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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book reminded me of The Outsider by Camus if the story was told from someone who witnessed the murder and was trying to understand Meursault’s apathy.
Feel like this is one I’ll be thinking about in the back of my mind for a while.
Feel like this is one I’ll be thinking about in the back of my mind for a while.
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Hard-hitting and honest. This brutal tale tells the story of a young boy trying to make sense of a fatal murder at his school. As always BZ does not shy away from reality. Even if isn't pleasant.
I was intrigued to read this because I saw Benjamin Zephaniah on a tv show (The Big Narstie show) and I loved what he stood for and his personality. I do own another book by him, but this one was available on my library ebook section so I thought I'd give it a go.
The beginning was interesting. This follows a boy who witnessed one of his teachers getting stabbed and killed by two classmates. As a way to overcome and deal with what he saw, he sets out on a mission to look into the lives of the two boys to see if he can make sense of everything. with the help of the teacher's widowed wife, they uncover information about the boys life, family and childhood, while also trying to deal with the media's portrayal of what happened.
The middle was a little slow, but I enjoyed the book. There are two reason why this was only a 3 star for me. First of all the voice wasn't very compelling. The book is from the perspectives of a 14 / 15ish year old boy who witnessed a murder, but he just sounds like he's going through the motions telling the reader what is happening. There isn't really a differentiation between him, his mother, the widow. The only character who seems a little different is the mother of one of the boys (who at one point, tips a cup of warm urine on him from a window, to which he has barely any reaction!)
The other reason, and possibly the more important reason is how quickly the ending wrapped up. The book is rather slow paced, which I had no problem with. but the last two pages has about 20 bits of information in! A massive list of 'this is the series of events that actually happened' The End. Which felt extremely disorientating after such a slow pace throughout.
All in all it was worth a read, but didn't have the emotional impact I would have expected from a book with these themes.
The beginning was interesting. This follows a boy who witnessed one of his teachers getting stabbed and killed by two classmates. As a way to overcome and deal with what he saw, he sets out on a mission to look into the lives of the two boys to see if he can make sense of everything. with the help of the teacher's widowed wife, they uncover information about the boys life, family and childhood, while also trying to deal with the media's portrayal of what happened.
The middle was a little slow, but I enjoyed the book. There are two reason why this was only a 3 star for me. First of all the voice wasn't very compelling. The book is from the perspectives of a 14 / 15ish year old boy who witnessed a murder, but he just sounds like he's going through the motions telling the reader what is happening. There isn't really a differentiation between him, his mother, the widow. The only character who seems a little different is the mother of one of the boys (who at one point, tips a cup of warm urine on him from a window, to which he has barely any reaction!)
The other reason, and possibly the more important reason is how quickly the ending wrapped up. The book is rather slow paced, which I had no problem with. but the last two pages has about 20 bits of information in! A massive list of 'this is the series of events that actually happened' The End. Which felt extremely disorientating after such a slow pace throughout.
All in all it was worth a read, but didn't have the emotional impact I would have expected from a book with these themes.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Teacher's Dead is the sort of book that sounds brilliant from the description on the back, but is a bit of a let down once you actually read it. It starts out well; the first few chapters are enjoyable. Once you get past those, however, it starts to drag on a bit. It wan't a horrible book, but it definitely wasn't anything special either. I was kind of relieved when I finished it just so I could move on to another book.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
not a bad read however the main character made some questionable choices at times
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was really interesting to read and the plot just kept me reading without being able to put the book down. I really love murder mystery sort of books. This one is definitely a must read!