The Dare

by John Boyne

Publisher: Transworld Black Swan 2009

Novel in the Quick Reads series

It’s a sad and unusual story about two families going through an awkward time and is told by a twelve year old boy. His mother had an awful experience involving the second family and that affected her badly. This led to her neglecting the boy. His life was changing and nobody took any notice of him.

I read the book in a day - I just kept on reading it. It doesn’t keep you hanging around - there’s always something happening and it draws you in and you want to find out what happens to the child.

John Boyne is the author of six novels, including the best seller “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” which was made into a film. I loved The Dare so much that I’m going to read his other five novels.

Ruth Ede