At the Speed of Gus

Gus, 13, is funny, creative, charismatic and loveable. But his concentration is constantly diverted because his mind operates at a mile a minute and won’t slow down. And Gus can’t stop himself saying whatever pops into his head even when this is totally inappropriate. On one occasion, during a spell of this untamed verbosity, Gus inadvertently offends the school principal and is suspended. Things get worse when he takes the ferry to visit his sister on Victoria Island and one chaotic mishap follows another. But how many of these are real, how many are figments of Gus’s overactive mind, and how many are due to medications or their misuse?

Richard Scrimger has created an empathetic character whose first person narrative provides a glimpse of the emotions of a teenager with ADHD. Gus is a fully described character who never loses his whimsical way of looking at the world. He cheerfully accepts that many people see him as a ‘weirdo’ but is confident in the affection of his best friend, Gale, and sister, Ruby, who recognize his worth.

While absolutely compelling, the story is, at times, emotionally exhausting since the reader must keep pace with Gus, whether he is compulsively counting ceiling tiles and pillars or racing along with his imaginative and disjointed thoughts. These are sometimes hilarious, often deeply touching and always original. The emotional tension reaches a peak when, on his journey to meet Ruby, Gus becomes frighteningly aware that he is having difficulty in distinguishing between reality and imagination. But as Gus, himself, tells us:

Dreams sound weird, but do you know what else sounds weird? Thoughts. Mine do, anyway. This is what it’s like, living inside my head. Reading this story, you get a sense of what it’s like to be me. If you’re tired right now, or confused, I don’t blame you. I feel the same way. At least you can put the book down. Not me. I’m stuck here.

The inviting cover illustration perfectly captures the essence of the book! With Scrimger’s keen ear for teenage conversation, the novel deals with hefty issues. It is not always an easy book to read because of its necessarily frenetic pace and difficult subject matter. However it is a thought-provoking read with loads of humour and suspense. Gus’s quirky indomitable character and the compelling nature of the story make At the Speed of Gus, a gripping read for 10-14 yr olds.