Ostrich Boys (Definitions)
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Product Description
Review
`Reminiscent of On the Road and Catcher in the Rye . . . a profound work, instantly worthy of the label "modern classic"' --Bookseller
Review
`Packs a massive punch. A remarkable book - five star reading!'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ostrich Boys is a brilliant, fast-paced and moving boys book. Not that girls wouldn't enjoy it, there is plenty in it which teenage girls can relate to, but it doesn't happen often to find a book which so honestly deals with teenage boys' interests.
Kenny, Sim and Blake steal their best friend's ashes to give him a proper send-off in a place he would have wanted to be. The three young men are not only chased by police, but also by memories of their dead best friend, all while being typical teenage boys. It's probably the funniest book about death I have ever read, and all with being utterly respectfull to the subject!
Kenny, Sim and Blake steal their best friend's ashes to give him a proper send-off in a place he would have wanted to be. The three young men are not only chased by police, but also by memories of their dead best friend, all while being typical teenage boys. It's probably the funniest book about death I have ever read, and all with being utterly respectfull to the subject!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A plot revolving around friends and/or family going on a road trip to scatter a loved one's ashes is a well worn path (see, for example, Graham Swift's 1996 Booker Prize winning Last Orders, or William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying). However, here, that premise is reimagined for the teen set, as three 15-year-old British boys steal their best friend's ashes in order to take them to a special town in Scotland, where they intend to give him a proper send-off. The catalyst for their quest is their disgust at what they see as a fake show of caring by classmates and townspeople at their friend's stuffy funeral. The short book starts out as a bit of a caper and a farce, as they scheme to get their hands on the ashes and make their way north via a series of misadventures (rather predictably, they lose most of their money, and then later they meet up with some girls). However, there's more to the story than a simple road trip, as we gradually learn a little more about the boys and their friendship, and the possibility is raised that their friend may have committed suicide. Things start to get much more serious in the final chapters, as the boys get close to their goal, and the nature of their friendship comes under greater scrutiny. It's a bittersweet book, one that will challenge young readers to consider their own friendships, but does so without being didactic. It's also the kind of story that is incredibly well suited for adaptation into a film.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Keith Gray's first book in a while and well worth the wait. Characters you'd like to sit down and have a conversation with, a plot that makes you desperate to read on, yet reluctant to come to the end too soon...funny bits, sad bits and a portrait of friendship lost and found that stays with you well beyond the moment you turn the last page.
If you read or buy one book, make it this one. You won't regret it. Ostrich Boys should put Keith's name right back up there on the short lists for some serious recognition!
If you read or buy one book, make it this one. You won't regret it. Ostrich Boys should put Keith's name right back up there on the short lists for some serious recognition!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Teenage Road Trip
When their best mate dies in a road accident, Kenny, Sim and Blake are disappointed by the dispiriting funeral. It seems to bear no connection with the Ross they knew. Read more
Published 3 months ago by annie hughes
Entertaining and moving
Kenny, Sim, Blake and Ross are best friends, fifteen year old boys they live in Cleethorpes, or at least three of them do now, for Ross has just been killed in an accident. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Benjamin
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
OSTRICH BOYS is about friendship and loyalty. Blake, Sim, and Kenny just lost their best friend, Ross. Read more
Published 23 months ago by TeensReadToo
Excellent
This is a very good story, very well written. The boys bond with each other is strong, but can they survive the truths that they will uncover on their lost friends last... Read more
Published on 22 April 2010 by mntcolchester
Sound writing that would appeal to the right audience
The received wisdom is that Keith Gray writes excellently for teenage boys - capturing their concerns and their outlook on life without talking down or patronising them in any way. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2010 by Teen fictionista
Teenage books
Fantastic book which I throughly enjoyed when I ran out of books on holiday and started on my teenage sons books. Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2009 by alison tamlyn
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