Thanks to Monty Python, Harry Potter, and several attractive, male, British actors who shall remain nameless . . . (I’m just sayin’) . . . AND pretty much the entirety of World War II, I am a confirmed anglophile.
So, when Terry Pratchett opens Only You Can Save Mankind with “a boy named Johnny Maxwell. He’s English, but then, no one’s perfect,” well, I’m in. With that sly British wit and understated, bordering on inscrutable, dialogue, Pratchett doesn’t disappoint in writing a dryly funny and poignant book about the blurring lines between video games and war games. What Pratchett must think of Modern Warfare 2 and Gears of War, I can only imagine!
RL: 3.9 CSM: 8+ Rating: PG-13 Content: main character kills to defend others
This book has a low reading level (RL 3.9), mostly due to its spare use of language, but it is decidedly a thinking book. It was written in 1992 (with an intro update in 2004), during the Gulf War, when smart bombs made the evening news resemble the video games of the day. Pratchett takes this phenomena and spins a tale where a boy enters a game, for realz, and is responsible for saving the ScreeWee aliens from the bloodthirsty humans, who mistakenly think it is all just a game. The blurring of gametimedreamtimerealtime in the book makes it difficult to follow at times, but intentionally so by the author, trying to imitate the blurring of games vs. reality. But the subtle satire and arching themes may be lost on young readers.
I’m reminded of children’s films where the double-entendre-sly jokes go right over the little one’s heads, because they are aimed at the adults accompanying the minors. In Pratchett’s book, I would caution that much of the book is aimed pretty high. However, children that can comprehend the subtler themes will come away with questions about the propriety of war and killing and rules of engagement. This can be a fine teachable moment, if you are ready for it, and they are. In the end, Johnny kills an alien, to protect his friend, introducing the idea of justified killing. A heavy topic, to be sure, which earns this book its PG-13 rating. But it’s handled well, and there is not an excess of violence. In fact, the whole book revolves around an avoidance of violence and has much to commend it. I recommend that parents use caution, but this could be a brilliant book for mature readers 10+.
Only You Can Save Mankind is the first in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, followed by Johnny and the Dead and Johnny and the Bomb. Parents should proceed with caution on these books as Johnny is a teen in the later books, as well as other Terry Pratchett books, many of which are aimed at young adults and older.
Also: British humor.
“On top of it all, his father came upstairs to be fatherly. This happened about once a fortnight. There didn’t seem to be any way of stopping it.”
I might have to see if there’s a Pratchett cult I can join.
You know, this may be just what I need to get my 11 year old son reading something besides video game cheats, and DIARY OF A WHIMPY KID.
The warning is well recieved. My youngest son has grown up in a household of teenagers. By the time he was playing video games himself, he'd been exposed to any number of the Mature rated games. Gears Of War, Halo, True Crime, Call of Duty, Modern Warfare. Though I've tried to interest him, he's never played an age appropriate game that his brothers didn't spend hours playing with him. (No, my teens did not like that at all.)
But he doesn't like to read. He reads well – almost anything you put in front of him – but doesn't follow the story. Sad as it is to say, my guess is the books he reads are too age appropriate; boring, in other words.
I'm sure he'll identify with the concepts in this book, as he plays the same theme in his video games. He's sitting at about a 4th grade reading level, but thats because he's a slow reader, and doesn't care for it all.
Thanks for this post. It might help, but certainly can't hurt.
…….dhole
Any time I can help draw a reluctant reader to the page, my heart does a happy dance. I forgot to mention that my 11 year old read it, and thought it was cool. Sometimes a little edginess is just what they need to draw them in. Good luck!
Yay! Another convert to the cult of Terry Pratchett! Free cookies for everyone!
I've been meaning to read his books for younger age groups for years now, but have yet to actually take the plunge and switch out of Discworld.
This definitely sounds like an interesting book to go for.
And I'm going to have to read me some Discworld. Pratchett writes a very intelligent book, and I'm a sucker for those. Plus the British witticisms.
Thanks for stopping by!
I downloaded "Only You Can Save Mankind" because it is a Terry Pratchett book, and I am one of his greatest fans. I knew it was not a Discworld series, but was willing to chance it. I know this is touted as a children's/young adult book, but honestly, I loved it.