The Life of a Teenage Body Snatcher – Doug MacLeod

REVIEWED BY LYNDON WISE

The Life of a Teenage Body Snatcher is a fantastic book. Doug MacLeod ensured that there was a lot of suspense throughout the book in order to keep the reader fascinated. As I am a very fussy reader I was surprised when I found myself reading this book all the time.Thomas Timewell is a 16 year old smart, fearless, gentleman. Being a doctor, Thomas’ grandfather’s last wish before he died was for Thomas to dig up his body and sell it to science. Thomas, wanting to fulfil his grandfather’s wish, in the middle of the night goes to the cemetery and starts digging. Little does he know that he has company. When Thomas meets Plentitude, a professional body snatcher, his whole life changes. They go on many adventures and encounter the unimaginable, this includes a tattooed gypsy with a meat cleaver, cutthroats and even the Grim Reaper. Thomas finds out secrets and facts about himself that he had never known and was never meant to know. I would describe the plot as a “quirky black comedy that is very interesting and funny at the same time.”
The title of the book, The Life of a Teenage Body Snatcher, definitely suits the book because in the shortest way possible it describes the whole entire book. As well as the title suiting the book, it is an enticing, peculiar sort of title, which makes you really want to read the book. I know that when the school librarian mentioned this book to us, I straight away put my hand up and asked if I could read it, just because the title and blurb sounded so interesting and different to anything that I’ve ever read before.
In my opinion the message of the book is: always expect the unexpected.
In the words of Doug MacLeod (author) the message is: “terrible events can occur when you try to do the right thing.”
On the 25th of March I was very fortunate to have Doug MacLeod come to my school to speak. I found him very interesting and I think that he took a liking to me (as he gave me a free signed copy of this book.) I had a bit of a chat to him and I was very excited when I asked him if there would be a sequel to this book and he told me that he is working on one. All in all I loved this book and would recommend is to anyone and everyone!

Mission Telemark by Amanda Mitchison

Four teenagers and one deadly mission. The odds of them coming back, almost impossible. A story of courage and intelligence in the face of adversity as British Secret Services come up with a plan that could possibly end World War II. They decide to train Åse, Frederick, Jakob and Lars, four 13 year old adolescents, from occupied Norway. Their mission, to blow up heavy water stores at Vemork and prevent the Nazis from making an atomic bomb. You follow the characters journey through the snowy mountains and rivers and read on as they struggle to survive.

This is a great read for anyone around the ages of 14 or 15. I felt that I could relate well with the four main characters because we are all around the same age and their thoughts and feelings would be similar to mine in the same situation. Over the course of the mission the characters got closer and closer to each other and gained each other’s trust. When Amanda Mitchison wrote the description of Vemork, it was extremely easy to paint a picture in my head of the rocky cliffs and the flowing streams that surrounded the plant.

It kept me wanting to turn the next page because I had to know what would happen to the characters next and if anything would happen to them. I felt I was part of the expeditions that the group went on. There was also a great message about teamwork and how individuals can work together to get an objective done and i think that's important because it is something that we can learn to do today.

The Youngest Templar (Book 1 in series) by Michael P. Spradlin

The Youngest Templar is set in Medieval England and the Holyland. While the plot is set many centuries ago in history, the questions that trouble the main character Tristan are still being asked today. Is war really a glorious pursuit? What ideals are really worth dying for?
Tristan is an orphan, knowing nothing of his parents or origins. He has been brought up by the kindly, hard-working monks at St. Albans abbey. As he nears the age to leave the protection of the monks, Sir Thomas Leuw takes a keen interest in him and hires Tristan to be his squire on a Crusade to recapture the Holyland from the Muslim Saracens. The title refers to the Templar knights, who were the fighting units of the Crusades.
What follows is a thrilling, often violent, story of adventure and narrow escapes. The story ends with more questions than it began about Tristan and the precious treasure that has been entrusted to him.