Just in case

This is the last book review for the mid-year break and this time, it's on a Monday. This is "Just in Case" by Meg Rosoff.

Introduction |
The main character is David Case, a typical 15-year-old teenager like me and you, who experiments and tries to understand relationships, occasionally going overboard (you will know what I mean if you read the book). While most parents think that we are just going through puberty and all our nonsensical or unexplainable behaviours are part of this growing up stage, David thinks otherwise.

It all started when |
David's baby brother tried to fly by jumping out of the window. He starts to think that fate is out to get him and tries to change his appearance, his behaviour and his lifestyle to escape from fate; escape from reality.

Justin |
was his new name, part of his escaping-from-fate feat. Justin Case, get it? Just-in-case. Mr. Ogle thought he was kidding. Nevertheless, he was spotted by the cross country trainer for his amazing abilities.

Charlie |
is Justin's baby brother. He has a mind of his own, a mind far advanced than an averaged baby and can think like a grownup, but is unable to express his opinions. Only once was he able to tell Justin his thoughts through wooden blocks with alphabets.

Boy |
was the name of his imaginary greyhound - dog. He escapes reality by creating an imaginary figure to share his thoughts with. During the whole course of the story, Boy disappeared from his side twice. 

Peter |
was a friend who followed him. He is a walking encyclopedia and later in the story, David finds out that he can run faster than him and not get tired, together with his other unique abilities.

Anna |
is Peter's sister. She plays a neutral character, just there to keep the story alive.

Dorothea |
is Peter's other sister. She is unusually strong for a girl and have a different mindset from the other characters. She is one character that can fully understand Justin.

Alice |
is a rabbit. Dorothea got it for Justin when his imaginary dog disappeared to keep him happy. Alice is often presented running away from a fox. Alice is actually a male rabbit, whose name was given by Dorothea. 

Agnes |
was who he met at the clothing store where he went to get new clothes for a refreshing appearance. She works as a photographer for a magazine, Doomed Youth. She helped him dress up and after hearing David's thoughts, she decided to help him and developed a special feeling for him, but not to the extent of true love. David thinks otherwise. He falls in love with Agnes and even had sexual intercourse with her one night at her house.

Ivan |
is Agnes' boss. Not a really important character, he only appears in two situations throughout the book, one at his office at London and the second one at the gallery, where he was knocked down and killed.

Kismet |
"Turkish, from Persian qismat, from Arabic qisma; lot, from qasama, to divide, allot. SYN: Chance, Providence. Destiny. Luck. Fate." Throughout the book, Kismet speaks (in bold) to keep us informed of his actions. He is fate, the one who controls everything. He says that you cannot escape from fate once his chooses you, but at the end of the story, he still lets David go.

Interesting Storyline |
In order to run away from everything, he goes to live at the airport, with the lie that he was on a school overseas trip brought a week forward. That was where a plane crashed... right into Justin's lap. Fortunately, Agnes' presence at the scene saved him by dragging him out of the "bloody" mess. He then goes to stay at Agnes' place to recuperate and continues his stay even after informing his parents. However, after the night where he professed his love for Agnes, she ordered him to move out in order to prevent further inconvenience and misunderstandings. Justin then went to put up with Peter at his place, where he mingled with Peter's sisters. When Agnes invited them to the beach on a grey day, Justin was jealous of the intimacy between Agnes and Peter.

Agnes held a gallery and Ivan and other colleagues went down to view. As a loyal friend, Justin went down to support her. However, he was unhappy to see or his pictures enlarged and put up to show for the whole world to see, especially because all the pictures were taken at the most depressed period of his life. What he did not know is that the pictures were actually Justin, himself, from Agnes' perspective.

Near Christmas, Justin got the meningococcal meingitis disease. He went unconscious and had a one-to-one "talk" with fate. Justin's family celebrated Christmas at the hospital in London, awaiting consciousness.

Similar to Here Lies Arthur? |
I can draw connections between both stories. You can find the review of the other book, Here Lies Arthur, here. In both stories, the protagonist has two personalities, Gwyn and Gwyna in Here Lies Arthur; David and Justin in Just In Case.

Rating: 4/5