Joyride

Class: The Novels #1

by Guy Adams

‘So, you can just leap into other people’s bodies? Take them over? And while you’re in control, you can do whatever you want? Brilliant.’

Poppy is a quiet girl, right up until she steals a car and drives it through a shop window.

Max is a nice guy, but then he kills his whole family. Just for fun.

Amar always seems so happy, so why is he trying to jump to his death from the school roof?

Some of the students of Coal Hill School are not themselves. Some of them are dying. Ram has just woken up in a body he doesn't recognise, and if he doesn't figure out why he may well be next.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Queer, Class, Fantasy

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Kimmylongtime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good 😍🤞🏽but I need to get to sleep. Review to come!! Not sure why everyone disliked this so much on Hoopla!! It gave me Dirk Gently vibes if it was YA. But it seems like my GR fam enjoyed it enough.

[Camden Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars.

I started this book after finishing 'The Stone House' book in the series. While the mystery in this story was better than the first one I read, I still have a lot of issues with the book. Mostly with the characters. Ms. Quill was more insufferable in this book than she was in the first one I read. Her whole character is just abusive and rude and we are meant to laugh at it? No thanks

I also was confused why this book was listed as the first book in the series because it is confusing and nothing is answered in this book. We are thrust into hating two characters because of something they did but was never explained. I'm unsure if GR messed this up or if the author actually made this the first book because literally nothing makes sense. Even the other book made more sense than this one.

While all that being said, the best part of the book was when they were put in danger but that is only three times. We are also supposed to feel bad for those who are "possessed" but they have no background or any major significance besides to draw out the whole villain's arc. I have a lot of issues with this book which sucks because I loved the opening but it just fell flat mostly because of horrible characters and confusing plotlines.

[Vendea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nečíst, pokud jste neviděli seriál (mezi 2. a 3. dílem), nebude vám to jinak dávat smysl. Já viděla a bavilo mě to. Jen mě překvapuje, jakej je Class oproti Doctorovi krvák... V každým díle / knížce samý mrtvoly!

4/5*

I am really big fan of Doctor Who, so naturally, I had to watch a Class too. It's spin-off series to Doctor (unfortunately it was cancelled after the first season). Joyride takes place between second and third episode and I'd highly recommend to watch at least these episodes to fully understand the plot of this book and characters because they talk about events from those episodes a lot in Joyride. I read some Doctor Who books before, so I am fully aware of the structure of a story like this. It was similar. We got this alien invasion in this town, clique of badass teenagers plus one alien teacher and greedy humans too.

As I sad before, this book is actually quite brutal. We get a girl who commits suicide while driving and crashing, a boy who sets his whole family on fire etc. It's just as a TV show. This book was action packed and fast paced. Chapters are short and you'll get tons of POVs. Not just our protagonists, but antagonists as well. My most favorite out of characters is probably Ram and Quill.

Would I recommend this story? Totally, but only if you watch those episodes of TV show. Trust me (I'm a Doctor), it's worth it.

4/5*

[Zuzana Malá · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prvních 60 stran jsem byla značně mimo, pak jsem zjistila, že se kniha má číst mezi 2. a 3. epizodou seriálu. Haha, Zuzano. Tak jsem si dala seriál, prolistovala přečtené strany a ejhle.. Byla jsem doma! Před dočtením knihy jsem stihla kompletní sérii (8 dílů: další už nejsou a nebudou), úplně si oblíbila hlavní hrdiny (dost seriál pomohl) a můžu jen říci: JÍZDA byla super!

http://malousesvetknih.blogspot.cz/20...

[Katie Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Class has a completely different tone to Doctor Who, despite the fact they both share a universe and aliens. I think Patrick Ness' world has allowed such stories as Joyride to flourish and take form in such a way that is different from the saturated area of pure 'Doctor Who'. The show, Class, itself if more daring and features more gore than what it spins-off from, and having this new playground is like granting an executive with a wider jurisdiction.
I particularly enjoyed this novel because of how exactly Guy Adams has portrayed the characters. Each one has its own background. It just feels more focused than the Doctor Who novels for the Twelfth Doctor. And I think there is more heart in it than anything I've read so far. Which is rare and surprising. So I hope the other two novels in this series is equally as fantastic as Joyride, or more.
The story continues from episode 3 of Class. So it's preferable to first watch until then.

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

I’m so impressed with the characterisation of the existing Class characters and the atmosphere of the book. This felt like it could have been an episode of Class, it fit into that world perfectly.

I have never been so repulsed and disgusted by a villain before. I think it’s amazing that Guy Adams could write such a vile bad guy that it makes me uncomfortable. Give him all the kudos.

All the characters felt very on point, though sometimes Quill sounded like she was giving a melodramatic cliched monologue. I don’t know how else to describe it but some words and phrases she used didn’t sound like her.

I really enjoyed seeing more of Quill and Charlie’s dynamic. Surprisingly I ended up actually liking April (I don’t like her at all in the show).

This is such a solid tv show tie in, it should really get more praise.

[SeaBook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Byla to opravdu Jízda!
Nečekala jsem nic světoborného, ale bylo to vážně dobré a seriál vřele doporučuji taktéž. Zároveň doporučuji zhlédnout dva první díly před přečtením, protože knihu rychleji pochopíte a navíc, seriál za to vážně stojí :)
HODNOCENÍ: 4,5/5*

[Teraesia · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3,5 nakoľko som si neuvedomila, že kniha obsahuje príliš veľa referencií na spin-off, ktorý som nevidela… nevadí skúsim ďalšie časti :D

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

i haven't actually seen class because i've heard not good things about it (and because i don't want a teen doctor who spin-off, i want a grittier torchwood revival). other reviews said the characters felt very true to the show, so i can confirm that any interest i might have had is now gone, because i wasn't really a fan of them (or the writing itself for that matter, but that has nothing to do with the actual show). i love doctor who in most forms but this just doesn't deliver.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2845708.html

Set between episodes 2 and 3, this is a decent self-contained story of alien tech exploited by nasty humans - the "Joyride" of the title allows people to take over other people's bodies for a short time, and cause havoc with no consequences to themselves but plenty for their unwilling hosts. Guy Adams wrote a couple of Torchwood books as well (The House That Jack Built and The Men Who Sold The World) which both explored the background of the Torchwood universe in a bit more depth; he doesn't do that so much here, because the palette of present-day human depravity is background enough. Particularly good for Ram fans.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

I was really surprised how much I liked this. It matches the tone of the show and is really well characterized. I have previously read a handful of the tie-in novels for Torchwood, and they can be rather hit or miss, which set my expectations rather low for this series of tie-ins for BBC's Class, but I love the show and figured I'd give them a shot. This blew my expectations so far out of the water! Adams did a fantastic job capturing the characters from the show and weaving the humor into the story as well. On top of that, the concept is really interesting as well and it is just a good story. There are a few bits that are rather simplistic or feel a bit spoon-fed to the reader, but overall, I had a fantastic time reading this.

[Mercedes Zhang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should say there are many witty words and sentences in it and as usual Miss Quill is the most wonderful character. And the writer kept all the character as themselves. But I really don't like Ram ( not the fault of the writer, I generally didn't like this character from the very beginning) and some sentences or description really make me think of his puzzled expression and I really don't know what his function is except showing he is so sad so miserable. As for the other students, sometimes seem like a burden. After all, actually I think Miss Quill always save the world.
I really like Charlie in the tv show but not here.

[Billy Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was by far my favourite Class book. A very realistic spin on the Bodysnatchers theme which worked really well, and I thought it was of the three novels the best to show off what Class is and what it can do. Charlie seems to be better in the books than in the show, and Ram really shines in this one - Tanya gets her moments however as well as the rest. One of my favourite things about it was the villains; their motives were really well explored and they had a good backstory. It was so good I read it in about a week. If you like Class on TV, I'd strongly advise you reading this book.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this book was so much fun! It reminded me how much I've missed these characters and how incredible the show really was. I felt as though this book could have slotted into the show and been another episode perfectly! Such a fun plotline with enjoyable characters.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite of the three Class tie in novels.
Such a great premise of body swapping, Adams really captures the essence of the series.

[Sheng · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because of mainly one reason and that was seeing Patrick Ness' name on the cover. Ness is one of the authors who consistently produces good material so I was expecting more of the same quality from him. After taking a more careful look at the book however, I discovered that I was misled by his name on the cover and that Patrick Ness did not actually have a hand in writing this book whatsoever. Joyride is based on a BBC series created by Patrick Ness named Class and I soon realised that perhaps it was a mistake to read a book based on a series which I clearly had zero knowledge about.

Joyride introduces its cast of characters quickly, presumably because the reader is assumed to know all of them from the TV series since who else who choose to read a book like this? The concept of aliens and them living among us is already one that has been established among all the characters and it became obvious that I had missed the boat on a lot of other major events that took place before the plot of this book, but all that doesn't excuse the paper-thin plot and one-dimensional characters.

Honestly, I didn't really care about many of the main characters at all. The characters I did care about were those that were brutally killed off in the beginning of the book as they had been possessed by rich paying customers who enjoy 'joyrides' in the bodies of others via alien technology chanced upon by Foster, the antagonist of the story. Foster is an absolutely one-dimensional villain. His only motivation is to get rich, regardless of who he has to kill in the way. He kills the alien who brings him the technology, he kills his friend whom he brings in to help him out after refusing his proposal of using the technology for the greater good and he kills one of his customers after he realises that the machine screwed up and made a joyride seemingly permanent. There is no backstory as to why Foster is so possessed by the selfish need of money and he has no redeeming qualities at all. He treats his employee like a henchman and his whole character just seems trite, like the main villain of a cartoon for kids.

The plot of the book is driven by so many lucky moments that it feels like no one really needs to think out or plan their actions at all. Foster's clients that he sends to extract the aliens coincidentally occupy the bodies of their three teenage friends. Ram manages to swap out of the body of a forty year old man that he seemingly was permanently stuck in seconds before he is run over by Foster's car. It just feels like lazy writing after a while.

Overall, this book could have gone somewhere but it fell back on almost standard tropes and deus ex machina. 2/5

[Nayana Agrawal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know what to say about this book. It almost feels like I haven't read it yet, even though I finished it not even 24 hours ago? That probably doesn't make sense but it's still how I feel about it. So hold up, let me explain myself, and then you can decide whether it's valid reasoning or simply a consequence of slowly losing my mind from sleep deprivation on an 18 hour plane ride.

The premise for the book is definitely interesting. Quiet, well-behaved children are committing horrendous crimes, and it's up to a young teenager to figure things out! Or that's what the blurb says, anyway. I think the main problem with this novel is its characters. None of their pasts are really defined very well, they keep referencing the other novels of the series even though I can't decide what the actual chronological order is, and there doesn't seem to be any character development, at ALL. They all feel like robots, filling in their roles and not really having any emotion, except maybe Ram from time to time. That makes the novel a bit lackluster, because the only other person with any modicum of personality is Garry the Antagonist, making it a very one-sided story. Overall, even though the plot itself was interesting enough, that left me with a bland aftertaste and not much of an opinion on anything that the people in the novel did.

Secondly, I'm not sure how I felt about the ending (spoiler ahead, skip this part if you wish). They used the machines backwards to get back at the people who committed the crimes? That's one of the most unrealistic endings I can envision. A bunch of high profile, rich, and famous adults doing surprising things and then instantly denying them afterwards doesn't raise ANY suspicion or lead to any consequences for anyone in the novel. Tell me that doesn't sound unrealistic~ It was a bit dissatisfying and childish too, I would've thought the availability of such technology would be discussed on a greater scale considering other universes and creatures off the planet exist, but nope, it was used for petty revenge and then conveniently vanished by the government...felt a bit like lazy writing to me.

I'm aware it's based on a Doctor Who spin-off, but as someone who hasn't watched any of the episodes, I feel like the novel series should stand alone enough to make sense and have interesting characters without needing too much backstory from the original series. That could just be my opinion though, so take it with a grain of salt if you love the Doctor and Class and all that other jazz.

Anyway, I guess you can read the book if you're in need of something simple to pass the time, but it didn't satisfy any of my needs of sophisticated plot, interesting characters, and complex moral issues.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Hello,' says the man behind the counter. 'Would you like a bag?'
'Absolutely—with the way today's been going, I can suffocate myself with it later.'
He looks confused for a moment. 'They put little holes in them now,' he says eventually, 'so you can't.'
'Spoilsports.'

For the record: You can find a review for The Stone House (one of the two other Class companion novels) over there. And, like I always say, there are some things that I mentioned already in previous reviews that I'm too lazy to type over again, so you might want to go read that one (I refer to my past self a lot). Or not.

Compared to The Stone House, this one is more balanced between the members of the gang (except for Matteusz whose existence seems kinda forgotten for most part of the story. I liked the fact that it showed them all dealing with what happened to them at the prom (events from the TV series) and adjusting with this new life of theirs. And I feel like this one was closer to character (as they were in the TV series) than in The Stone House, Quill in particular. (Extra points for actively discussing Quill's enslavement by Charlie's people.)

In terms of story, I enjoyed it... not sure if more than The Stone House, because they're just totally different (on many aspects), but at least equally. (The Stone House was really about alien "monsters", while this one, although using alien tech, is more about human monsters. Another theme sometimes explored in the main Doctor Who materials.) You get dragged into it early on, and well, you're kinda stuck in the ride from then on. I was a bit surprised at the mystery being lifted up so soon (around 1/3-40% of the book), but it all worked out in the end I guess.

Storytelling-wise, it was a bit disturbing at first because it switches POVs a lot, and when jumping from one to another, the timeline is not always (if ever) chronological. (Translation: It jumps back and forth in time a lot.) While it surprised me at the beginning, I ended up thinking that it actually works out fine, if not better, that way because it keeps you on your toes.

And I just loved how hilarious the writing is.


Well, I think that's about it. See you guys around for What She Does Next Will Astound You next week!

[Xander Toner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was significantly better than I was expecting it to be. I already appreciated Guy Adams as a writer, but this novel really made me really love his work. The whole book is written with a dry sarcasm and wit and its a lot of fun to read. The chapters are also incredibly short (a preference of mine) and it really helps the plot stay quick - especially toward the tail end. Jumping around location and character between chapters to spend a few pages on each before moving again really keeps up the pace and helped it stay exciting.

I think there's maybe one too many characters - introducing Fletcher's right hand man, only to kill him off-page and replace him with someone else with a similarly bloke-y name did confuse me, and I didn't particularly think it was necessary. I'd understand if it were to make Fletcher seem like a worse person, but at this point he'd already stomped what looked like a child and a bunch of aliens to death. I digress, seeing as it was my only real criticism. Adams understands the Class group really well, in my opinion, and it was nice to see how accurately they had be portrayed in the novel - a particular highlight for me was the argument between Charlie and Quill during the later part of the book. It's their dynamic to a T and actually progresses it a little further than we see on the TV show.

I have a real soft spot for Class, and reading the expanded media now is really scratching the itch I have for more stories with these characters. (Please, if any of them showed up in Doctor Who, I'd probably cry. We've got that new UNIT series coming out, please just put Tanya or April in it).

[Peer Lenné · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mit Joyride legt Guy Adams einen kleinen aber feinen Roman vor. Joyride versucht erst gar nicht krampfhaft innovativ zu sein und punktet so mit einfacher, aber effektiver Unterhaltung. Im Grunde hätte man die Handlung in jedem beliebigen Setting spielen lassen können, da die Hintergrundgeschichte von Class hier kaum eine Rolle spielt. Trotzdem sind die Charaktere der Serie gut getroffen. Im Fokus steht fast die meiste Zeit allerdings der Gegner, bei welchem es sich für Class eher ungewöhnlicher Weise, um einen Menschen handelt. Von der Class Stammbesetzung stehen am ehesten noch Miss Quill und Ram im Vordergrund.
Der Schreibstil von Guy Adams ist relativ einfach aber von gutem Unterhaltungswert. Besonders hervorzuheben ist, besonders im Zusammenhang mit der Handlung, dass Adams wirklich geschickt mit den jeweiligen Perspektiven der Protagonisten umgehen kann. Das geht so weit, dass einige Handlungsstränge mehrfach aus verschiedenen Ansichten beschrieben werden. Auch das Medium Buch wird sehr gut genutzt, so dass es einige Stellen gibt, welche man sich wirklich nur schwer auf Film umgesetzt vorstellen könnte.
Joyride ist das perfekte Buch für zwischendurch. Nicht zu tiefsinnig, aber auch nicht flach, einfach aber trotzdem unterhaltsam geschrieben. Eine klare Empfehlung für Leute die kein Meisterwerk erwarten.

[Jennifer Pletcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a story where teenagers are behaving strangely. One runs her car through a shop window. One sets fire to his house while his family is inside. One jumps off the roof of their school but seems to be happy about it. A teacher at their school - Mrs. Quill - needs to get to the bottom of what is happening before another students hurts themself or others.

I want to start by saying that I picked up this book at a used bookstore by accident. I was checking out, and must have scooped it into my pile without realizing it. It cost me $3 and so I figured what the heck - I would give it a try. It wasn't great. But again - that isn't completely the books fault. After I read it, I went online to look it up and realized it is book 2 or 3 in a series AND based on a TV show (a spin off of Dr. Who). I was completely lost in the story. It was random, and disjointed, and the story just moved very quickly without a lot of depth. Maybe I will try the show to see if that helps. I liked the idea of it - seemed like an interesting mystery. But the book just didn't live up to the back cover.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me so long to finish this and I honestly can't say why, because it's a book I've enjoyed thoroughly. The plot is interesting, the characters are well constructed and the writing style... Oh, the writing style is everything! It's light and fun, it makes the story extremely enjoyable and I just wanted to read a little bit more, because it was absolutely gripping.
Also, Quill deserves an honourable mention. What a fantastic character! There's so much depth, so much personality, and she was utterly hilarious. It definitely gave me a new perspective on her and if I liked the character on the show, I can say for sure that I absolutely fell in love with her in this book. Not only is she unbelievably strong, but also she has an enviable (if a little twisted) moral compass and is impressively smart and capable.
My only issue with this was that Ram's return to his body was left unexplained and just seemed a little too convenient. Or maybe I forgot the explanation, since it took me so long to finish the book...

[Ezekiel Thorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the short-lived Doctor Who spin-off Class, I read this novel on holiday two years ago, and was initially unsure how well the show would translate to the page. So much of the show has this joyful, youthful energy, would it be even possible to capture it in words alone?

The answer, thankfully, is yes. The show was written by accomplished novelist Patrick Ness, and although he didn't have a hand in writing these three spin-off novels, the world he created for TV clearly carries over well to book form.

As with other Doctor Who novels, it's not really possible to review much of the book without giving away major spoilers. But this is an effective tale about body-swapping, with the TV characters captured well, a new and genuinely despicable villain, some gross body horror if you're into that kind of thing, and some mature explorations of sexuality just like the parent show that inspired it.

The Class books have been out of print for some time, as the original TV show wasn't a ratings success. But if you find a copy, buy it.

[Gicely · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5⭐: Since the cancellation of the show, I thought I would read these books as a way of getting more content from characters I enjoyed. This novel seems to take place after the second episode of Class. And while the events of the show are mentioned in the book, this books is a pretty good standalone story (kind of read like an episode). It follows a tale of body snatchers, that might end up being more human than alien.

I was surprised by how dark this book was, there was a lot of gruesome murder, suicide, violence, and trauma throughout the book so it wasn't for the faint of heart. It was a little rough and kind of sad, which made the resolution at the end bittersweet. Personally, while there was some concupiscence, I didn't feel like it was enough. But there are some brutal Doctor Who Eps out there, but this definitely takes the cake. I wanted a little more alien presence because it was very limited.

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded to 3 since Goodreads can’t do half stars. Honestly this book was incredibly confusing. I usually really enjoy books that change POV but this one was honestly too much. And then it felt like so much and yet so little happened all the time. I basically chose this book because it was the only short book available that started with a J in my Libby library for the ABC challenge and I honestly wouldn’t have chosen it if it where not for that. I probably shouldn’t have listened to the audiobook if I wanted it to make a bit more sense but despite that a book should make sense no mater in what format you read it in. The alien plot seemed nice but I just found it too confusing with the aliens taking over peoples bodies and the randomness of some scenes.

[marky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This made me want to watch the show. It was a fun and interesting read and I thoroughly enjoyed it even though Im not much of a fun of sci fi or alien stuffs. Or even I'm entirely clueless with Dr Who universe.

The events were thrilling and fast paced. Tho I found the story lacking in the character department. Maybe I read the wrong order of the series? Or just a syndrome of turning a show into a book. I don't know. All the characters but miss quill were one-dimensional. This was more of a plot-driven story.

3-star is not bad and im still continuing with the other Class books and will probably try to look up for that BBC show.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt like an episode of the show: a bit dark, a bit gory, alien tech and nasty people being the scum of humanity while the Class gang has to figure it all out. A bit predictable (anyone who has ever seen Being John Malkevich will immediately know what the gist is here) but still entertaining for the most part. You do need to have seen the show though as characters are barely described or developed; the author is banking on you already being familiar with them.

[Kelland · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 im a simple girl if i truly enjoyed a story i will rate it high despite the flaw.
yes this book is short/lacking of description and depth of each characters, but its easy to read and we get to be involved in the story so quick. Made me remember how i love the series (despite its imperfection, and since its canceled). I hope to read for a lot more.

[Pa_tr0_clus · Rating 1 out of 5]

well that was just hot garbage. Horrible writing, as well as graphic and insensitive depictions of self-harm and suicide, consent issues and predatory behaviour, and just the most pathetic antagonists to ever exist. Also, the main characters were barely in it somehow ?? Matteusz was basically written out which sucks cause I remember him being one of my favourites

[Heydi Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

So...I read book three first one accident, as I didn't know this was a series. Now that I've started back on book 1, book 3 is definitely still my favorite of the series but I did appreciate all history-filling from this book. I was kind of lost in book 3 but having a great time still. Looking forward to book 2 and anything else that this series has.