Swim the Fly vs. What We Keep Is Not Always What Will Stay

Many thanks to Mr. Knight who was our reader for this contest - despite the pressure of exams and coursework and everything else!

Swim the Fly

 

This was a very easy book to read, perhaps a little too easy! It would make a really good “Animal House” film as it definitely had a light comedic style. The characters were a little superficial but I enjoyed it very much.

What We Keep Is Not Always What Will Stay

I read this book after “Swim the Fly” and found it much less flippant. I was absolutely riveted by it. The characters had real depth and I was unable to put it down. I particularly enjoyed its honesty and realism.

My winner is What We Keep Is Not Always What Will Stay

Battle of the Books Nothing vs Ship Breaker

The judge for this round was Ms Mac Elhatton

Nothing is extremely abstract and profound. It disturbs the reader on a very deep level and it is a book that you have to think about. It sits with you and you have to think about it for a long time after you have read it. At some points you have to set it down as the levels of disillusionment, disaffection and desensitisation shown by the characters are overpowering.

It is not a book to be enjoyed, it is a book to be experienced. If you are looking for a challenging read, I thoroughly recommend it but if you are at all faint hearted then leave it alone.

Ship Breaker is a novel about a dystopian future and, for me, was unique. It is not trite or formulaic though it could so easily be so. I liked the fact that there was not a straightforward hero vs villain plot and there was no definitive right or wrong. There were shades of grey and one saw through the main character’s eyes and empathised with his viewpoint. It was all about a struggle for survival and how luck plays a large part in the achievement and pursuit of happiness.

My winner is Ship Breaker.

Round 2 Far Rockaway vs Fishtailing

The judge for this round was Ms Angela Doherty.

Far Rockaway is a great idea for a story. While on holiday with her parents visiting her grandfather, Cat Manno is saved from death by her grandfather Victor as they are both hit by a truck while crossing the road. Both end up in the hospital with Cat falling into a deep coma. As her parents keep a vigil by her bedside, Cat enters an adventure world of her grandfather’s stories – a professor of Literature – the world of the Last of the Mohicans, Treasure Island and Kidnapped.

The book switches between the hospital and the adventure world with Cat and Victor’s struggle to remain alive in the real world mirrored in a range of exciting episodes and encounters with characters from the books.

Although I really liked the concept of the book I have not read any of the books referred to and so probably missed out on the significance of some of the exploits and escapades which to me seemed very long and drawn out. There were a few exciting and tense moments but I didn’t think it was pacy enough although I did enjoy the final chapters of the book in both the real and adventure worlds which brought the story to its bitter sweet conclusion with some thoughtful reflections and life and death.

Fishtailing is a short book which consists mainly of poems created by the four main teenage characters Tricia, Natalie, Kyle and Miguel in their English class, interspersed with comments from the teacher and the school counsellor in response to the content of the poems and the behaviour of the students.

The setting of the book is a school in Vancouver; two of the characters have relatively regular teenage lives, the two new arrivals with much darker experiences of life. Their lives intertwine, initially in expected ways which then develop and gather pace. Risks lead to tragic consequences.

The student’s poems, with sparing language, vividly convey their attitudes, experiences, hopes and concerns and contrast dramatically with the adult perspective - the teacher’s homework feedback and the e-mails and notes between the teacher and counsellor expressing their concerns about the students (and also their hopelessness in not being able to address their highly complex needs).

I didn’t think that I was going to enjoy the book but I was soon gripped by the characters and narrative and completed it in under an hour; I think this is the only way to read this book. The characters and story stayed with me. I read it again – highly recommended for older teenagers.

My choice is Fishtailing.

Battle of the Books Update

Battle of the Books : Round 2 Result of the first match

The contestants in this round were An Act Of Love vs The Cat's Table and many thanks to our reader Ms Haughey.

Each book has considerable merit. An Act Of Love takes on major topics - racism, fundamentalism, and war and works a strong story around the trials and tribulations of the characters. Alan Gibbons has written a book that makes the reader think and try to understand what motivates people while delivering a gripping race against time.

The Cat's Table takes place on a long sea voyage which gives the reader a strong sense of journeying with the fascinating array of different characters. Ondaatje also provides the reader with the history of the three boys after they arrive in Britain in a masterful way. What appears at first to be a rather slight tale of youngsters on a ship travelling across the seas from Sri Lanka (Ceylon at the time the story is set) to Britain becomes a deep and rich story of the human condition.

 

The winner of this round is The Cat's Table.