Review: Maggot Moon - Sally Gardner

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 4 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (I love the colors and the illustrations.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Candlewick
Page Count: 288 p.
Buy it: Book Depository | Indie | Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

In the Motherland being different is frowned upon. If your different, there is probably a reason and that reason is your no good. Standish is different and until he got a friend he was nearly alone in the world. Standish had his grandfather (his parents were taken) and now he had Hector. They play with a football Standish found and it ends up on the other side of a big government wall. That's when the trouble really starts. What if Standish hadn't found that football? What if it hadn't gone over the wall? What if that fool Hector didn't volunteer to go get it? Maybe then Hector wouldn't be gone too. Maybe Standish wouldn't have to save him and the rest of the Motherland people.

I don't know what I was expecting with this novel, but it wasn't this. This was very interesting. It was a completely unique tale about a young boy in a cruel world. This story will shock you and warm your heart.

Standish puts himself down a lot. He has dyslexia, and everyone tells him that means he's not very bright. I don't think this is the case at all. Standish is kind and thoughtful. Just because his reading and writing isn't the best, doesn't mean he can't form intelligent thoughts. It's a shame that most of his teachers only perpetuate the idea that he isn't bright instead of trying to help him in any way. This country, the Motherland, seems like a terrible place to be. It seems a bit like Nazi Germany and we all know how fun that was.

The violence in this novel is enough to make you sick. There's the school yard bullying which is bad enough, but then there's the teacher bullying (not to mention the government bullying). Standish's current teacher is the worst. He is a despicable person with no sense of decency, with his sick thoughts based only on self-preservation. It's disgusting that someone as awful as he be granted a position of power over these poor children.

The story wasn't all terrible things happening though. There were many shining moments where your heart can start to warm. It was a very curious story too. I was never quite sure where it was going until we got there. Standish was creative narrator, so the story flowed a bit differently with him telling it then it would if someone else were to.

If you're looking for a novel that's a bit off the beaten track, that pushes your comfort zone; check out Maggot Moon. It was fascinating and totally worth the read.

First Line:
"I'm wondering what if."

Favorite Lines"
"Even if I could, I couldn't"

"Frick-fracking hell!"

"I still have that scream in me."