Monday, December 08, 2008

What Mrs N's Been Reading - The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie


Actually, I finished Jaclyn Moriarty's The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie a while ago, but just getting around to writing it up (in other words, the book just now bobbed to the surface of the piles on my desk, reminding me to take care of this.) This is the story of Bindy, an Australian teenager, who is a bit of an overachiever, with a really pushy father. She is temporarily living with an aunt and uncle. As a new school year starts, the usually top of her class, super organized, etc., Bindy seems to be spiralling out of control. As I was reading, I was thinking, "My goodness, I'm watching someone descend into a complete breakdown!" Basically I wish that the entire book had been more like the last 100 pages or so. Parts are funny, but I had a hard time getting behind Bindy's character. Frankly, she was pretty annoying. You can see why she had problems dealing with other kids at school. With the help of a group from a "Friendship and Development Project" class that is meant to provide "a life raft through the tricky seas of adolescence" we find out what is really happening to Bindy, but perhaps too late to safe her. That's that last 100 pages or so. There were some good twists and turns as the truth unfolds. Just wish the editor would have reeled in the first couple hundred pages and sped things up a bit.

Enjoy!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you read "the year of secret assignments" also by Jacklyn Moriarty? That's good, too!
Nia

Mrs. G. said...

No, I haven't. I'll have to add that one to my list.

Josette said...

Initially, I thought the life raft concept hilarious and kind of dramatic. I felt sorry for Bindy as she couldn't really connect with the other kids in her FAD group.

But this was a great book for me. I liked reading it! :)