Girl reporters from Children's Express review two new novels about troubled teenage boys.
| Reading it is a bit like looking through a window... you have to put yourself into the characters’ minds |
There’s a boy in the girls’ bathroom by Louis Sachar
Bloomsbury Children's Books; ISBN: 0747552576
"Bradley Chalkers sat at his desk at the back of the room - last seat, last row."
Bradley Chalkers - the main character in Louis Sachar's There's a boy in the girls' bathroom is a troublemaker, a liar and a bully. Everyone hates him, he hates everyone and that's how he likes it.
But then Miss Carla Davis, the new counsellor with the colourful shirts, starts at the school. She seems to understand Bradley and with her help he slowly begins to change. He is transformed from the annoying, despised, good for nothing into a caring, generous, popular one.
However, when Carla is made to leave the school by parents who feel threatened by her, will he be able to keep being the Bradley that she's helped turn him into?
This book has a very simple plot and so is easy to follow. Louis Sachar uses very simple language throughout the novel but still manages to take the reader through a wide range of emotions. Sometimes I laughed, sometimes I felt sad and occasionally I felt quite frustrated. Reading it is a bit like looking through a window: Sachar describes how everyone is behaving but, as the reader, you have to put yourself into the characters' minds.
Sachar's previous book Holes is also about somebody who finds it difficult to show the good inside them when everyone around them thinks they're a horrible monster. In this book he again manages to show the reader the true depth of the characters.
I found There's a boy in the girl's bathroom a really worthwhile read and would recommend it to 10 to 14 year olds.
Georgie
by Malachy Doyle
Bloomsbury (2001) ISBN 0 747551545
Georgie focuses on the life of a young boy living in a residential children's home. A troubled young boy with many secrets, Georgie refuses to communicate with anyone else or let anyone get close to him.
His story begins with a move to Wales, which offers an opportunity for change in his life. However Georgie has struggle to come to terms with bad things that have happened to him in his past before he can really change.
Though shocking in places, I found this a really enjoyable book. Georgie's a very angry young boy and his behaviour can be quite aggressive: 'Everything they give me, everything I ever owned, I rip it, I break it or piss on it,' he says.
This novel gave me a great insight into the life of a young person in special care and made me realise that people who seem angry are actually quite sad deep down.
The author Malachy Doyle worked in residential special schools for several years and Georgie reads as if it is based on real life experiences.
Although a short book, it deals with quite an adult theme. The subject matter can be quite heavy going and so it's probably now suitable for really young children. I think that people aged twelve and upwards would really enjoy this thought provoking and very well written book.
About the team
There's a boy in the girls' bathroom review by Ella Parry-Davis, 12. Georgie review by Sekai Makoni, 15. These reviews were published in Young Minds magazine.
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