Wednesday 25 January 2012

Book Review - Memory Cage

Title: The Memory Cage
Author: Ruth Eastham
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: 3 Jan 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1407120522

Synopsis
Alex's grandfather keeps forgetting things, and Alex has overheard his adoptive parents say that they're going to put granddad in a home. His grandfather begs Alex to save him from that, and it's a promise Alex is desperate to keep. But Alex once promised his little brother that he would save him, and in the terror of the Bosnian war, he failed. As Alex struggles to protect his grandfather, he uncovers secrets that his family and the village have kept for two generations. Unravelling them will cause grief, but will they save grandfather, and perhaps help Alex come to terms with his own private war.

My Review
This is another book that I had to read for 'Book Day' at work that's happening in March. Two of my colleagues had read it before me and they both seemed to really love it.
This is definitely not my type of book. Alex is adopted, he was rescued from the war in Bosnia. His adopted Grandad is losing his memory and keeps having accidents or incidents. Alex takes it upon himself to try and help his grandad his 'brother/sister' don't seem interested and his 'parents' just want to put him in a home. Alex finds out there are a lot of secrets in the past keeping everyone at a distance.
I started reading this and thought, 'oh no. this is quite slow, and i'm really not that interested.' but I couldn't just give up as I had to read it for the work event, plus at only 230 pages it really wasn't that long. However after about 40 pages I was really getting into it. I started to really care and feel for Alex and I wanted him and his family to be happy. 
Soon I was flipping through the pages, determined to find out what the big secrets were. 
The whole plot unfolds nicely. there is just the right mixture of action, discovery and talking. I surprised myself by just how much I enjoyed. 
It's a great book for getting kids to talk about things like Alzheimer's and wars/fighting without having it shoved down their throats. This book will move them and hopefully make them interested and open to talk. 
Overall I was very impressed with this book

My Rating
      
 

2 comments:

Lan said...

I don't tend to read books about mental illness or war because I find it depresses me too much and is way too dark. But I like how this book tries to infuse those themes into a relatable story.

barmybex said...

I'm like you on this, I don't read much with those subjects. I prefer lighter happier subjects, but this one really does it well. More uplifting. :D