Kerosene (Push Fiction) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

As you can assume from the title and cover, the book is indeed about a pyromaniac, but not the type you'd expect. Cal it's some delinquent gang-banger getting a kick out of setting things on fire, he's a seriously depressed teen trying to cope with life just like any other teens who are cutters/anorexics/suicidal/ or what not. One thing this book does an excellent job of is explaining Cal's shyness; showing other teens that most shy kids aren't stuck-up, but are really just scared, lonely teens caught in a cycle of painful shyness. Woodson does a great job of showing how Cal's depression and shyness found its release in pyromania.

This book is far from a classic, however. There are a few pin-prick holes in the plot, odd p.o.v. transitions, and can be a bit predictable at times. Plus, the ending was, well, not to give anything away, rather ill-fitting and not very believable. I guess you can blame it on the first attempts of a twenty-year-old writer. Honestly, though, this book is very good for a young, inexperienced author.

OVER ALL:
A fun, yet serious, british-cultured tale that does a superb job of analyzing the thoughts and motives of a young depressed teen. The plot isn't entirely perfect, but it's still an enjoyable and recommended read.

Set in modern-day London, Cal is a lonely teenager who feels as though he has hit rock-bottom. He is the mistake which his parents will not let deter them from their careers; his shyness leaves him invisible to his classmates (on good days); and he knows it is only a matter of time before his only friend, Joel, leaves him to hang around with his cool, clubbing buddies. All he has, or thinks, he has is the beauty--the beauty which comes from setting fires and watching the bright blaze emitted from the flames.

Ben Deerborn is an investigator of arson, who is called to the scenes of two fires which have been suspiciously set in deserted locations. However, he finds himself feeling conflicted between the need to perform his job and the identification he finds in this troubled youth to his own son, Carl, who died along with Ben's wife in a car accident when Ben was behind the wheel.

What sends Cal over-the-edge is a prank started by two spiteful girls seeking revenge for minor, unintended upsets, using the guise of true love for someone who cannot help but believe it is real. Cal is also spooked when Joel tells him that he has been dealing in marijuana and has come into debt with some shady and malevolent characters. He needs to get them their money or risk dire consequences. Under these circumstances, Cal plots away to keep his life from going up in flames around him: he will beat life to the chase. Cal knows there is something wrong with him, that he is a teen in trouble, yet how can he tear himself away from the confounding yet beautiful peace he finds in the blazes of the fire?

With titles such as "trigger" "fuel" and "conflagration" in respective order, author Wooding knows how to build up suspense. He is a master of description, particularly in the scenes about fire. The novel is well-plotted in that veiled hints about what Cal is planning to do are dropped before he actually does it. All of the characters are incredibly well-developed and easy to empathize with, and the various viewpoints of the story in third-person narratives add a complementary dimension to the story. Although I found the ending to be a bit unrealistic, and did not quite understand how Joel was so aware of his friend's obsession with fire, I still found this to be a suspenseful, fast-paced read, elucidating the dangers of ignoring a teenager's desperate cry for help. I look forward to exploring much more of Chris Wooding's work as well as other "PUSH" authors.