Books_for_Boys

Books for Boys Project: Writing a Book Review Shaiyon Pathmasri 10C ‘Just Sixteen’. No, that’s not how old I am; it’s the name of a brilliant book written by Jean Ure. Written in 1999, you may think this book is old and unreadable. But no, this book is still fresh with imagination and flair. The genre of this book is ‘love, ‘friendship’ and ‘sex’. Anyone from 14 onwards can read this book because it does contain adult themes and younger readers won’t understand what the story is all about. I chose this amazing book firstly because of the title ‘just sixteen’ which made me curious. Then I read the blurb and that was when I chose this book. Overall I simply love this book because of the gripping storyline which kept me in my seat from morning to evening. You can still feel the heat from the chair I sat on when I read this book. The book is about a 15 year old boy called Sam and his mates who enjoy boasting about their success with girls, until Sam meets Priya. Suddenly, girls are no longer just sex objects or trophies. He can actually talk to Priya and he cares about her. But of course he fancies her too, and Priya feels the same way about him. Making love feels right for both of them. But what happens when Priya discovers she is pregnant' It’s an ordinary, simple story which is told from a humorous (SAM’S) point of view. The main issues it supports are teenage pregnancy which is becoming a major problem in the world we live in. It also deals with family life and peer pressure. The main characters in this story are Sam and Priya. Sam is a young boy surrounded by friends who boast a lot about having sex with girls. He would like to join in their conversations but he never does because he loves Priya and he doesn’t want to ruin his friendship with her. Priya is a sophisticated, young girl who talks a lot about issues such as religion, global warming and nuclear bombs etc. but also is very girlish and giggles with her friends over boys. She also loves Sam, and wants to develop her relationship with him. My favourite character has to be Sam because he’s goes through a lot of things throughout the story and he has to deal with his family who don’t like doing the things he likes to do. Sam: ‘so we don’t even bother talking about it'’ Mum: ‘eat your food and just forget about it, worrying never helped anyone.’ The setting in this story is mainly the school. This is where they first met and Sam’s friends boast about their ‘triumphs’. The setting isn’t described in detail because it isn’t very important to the plot. The story is written in Sam’s point of view and is written in the first person. ‘What I’m saying is, if people don’t like them, they wouldn’t give them nicknames .Right'’ Sam’s feelings are deep in description because we can relate to it and it’s clear about how he feels: ‘…but they always seem to do a lot of giggling, very high-pitched, like the twittering of birds. It scared the hell out of me!!’ The opening randomly pops up in the story and is quite an odd opening. ‘It’s a funny thing about nicknames.’ The plot is structured chronologically like a diary entry. It doesn’t contain any dates or any flashbacks; it only contains the thoughts of Sam. The writing is gripping and every chapter has a cliff-hanger, with each chapter answering a previous chapter cliff-hanger but leaving a cliff hanger for the next chapter to answer. The style is informal, because it’s written from a 15 year old’s perspective and they normally speak slang or something similar. But there is also some complex language involved: ‘Priya, she was really conscientious. She took her work dead seriously.’ The writer does create a lot of mystery and keeps the reader guessing till the end as to how the story pans out. The book also contains a lot of humour which could get a smile from you. There are also several literary devices used such as: ‘Her face is…. Small, delicate. Tiny little nose, almond-shaped eyes, very deep and dark, like pools of treacle.’ METAPHOR AND SIMILIE ‘Long, luscious hair.’ ALLITERATION I honestly like this book because of the moral message it gives and the way it deals with strong issues such as teenage pregnancy, abortion and goes deep into the complicated, multiplex mind of a teenage child. I would definitely recommend it to a class-mate so that they can enjoy and experience this brilliant book. I have learned a lot from this book and I now have a broader understanding of people who are in this situation in real life. It has taught me things I should do in my life and things I shouldn’t do. This book deserves its place in the ‘top book for boys’. Although the book may have some romance which could make a few boys squirm, most other boys will enjoy it and learn a lot from it. It’s also a very interesting read and none of the pages have any dull segments in it.