Review by Ria710 -- A Bloody Book by Chris Bowen

[Ria710]

[Following is a volunteer review of "A Bloody Book" by Chris Bowen.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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A Bloody Book by Chris Bowen tells the story of Maxx, a thirteen-year-old boy who has had a rough childhood. The book begins with Maxx receiving an assignment in his ‘Reading Hell’ class, assigned by Mr. Foxx. Maxx never did the assignment, as he was too scared to write it and tell the truth. Despite not doing the assignment, Mr. Foxx gave Maxx an A because he knew that Maxx had in fact written it but had not handed it in.

The first half of the book involves Maxx describing the students and teachers in the ‘Reading Hell’ class. The students of ‘Reading Hell’ class were considered to be stupid; they were loud, angry and didn’t care about school. The second half of the book takes us back into Maxx’s childhood when he was nine years old. Told in Maxx’s point of view, he tells the story of how his dad passed away and how he became the primary carer for his two-year-old sister at the time. Maxx’s childhood is filled with sadness, abuse, and anger, this is clearly evident in the book.

This was an amazing read. It teaches the importance of good parenting, and how bad parenting can lead to your children being bad. As soon as I picked this book up, I could not put it down. I got hooked in immediately, and the book was a page-turner. The author’s writing style makes it seem like Maxx is having a conversation with you. This is because the language used was not complicated, it did not use complex words. I like how when Maxx is telling his story there are flashbacks into his childhood, it made the book interesting to read. At first, the book seems humorous and light-hearted but as you dive deeper into the book, it becomes dark and sad. My favorite scene from the book is when Mrs. Grenner makes Ricky spell the word cat in ‘Reading Hell’. Despite being an easy word, he still manages to misspell it. The embarrassment leads him to pee himself right there in class.

There was nothing that I disliked in the book. The author’s style of writing made everything flow seamlessly and kept me engaged throughout the whole book. When the book finished, I was left asking questions and wanting to know more. For example, what happened to both Maxx and Rosie once social services caught them?

Overall, I would give the book 4 out of 4 stars because it was a great book. Like the book suggests, “Start for the story. Care for the characters. Stay for the twist”. Throughout the whole book, I only found one mistake, so the book is professionally edited. I would recommend this book to anyone over the ages of 15. The book does contain references to violence and drugs, so it’s not suitable for children to read.

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A Bloody Book
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[Paluk Pathania]

I can't imagine how difficult it had to be for Maxx. After reading your review, I believe I am quite interested in the book. Thanks for the review!