Saturday, 28 June 2014

Six Hours by Pete Johnson (Intended Age Teen/Young Adult, Reading Age 7 years +, Dyslexia Friendly, 8/10E)

May 2014, Barrington Stoke, 74 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Themes: exams, skiving, mobile phones, ice cream crazed dog, random gifts, nosebleed,
 
Content: Off the rails behaviour,

Summary from Barrington Stoke
Dominic has been studying for this history exam for weeks. So when he finds himself faking sick and following Lara, one of the coolest girls in school, off the grounds he wonders what’s happened to his common sense! But both of them just feel like they’ve had enough. They need a day to themselves – just six hours to cool off and chill out away from the pressures of teen life...

Nayuleska's thoughts
As someone who has never skipped class I thought this would be a good story to understand why teens do that. All Dominic and Lara do is runaway from their problems - Dominic does it literally! I thought it was good that Lara felt able to share her issues with Dominic, she needed someone to listen. But I still can't fathom doing what they did. I was partly pleased by the way Dominic's stepfather reacts, and surprised at how lenient his mother's reaction was. It's clearly an adventure for Dominic, although one whose repercussions won't be worth it, despite what Dominic feels at the end. I'm concerned about his future, but hopefully he will see sense. I liked the message that everyone needs time off sometimes, Lara and Dominic simply didn't go about it the best way. I liked Lara's hair in the illustrations because it is like Roxy's in the anime Winx.

Find out more on Pete's website.

Suggested read
A fun read from Pete is The Vampire Blog (Children's, 11 years +, 9/10E)

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