Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Savage (2008)


People find different ways to deal with the untimely death of a loved one. This book by David Almond (illustrated by Dave McKean) shows how a boy named Blue deals with the death of his father. A school counselor advises him to write about his loss and he ends up writing a story of a boy who lives like a savage in the woods near his house. The book alternates between the Blue's voice and the story he is writing. His spelling is atrocious but the words make sense if they are pronounced out loud. Mr. Almond comes from England so "football" means soccer and there are other words that are British.

"She laughed and said, 'Will you, now? What kind of job?'
I didn't have a clue, of course.
'One that'll get me loads of dosh,' I said."

This is a very touching and surprising book. I highly recommend it for a quick and satisfying read to practically everyone.

My rating for this book: ++++

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