Review of A Bloody Book
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Kelly Jurkowski
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Review of A Bloody Book
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Bloody Book" by Chris Bowen.]
Maxx is an eighth-grader trapped in a remedial reading class he calls Reading Hell. In A Bloody Book, Chris Bowen empowers Maxx to tell the eventful story of his life up to that point in a thus far uncompleted assignment for his teacher Mr. Foxx. To better understand his students and guide them to a better understanding of themselves, Mr. Foxx asks his students to explain when exactly they quit caring about school. What ensues is a heart-wrenching story of poverty, grief, violence, families, and the American education system. Amid Maxx’s horrific childhood story is solid life advice for parents, families, and teachers. As Chris Bowen says in the introduction, “Start for the story. Care for the characters. Stay for the twist.”
I was unsure what to think when I picked up A Bloody Book, but I was hooked once I started this narrative of a middle school boy’s life. The author brings the characters to life with incredible detail, and I was soon invested in Maxx and his story. As a teacher, I see my students and many aspects of public education in the story. Chris Bowen shows his educational background as he accurately describes how kids can slip through the cracks. I certainly did not expect the twist at the end of the book, which made it all the more surprising.
When I started the story, I planned to read it aloud to my classes, but I quickly realized that reading the profanity-riddled text would not be appropriate for middle school students. However, A Bloody Book is a fantastic story that older students could read and it should be read by every pre-service teacher. There were a number of errors and inconsistencies with the proofreading of the text that may not stand out to a person who does not read for grammatical errors every day but could be distracting to those of us who do. The errors indicate that the book was not professionally edited.
I rate Chris Bowen’s A Bloody Book four out of four stars for its well-written, brutally honest depiction of those students who struggle in life and school. Despite not being professionally edited, the enlightening narrative made the story easy to read and hard to forget. I plan to share this book with friends and colleagues as a reminder of what some of our students face daily.
I strongly recommend this book to educators and those working with families and children, especially middle school-aged students. Educators often forget what life outside of school can be like for our students. This story is a moving reminder that we never know what another person is going through, and we must be mindful of our students’ experiences.
******
A Bloody Book
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Maxx is an eighth-grader trapped in a remedial reading class he calls Reading Hell. In A Bloody Book, Chris Bowen empowers Maxx to tell the eventful story of his life up to that point in a thus far uncompleted assignment for his teacher Mr. Foxx. To better understand his students and guide them to a better understanding of themselves, Mr. Foxx asks his students to explain when exactly they quit caring about school. What ensues is a heart-wrenching story of poverty, grief, violence, families, and the American education system. Amid Maxx’s horrific childhood story is solid life advice for parents, families, and teachers. As Chris Bowen says in the introduction, “Start for the story. Care for the characters. Stay for the twist.”
I was unsure what to think when I picked up A Bloody Book, but I was hooked once I started this narrative of a middle school boy’s life. The author brings the characters to life with incredible detail, and I was soon invested in Maxx and his story. As a teacher, I see my students and many aspects of public education in the story. Chris Bowen shows his educational background as he accurately describes how kids can slip through the cracks. I certainly did not expect the twist at the end of the book, which made it all the more surprising.
When I started the story, I planned to read it aloud to my classes, but I quickly realized that reading the profanity-riddled text would not be appropriate for middle school students. However, A Bloody Book is a fantastic story that older students could read and it should be read by every pre-service teacher. There were a number of errors and inconsistencies with the proofreading of the text that may not stand out to a person who does not read for grammatical errors every day but could be distracting to those of us who do. The errors indicate that the book was not professionally edited.
I rate Chris Bowen’s A Bloody Book four out of four stars for its well-written, brutally honest depiction of those students who struggle in life and school. Despite not being professionally edited, the enlightening narrative made the story easy to read and hard to forget. I plan to share this book with friends and colleagues as a reminder of what some of our students face daily.
I strongly recommend this book to educators and those working with families and children, especially middle school-aged students. Educators often forget what life outside of school can be like for our students. This story is a moving reminder that we never know what another person is going through, and we must be mindful of our students’ experiences.
******
A Bloody Book
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The M&M Boys by Lara Reznik
