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School's Out Forever (2021)

6.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Movie

No sooner has 15-year-old Lee Keegan been expelled from his private school than a pandemic spreads...

James Koppert (2698 KP) rated Arctic Zoo in Books

Oct 28, 2019

Arctic Zoo

Robert Muchamore | 2019 | Contemporary, Crime, LGBTQ+, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)

8.0

(1 Ratings)

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Political without ever preaching (0 more)

Been mostly ignored (0 more)

Challenging the world

Even with a good book, 456 pages can start to drag. With Arctic Zoo however, I wanted to continue on Julius and Georgia's story. This is brilliantly paced read with a "one more chapter before bed" level of intrigue on every page to keep you up far too late every night. The story follows Georgia, and relatively unextrordinary English schoolgirl who has lost her sister who becomes the face of the protest counter culture community, and celebrity, completely by accident, who with no choice, is drawn further into that world, and Julius, the son of very rich Nigerian political elite, who is guy and ousted from the family. Both these teenagers stories interweave intermittently and both are engaging on their own. The thing is I really liked Julius and I really liked Georgia and I wanted so much for each of them to succeed despite all the things thrown against them. Whats also brilliant s this book has a lot to say without it ever forcing anything down your throat and doesn't shy away from throwing up hypocrisies either. Muchamore is an absolute master writer who has managed to create an engaging novel that any adult or teenager will enjoy without ever feeling like the pages have been dumbed down to reach a general audience. Yes it was 456 pages long at at the end I said, "ohh, its finished" feeling disappointed rather than the sense of achievement I normally get when completing a book, just because I wanted to stay with these characters in this book and be with them for more of their journeys. But that is what a great artist does, leaves them wanting more, Muchamore.