Books can be the spark that makes us want to know more, and according to young reader Kelsi, Steven Camden’s “astounding” Stand Up Ferran Burke is one of them. Here’s Kelsi’s review, as part of Big City Reads - a campaign ran by Nottingham City of Literature to get thousands of free books in the hands and hearts of local young people.
Steven Camden’s Stand Up Ferran Burke is the kind of incredible book that makes you ask questions.
Where are they going? Who are they talking to? What’s going to happen next…?
“Maybe you are weird after all.”
Stand Up Ferran Burke is a verse novel about a boy called Ferran and his life throughout school. In this story we explore Ferran’s life as he gets into fights, gets involved with vicious misunderstandings and has to salvage what’s left of his school reputation when it is thrown into disaster. The book consists of 432 pages but the short chapters and the use of verse throughout the novel make it incredibly easy to read and mean that once readers get sucked into the story, it can be read in a single sitting.
This book is an emotional rollercoaster about family, friends, relationships and feelings, making it quite the struggle to put down. It expands on the way people think in tantalising situations and explores the problems in mental health that go unseen by others around us, such as the struggles many teen boys have with toxic masculinity. The way that Steven Camden draws out tension through his wording makes this book eye-opening, overwhelming and surprising.
“Like his thoughts are trying to hide from the outside.”
Stand Up Ferran Burke looks into the issue of children hiding their problems and worries behind a school persona by trying to seem different around other people. It explores the feeling of not being able to voice your opinions in fear that someone may judge you because of it, an experience I think many young readers and writers will resonate with. There is also an insight on pressure that is put on boys solely because of their gender, due to the stereotypical expectations of having to do, think, be or want something they might not agree with. I’d never thought before about how boys might pretend to be friends with one another so that they could feel like they’re friends due to pressure in a social group. This book has the amazing ability to impact a reader’s emotions and how they feel towards a character so fast that it leaves them baffled and confused. When I was reading it I could go from having a favourite character to feeling like I didn’t know them at all, which left me wondering what was going to happen next.
Steven Camden’s writing is very easy to get into and unlike other stories that strictly follow one genre, this book can appeal to readers with many types of interests, from dramas and high-school romance to tragedy and poetry. In this book there is also a topic of family issues which confuses the main character and affects the rest of the book. I felt like the range of family issues and misunderstandings balanced out the school sections of the novel, giving a wider view on Ferran’s entire story instead of reducing it to his school life. I found this reminiscent of Dean Atta’s Black Flamingo, having readers eager to find out what happens next.
“All of me wants a hug.
But we can’t hug.
Cause there’s a baby in the way.”
This astounding novel has an incredible play on emotions and thoughts and I would personally like to recommend Stand Up Ferran Burke to any book lover or anyone who wants something fresh and engaging to read.
You can read more about Big City Reads here, or go straight to the Big City Reads website for more info on how to get hold of the books.
We've teamed up with Big City Reads to offer a unique prize in celebration of the campaign. Enter our competition here to win an original Vern: Custodian of the Universe illustration by author and illustrator Tyrell Waiters.
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