Mega Monster packed with engaging characters

Junior reviewer Thiemo Hanne says the book is great fun to read.

On a volcanic island, in the middle of shark-infested waters, stands The Cruel School.

This school is unlike any you might find in Taranaki though, the lessons are appalling, the school meals are disgusting and the teachers are terrifying, especially the mysterious science teacher Doctor Doktur.

The book describes the school through the eyes of a small girl called Larker who is sent to the school. Our junior reviewer Thiemo says Larker is a really cool heroine in the book who quickly became his favourite character.

Larker is just the sort of person you would want to be friends with if you were at any school, especially one as fearsome and horrid as The Cruel School is.

David Walliams sets the scene well, giving descriptions of each of the characters in the book at the start. The descriptions are brought to life by illustrations from the pencil of Tony Ross and they really help when it comes to imagining the characters in the story.

Author David Walliams is often described as being a successor to Roald Dahl and this book certainly shows he is worthy of that description. The book is packed full of humour and engaging characters and situations while also containing enough twists and turns in the plot to keep the reader on their toes throughout. It isn't predictable and even reluctant readers will find themselves wanting to read "just one more chapter" when they pick it up.

The chapters are also a good length - not too long, but not ridiculously short, to ensure readers stay engaged throughout without feeling overwhelmed by the size of the book, which at just under 400 pages could feel a bit intimidating if it wasn't so nicely broken up with great illustrations throughout.

WIN: Thanks to Margie and the gorgeous girls at Paper Plus Stratford, we have a copy of this book to give away to one lucky reader.
To win a copy, simply email editor@stratfordpress.co.nz with your name and contact phone number, along with the word monster in the subject line. In your email tell us what sort of monster you would find scariest as a teacher and why. Send the email by 5pm on Wednesday, August 18.