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Review:
Deep fried by Bernard Beckett and Clare Knighton
Random House Australia, 2005 ISBN 1741661838 198p
14+ Deep fried is a political thriller told from the perspectives of Pete who is powered by Pissed Off and Sophie who is a computer nerd. Pete starts a small act of defiance in a burger shop and this sets off a chain of reactions that he cannot control. He gains the attention of the corporate giant, The Prince of Burgers, as well as those of a stalker. Meanwhile Sophie sets up a website to further his cause and further stirs things up.

In a fast paced and thought provoking way this novel explores some big themes: corporations and their ethics, the ethics of schools accepting corporate sponsorship, stalking, the use of the internet to promote issues and mental depression.

Readers should identify with the main characters who are just entering adulthood, and the school setting is believable with a disillusioned headmaster faced with corporate sponsorship.

The book was a New Zealand 2006 Young Adult Fiction Finalist and would be a useful tool to use to explore the above themes. Study notes and discussion points are available at the back of the book.

Pat Pledger

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