Reviews

Different Class by Joanne Harris

kelbi's review against another edition

4.0

Very cleverly plotted. I enjoyed this. My only quibble is the way it is organised. It goes from one period of time and point of view to another very frequently and at times I found it difficult to follow who was who

caro1uk's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

girl_vampirka's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

It was emotionally draining

sophielucy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

marnold126's review

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

catarina187's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I honestly didn’t know what to rate this book, but I’ve finally decided based on how I felt during actually reading it. I liked how imperfect the characters were and how the story went and the author is absolutely brilliant. However, I feel like it gets a little confusing with all the names and different stories and, somehow, the ending seemed a little rushed and confusing. All the characters just seemed to have something going on and it got kinda confusing. Don’t get me wrong, the author knows how to write and how to create a drama, but it just seemed messy to me

batsworthy's review against another edition

2.0

Not going on my LGBT shelf because I felt that this enforced some homophobic stereotypes in its attempt to take a pro-LGBT stance, as well as abuse apologism from the perspective of the bumbling, unlikable protagonist- a poor message to project!

jmatkinson1's review against another edition

5.0

Roy Straitley is part of the history of St Oswald's first as a pupil and then a master, he has known little of life apart from the Grammar school and the small town of Malbry. Change is coming to St Oswald's following a poor inspection a crisis team is brought in with a view to bringing the school into the 21st century and the lead of the team is the new headteacher, Johnny Harrington. Harrington's arrival upsets Straitley as he is forced to confront not only his beloved school being changed around him, but also the events of 24 years previously and the scandal that happened then.

Written by two narrators and across two time frames this is a novel that explores some difficult topics. Neither of the narrators is truly open about their actions or the actions of others, they are both unreliable witnesses. However the handling of the plot is masterful, layers appear like onion skin as the plot becomes more complex and more gripping. Yes, it's not completely accurate about some educational matters but it is also subtle in terms of the writing around child abuse, homosexuality and the radical Church. I hadn't read the previous two related books so references to prior events seemed confusing at times but that is a minor quibble against a beautifully written and powerful novel.

jjhende's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

ps_a22's review against another edition

3.0

A very slow paced thriller. There was an incredibly long built up which quickly turned tedious and made the book annoyingly long. It seemed as if I couldn’t finish the novel. It had a spectacularly well-thought plot which did surprise me. After rereading the introductory chapters, I realised that Joanne Harris never really named the person which the twisted narrator called Goldie and it was my own inference that made the plot twist happen. It was David Spikely writing to Mousey and murdering creatures and dying brother, not Johnny Harrington. It was an overly detailed book which was very well written, however, it was too slow paced for my taste.