Maggot Moon (Michael L. Printz Award - Honor Title(s))
Set in an oppressive fictional state, this dystopian novel follows Standish, a boy who cannot read or write, as he steps with a friend toward a hidden truth. Its short chapters and symbolic images make the story of resistance and courage powerfully memorable.
Work Information
A boy’s gaze cuts a path beyond a sealed world.
The novel depicts a boy who is discriminated against as he tries to learn the truth within a totalitarian atmosphere. Its cinematic images and sequence of short chapters keep the tension alive.
Review Summaries
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It is praised as inventive and unsettling dystopia, with the motifs of friendship and resistance leaving a strong impression.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Candlewick
- Published
- 2013-02-12
- Pages
- 288 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.92 x 2.54 x 20.68 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780763665531
- ISBN-10
- 0763665533
- Price
- 3441 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Children's Books
A 2014 Michael L. Printz Honor Book In Sally Gardner’s stunning novel, set in a ruthless regime, an unlikely teenager risks all to expose the truth about a heralded moon landing. What if the football hadn’t gone over the wall. On the other side of the wall there is a dark secret. And the devil. And the Moon Man. And the Motherland doesn’t want anyone to know. But Standish Treadwell — who has different-colored eyes, who can’t read, can’t write, Standish Treadwell isn’t bright — sees things differently than the rest of the “train-track thinkers.” So when Standish and his only friend and neighbor, Hector, make their way to the other side of the wall, they see what the Motherland has been hiding. And it’s big...One hundred very short chapters, told in an utterly original first-person voice, propel readers through a narrative that is by turns gripping and darkly humorous, bleak and chilling, tender and transporting.
Sally Gardner is an award-winning author whose novels have sold more than 1.5 million copies in the U.K. and have been translated into twenty-two languages. She is dyslexic and is an avid spokesperson for dyslexia. “I strongly believe that dyslexia is like a Rubik’s Cube,” she says. “It takes time to work out how to deal with it, but once you do, it can be the most wonderful gift.” Sally Gardner lives in London. Julian Crouch is a director and designer whose career has spanned theater, opera, film, and television. He is currently designing Big Fish for Broadway and Cinderella for the Dutch National Ballet. Julian Crouch lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Reviews
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fantastic read
Can't pin down exactly what I loved about this book: Standish, the language, the cleverness of it, the slow reveal. I almost want to read it again straight away.
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You all must keep like these books only
Awesome book enjoyed it very good amazon keep it up
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Finished in One Sitting
We started reading this on a writing class and I ended up sitting in the room for two hours to finish it afterwards. It has short chapters that flow seamlessly together even when they are completely unrelated. The relationships between the characters were equally effortless, and didn't feel forced into it for the sake of familial or romantic bonds. I especially love the interaction of Hector and Standish, which is a large part of Standish's motivation in the book. The setting is equally lovely, a dystopia which is at once a fantasy land and an eery mirror into real life. The writing amplifies this, with breath-taking phrases and effortless use of made up slang. Would recommend reading, though not on a day or week in which you wish to be happy again. The Kindle version lacks the sequential illustrations of the printed version, which are spectacular but not for the faint of heart. Kind of like the children's series Animorphs, but with more death.
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Stunning Standish
Our narrator, the wonderfully named Standish Treadwell, is left bereft when his best friend Hector mysteriously disappears, probably taken by the tyrannical goons of the Motherland - a totalitarian regime where dyslexics like Standish are held in scant regard. The Motherland is intent on winning the space race, getting to the moon first without caring who gets hurts in the process. However, what if it was all one big ploy, designed to keep people in their place? What if someone like Standish, someone perceived to be weak, could debunk the whole scam? As Standish himself remarks "You see, the what ifs are as boundless as the stars." Equally boundless, it would appear, is Sally Gardner's wonderful imagination and ability to draw the reader into another world, a parallel universe not that far removed from our own. Using simple language she presents a brutal world, a scary place where folk like Standish are not expected to stand up for themselves. Standish's neighbourhood, Zone Seven, could be anywhere, any time in history and whilst his day to day life is fraught with danger, he faces the same dilemnas as any teenager - establishing your own identity, forging friendships, learning from your mistakes. Now shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2012, Maggot Moon deserves to become a children's classic. Fans of The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece and Wonder will love this quirky, engaging novel and will perhaps fall a little in love with Standish, your not so average hero. Highly recommended for all ages from 12 upwards.
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very gripping
maggot moon is one of these books that captures you on the first page and does not allow you to put it down until you reached the bitter sweet ending.