Melvin Burgess is the Godfather of Young Adult fiction and it's hard to believe that "Junk" was first published a quarter of a century ago. It's an incredibly brave piece of work, tackling the most serious of themes including domestic violence, homelessness, addiction and prostitution. Especially at a time when such topics were not regularly explored in books for young people. Burgess touches on the hopes and aspirations of youth and the yawning chasm between parents and their teenage children. His narrative breaking the fourth wall hammers home the insidious nature of peer pressure. "Junk" is told from various perspectives and each character is distinct. The book concludes with more hope than I expected although it is a satisfactory end to an exceptional novel.