for reluctant readers. It may not have the complexities one would expect from a YA novel, but it has enough content for substantial discussion about consequences of actions. If I were only judging this just against other reluctant reader titles, I'd give it 5 stars.

[Reetta Saine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jännityskirja kauhu-alulla, jossa kuolleista palannut pistää sormensa luodireikään ja kaivaa pikkuisen aivomassaa pyyntönsä tueksi...

Älä heitä krikettimailaa suutuspäissäsi, voit aiheuttaa samalla kuoleman. Voit myös saada mahdolisuuden korjata tekosi. En tiedä, kumpi on pahempaa.

Helppolukuista enkkuvinkkaukseen.

[Julia Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine for reluctant readers, well-written look into the butterfly effect, how one action has a chain reaction of consequences.

[Barbara Band]

Barrington Stoke Teen book about a boy who throws away his cricket bat with disastrous consequences. Wonderfully scary ghost and a whole train of "what if's" ...