Strange Book!

I was tempted to stop the review there, but that will only serve to annoy readers of this review, so to flesh out my feelings a bit: Paul Magrs set out to write a book he would have liked to read as a young teen. Presumably he succeeded in this quest, but I know it is not a book I would have wanted at the same age. For some people this will no doubt be a fresh original work, gritty and exploring realistic themes as 10 year old David's parents divorce and find new partners. In the meantime David explores themes of emerging sexuality, as well as friendship, rejection, peer pressure and suchlike.

Whilst the book will find its admirers, I disliked it. The sexual encounter is a brave departure for a children's or young adult book, but it does not really come over well. Something happens and then its forgotten - and the something that happens just does not feel realistic - more like the kind of encounter a 30 something year old might wish they had dared at the age of 10. I could be wrong there, but that was my feeling. In any case it went nowhere and ultimately did not seem to fit with the greater theme of the book.

But then I have to ask myself what the greater themes of the book was, and I am not sure I can really answer that. This is a story without a story. It has all the subtle back story you would expect in a good novel, but it seems to be missing an overarching plot. The book kind of fizzled out, and did not really end.

Many of the themes of this book are so much more expertly put together in books by David Almond or Pauline Fisk and others. Where the book is perhaps highly original, it fails to capitalise on this and unfortunately this is a book that will be quickly forgettable. I would not recommend it to its intended young adult audience - there are many much better works to choose from.

Paul Magrs does show some promise in this book. He just fails to realise it. Perhaps a name to watch in the future, but this book is not one I can recommend. ( )

Set in the 1970s Strange Boy is a touching story narrated by ten year old David. As his parent separate and subsequently find new partners David tries to understand the complexities of adult relationships and discover where he belongs in his now separate parents’ lives, at the same time he is troubled by his own sexual awakenings, although he doe not recognise them as such. The complex and confusing world of the adult seen very much through the eyes of and related in the words of the ten year old David make a very rewarding read.
This is very much a book for all ages, not just the young

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