Wink is an insightful semi-autobiographical novel by Rob Harrell. Based on Harrell’s own experience of being diagnosed and treated for a very rare form of eye cancer. However, Harrell shares his experiences through writing it from the perspective of Ross Maloy, a pre-teen boy who is having to deal with his new diagnosis on top of all the other usual teenage dramas, including finding out that his best friend Abbey is moving away.
I found this book hard to put down. The experiences of high school were brought back, as Harrell captured perfectly the social ongoings of high school. The most insightful part of the book throughout is how Harrell enables the reader to understand the experience of, particulary a teeanager dealing with cancer, whilst having to still cope with all the usual experiences of being a teenager. The reactions from others, from pitiful to awkward comments to bullying are captured perfectly. This is why I believe the book would be a good read for teenagers recently diagnosed with cancer, as the book is easy to relate to and would help them to feel like they are not alone. It would also be useful for other teenagers to read, in order for them to gain an empathetic understanding of others.
Harrell turns an upsetting subject into a hilarious story that will appeal to teenagers and adults alike. Harrell writes in an engaging and accessible way that makes the book hard to put down. The added images and extracts from Ross’s made up comic ‘Batpig’ help to make the story more accessible to younger readers. The combination of Harrell’s semi-autobiographical perspective, with the added comic strips, supposedly written by Ross, make the book very engaging and believable. I was certainly not disappointed about this book.
I found this book hard to put down. The experiences of high school were brought back, as Harrell captured perfectly the social ongoings of high school. The most insightful part of the book throughout is how Harrell enables the reader to understand the experience of, particulary a teeanager dealing with cancer, whilst having to still cope with all the usual experiences of being a teenager. The reactions from others, from pitiful to awkward comments to bullying are captured perfectly. This is why I believe the book would be a good read for teenagers recently diagnosed with cancer, as the book is easy to relate to and would help them to feel like they are not alone. It would also be useful for other teenagers to read, in order for them to gain an empathetic understanding of others.
Harrell turns an upsetting subject into a hilarious story that will appeal to teenagers and adults alike. Harrell writes in an engaging and accessible way that makes the book hard to put down. The added images and extracts from Ross’s made up comic ‘Batpig’ help to make the story more accessible to younger readers. The combination of Harrell’s semi-autobiographical perspective, with the added comic strips, supposedly written by Ross, make the book very engaging and believable. I was certainly not disappointed about this book.