Groosham Grange

Groosham Grange is a creepy, sarcastically funny read with a touch of mystery. David Eliot is a twelve year old boy who has just been expelled and his parents are furious. They're also pretty unhinged and undoubtedly politically incorrect since we see Mr Eliot hit, stab and drive over Mrs Eliot multiple times in the first twenty or so pages. Apparently Mr Eliot's grandfather used to cane him everyday and it never did him any harm. Except for the sustained damage that led to him being unable to ever walk again. Obviously harmless.

But not to worry, a well timed letter arrives inviting David to attend Groosham Grange, a strict boarding school which believes in discipline, has only one day of holidays and is located on an island with no show more ferry service. David is packed up and sent off within the hour.

On the journey he meets two other new pupils, Jeffrey and Jill and they make a pack to stick together like The Three Musketeers.

I didn't really care about Jeffrey but I liked Jill and David. Both were adventurous and determined to change their lot rather than accept it. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the school and the teachers and what was going on. Most of it I guessed, some of it I didn't. The teacher's were pretty obviously supernatural - werewolf, vampire, dead, immortal, etc. I didn't really guess the black magic or that David and Jill are witches.

The ending was too abrupt though. The transition from David's decision to his return home was too quick. Another chapter or two would've given some insight into what David felt, thought, etc, and smoothed the story out.

Overall an amusing read. 4 stars for target audience (and what I originally rated it when I was the target audience), 3.5 stars for me. show less

Twelve year old David Eliot has just been expelled from Beton Academy, and as a result his parents have sent him to the mysterious Groosham Grange, a school that claims it can “lick David into shape.” On his journey to Groosham Grange, David meets two other children who are also being sent there – and they have both been told that this school has different things to offer. Jill’s parents were told that this was a really classy finishing school, while Jeffrey’s parents were told that it was a great sports complex. What is really in store for them, however, is so completely different than any of them ever expected.

For one thing, they have to sign their names in blood into the school roster when they arrive. For another thing, show more all of the students are really well behaved – no bullying, and everyone seems to enjoy classes. Plus, what’s up with the teacher who misses classes every full moon? David, Jill and Jeffrey have decided to stick together to find out what’s really going on at this school and to see if they can escape. And soon, because their thirteenth birthdays are all looming on the horizon.

If this hadn’t originally been published in 1988 in Britain, I would have thought that it was trying to capitalize off of the Harry Potter phenomenon. A kid is sent off to a boarding school where there are all sorts of crazy things going on, one of his teachers is a werewolf, he finds out he’s a wizard, etc. It doesn’t have the same depth of HP (not even in the case of The Philosopher’s Stone, which is aimed at the same age group), and came across as more humourous – or at least trying to be more humourous – than the HP books. (David’s father stabbing his mother in what appears to be a fatal sort of way, only to have her survive it practically unscathed doesn’t strike me as being particularly funny, but it was written in such a way that it comes across that it was supposed to be humourous. At any rate, I can see it being funny for other people who enjoy that sort of humour.)

If I had read this closer to when it was first published, I would have been at an age where I would’ve really appreciated the book. It would be great for kids. The style of writing was a bit lost on me, the humour was really over-the-top, the ending was extremely anti-climatic, but the basic premise of the story itself was a lot of fun. I’m wondering, though, do the Alex Rider books come across this way too? show less

In our post-Harry Potter world it is hard to recall just how exciting this book of boarding school horror and magic seemed twenty years ago. Rereading it now, I find it well-paced and very funny.

It is so weird that it is interesting. This was originally published in 1988. I think that its strangeness would appeal to kids. It is written in short chapters, like Patterson, so it has an added appeal of feeling like a short book. It does not take much to get to know the characters since they feel insubstantial. I found it very interesting that the main character, David Eliot is ambivalent about what he will do with his new found powers at the story's end. It kind of makes you want to follow him and see what he decides.

I really enjoyed Groosham grange it was a boy who is very naughty and was expelled. His dad found a new school and this one is very mysterious. I found that when I started reading this book I couldnt stop.

David just got expelled from a boarding school. His strange parents receive a brochure on a new boarding school called Groosham Grange. They are only given 30 minutes to decide whether or not to send him. They send him blindly off into a new school and he finds that this is not just some ordinary boarding school, not even close.

After being expelled from school, thirteen-year-old David Eliot is sent to Groosham Grange, a spooky and sinister boarding school where nothing seems quite right.