Review by P Reefer -- A Bloody Book by Chris Bowen

[P Reefer]

[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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Warning! Chris Bowen’s A Bloody Book will cause a volley of different emotions in any authentic reader. I am no fan of bloody stories, so I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned that this story was not all blood and gore. A Bloody Book is sometimes, a laugh out loud type of text. I was in stitches when Mr. Foxx enters the Reading class and asks the students much to their shock, “Is this the stupid class?” Mr. Foxx never ceased to shock me after that, nor his students, when he reported for class.

Maxx, the protagonist, recants in a hilarious tone his experience of middle school years. One out of the many amusing anecdotes shared is as follows; “The principal didn’t know what to do with Mrs. Spencer because she was too old to be still teaching, but 'her' and her wig just kept showing up every day. So, they made her teach a class I called Reading hell.” Maxx’s display of emotional intelligence as demonstrated when he remains calm despite Mrs. Spence unnecessary scolding is just amazing; “ So while she was screaming, I was thinking…I know about your pain and how you need to dump some of it out.”

Maxx’s relation of his experience of middle school days, however, is not solely riotous laughter. After he relates the spectacle of Mrs. Spencer tossing her wig into the bin, he makes the reader all teary-eyed as Mrs. Spence shares her miserable life story with the students. She does this in spite of their derisive laughter at her, in a bid, to make them good readers. The tears provoked by the narrative does not end with Ms. Spence autobiography. They merely increase as Maxx reveals piece by piece in detail the real reasons that he stopped caring.

Bowen’s narrator makes readers want to read, each word and line so that they would not miss a single beat of the drama. The narrative although heart-breaking has many elements of rambunctious humor. The only aspect of this narrative I disliked was the occasions when the narrator relates his tale using double negatives. Overall, if I minus the double negatives used by the narrator who writes from the perspective of an illiterate student, then I would say that this book contains only a few errors. These errors are minor and do not affect the comprehension of the narrative.

This incredible and dumbfounding drama merits nothing less than a 4 out of 4 stars. This book is a thought-provoking page-turner. Bowen’s narrative A Bloody Book aspires to transform the culture of child abuse as well as the culture of complacency in reaching out to children in need of protection from adults who do not care. This book although targeted to the young adult market is a book that every teacher and would be parents and actual parents must read.

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A Bloody Book
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Like P Reefer's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Sabina Allard]

This review makes the book sound very interesting. As a retired teacher I easily related to the anecdote shared.I am eager to read the actual book.Thanks for this very engaging review.

[P Reefer]

Thanks, Sabina for posting a review I hope you are able to secure a copy and read the book.