READ IN ENGLISH

I'm usually not a big fan of novellas because there is just not enough room in there for story/character development. But this one was by John Boyne, so I just had to had it. (If I could make one little note on the enormously big printed price on the cover. The bookshops in The Netherlands translated 1,99 pound into 5,00 Euro, which is like more than double the price it advertises!)



It was a lovely novella though. A child sees his family slowly breaking into pieces after his Mum hits a child with her car. It says 'Quick Read' and that's what it was, just enough to get me from Leuven to Liege, unfortunately, I was only halfway by then and didn't have another book with me. ( )

Danny Delaney is a 13 year old boy whose life changes beyond comprehension one day, when his mother knocks down a little boy, who ends up in a coma. She struggles to cope with the guilt and Danny feels confused and isolated. His father tries desperately to keep the family together, but it looks as though things are about to fall apart.

This book is one of the 'Quick Reads' series (I read it within a couple of hours), and at only 101 pages of large print, it manages to pack quite a lot of story in! It is narrated by Dany himself, and I do think that the author managed to get into the mind of an adolescent very well.

Obviously, due to the length of the book, there is not a lot of time for character development , but this is a story which is plot driven, rather than character driven.

The disintegration of normal family life is easy to imagine and well portrayed from the point of view of the youngest son.

The writing flowed very easily, and I was never bored. I've read The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, but I think I actually preferred this book. It certainly would encourage me to look out for more work by this author. ( )

Indeed a quick read! I liked how the story is narrated through an adolescent's point of view: it's interesting to see their train of tought and what drives them to do things. The story is good; nothing out of this world, but I guess that's because it's such a "quick read". ( )

Since [The boy in striped pyjamas] I'm charmed by this writer. What a book was that, and although [The Dare] doesn't have the same impact, it comes close. Also this time a young child is the main character, who tells the way his life goes when his mother hits a small boy with the car. The boy is in coma and it's not sure he will survive. The book tells what effect this has on the family life of Danny, the main character and teller of the story. Again an excellent read.

http://boekenwijs.blogspot.com/2009/07/dare.html ( )