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Gate-Crashers
It’s Christmas 1984 in Manchester and seventeen year old Nick Hopper has devastating news on his mind.
Rather than reveal his tragedy to school mates in their gloomy old pub, Nick seeks a change of heart and goes to a trendy hotspot where life gets in the way of death when a beautiful girl writes on the back of his hand urging him to seize the day and choose life!
Along with his carefree best friend Heff, Nick embarks on the greatest night of his life gate-crashing a lavish house party to pursue the girl of his dreams, Jasmine.
Welcomed into the in-crowd’s heady ‘sex, drugs and pop music’ party world, Nick is forced to face his demons and discover who his real friends are when to win Jasmine’s heart he unwittingly throws the wildest New Year's Eve house party ever!
Rather than reveal his tragedy to school mates in their gloomy old pub, Nick seeks a change of heart and goes to a trendy hotspot where life gets in the way of death when a beautiful girl writes on the back of his hand urging him to seize the day and choose life!
Along with his carefree best friend Heff, Nick embarks on the greatest night of his life gate-crashing a lavish house party to pursue the girl of his dreams, Jasmine.
Welcomed into the in-crowd’s heady ‘sex, drugs and pop music’ party world, Nick is forced to face his demons and discover who his real friends are when to win Jasmine’s heart he unwittingly throws the wildest New Year's Eve house party ever!
256 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2022
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 19, 2023
Browsing for something to read, I came across the work 'Gate-Crashers' by Dave Spence. And something drew in me right away. When you look at the cover of this book, if you look at it closely, intently, you notice that the sketch of the people sitting at the end of some random bus is more than just a simple drawing. And I can tell you; there is some meaning or some sort of symbolism there. Starting with their varied appearances, you get the feeling that the group is not a homogenous one. They are all from different walks of life, and each face has a different story to tell.
But it is only one guy visible to us in his entirety, and that is Nick Hopper, the central character of the story. And the work is his story. The story begins with a flashback of a memorable Christmas memory of Nick with his father, and the next instant we are transported into the present scenario, where we learn of the devastating impact of his Dad's death on Nick. But hiding all the hurt from his friends, he tries to attempt a last hoorah. But as luck would have it, he ends up meeting a girl who is the personification of carpe diem. What follows is Nick's endeavour to pursue this girl, something that leads him to an out-of-control party and forces him to face his demons. Christmas, indeed, is a season full of surprises!
The story holds the power to hit you with emotions across the spectrum. The flashback at the beginning of the work sets the tone of this emotional roller coaster. The "Christmassy" setting helps in the development of the plot. The period of the 1980s has been honestly depicted as well. Nick's character development is a heart-warming journey. The third-person omniscient narrative technique lays bare the emotions of the characters. The result is an engaging, relatable work.
But it is only one guy visible to us in his entirety, and that is Nick Hopper, the central character of the story. And the work is his story. The story begins with a flashback of a memorable Christmas memory of Nick with his father, and the next instant we are transported into the present scenario, where we learn of the devastating impact of his Dad's death on Nick. But hiding all the hurt from his friends, he tries to attempt a last hoorah. But as luck would have it, he ends up meeting a girl who is the personification of carpe diem. What follows is Nick's endeavour to pursue this girl, something that leads him to an out-of-control party and forces him to face his demons. Christmas, indeed, is a season full of surprises!
The story holds the power to hit you with emotions across the spectrum. The flashback at the beginning of the work sets the tone of this emotional roller coaster. The "Christmassy" setting helps in the development of the plot. The period of the 1980s has been honestly depicted as well. Nick's character development is a heart-warming journey. The third-person omniscient narrative technique lays bare the emotions of the characters. The result is an engaging, relatable work.
December 21, 2023
More like a school kids diary, could have been so much more.
Certainly a book of two halves. First half is very drawn out, yes a lot happens to the lad but takes a while to get through it all. Second half things start speeding up but overall it reads more like a school kids diary. I was the same age as the main character back in 1984 when the book is set so, was hoping for more references and what life was like back then. Overall it is an entertaining read but could have been so much more.
Certainly a book of two halves. First half is very drawn out, yes a lot happens to the lad but takes a while to get through it all. Second half things start speeding up but overall it reads more like a school kids diary. I was the same age as the main character back in 1984 when the book is set so, was hoping for more references and what life was like back then. Overall it is an entertaining read but could have been so much more.
May 19, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyed this trip back to the 80s, it brought back so many fond memories of growing up in Manchester. Beautifully written & gripping right up to the very end. Can’t wait for Nick Hopper to return!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews