'Cracks' by Caroline Green - Brune Park Community School

Hampshire Book Award 2013
Reading Guide to:
‘Cracks’ by Caroline Green
This guide will provide background information which will help you when presenting and discussing
the title with the HBA Student Panel of Judges. There are some interesting ideas to trigger indepth
discussion and information about some on-line resources.
There are six guides in total, one for each of the 2013 HBA shortlisted titles.
About the author:
Caroline Green was a journalist for many years before her first novel
Dark Ride was published in 2011. Cracks is her second novel and her third
will be published in 2013. Caroline was born in Andover, and now lives in
North London with her husband, two sons, and chocolate Labrador,
Monty.
She has always written stories, and wanted to be a zoo keeper or a ballet
dancer when she was little.
Did you know
Cracks has already been nominated for the Sussex Coast Schools Amazing Book Award, the
Catalyst Book Award (Lanarkshire) and the Leeds Book Award for this year. Dark Ride won the
Young Adult Romantic Novel of the Year, the Waverton Good Read Children’s Award, and Best
Couple – Books, Bonnets and Full-frontal Blogging Award!

What’s it all about
Cal Conway lives with his mum Tina, step-dad Des, and step-brother Ryan in a run-down house in
a run-down town. When he isn’t ignored at home, he’s bullied. Bit by bit, his world starts (literally)
to crack open: he hears voices that no one else can, the world starts to stutter, time stands still.
Cal is thrown into complete confusion as he realises neither his family nor his memories are his
own, and he is totally alone, with no knowledge of his real identity. Who can he trust Who is
real Is anyone telling him the truth Who is he And how has he survived for the last 12 years
Discussion points:
The novel is set 12 years hence and describes a regime of businessmen and army generals
(p83) determined to quash resistance and control the population. How likely do you think this
scenario is within the next decade
The regime uses CCTV, buzz drones, holograms, propaganda, imbedded chips, and
terrorism to suppress the population. (“It’s all about control”, p80, p112.) How many of these
tactics are in current use today How many are on the horizon
What do you think of Daniel Cavendish, the boss of the CRCS scheme (Cerebral Revealer
Chip Study), and the work he’s been doing on Cal and other prisoners How would you feel if
someone could read your mind and control your behaviour
What do you feel about what happened to Alex His life before, his imprisonment, his
death Do you feel sorry for him
Cavendish’s black and white cat appears at important moments several times in the book,
and appears to help Cal. What is the role of this cat
Cal makes friends with Jax and Kyla, outcasts of the regime. What do you think of the way
they have to steal to survive Does Zander remind you of another fictional character (clue:
Dickens!)
How well does Caroline Green portray Cal’s helplessness, confusion and anger
Is Torch’s armed resistance the only way
Other titles to think about:
Earthfall by Mark Walden
Ask and Answer by Patrick Ness
Divergence by Veronica Roth
Momentum by Saci Lloyd
1984 by George Orwell
Online:
This is Caroline Green’s own website http://www.carolinegreen.net/
Cyborg-insects potentially used for surveillance or spying:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17895-freeflying-cyborg-insects-steered-from-adistance.html
Britain in a surveillance society
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6108496.stm