Reviews for Twenty-Four Hours

The average rating for Twenty-Four Hours based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-08-31 00:00:00 Harry Wilson YA. The thing about Margaret Mahy is that her characters speak with a lot of bang! I tend to shrug it off, figuring that's just the way people talk in New Zealand, overly cheery and always willing to end with an exclamation point. It's definitely the way people talk in Mahy's New Zealand. This is a young adult novel with an affable narrator who still makes impulsive, childish decisions, but who is in the process of finding out who he is and what his talents are, and it's satisfying for that. It reads a little like something an angsty high schooler might write, complete with the suicide of a best friend and the recital of Shakespeare at a pivotal moment in the plot, but it's harmless enough. It's also really mundane, in the sense that it lacks the supernatural elements that often show up in her novels. Two stars. I like Mahy a lot, but I won't be rereading this one.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-08-29 00:00:00 Fraser Simpson Interesting. This quite readable YA novel follows 17-yer-old Ellis over 24 hours, during which time he leaves his middle-class life to become part of a rather touching community of misfits who gather nightly at a rundown motel. In the space of a single day, Ellis leaves behind his shy, loner, don't-get-involved personality to become a fully functioning member of a group that must depend on each other for kindness, support, and ultimately survival. It's a good read - nothing fantastic, but I do like the respectful way that Mahy always treats her female characters. If I still had young-teen daughters, I would certainly give them Mahy's novels.