The latest addition to my website is June Allison Gibbons‘ The Pepsi-Cola Addict. The novel was published by a vanity press and is now virtually impossible to obtain. June Allison Gibbons and her identical twin, Jennifer, were born on an RAF base in Aden. Their parents were from Barbados. They grew up in the UK, particularly Wales. From an early age, they had their own private language and rarely spoke to others, including their family, except in grunts and monosyllables. This fact and the fact that they were the only black children in the school, meant that they were bullied. June wrote this book as a teenager but it had no success, so the girls turned to crime. Thy were caught and sent to Broadmoor, the hospital for the criminally insane. The day they were released Jennifer died. June is still alive at the time of writing.
The book tells the story of a fifteen-year old American boy who is addicted to Pepsi-Cola and has an on-again, off-again relationship with his girlfriend, Peggy. He is seduced by his (female) teacher, homosexually assaulted by his best friend and goes to prison for a botched robbery. (He was too busy drinking Pepsi in the shop to notice the arrival of the police.) In prison, a guard makes a homosexual approach to him and he sees a guard stabbed to death. Things do not go much better once he is out. It is not great literature but not a bad book though, admittedly, its interest is in part due to the life of its author.
I would like to read this book
As I said there are only a few copies in the world, This link – https://www.worldcat.org/title/pepsi-cola-addict/oclc/16608458&referer=brief_results – will tell you which libraries have a copy.
Can someone start a petition to get this re-released ?
I have a copy of the PDFs. Email me [email protected] if you want a copy
Hey I am the subject of the Pepsi Cola addict and I would like a copy if you still have one available. I am the only person who ever read the original manuscript handwritten by June.
Honestly all the stories and all the documentaries and YouTube videos that you’ve seen about the relationship between the Gibson sisters and my brothers is total fabrication. No one is ever asked us for our side of the story no.
There are only apparently five copies in the world and they are therefore very rare and very valuable. I read it in the British Library
What your side of the story?
Hello Robert,
I and my writing partner are actually developing a musical about the Twins and would love to connect with you. My email is [email protected]. Please reach out. Thank you!
I used to live on the same RAF quarters as the twins at the time they lived there, I seen them on several occasions. I would also like to buy a copy of Pepsi Cola addict if anyone has one for sale .
I have a copy of the PDFs. Email me [email protected] if you want a copy
Do you still have a copy?
Hello Dean,
I and my writing partner are actually developing a musical about the Twins and would love to connect with you. As you know the RAF quarters are quite different now. My email is [email protected]. Please reach out. Would love to talk. Thank you!