Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray
ISBN:978-0-375-85843-7
This British import might sound like a stock novel if you just look at the quick summary. Boy is bullied, ends up dead, his friends are working through thier grief and trying to understand what happened. But if you pass up the experience of reading this book you'll be missing some laugh out loud moments of teen boys doing what they do best; getting into trouble, hanging out, and being friends.
Blake, Kenny, and Sim have all been friends with Ross for years. Kenny since they were tots, Sim since primary, and Blake since he and his mom moved into town years ago. So when Ross is killed in a car accident and some of the people who made his last weeks alive miserable show up at his funeral, the three of them decide to take revenge and to give Ross the funeral he deserved. The one they think he'd have wanted.
This kicks off an insane weekend where the boys bond with each other, fight with each other, break friendship and strengthen it. By the end, the three friends learn that they didn't know everything they thought they did when the whole thing started and that though they understand alot, there is just as much they won't understand any time soon. The ending is a bit abrupt, but it also suits the story in an odd way.
This book isn't a serious dramatic lesson on bullying. It isn't a funny road trip book. It somehow manages to be both and neither at the same time. Expect to laugh out loud at some of the images, or maybe that's just my twisted sense of humor. Expect it to make you think when the guys joking suddenly turns into some fairly philosophical discussions of friendship, death, and afterlife.
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