Firefly Press (13+) 9781915444318 (Paperback) Download activities and reading resources pack
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Content advice: drug-taking and trafficking, drinking, strong language, implied sexual assault, death, misogyny, homophobia, toxic masculinity, neglect.
Multi-layered, original and compelling, ‘Play’ follows the friendship of four boys – Mark, Matt, Luc and Johnny. We see them develop from building and destroying dens in the woods to navigating the challenges they face with relationships, societal expectations around their masculinity, drugs and ultimately making their own choices and discovering how each of these play out.
Short chapters and plain language lend the book an immediacy and help keep the pacing fast. Dialogue throughout is real and convincing. Themes of boyhood, male friendship, modern-day masculinity and the loss of innocence are expertly intertwined. It cleverly delves into how the boys cope with their environment and the pressures they face. There’s a skilful exploration of the inner dynamics of friendship. Each boy has a unique character, voice and motivation making them feel authentic. Tough, timely and truthful, this is a hard-hitting story of characters sometimes having to make hard choices and facing even harder consequences.
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Luke Palmer is a critically acclaimed YA author, prize-winning poet, and a graduate of the Bath Spa Creative Writing course. He lives in Wiltshire with his partner, their three daughters, a dog, and a cat.
The book was very scary at first. I liked it because Matt came out as gay and wasn't ashamed. But I felt very sorry for Matt as he was taking drugs and being threatened by his brother's mysterious friend who uses and exploits kids on social media.
Abigail
St Cath’s Shadowing
Very gritty and realistic to the life of a modern day male teenager. I would recommend reading.
Frederic
Brooke Weston Book Busters
I’d rate Play by Luke Palmer an 8/10. The plot was good and kept me interested, but the ending was a bit weird. One of the things I really liked was how the book switched between different characters' points of view—it made the story more dynamic and gave a deeper understanding of what was happening. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, even if the ending wasn’t what I expected.
Bassit
Ermysted’s
The actions of four boys spin a complex and chaotic web of consequence and effect. As Johnny calls them in his high final moments, this web opens the possibility of many 'rooms', many possible futures that are made by these crucial decisions in the teenage years of Mark, Matt, and Luc - yet Johnny severs any parts of the web leading to his 'rooms' with a drug-clouded decision of his own. While it may seem at the start like too much is going on, all these strands come together in the end for a big finish nobody expected less than me. Busy? Yes. Messy? Most likely. But in the end, it is a story about four boys growing up the hard way, pressured by the world and the decisions that they made, and the way their futures will be affected - a story indeed written messily, but still written very well.
Hanzalah A
Ermysted’s
This book touched my soul, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. I deeply connected with all the characters, they felt so real and now forever will have a special place in my heart.
Lyra
Pittville School