Ostrich by Matt Greene

Ostrich was.... interesting. I liked it, but then again, I didn't quite see the point of it. I guess it's about growing up, but it's really really slow and nothing much happens.

You see, Ostrich is about Alex, a precocious pre-teen who's getting ready for a really important exam. The book opens with him getting brain surgery, but after that, not much is made of it (at least, in my own opinion). I would suppose that most of the plot revolves around his relationship with his parents - and his fear that they are going to split-up. Unfortunately, the ending wasn't very exciting because I thought that the story was settled even before the book was finished.

Most of the time, I liked Alex. He seemed like a fairly level-headed boy, if prone to flights of fancy. But I wasn't very found of his friend Chloe. I understand that she's supposed to be scared by her parents divorce and all that, but I found her unlikable for some reason.

And while I mostly liked this book, I have to warn you all that this is not suitable for younger children. While the protagonist is rather young, his father seems to like cracking dirty jokes with him (about what's he's done with Chloe, if she's frigid and all that) and there's a section early in the book where he talks about penile size, and another chapter where he analyses Internet porn. I suppose the author wanted to be realistic, and it may be that I'm a sheltered girl but I really don't need or want to read about subjects like this.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I think about it. At it's best, the book was funny and the voice of Alex felt very real. At it's worst, it just seemed crass and full of juvenile humour. I suppose it's up to you on whether you want to take a chance on it.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.