This is a great book. What book you ask? It is the book Raw by Scott Monk. Today I will be telling you why I think you should read this novel and what makes it so good.
A good book should contain things like a good plot and conclusion to make readers like ourselves wanting more. This is what I think makes a good novel and I believe that Raw achieves this. This book is in the genre Bill-dung's-roman. It was given this genre as it explained the trouble and development in a youth, in this case a teen in the book. (Change Slide) The book starts off with a city teenager named Brett Dalton.He was caught by the police after trying to get a couple of easy dollars and cigarettes from a liquor store.
Because he has been caught doing other things many times before this was his last chance before being sent to Jail. He was sent to a 'Detention Centre" for 3 months as his punishment. He was then locked up in the back of a police wagon and with little food and water was driven to the boarder of NEWS and SLD. It was a small town call Mum-gin-did which is right on the border. He was then taken to a property right on the outskirts of the town.
It was at this point he learned that he wasn't going to a detention centre.He was taken to the farm. The farm was mainly a rehabilitation Centre which was where he had least expected to end up at. He was looking for the big fences, barb wire and bars on the cells but he found none.
This was not what he was expecting. He saw 4 buildings. The first one he saw was a federation style homestead. Obviously he didn't think that was where he was sleeping. The second building was a U shaped building with a sign on it saying "the boys house". The building had no bars on the windows and no cells inside.
The third one was a Barn with some horses in it, and the last building was under construction.Brett wasn't expecting to see any of this at a detention centre. (Change Slide) The first person he met was Sam. He was the property owner and Brett would never know but he would be his best friend.
Sam was different to normal authority figures that Brett was used to. Sam was more relaxed and had 4 simple rules. They are no fighting, no leaving the farm, no drugs and Cam's decision is final. These four rules Sam had made were basic but effective. But Brett didn't know that if they were broken the punishment went to all of the people in the farm, not Just him.
Brett quickly learned that as he was then bullied by one of the boys in the house. Change slide) His name was Tyson. Monk used Tyson to represent a stereotypical bully. Monk also creates distance between Tyson and us the reader in an effort to make us reject him in the book.
(change Slide) Another way monk used techniques to make me love this book was with the use of narrative style and the use of a Prologue and an Epilogue. The Prologue shows how Brett was a rebel in society breaking the law by stealing things and eventually being caught red handed doing it. The Epilogue shows how the farm has changed his life ND made him think differently on the world.A Quote from Brett in the book states "Because an old man- no a friend- had once told me 'Just remember Brett, only you can change your Life"(Peg 340).
This quote shows how Brett remembered what Sam a better life for himself. (change Slide) Overall I would sum this up as a great book to read. It has romance, action, fights and consequences all throughout the book which makes it a great read. The way monk has used many different types of techniques throughout the book also makes it appealing to Adolescents. I would defiantly recommend this book to any adolescent to have a good read of.
