I swear there’s no conspiring that takes place between we PW bloggers, but you wouldn’t know it this week! Today I discovered that The Book Maven (a.k.a. Bethanne Patrick) had beaten me to the punch when she posted a review of the same book my teenage sidekick, Katrina Van Amsterdam, is currently raving about. Serendipity! See Katrina’s remarks below.

Spud
by John van de Ruit (Razorbill, October 2007)

The year 1990: my birth, the end of apartheid, and the setting of the novel Spud by John van de Ruit. The boy Spud: actually named Johnny Milton, 13 years old, and a first-year student at a South African all-boys boarding school. The story of Spud’s first year at boarding school: brilliant, comical, and heartwarming. Van de Ruit puts a new spin on the classic tale of growing up as Spud experiences new friends, powerful ideas, and first loves. As we read Spud’s daily diary entries, we learn to love him and the wildly amusing group of teenage boys with whom he lives. Pick up this book, THEN you won’t miss out on a fantastic read, one that will both enlighten and entertain you.