Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph

Rating: 4 out of 5

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Harper Thorsons; New edition edition (8 July 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0007153694
ISBN-13: 978-0007153695

This is a book about how to raise boys. Steve Biddulph is a Psychologist who has worked with children for over 27 years.

This book looks more into the psychology of boys at various stages of their lives. He divides a man's life into roughly three stages; 0-6 years, 7-14 years, and 14- adult. Then discusses each stage, what is happening, what to expect behaviour wise, and what strategies you can implement to ensure your son navigates these stages as safely as possible.

The book focuses on what influences a boy in each stage. For instance the 0-6 year stage, the mother is the strongest influence in the boys life, but by 14 and over this has shifted to someone outside of the family. Biddulph gives some tips for single mothers how to ensure these influences are met for their child, and how to select a good candidate.

Most of the book is pretty common sense. But it is helpful to see the stages and the ideas for how to navigate them laid out. The style of writing is easy and chatty, it feels like you are sitting down having a coffee with the author and you are having a nice chat with a friend about the subject. There are no big words that have you reaching for the dictionary, nor does he talk in a condescending manner.

Biddulph refers to many studies and trials that support his advice. He also uses a lot of testimonials and examples from clients he has had through the years. These are interesting and in the case of some of the trials (one in particular about a school in the UK that seperated year 8 boys and girls maths and english classes) makes you wonder why the education system has not changed.

My only gripe is he makes statements like "a boy should not be put in daycare till he is 3 years old". This is all well and good (the argument is they do not thrive as well as girls and require more one on one care) but the fact is in today's society this is just not practical. Most parents need double income to survive and need to put their children into care. I would have liked the author to perhaps give more advice on how to help your child through this period, rather then say "don't do it". Just telling the reader to not do it is not helpful, especially when there is no other choice. All it does is make the reader feel guilty.

This book is not in depth enough to deal with real meaty behaviour issues. It also does not give detailed advice on parenting or discipline. That is not the point of this book. This book is to give you an insight as to what is happening over all in a boys life, and what could be causing any bad behaviour.

A good book for any parent who has boys and wants to gain a better insight into what drives them.

Gone to Green (Book 1) by Judy Christie

Rating: 3 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
Print Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Abingdon Press; Original edition (July 31, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B002MH495G

First sentence: "I glanced down at the floorboard and noticed it was Thursday"

Lois is a big city newspaper editor climbing the corporate ladder. She has a fantastic career, awesome friends and a great life. Her life is turned upside down though when she inherits a small town newspaper and is not allowed to sell it for a year. Lois is forced to move to the small mid-west town of Green and run the newspaper.

A fun, light, easy read. It has some funny moments and even a few touching moments. There are no big surprises with the story line or the characters. However it does not really matter, I still enjoyed reading this book.

There is a strong christian thread to the book. However it fits with the characters and the setting of the book, which is a small religious town. Since reading other reviews around the net I found out this is classed as Christian literature. That probably explains the religious feel! I never felt though that I was being "Bible bashed" as they say. The main character has actually turned her back on God and the religious aspect of the story follows her struggle with this.

Downloaded this as a free ebook from Kindle when it was on special for free. This is the first in a series. Not sure if I will read the rest of the series, not because it was awful but because I just don't have time to continue reading this series.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Rating: 5 out of 5
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; Children's ed edition (20 Oct 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0747569010
ISBN-13: 978-0747569015


Opening Sentence: "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."

In the dead of the night a family is murdered and Nobody (Bod) Owens is lucky enough to escape his family's fate, hiding in a nearby Graveyard. He is taken in and raised by the inhabitants of the Graveyard who just happen to be ghosts, with the mysterious not-dead-not-alive Silas as his Guardian. However the man named Jack is out there, waiting, hunting the boy named Nobody.

I am not a huge Neil Gaiman fan. The only book of his in the past I have liked is Good Omens which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett. I have preferred the movies of his books to the actual book, weird I know. However I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It was fantastic from the start.

Nobody Owens is a delightful character and very realistic. He makes mistakes and that just makes him more endearing. Silas is fantastic, very dark and brooding, but you can see he cares for the boy. Mr and Mrs Owens are kind, caring, and loving. But the girl Scarlett I did not like at all. Couldn't tell you why exactly, to me she just wasn't very nice.

The ending was quite sad, and it didn't go the way I thought it would after what was said in the book. Vague and cryptic I know but I don't want to give it away. It was touching and a nice way to end but still I felt a little let down. Like I had asked for sprinkles on my ice cream and didn't get it. The ice cream is still good but there are no sprinkles. Basically it boils down to I don't understand why the baddies were so hot to trot to kill Bod, even though it was explained, for me it didn't gel with what was previously written.

The book while being Young Adult would probably not suit a child younger then a twelve year old. It deals with death and murder and while not graphic you are left in no doubt as to what is happening. Its no more traumatic/graphic I think then Harry Potter. But it is very dark in its humor and story telling. There are no cutesy fairies, lovable unicorns, or adorable talking animals. You get ghosts, ghouls, and other nasties. Things do not always work out great, and the hero has faults.

All that being said the book is touching, sweet and clever. It is not perfect which is great, makes the story almost believable. It is an addictive read and you will want to know what happens next, so make sure you clear your schedule for this book. I really enjoyed the book and the ending only bothered me after the fact when I had time to think about it.

I would highly recommend this book.

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