ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell 144 pp. Penguin Group. £8.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9780141182704 Rating: ? Stars This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now. And because of their cleverness, the pigs started a revolution against the humans. Pigs could speak fluently in English unlike the other animals, and that gave them the power to be leaders. But, the story that follows only happened a few years after that... Their first leader, Old Major, was kind and fair who knew animals should be equal. But when Napoleon became the leader it was very unpleasant. He made a rule that allowed the pigs to have better food and that forced all of the other animals to work crazily hard every day and night. That wasn’t enough, Napoleon wanted more power. He decided to kill his brother, Snowball, so that he would be the only leader. Snowball was admired because he came up with a clever idea to build windmill. Sn...
Publisher: Houghton
Pages: 224
From Goodreads: "When Perry ends up in Venice on a European tour with his band Inchworm, he can’t resist a visit to Harry’s Bar, where Gobi told him she’d meet him someday. The last time he saw Gobi, five people were assassinated one crazy night in New York City. Well . . . Gobi shows up, and once again Perry is roped into a wild, nonstop thrill ride with a body count. Double crossings, kidnappings, CIA agents, arms dealers, boat chases in Venetian canals, and a shootout in the middle of a Santa Claus convention ensue."
As I mentioned in the first book in the series, "Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick", this is a bit of a departure from what I usually read, an fast-paced action and adventure featuring a male protagonist. That being said, I still quite enjoyed it. Aside from the literal "kept on the edge of your seat" and "page-turner" aspect to it (almost as soon as you start this you will find that you have finished it, it lends for a few hours of easy escapism), I think that one of the book's biggest strengths was its setting- Europe. The number of European cities that Gobi and Perry travel to in mere hours is mind-boggling. However, what is perhaps best about all of these settings is that each is extremely well-developed, it truly feels like you visit each of them alongside them, rather than feeling rushed or underdeveloped.
I think that another strength of this book is that the female character is the physically stronger character, while the male character is the emotionally stronger character, the opposite of what we typically see in YA. As such each character compliments the other perfectly- whenever Gobi is hellbent on bursting into a room with her guns blazing, quite literally, Perry is there to talk her off of the edge, again literally at times, whereas Gobi is able to draw Perry out of his comfort zone, letting him see that there is more to life than getting a girlfriend, going to university, and so forth.
All in all, I think that this is the epitome of an all-inclusive novel- male readers will enjoy it just as much as female readers will, and vice versa. Furthermore, being a shorter book that is so fast-paced I think that it would greatly appeal to reluctant readers. I look forward to seeing if Gobi and Perry have anymore adventures up their sleeves!
Rating: 3/5
I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.
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