liesljrowe's review against another edition
3.0
This one reminded me a lot of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime": the protagonist has the same love of maths, is struggling to deal with the absence of a parent and ultimately ends up solving a mystery. I love the plot, the right mix of everyday life and the various shenanigans of the children trying to shoot their zombie movie. A quirky and engaging cast of characters just round the whole thing off nicely and it's the perfect quick read if you want a bittersweet heartwarming story.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
mybestfriendsarefictional's review against another edition
3.0
A Good Night for Shooting Zombies drew me in straight away with the cover which is really cute and fun. The actual story wasn't quite what I was expecting but I did enjoy it overall. It is a cute contemporary novel, aimed at the 9-12yr old / middle grade bracket, and short enough that I finished it in two fairly short sessions. It's definitely one that I'll be offering up to my children to read as I think that they would enjoy it too.
The protagonist, 'Clucky', was a fun narrator and I enjoyed reading about how he saw life; his eventual friendships with Vusi and Chris, their movie making and what I saw as the actual end plot to the story which I didn't see coming.
Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.
The protagonist, 'Clucky', was a fun narrator and I enjoyed reading about how he saw life; his eventual friendships with Vusi and Chris, their movie making and what I saw as the actual end plot to the story which I didn't see coming.
Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.
jessica42980's review against another edition
4.0
All my reviews can be found at: http://jessicasreadingroom.com
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This review will post on my site on 11/21/18
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This is a short novel aimed for children ages 9-12 that they will enjoy, especially if they like stories with zombies. (Though these zombies are not real.) This story was just recently translated into English from Afrikaans and there is also a movie I would like to see.
The story takes place in South Africa and features Martin (aka Clucky) who lost his dad a couple of years ago and since then, his mother has not left the house. Martin reminded me of Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: they both have a love for numbers. There is an incident in A Good Night that deals with a chicken and through this moment Clucky meets Vusi and they become friends. Vusi is determined to make a zombie movie which the boys work secretly at along with a girl, Chris. They have many adventures and make mistakes as they film their movie.
This is a story that deals with tough topics very well: death, grief, and cancer. These issues are handled well where children will not be overcome with emotion, but understand these realities in life. I enjoyed this short novel. I wanted the kids to succeed with their movie and became attached to all our main characters: Clucky, Vusi, and Chris. I liked how everything came together at the end of the novel.
This is a well done novel and I would recommend it. There are also illustrations throughout the novel that help enhance the story. I wish I could have seen the illustrations in color, but my kindle is a paperwhite.
Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.
~~~~~
This review will post on my site on 11/21/18
~~~~~
This is a short novel aimed for children ages 9-12 that they will enjoy, especially if they like stories with zombies. (Though these zombies are not real.) This story was just recently translated into English from Afrikaans and there is also a movie I would like to see.
The story takes place in South Africa and features Martin (aka Clucky) who lost his dad a couple of years ago and since then, his mother has not left the house. Martin reminded me of Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: they both have a love for numbers. There is an incident in A Good Night that deals with a chicken and through this moment Clucky meets Vusi and they become friends. Vusi is determined to make a zombie movie which the boys work secretly at along with a girl, Chris. They have many adventures and make mistakes as they film their movie.
This is a story that deals with tough topics very well: death, grief, and cancer. These issues are handled well where children will not be overcome with emotion, but understand these realities in life. I enjoyed this short novel. I wanted the kids to succeed with their movie and became attached to all our main characters: Clucky, Vusi, and Chris. I liked how everything came together at the end of the novel.
This is a well done novel and I would recommend it. There are also illustrations throughout the novel that help enhance the story. I wish I could have seen the illustrations in color, but my kindle is a paperwhite.
Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.
neonila's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I can't say much right now, but boy did this book make me feel a lot of emotions.
I can't say much right now, but boy did this book make me feel a lot of emotions.
rabbitholereader's review against another edition
4.0
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"She said that her husband died ten years ago. That amounts to 3,652 days, if you add two days for leap years. And that amounts to 87,648 hours. How do you survive that many hours when you're as lonely as she is?"
Martin lost his dad when he was eleven years, seven months and six days old. After that, his sister became distant, his mother became an extremely agoraphobic, and all Martin - also known as Clucky - has for company and solidarity is his chickens. That is, until he punches his neighbour in the face who, incidentally, is also dying of cancer. An unlikely friendship forms and Vusi, Clucky's neighbour, ropes Clucky and his friend, Chris, into shooting a zombie film.
[b:A Good Night for Shooting Zombies|40791118|A Good Night for Shooting Zombies|Jaco Jacobs|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531399614s/40791118.jpg|26532855] has been translated from Afrikaans - and also has a movie adaptation (which I need to see)! - and was published in English on October 11th 2018.
This book is [b:The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time|1618|The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time|Mark Haddon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479863624s/1618.jpg|4259809] by [a:Mark Haddon|1050|Mark Haddon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1337988298p2/1050.jpg] - meets the PG rated version of [b:The Fault in Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360206420s/11870085.jpg|16827462] by [a:John Green|1406384|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg]
The narrative is logical, simple, yet sweet. Yet with lots of hard-hitting, relevant topics that plague society today; cancer, losing a parent, different ways of grieving, bullies, et al. My one gripe is that the book is not long enough to properly explore each of these themes, I finished it in around 2/3 hours and it only seems to briefly touch upon all the sadness that expires surrounding these subjects.
Regardless, I really did enjoy this novella. In such a short space of time (and words) it made me laugh, and cry. And whilst I wished the story was longer, I'm not entirely sure my emotional palette could take much more, never mind a child, so it is probably for the best that it is the length it is.
Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book.
miss_lw's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Car accident
elizabethjstewart's review
4.0
Originally written in Afrikaans, Jaco Jacobs middle-grade novel has been translated into English for this new release from OneWorld.
The book follows Martin or Clucky as he prefers to be known who has recently lost his father; since then his mother has stopped leaving the house and he's been left in charge of his father's chickens. When a neighbour's dog kills chicken Kathleen he goes round to confront them about it. There he meets Vusi who spends most of his days at home being treated for cancer. They discover a shared love of zombie films and set.out to make their own much to the discomfort of Vusi's very concerned parents.
This is a lot of fun and I'd definitely recommend this to anyone after a book for any children in their lives, its full of imagination but at the same time it doesn't shy away from difficult topics such as death and disease. The cover is also really well done and the book has illustrations throughout.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The book follows Martin or Clucky as he prefers to be known who has recently lost his father; since then his mother has stopped leaving the house and he's been left in charge of his father's chickens. When a neighbour's dog kills chicken Kathleen he goes round to confront them about it. There he meets Vusi who spends most of his days at home being treated for cancer. They discover a shared love of zombie films and set.out to make their own much to the discomfort of Vusi's very concerned parents.
This is a lot of fun and I'd definitely recommend this to anyone after a book for any children in their lives, its full of imagination but at the same time it doesn't shy away from difficult topics such as death and disease. The cover is also really well done and the book has illustrations throughout.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
artbreakerbookclub's review
3.0
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. A very sweet natured book aimed at teens and pre teens, it was a nice quick read. Set in South Africa, Clucky befriends his neighbour Vusi who is dying of Hodgkins disease. Vusi has a dream of making a zombie movie and Clucky helps him along the way. It is a book about friendship and doing the right thing. A book about teenage adventure, making memories and ignoring your parents wishes along the way!
I loved the ending when the whole community comes together and I loved the little illustrations as well. There are a lot of good elements in the book that could have been explored further. At only 160 pages, things move quickly and I would have liked more depth, especially the friendship between Clucky and Vusi.
I loved the ending when the whole community comes together and I loved the little illustrations as well. There are a lot of good elements in the book that could have been explored further. At only 160 pages, things move quickly and I would have liked more depth, especially the friendship between Clucky and Vusi.
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