Stray

by David Belbin, Julia Page (Illustrator)

Stacey is always on the wrong side of the law – but Kev falls in love with the lost girl behind the tough looks. Can he help "Stray" – or will she drag him down with her? This is a teen romance.

Stacey is always on the wrong side of the law – but Kev falls in love with the lost girl behind the tough looks. Can he help "Stray" – or will she drag him down with her? This is a compelling, edgy teen romance. The key features include: first class award-winning authors; appealing, gripping plots guaranteed to interest teenagers and provoke discussion; top quality, age-appropriate illustrations; huge demand – in 2005 over 35 per cent of 14-year-olds were failing to reach their expected standard of literacy; stylish packaging; and extensive trialling by teenagers with the target reading age ensures accessibility.

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2006

About the author

Belbin's work is known for breaking boundaries and dealing responsibly with difficult social issues that affect teenagers. He first attained success with a number of books for Scholastic's Point Crime series.

Reviews

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Another pretty pointless short story. The only good thing was that it was fairly short.

* Kev is at the corner shops when a group of girl steal some cans of lager. He recognises the girl outside the shop as Stacey, a girl he went to primary school with.
* The next day he asks the leader of the gang if she knows where Stacey is and she refuses tell him. He gives her his phone number and she throws it away. The only thing she says is that they now call Stacey 'Stay' because another member of the gang is called Tracey.
* He asks again and she tells him to meet her at the pub.
* He goes to the pub but ends up delivering drugs for them.
* He runs into Stacey on the street and she kisses him to escape notice by the police. He says he doesn't like he name 'Stay' and instead decides to call her 'Stray' because he doesn't think she belongs in the gang.
* She calls a couple of times, and Kev speaks to the leader again, but ends up delivering more drugs, and being sent to see a girl called Lucy who seems to be a prostitute.
* He speaks to Stacey again and she asks him to meet her at the mall, she tells him about a plan they have to rob a jewellery store, they want him to be the getaway driver and he refuses.
* They go ahead with the plan without him, with Stacey wobbling away on a push bike she can't ride. When she struggles he takes the loot from her and tells her to go home. He then waits and gives the stolen jewellery to the police.
* 7 years later he sees the leader of the gang on holiday and asks what happened to Stacey, but she doesn't know.

[Sharni Armstrong]

good

[C.J. Pallister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short simple YA loved it.

[2shara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its about a girl how's with the wrong crowd.Can this boy save her ? but even in a gang shes on her own .