Description
A Warrior's Guide to Bad Grammar: 'Bad Grammar, like a prison cell or a shopping centre on Christmas Eve, is a horrific place best avoided. If unlucky enough to serve a sentence at this remote boarding school, forget packing your toothbrush and a spare pair of undies. You'd be better off with your flamethrower and a suit of armour.'
Marcus is a warrior in the game world - a legend. He is a shy nobody in the real world - a loser.
But he's just been enrolled in Bad Grammar. This place is not a resort. It's a last resort.
Review
Marcus considers himself a great warrior. The trouble is that this is only while he plays online games, something he now doing all the time, particularly since his best friend moved to India.
As a last resort, his parents send him to the remote Bourkely Boys Grammar, a school for boys having trouble fitting in.
What they don't tell him is that all of the boys are bullies and thugs, calling the teachers and staff weird would be complimentary and, most importantly for Marcus, there are no computers!
While Marcus is intent on escaping this terrible place, he soon befriends Fred and Trent and their exploits slowly form a bond - a bond that Marcus comes to realise he wants to keep.
Set in a school where bullying prefects rule, this novel shows that together with friends, good will overcome and that maybe there is more to life than computer games.
I found the setting harsh, the message highly appropriate and presented in a subtle and engaging way, where all readers will feel empathy towards Marcus.
Marcus is 12 years old and I think that the target reading age would not be much younger than that, so probably best suited to 10 - 12 year olds, particularly boys.
This book was included in our February 2013 Primary Fiction Standing Order selection.
Reviewed by Rob
