3 out of 4 stars
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A Bloody Book by Chris Bowen
This book is about the lead character Maxx who gives us a rundown of his tough life up till middle school. Maxx also gives us snippets of the lives of his classmates, like Maria and Ricky. The older Maxx gives us the book as an answer to a question, asked by his middle school teacher. Maxx takes us down memory lane, and tells us of all the factors that influence his shitty life. Firstly, his loser parents. Then the teachers who assume the situation of his life, and enormous responsibilities he has had to see to.
Maxx from the onset is exposed to a poverty-stricken life of no sunshine but scraps. A kid whose situation makes him grow too fast for his age. Maxx in his bid to receive even a tiny amount of love, does the unthinkable. The failure of his actions to bring the desired result finally drains all hope. The actions of Maxx sit on the fence between right and wrong.
This book invokes emotions. It is a book that brings the stark reality of our typical society to the limelight. I like how the author portrays the words of Maxx, as if he were having an actual conversation with the readers. Maxx as the omniscient narrator tells us things as it is. Like naming his class for dull students as, ‘Reading Hell’. The author brings readers down to Maxx’s level, with the use of appropriate vocabulary and simplicity.
Also, the book is a captivating piece, foreshadowing used at the start of the book makes a reader keep turning the pages till the last. A sense of foreboding is a companion to the reader of this book. The author wrote in a way that leaves no room for boredom.
While reading the book, it seemed like it has a little lack of cohesion. Sometimes I got lost, and kept going back to recheck things. The author wrote as if, what Maxx has to say are fighting to be read at once. There were also a lot of errors in the book, mostly typos which I hope can be corrected. For example, here’ instead of here’s on page 27. For these reasons of a lack of cohesion and typographical errors, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this book to everyone, who is not afraid to face reality except kids. It is a wakeup call, which tells us that things are not as they seemed to be. It is a book that will leave readers with a blurred sense of right and wrong. To find out how circumstances molds a person, read this book because it's totally worth it.
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A Bloody Book
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