Break Free: Coming-of-age nostalgic 80s university rom-com near London

by Garry Kay

Stockholm syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages have positive feelings towards their captors. Andrew Leopard has not been kidnapped. He is a teenager starting university, but he has lived in his father's shadow for so long that he struggles to break free when endless opportunities slap him in the face. He falls in love with Pink Socks. He doesn't even know her real name. She's a fox ... but is Andrew the incapable in pursuit of the unattainable?

291 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Garry is 49 and lives in Cornwall with his wife Ginny and two teenage children Hannah and Sam. Garry did an economics degree at the University of Surrey and Michigan State University. In 1986 he started as a trainee reporter on the West Sussex County Times in Horsham. After the County Times, Garry joined the Yorkshire Gazette & Herald in York as sports editor. He then took a career break with Ginny to work in a bar in Lanzarote while she worked as a holiday rep. He returned to York as chief sub-editor before joining The West Briton in 1995 as deputy editor. In 2000, he joined the Press Association in Leeds as new media chief sub-editor, but missed Cornwall so much that he returned. Since then he has made a living through property investments and writing novels. During his time at the Yorkshire Gazette & Herald, the paper won the coveted Press Gazette national award for Newspaper of the Year, a success Garry repeated at The West Briton in Cornwall.

Reviews

[Boyko Ovcharov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is definitely worth reading, no matter what and where you are. The author has got a lively and very realistic style of narrative, quite deep and psychological, yet accessible. He touches on numerous uneasy questions about ourselves as individuals, our roles in society, family, school, work etc. Our emotions, friendships, love, passions, destiny and overall ideas are also reflected here. I am not sure this book is autobiographical, but it seems as if it is based on certain real-life cases and events at least; which makes it harder to present in a literary form. Nevertheless, apparently the latter task has been excellently performed and the overall impression from this work is lovely.

[Jennifer Loiske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew Leopard is a shy, 18-year-old-boy who has lived under his dominating father’s thumb all of his life. He has no friends and he’s a bit socially awkward as he rather stays aside than stands in the middle of the crowd. But everything is about to change when Andrew enters the gates of Southside University and meets Tom and Brian Hill.

Andrew slowly starts to come out of his shell, falls for a girl and learns how to take control of his own life proving that it really matters what kind of friends you have. This is clearly a story about Andrew but it’s not only that. It’s also a story about different people, a story of friendship and yes, a story about Tom and Brian, too.

I enjoyed enormously finding the stereotypes of all kind of young people entwining their lives together and adding just the right amount of twist to the storyline. This was an easy read that kept me turning the pages, a realistic story about growing up and finding yourself.

Break Free is skillfully written and drew me easily inside of the university life and the struggles one have to go through whilst becoming an adult. And even though the author processes some difficult issues in growing up the whole story had a nice, easy touch that made the reading really pleasant. I will recommend this to readers of all ages, both men and women, as this truly is a unique read.

[Wendy Janes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew hopes that going to university (I’m not being overly formal, it’s just that we didn’t call it uni back in the mid-1980s, which is when this book is set) will help him break free from his domineering father. His flatmates are a motley crew of lads who aid and abet him through a first year that is plagued by spots and unrequited love.

Andrew is an endearing character, and I like the way the author writes about his verbal tic of repeating the last couple of words in a sentence when he’s anxious. The relationship between his closest friend, Tom and Tom’s brother Brian is interesting, and the mystery of who inhabits room one is very amusing.

I don’t understand why the author repeats the full names of characters at the start of each new chapter, and while some of the dialogue is good, it doesn’t all ring true. On occasion this book captures the mixture of bawdy yet poignant comedy that makes this genre such fun, but some scenes don’t quite work. One that nearly does is the evening of strip Trivial Pursuit to the soundtrack of 1970s disco music, which includes songs such as ‘Play That Funky Music’ by Wild Cherry (excellent choice). All this suggests that another edit would really lift and polish the book. I’ll be looking out for more from this author.

[Sharon Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Break Free' is the story of three friends as they attempt to make the most of their university experience. Andrew is quietly in love with a girl from afar but his upbringing by a dismissive, loud-mouthed father has taken away any confidence he might have had.

This is a story about growing up and learning from mistakes. The characters are well written and the book is really easy to get in to. I picked it up as I had read Kay's other books and found them a refreshing change of pace from the books I usually read. There are times when the word choice seemed a bit out of place - when the term 'young man' is used for example - but this is a minor complaint in a story full of well written and believable characters. Andrew is particularly endearing with the soft echo at the end of his sentences and his struggles to stand up to his dad and be more like his friend Tom when it comes to women.

Overall this is an enjoyable read, realistically portraying teenage struggles and life at university. While it's primarily a drama there are plenty of humorous moments throughout. There were some nice twists in the story and the ending satisfied. Hopefully Kay will write some more books!