Jolt

by Bernard Beckett

A bestselling YA thriller exploring death, revenge and morality.

'The challenge of the Coast to Coast was for the whole PE class to get itself from one side of the island to the other in under six days. "Where to?" "The bush," I croaked. "Hide." We cut back to the right, down off the track, crashing through the undergrowth and sliding down steep slopes. After a couple of minutes we stumbled to a stop, pressed in close … we waited and listened, the others with their heads bursting with questions, mine spinning with answers I didn’t want to believe. '

Marko surfaces from a drug-induced haze to find himself hidden from the world in a psychiatric ward. He is certain the ‘Doctor’ means to kill him, but he in turn has vengeful plans of his own. Who are these people and what happened to the others? Who can Marko trust and how much time does he have?

Time enough to write it all down, his story of a coast to coast trip and the earthquake that ripped his world apart. A ‘top-notch thriller’

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

157 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2010

About the author

Bernard Beckett, born in 1967, is a high school teacher based in Wellington, New Zealand, where he teaches drama, mathematics, and English. Genesis was written while he was in a Royal Society genetics research fellowship investigating DNA mutations. The book has already received international acclaim, including two literary prizes in Beckett's native New Zealand. Rights to Genesis have been sold in twenty-one countries.

Reviews

[Abigail]

Jolt is a great book, holding a lot of suspense, and what will happen next? The view of the main character Marco changed a lot for me throughout the book, what he's like, how it will end. It also shows a lot about how relationships can change throughout life and how disasters however bad, can draw people together. If you like a suspenseful book that you don't want to put down then jolt is the book for you.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning it was a little bit confusing, because I didn't know which time in the chapter was, but when I found the rhythm I liked it.

[Dr Jespersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good! I do like unreliable narrators, choppy structures and having my sense of right and wrong challenged a bit. If you do too, go for it. You probably should!

[Aline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jolt is a suspenseful but exhilarating book to read. You can't help but question what would happen next after every page you turn. It was a very exciting book to read!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book but a bit confusing because of how each chapter switched !

[triniii · Rating 1 out of 5]

Der Plot war so schräg und es hat sich total lang hingezogen

[Nina Rotermund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unreliable narrator. Bit confusing 'till you get the rhythm of the chapters. After that, great book!

[READING4Me · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique propulsive YA novel, which didn't bore me (surprisingly). An entertaining read.

[Thomas Liontis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome thriller, very well written in a concise, engaging, and thoughtful story, as you can expect from Beckett. Character development was nice and natural, except probably the little bit of romance lol, but overall a book I would recommend to any friend!

[Naree · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this book in class and honestly… I wish I hadn’t.
Let me start with the things I found tolerable: the idea. A teenager with mental issues trapped in a hospital with no memory of getting there. Sounds promising, doesn’t it? Sadly, it wasn’t pulled off right. Another thing I liked was the unreliable narrator and how it lets the reader question the rights and wrongs in unusual situations.
However, I do think that the plot just felt like it didn’t end and had only one major plot point (Ms Jenkins’ death). Before and after that, it just felt empty and forced. The end felt meaningless... throughout the whole book, Marko wanted to kill the Doctor and now he didn’t? Just like that? Only because Lisa said so?
The characters felt empty. Lisa was quiet, Jonathan was annoying, Rebecca was determined and annoying and Marko was vengeful. The characters are connected throughout the plot but still could be reduced to this, since there wasn’t any character development at all. The little insight into the romantic side of the story felt sudden and uncomfortable, especially because 16-year-olds would never act that way (coming from one).
I stand by what I said in the beginning. But if you want a suspenseful book with an unreliable narrator, then this is for you.

[Esme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jolt (Wie du ihr) ist ein Jugendroman des neuseeländischen Autors Bernard Beckett. Der siebzehnjährige Marko erwacht auf der psychiatrischen Station eines Krankenhauses. Zunächst noch verwirrt darüber, was ihm geschah und wie er hierher gelangte, kehren nach und nach die Erinnerungen zurück und er hält diese in einem Notizbuch fest, denn sein Leben ist in Gefahr.

Während eines Outdoorkurses werden vier Schüler und eine junge Lehrerin in den Bergen von einem Erdbeben überrascht. In der nachfolgenden Ausnahmesituation beobachtet Marko wie drei Männer die Lehrerin bedrängen und töten. Einer der Täter ist Arzt in der Klinik, in der er sich nun befindet und Marko beschließt, ihn zu töten.

Die Kapitel erzählen alternierend über die gegenwärtigen Ereignisse im Krankenhaus, diese sind in eine unwirkliche, seltsame Lynch-Atmosphäre getaucht, und die vergangenen Erlebnisse. Die Wanderung, das Erdbeben, der Tod der Lehrerin und die Flucht der Schüler erinnern etwas an den Film Stand by me. Zwar wird der Grund für Markos Rachepläne erst etwa in der Mitte des Romans enthüllt, steht aber auch schon so auf dem Klappentext des Buches, so dass ich es hier auch aufschreibe.

Mit der Prämisse, die einem gleich auf der ersten Seite entgegengeschleudert wird, der Arzt muss sterben, hier ist keine Gerechtigkeit möglich, sondern nur Rache, habe ich mich unwohl gefühlt. Wie du ihr, so ich dir? Außerdem ist es unwahrscheinlich, dass bereits so kurze Zeit nach dem Erdbeben die Regeln des Zusammenlebens außer Kraft gesetzt werden. Marko schildert sich selbst als unscheinbare Person und er ist, obwohl der Ich-Erzähler, fast unsichtbar, aber auch sein Charakter ist auf beiden Erzählebenen sehr unterschiedlich. Die Geschichte verläuft so, wie man es vermutet, da fehlt am Ende doch noch eine Pointe.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is on the book " Jolt" by Phil Cooke This book came at the right time for me. Mr Cooke point of this book was to give people a jolt with their lives. It is divided in sections. The first is to jolt your direction. It talks about how to rethink your idea of change, rethink how you do things and why you do things. The book offers insight from small to large on how to do so. The quotes that are in the book were target on for the sections that they were in. The other section was jolts what matters. To many times we change things for others, change things for our jobs and for society. But is that really what matters? Are we changing things that don't matter to us in the long run? Jolt your potential is the next section. To many times we underline what we can do in our skills and talent. We don't stop to think of what our true abilities are. This can be due to our circumstances, finance or the people we surround ourselves with. Jolt your potential, regardless of where you are in your life or how old you are. The last two sections are based on jolting your heart and your future It is a way to help us jolt our lives in many ways. It help us rethink how we do things and if those ways are working for us. There are a lot of self help books out there. This falls in this genre.

I received the book for free in exchange for 2 reviews.

[Anthony Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Jolt' owes a debt of tribute to 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', to 'The Catcher in the Rye' and even to 'Heart of Darkness' and 'Deliverance'. And yet, this is no derivative mish-mash of ideas: Beckett has managed a masterful blending of ideas and characters here to produce something completely original, and utterly engaging. Far more than merely the sum of its parts. Set in New Zealand, 'Jolt' offers its readers an intriguing and engaging narrator, some genuinely funny moments, and a fast paced, tightly plotted narrative.

I'm meeting Beckett in a few days time, at 'Reading Matters' in Melbourne, and can't wait to shake his hand for this one.

[Rhaldankar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome wow, i really like how the author has used many language techniques such as similes and Beckett has created a sense of suspense that keeps the reader guessing what happens next. I really like how the reader has shown 2 different stories going on simultaneously so there are chapters like a diary of Marko Turner as he expresses his own opinions especially about the evil doctor Chris Shaw throughout the story. Marko doesn't like the doctor and wants to kill him. I like how the book is set in Wellington, New Zealand

[Celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love Beckett's style of writing - this is a fast moving and slim YA novel, about some teenagers who are on a hike when an earthquake hits their city, and the aftermath of their encounter with some other men in the bush.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tense little read.

[Mandi Shaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was an Alright story, Was forced to read it for level 1 English...not the best story i've read

[Piper Mejia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat unbelievable tale of misadventure, but it does capture you from the beginning with false trails and engaging characters.

Themes of mistrust, trust, betrayal and absolution.

[Gen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this in English in about year 9. Some of it was okay but for the most part I had no idea what was going on.

[Olivia Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really good. The ending could have been better but the book is well worth reading.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG THSI BOOK IS AMAZING. All the characters are so good and the plot is chill. It's a brilliant book and I think you should read it.

[Thara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book had a good build up. But the ending was anticlimactic.

[Lilli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved reading Jolt. It was very confusing in the beginning though

[Bayle bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was alright

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sections in first person really added to the sense of danger.

[Jenna]

i read this book for a school project and i loved it!