title: a view from saturday (AVFS)
author: Elaine Lobl Konigsburg
genre: general (everyone can read this)
plot: find out how 4 six grade children get to know each other through incidents of coincidence and how these incidents make them learn something very essential for acquiring certain knowledge. how they are eventually being selected to represent their state in the academic bowl championship ( a general knowledge quiz competition) and fully utilise the various knowledge they have.
rating: **** (very good alr, given that nothing can be perfect)
why 4 stars: i felt that this book gave me a sense of deja vu of slumdog millionaire, though this book was written way before slumdog even came about. there are several parallels.
- content is almost similar
- their storylines are feel good. slumdog's poor boy becomes rich. AVFS's 4 six graders beating eight graders
- both have very good resolutions. you could say that they are comedies, in the way that they end happily. (their stories were never sad anyway)
so if you enjoyed slumdog, you will love this.
again, the story is very interesting and the author's several play of words here and there makes it a light hearted content. there are some things that students (like me) would definitely be something that students can relate to. eg bullying etc.. oh, not that i have been bullied, but have witnessed bullying.
plus, it is an award winning book, surely it is of good standard (yeah it absolutely is!)
why one star less from perfect: the story is a little short, so you may finish it in 1h-2h, so it defeats the purpose of having a sustainable read to eat up days of your holiday. but it would be very suitable for impatient people who hate suspense (like me!)
in short: this book is a must read! :)
