In Dave Cousins' debut YA novel, 15 Days Without a Head, 15-year-old Laurence Roach and his six-year-old brother, Jay, are abandoned by their alcoholic mother and left to fend for themselves for two weeks. Life was hard for Laurence even before his mother left. He had to make sure she got up in the morning, get his brother to school, run across town to get to his school, and then rush back after school to pick his brother up. After this he had to keep Jay safe until their mother returned home and finished her "happy hour" before she was approachable and then he put Jay to bed.

Life becomes even more difficult when she disappears. With little to no money and food, as well as a very snoopy neighbor and sitter, Laurence is scrambling to keep Jay safe and avoid having social services called on them, while simultaneously searching to find out what happened to their mother. He is also desperately trying to win a dream vacation in a call-in radio show trivia contest. Laurence believes that a vacation is what his alcoholic mother needs to make everything better. When Laurence makes a friend he can confide in, Mina, their life becomes somewhat better with her help. But Nelly, the nosy and mean-spirited downstairs neighbor, is getting suspicious. It's also getting harder to keep Jay safe and protect him from the truth.

While the subject matter is dark and serious, 15 Days Without a Head is nicely balanced with some lighter, humorous incidents. While I wanted the boys to contact social services and get help, I can understand why Laurence is afraid to do this and remains determined to keep her disappearance a secret and find his mother before someone finds out she is gone. Both Laurence and Jay are very sympathetic characters while their mother, needless to say, is not. This novel takes a serious look at how alcoholism can affect families without becoming overbearing. The conclusion was satisfying while keeping realistic.

15 Days Without a Head was originally published in 2012 in the U.K. The age range on this YA book is 12 and up.

highly recommended - for YA fiction

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Llewellyn Worldwide via Netgalley for review purposes.
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NOTE: I received the eARC from Netgalley.

For I while I wondered why the heck I'd even requested this book. But when I actually got to it, I realized I'd made a good choice. And the more I read, the more I liked it.

Actually, 15 Days isn't your regular book full of cheesy romance and perfect situations which lead to this absolutely awesome relationship between the characters. On the contrary, this book reeks of originality, funny (in an ironic kind of way) situations, impossible hardships. It's targeting social problems, family problems, and yeah, some romance. And yeah, there's a morale!

In my opinion, what made the book so good were the characters. They had unique personalities, were driven by their thoughts, emotions and life circumstances. All in all, they acted realistic, which felt pretty darn good.

So, I'll start of with Laurence. Dude, if a boy could ever be so responsible, resourceful and caring, this world wouldn't be in such a huge mess! When his mom just up and left, he took matters in his own hands. For a while I'd wondered why he didn't have a job, or go find one, but well... he was just 15 and apparently in the UK that's not considered old enough to work. Also, if he'd gotten a job, who would've cared about his little brother, Jay? Goodness, Laurence was just fifteen and all the responsibilities that fell over him overnight were heavy enough to crush anyone. But he held on for entire two weeks!!!

Sure, half that time he and Jay were starving, dirty and sick, but they survived, so that's what matters in the end.

I'm not sure why Jay was so disobedient and continually insisted that nothing was 'up to Laurence'. It annoyed the crap out of me after the 3rd time. I believe if I were in Laurence's place, I might've slapped Jay on the mouth or something for being so stubborn. But then again, he was just 6 years old. And besides, it's not really Jay's fault that he wasn't raised to be obedient and nice.

It's all come from the mom (who just left them to take care of themselves) and dad (who's never to be found).

To be honest, I felt for the mom. I mean, she was a single mom, who had to care of 2 boys. And she had no one to help out. But dude, if we look at the statistics, isn't that the case of like 25% of the female population? You turn left and you see single moms. You turn right and they're right there to poke you in the eye. So no, lady! Even if I feel for you, you're not right to abandon your kids! What would happen if all single moms just up and left, huh?

And last, but not least, I want to talk about Mina - the girl with the huge heart. She sure won me over, and with that Jay and Laurence as well. She was amazing both in attitude and caring.

Okay, so you have to actually pick up the book and read it for yourself if you got intrigued. I'm telling you, it's worth its money. ( )

I wasn't sure about this book in the beginning, but in the end I truly enjoyed it. Definitely shows how alcoholism effects children and the mind of the one who is drinking. Crazy that people live this way, leaving their children to fend for themselves, but it does happen. I think this is the first book I've read where the children are depicted in a more normal fashion. Not every teen is an adult and responsible. ( )

I read this book in a little over 90 minutes; the premise is quite engrossing and with a similar personal background, I could relate to the main character. I became invested in Laurence and irritated when he kept giving his mother chances to "try again" as a mother, so I think, even though I disagreed with his final decision, that is a hallmark of some good writing. Definitely a good read and very timely. This would be a good addition in all middle school libraries! ( )

Laurence isn’t your typical 15-year-old. He lives in a run-down, small apartment infested with roaches, a brother who thinks he’s a dog at times, and an alcoholic mother. But that changes when Laurence wakes up one morning to find that his mom didn’t return home from work the night before.
Determined not to let outsiders know what’s going on, and telling himself and his little brother that, “Mom will come back soon”, Laurence lives the most dangerous 15 days he’s ever known. No money, running out of food, and a nosey neighbor that would turn them into social workers are the stakes he’s playing against. But he’s convinced he has a couple of advantages. One being the late night radio contest he’s been sneaking out to enter. If he wins, he wins a family trip to any vacation spot they want. He knows this win will bring his mom back from her drunken stupor and make them a family again. At least, he hopes it will. At the very least, it will put her in a good mood. The second ace in his hand is a girl from school, who keeps his secret and helps keep him and his brother alive.
Although a gloomy and serious story, Cousins manages to fill the pages with bits of humor and lightness that equal out the trials Laurence is experiencing. A touching story about sticking together as a family, forgiveness, and learning to trust again, 15 Days Without a Head is a great read.
Rating: I’d give this a solid 4/5 and rate the content as PG for some mild language and drinking. ( )