Book Review: A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen…

A little over 2 weeks ago, i wrote this post about how excited we were to be starting our Bob journey. And as promised, here’s the book review of both A Street Cat Named Bob and Bob: No Ordinary Cat.

This is also Tobias' first read of a true story...
This is also Tobias’ first read of a true story…

We’ll start with Tobias’ review of Bob: No Ordinary Cat. Since he doesn’t yet have an idea what a book review is, i sort of interviewed him. Here’s it:

S: What do you think of the book?
T: It’s good. It’s funny. I like Bob.

S: Why do you like Bob?
T: Cos he’s intelligent and cute.

S: Which is your favourite part?
T: I liked the part where Bob copied James on the toilet.

S: Which is the saddest part?
T: When James lost Bob.

S: Would you like to meet Bob and James?
T: Yes, very much.

S: Would you tell other kids to read this book?
T: Ja.

That must be the world’s shortest book review interview ever. But he truly did love the book very much and talked about it for days. Of course, he also liked the fact that he finished his book before mummy finished hers (he finished in 3 days actually). In my defense, even though his book had a few more pages than mine, his had pages with pictures of Bob (such cute pictures) and the font size was bigger.

Now for my review of A Street Cat Named Bob.

It is an honest book – i love that it reads like James is sitting right there telling you his story. There are no embellishments, just simply his story; a journey from drug addict to a recovering addict to being clean, all along Bob was there, bearing witness, keeping him on track, giving him a reason to be responsible and shape up.

Make no mistake, Bob needed James as much as James needed Bob. A street cat, however smart, can always do with a warm home and a good human to feed him and care for him. And Bob knew how to pick his human.

This is a story which i found amazing and heartwarming, and i highly recommend it for feel-good summer read.

i can’t wait to read the next one; The World According to Bob.

syc

Book Review: The Magic Thief Trilogy by Sarah Prineas…

magicthief01_20130526a magicthief02_20130526b magicthief03_20130526ci have been waiting to write this review since i finished the last book, The Magic Thief Found, a couple of weeks ago. But things piled up and life got busy… anyhow, back to the books.

This trilogy consists of The Magic Thief, The Magic Thief Lost and The Magic Thief Found. i had bought The Magic Thief Found because the back of book blurb grabbed my attention and i liked the premise for the magic in the book. Then i found out it was a part of a trilogy so i waited till i got all 3 books before i started reading.

i read The Magic Thief and really enjoyed it, but i felt that it was really a stand-alone story and i didn’t feel drawn to carry on reading the second book immediately so i left it for a few months. Then i started reading The Magic Thief Lost about 6 weeks ago. I was so taken with the story i went on to read The Magic Thief Found immediately. Which for me is an unusual thing to do. If you have read my review of Inkheart, you would already know that i rarely read the same author consecutively.

i’m going to try not to reveal key plot points here so i’m going to be very vague about the storyline and plot. What i will do is tell you aspects of the whole trilogy which i did enjoy.

i loved Prineas’ idea of where magic comes from. i enjoyed her easy-to-read writing style and i was rooting for Conn, the main character, at every turn. Conn is the typical streetwise pickpocket urchin who, one night, picks the wrong pocket. He could have been killed but he wasn’t and thus begins his adventures as the apprentice of Nevery, the magician. His uncanny ability in magic and his understanding of magic in ways which no one can explain or much appreciate puts him in much danger.

The story pacing was good with humour and twists in the right places. i also like the maps, the recipes, the short descriptions of characters and places, but what i enjoyed doing was deciphering the secret messages throughout the book (usually put in at the end of letters or journal entries of the characters) using the Wellmet Runic Alphabet.

This isn’t written for adults per se, it is placed in the middle-grade category. So your 9+ year-olds and up would enjoy this. However, if you are looking for an easy, yet exciting read, with some fantasy thrown in, i would recommend The Magic Thief Trilogy.

syc

PS: i was searching Amazon for some pictures and came across this. So there is yet another book, Winterling, a spin-off from this trilogy. Maybe i will check it out soon 😉

Book Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time… by Mark Haddon…

The simply cover reflects nicely the way the main character processes things.
The simply cover reflects nicely the way the main character processes things.

i LOVE this book!

i think i could just leave this book review at that but that wouldn’t be much of a review, would it?

This story is written from a first-person point of view, which in my opinion can be quite difficult to have good staying power, cos it is just one point of view for the entire story; there is no insight into the minds of the other characters. But i must say, this one kept me reading and reading and always hoping the best for Christopher; wanting the other characters to help him out.

i am very interested in special needs such as Aspergers, Autism and related conditions because my son has been given a label; one which i do not agree with – but that is another post altogether. Anyhow, that was the first attraction to the book for me.

It gives a real look into the mind of a child on the spectrum; how his mind works, how he processes everything and everybody around him, how his extremely logical thought processes can be… well, logical but… the people all around him are illogical in their thoughts and actions and expressions, and so there is conflict in his otherwise logical mind.

It also shows how difficult it can be on the parents of such children, how even trying your best, sometimes, is not enough. But there is always hope as long as you do not give up.

i root for Christopher and children like him to succeed in life, to have the opportunities that they deserve!

If you want to understand children on the spectrum a tiny bit better, have a read. If you like a good detective story but with a completely new style of writing, have a read.

And before i forget, this book is also a Whitbread (now known as Costa) Award winner.

syc

PS: As i read the story, there are many points i find myself agreeing with the way Christopher thinks… hmmm… what does that mean? 😉