Teenagers – DaneCobain.com

Benjamin Zephaniah – Terror Kid | Review

Title: Terror Kid

Author: Benjamin Zephaniah

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 202

Rating: 8/10

Benjamin Zephaniah – Terror Kid

The last few Zephaniah books that I’ve read have been a little bit hit and miss, but with Terror Kid (which was published last year and is his most recent work at the time of writing), he’s definitely back on track. True to form, it takes a look at our struggling society and highlights some of the issues that Zephaniah clearly feels passionate about.

The story-line follows a teenage boy with a gift for computers, who unwittingly gets drawn into a terrorist plot in which nine people lose their lives. As usual, I’m not going to go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil it for you, and I do think that if you’re looking for somewhere to start with Benjamin’s work then this is as good a place as any.

It’ll resonate particularly strongly with teenagers and young adults – after all, it’s their plight that’s being captured here. I can’t say I’m speaking from experience, but I’m guessing that if you have some sort of ethnic background then you might be able to relate to that, too. Try it!

Benjamin Zephaniah

Click here to buy Terror Kid.

John Green – The Fault in Our Stars | Review

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 324

Rating: 9/10

John Green – The Fault in Our Stars

There’s a lot of buzz around this novel online, and I’m glad to say that I managed to avoid the dual temptations of reading spoilers and/or watching the film beforehand. I read this book as part of my 24-hour charity readathon for Dyslexia Action, and even though I literally had no choice as to whether I stopped reading or not, I can still describe this book as genuinely unputdownable. In fact, I enjoyed reading it so much that the time just flew by, and it’s definitely a great pick for long-haul travel or some other situation in which you’ll have no real choice but to sit there and read – The Fault in Our Stars makes it a pleasure.

I can’t go in to too much detail on the plot because I don’t want to ruin it, but I think I can safely say that it’s a love story between two teenagers, Hazel and Gus, both of whom have suffered from cancer. Before I started to read it, I wondered if I’d be able to relate, but it turns out that there’s no need to worry – they’re a likeable and complex pair of kids, with a complex set of problems. You really do grow invested in their story, and they’re so fundamentally likeable that you’ll want things to work out for them.

As for whether that happens or not, I’ll leave it for you to find out – this really is a novel that everyone of our generation should read, made extra interesting by the fact that the author is one half of the Vlogbrothers. It seems that John Green is a renaissance man who succeeds at everything he does, if we’re judging from his YouTube celebrity status and the book that brought tears to people’s eyes all across the globe.