There is no dog review

Title: There is no dog

Author: Meg Rosoff

Release date: 4^th August 2011

Publisher: Puffin

In the beginning there was Bob.

and Bob created the heavens and the earth,

and the beasts of the field,

and the creatures of the sea,

and twenty-five million other species,

including lots of gorgeous girls.

And all of this he created in just six days.

Six days! Congratulations, Bob.

No wonder Earth is such a mess.

Imagine that God is a typical teenage boy.

He is lazy, careless, self-obsessed, sex-mad – and about to meet Lucy, the most beautiful girl on earth.

Unfortunately, whenever Bob falls in love, disaster follows.

Let us pray that Bob does not fall in love with Lucy.

Bob is a teenage boy full of raging hormones and testosterone. He also happens to be the God of a little planet called Earth. Bob doesn't realise that he has to be attentive to his creations and often doesn't get up til midday, leaving his assistant, Mr B to get on with running the planet. But what happens when Mr B resigns? Can Bob ever restore humanity's faith in God?

This book caught my eye a few months ago because of its unusual title and the fact that it was also available in Playaway format at my local library. (Playaways are audio books stored on an MP3 player so they are easier to carry on the go). I must admit I couldn't get into the audio (although I do struggle with audio books at times) but was hooked with the book straight away. The book opens with a humorous quote from Stephen King which sets the tone of the book immediately.

This book had a Terry Pratchett feel to it and was very amusing throughout. I could just imagine the third person narrative being used as a voice over to a discworld film. The way each character is described with all their flaws gives the narrator a definitive character. However, I would add that Rosoff still has her own unique style and the book merely manages to capture Pratchett's hilarious and blunt omnipotent voice rather than mirroring his work. 

My favourite character was Estelle as she manages to command the page without doing or saying anything vitally important. She is a brilliant example of a magical supporting character. With her help, Mr B realises that he has more to offer the people of earth than Bob ever could do and helps offer a happy ending to the tale.

I found the book really funny and engaging with a variety of plot twists and a collection of well developed characters. The book works so well as a completed piece because each element of the novel is captivating and so well thought out. Rosoff has produced something that I would recommend for all readers, whether you are a fan of Pratchett or not.  

5/5 Something unusual that will appeal to fans of good, creative literature.

The Killing Joke Review

Title : The Killing Joke

Author: Anthony Horowitz

Release date: 1^st April 2005

Publisher: Orion

 
When Guy Fletcher protests at a sick joke he overhears in a pub, he finds himself headbutted and struck by an idea in quick succession. Is it possible to trace a joke all the way back to its original source?

 Guy’s quest takes him across the UK, from a humourless Hungarian dentist to a group of giggling grave-diggers, from a hyper active troupe of boy scouts to half a dozen undercover detectives. And along the way some pretty odd things are happening. Guy is sure he is being followed by an Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman. He has an unfortunate accident on a banana skin. There’s a fly in his soup, an army of nuns on his train – and an exploding house in Cambridge... Guy is on the verge of discovering something very unpleasant. Making jokes is no laughing matter.

If you were to trace the origins of a joke, how far would you go?

I couldn't work out whether this novel is pure genius or utterly bonkers... so I settled for a mixture of both.

The complex sentence structures and lexis give the book a sophisticated edge but the content is so ridiculous that I couldn't help but plough through the text.

The entire content of the book relies on communication, whether this be in the form of jokes spreading throughout the country or what the author of a book chooses to tell you about their particular story (see the end of the book!). I'm not going to go on some obsessive joke hunt like Guy Fletcher did but the story did make me wonder about the origins of jokes. Who's to say there isn't a joke factory somewhere? The character of Liddy makes some compelling arguments about why jokes are a necessary part of society but I'd rather believe there's a 'fat boy in the attic' somewhere who has nothing better to do with his time than a terrifying international conspiracy.

Guy and Sally's romance adds another level to a ridiculous story and I hope I'm not ruining the plot for anyone when I say I'm really REALLY glad they got their happy ending. In fact the ending was brilliantly positive but in keeping with the silly style of the rest of the story. I did actually laugh out loud when I reached the final chapter of the book, Anthony Horowitz lets his readers know that the story never truly ends, just like jokes which are continually being revised and redistributed.

I felt that Guy really developed as a character which helped drive the novel. He has gone off on a wild goose chase but what if, this time, he can actually catch the goose? The entire story takes place over a few weeks but I felt like I'd known Guy for years and could really sympathise with him when his world comes crumbling down.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who fancies a good laugh. It has a compelling narrative, colourful characters and a string of unusual occurrences.

5/5 Beware the Englishman, Irishman and the Scotsman!

The Future of Us Review

Title: The Future of Us

Author: Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Release date: 5^th January 2012

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Books

It’s 1996 and less than half of all high school students have ever used the internet. Facebook will not be invented for another eight years.

Josh and Emma have been neighbours their whole lives. They’ve been best friends almost as long – at least they were until last November, when everything changed. Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh’s family gets a free AOL CD in the mail, his mum makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When the two friends log on, the discover their profiles on Facebook.

And they’re looking at themselves fifteen years into the future.

Everyone wonders what their destiny will be.

Josh and Emma are about to find out.

The first time Emma uses the internet on her home PC, she discovers something life changing. Facebook. But it’s 1996 and her profile reveals details about her future self. Emma doesn’t even know what Facebook is, all she can deduce is that she doesn’t seem happy in the future. With the help of her friend Josh, can she create a future with a positive Facebook profile?

What I liked most about this book was that it allowed me to reminisce about a time before mobile phones and computers were so mainstream. I remember when it took ages to dial a connection for your internet and I also remember getting my first mobile phone. (I've just got my first ever phone with internet and now I wonder how I ever managed without it!) While many teenagers will enjoy looking back at how things were before they were born (imagine a life without Facebook! ), I felt that being a little bit older and remembering how things used to be added another level to my enjoyment of the book which younger readers might not experience.

The complex relationship between Emma and Josh is funny, heart-warming and emotional and really made the book a fantastic read. The way they verge on being friends/more than friends throughout the novel is made really obvious and humorous. Each chapter is written from the point of view of Josh or Emma and it was lovely to see both sides of their relationship as it developed.

The way Facebook is used within the novel as Emma’s indicator of whether or not her future is a happy one really made me think about the way we portray ourselves through social networking. Some of us are optimists and only try to post positive things so that other people think our lives are perfect and others only share their misfortune. It's interesting to think how much of ourselves we actually reveal through our personal profiles and how obsessive some people get over checking it, just like Emma does. 

I picked up this novel because the idea of a world without Facebook caught my attention. While adults in the world today grew up without home PCs, let alone the internet, many teenagers today can’t go a few hours without needing to update their status or check their wall. The novel explored the positives and negatives of being ‘Facebook obsessed’ while being hilarious and uplifting. It was a brilliant teenage novel but the future aspect made it a real page turner.

I wonder what my Facebook profile will look like in fifteen years time and  I wonder if I'll like it?

4.5/5 I think anyone who uses Facebook would really enjoy this book.