01 May, 2011

Jarvis 24

Title: Jarvis 24
Author: David Metzenthen
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Format: Book

Synopsis: Marc E Jarvis seems like a typical teenager. He's doing work experience in a car yard, training for footy, hanging out with his best mate and falling in love. But things are never as easy as they look and after the dust settles, nothing will ever be the same again.

What I thought: This is the fourth book I have read that was shortlisted for the 2010 Children's Book Council book of the Year Awards - Young Adult that I have read. The other three I have read are Liar, Stolen and Loving Richard Feynman. I still have another two to go - waiting for them to come into the library. Jarivs 24 won the Book of Year prize. Going on what I have read so far, I don't agree. I feel both Liar and Stolen were stronger books. Maybe it's that in the end, they were more "exciting", but I feel it's more than that. I had more to say and more to think about with the other two. This was a good read, but nothing that set the world on fire. If I was an English teacher looking to set a text for my kids to get their teeth into, this would not be it. The two books I haven't read, A Small Free Kiss in the Dark and The Winds of Heaven, were the two honour books. It will be interesting to read them in light of this review.

Recommended for: those who are interested in...I don't know!

Challenges: A-Z Challenge,  100+ Challenge, For the love of YA Challenge, Aussie YA Challenge