Can a child be inherently bad or can a terrible upbringing justify a bad action? Nature vs. Themes that hit you to the most profound of your beliefs. I was fascinated by Alice and how she relates to her boyfriend and Rosie (the social worker she lives with) as she doesn't have a great deal of experience when it comes to having what we would call 'normal' relationships with people and especially boys. I loved the portrayal of all the characters, they all had their positives and negatives and felt realistic.

I was in Alice's head straightaway and felt her pain. If the parts were swapped, I'm not entirely sure we would feel exactly the same way. A way for us not to be blinded by our prejudices. The structure is notable because it helps the reader get into Alice's head before knowing her past. The book starts with Alice Tully in her new life and is followed by a part narrated by Jennifer Jones where we see events that lead up to the tragic death of one of her friends. No matter how far she is from her old life, the past always seems to find her again. But the newspapers keep talking about Jennifer Jones and Alice's guilt is eating away at her. It would sound like Alice's life is set to be a real new start, with a job, a boyfriend and University starting soon. She was released six months earlier so that journalists wouldn't find her easily. She has been given a new identity and is trying to start her life again. It might be a slight spoiler to say that Alice is none other than Jennifer Jones herself. Now the media is in uproar because she is soon to be released. The media loved that story and Jennifer has been in and out of the papers for half a decade. Jennifer Jones killed her friend and has been in prison ever since. Alice seems to be obsessed by a crime committed six-years ago by 10-year-old Jennifer Jones. The book was adapted into a play.We start the book with 17-year-old Alice Tully who is working as a waitress in a coffee shop. It also appeared on the shortlists for the Whitbread Book Awards and the Carnegie Medal. Her 2004 book Looking for JJ won the Booktrust Teenage Prize. She has also written several books for younger readers. Her own favourite crime fiction authors include Rendell, Ian Rankin, Lawrence Block and James Lee Burke. Cassidy has been described as ' Ruth Rendell for teenagers'. She began writing in 1989 and published her first book Big Girls' Shoes in 1991. She worked in a bank for five years and then worked for several years as a teacher. Anne Cassidy (born 1952) is a British writer best known for her crime fiction for young adults.

Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy