Blink and Caution

by Tim Wynne-Jones

Overview

"Wynne-Jones’s finest, most beautifully written novel yet, one more in a career full of distinguished works." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

All Blink wanted was to steal some breakfast for his empty belly, but instead he stumbled upon a fake kidnapping and a cell phone dropped by an "abducted" CEO. Now Blink is on the run. Enter a girl named Caution, also on the run, from a skeezy drug-dealer boyfriend and from a nightmare in her past that won’t let her go. When she spies Blink, Caution can see he’s an easy mark. But there’s something about this naive, skinny street punk that tugs at her heart. Charged with suspense and intrigue, this taut novel trails two deeply compelling characters as they forge a blackmail scheme that is foolhardy at best, disastrous at worst — along with a fated, tender partnership that will offer them each a rare chance for redemption.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763656973
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	08/14/2012
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	451,552
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 8.82(h) x 0.96(d)
Lexile:	HL650L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

 

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Blink & Caution is a thrill ride to the end - suspenseful, heart-pounding, and with no mercy for the tenderhearted."
- Rita Williams-Garcia — Quote

"Noir crime suspense that’s terrifying and authentic, and also that rare thing: deeply, intensely moving. Don’t miss reading this one."
- Nancy Werlin — Quote

"Blink & Caution is a thriller and it’s a love story - the first love story I’ve ever written, really. And it’s also a story about following something that grabs you right to the end. It’s about making a move to make something bad end - taking that first brave step towards changing your life. Where will it take you? Well, that’s the story."
- Tim Wynne-Jones — Quote

Editorial Reviews

A dazzling crime novel that evokes the taut writing and tropes of hard-boiled fiction while interweaving social justice themes and a solid sense of realism
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Wynne-Jones’ finest, most beautifully written novel yet, one more in a career full of distinguished works
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The story is told in alternating viewpoints, with Blink’s segments in second-person present tense, which adds a heightened sense of immediacy and urgency…Those who enjoy thought-provoking thrillers will not want to miss this novel
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Master suspense-spinner Wynne-Jones uses an alternating third person perspective, with dashes of a second person perspective, to draw the reader deeply into the story and care about the fate of these two soul-weary runaways
—Library Media Connection (starred review)

This is gritty, sure, but more than that, its smart, and earns every drop of its hopeful finish.
—Booklist

The crime-drama element of the novel, involving a dispute over corporate uranium mining on Indian-owned land, has enough suspense and action to keep readers interested while they forge a connection with the main characters, whose relationship deepens as they help each other survive immediate dangers as well as the aftereffects of past trauma.
—Horn Book

Suspense combines with a genuinely moving character drama to ensure broad reader appeal
—Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books

Over the course of the novel these two damaged children move from darkness toward light and healing, and by the end we are awfully glad of it
—Wall Street Journal

A fast paced mystery with intelligence and heart…snags readers and doesn’t let go.
—Bookpage

All the elements of a classic noir: a quick thinking leading lady; an unlikely. but decent. hero; a femme fatale with dubious motives; goons with nicknames like “Tank,” “Merlin,” and “Snake”; and, of course, action and suspense.
—Plain Dealer

This novel is charged with suspense and intrigue and trails two deeply compelling characters as they forge a blackmail scheme that is foolhardy at best disastrous at worst along with a fated tender partnership that will offer them each hope.
—San Diego Union Tribune

From the Publisher

Gr 9 Up—Blink, a teenaged runaway, is just doing what he has done before when he stealthily arrives on the 16th floor of an upscale hotel in Toronto—scavenging room service trays for breakfast leftovers. That day he gets more than he bargained for when he witnesses a fake kidnapping. Using the key that has been carelessly tossed into the room where he is hiding, he goes inside and finds that a wallet full of money and a phone have been left behind. Blink thinks that it's his lucky day. Caution, another runaway, has escaped from her abusive drug dealing boyfriend and is on the run. When she sees Blink in the train station, she knows he will be easy prey, but after robbing him, she returns the money. She feels unaccountably protective of him, and joins in his attempt to find out what he actually witnessed in that hotel. MacLeod Andrews does a wonderful job at narrating Blink, giving urgency to Blink's inner voice, Captain Panic. His Irish accent for Blink's father is especially good, but he doesn't have the range to voice the female characters successfully. However, this doesn't spoil the listening enjoyment. Tim Wynne-Jones's novel (Candlewick, 2011) is a good choice for collections where young adult audiobooks are popular.—Suanne Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL

School Library Journal

Blink and Caution, both separately on the run, get caught up in a kidnapping by dint of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This gripping crime story is told in alternating points of view—second person for Blink and third person for Caution—a technique that is especially effective in the audio format. Running through Blink's mind is the abusive voice of his stepdaddy, telling him "how it's going to be." MacLeod Andrews shifts tone only slightly from sneering to serious to relate Caution's side of the scheme. Two voices, both narrated by Andrews, create a story so fraught with woe, guilt, terror, and tension that the listener can't help rooting for the teens to escape the situation they're in. M.M.O. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2011 - AudioFile