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katykelly's review
4.0
Short story that reminded me of Freak the Mighty. With zombies.
Well, pretend zombies. Clucky (Martin's nickname) sees the world as numbers, and looks after his chickens, selling their eggs, when a neighbour's dog kills one of his birds. With his mum reclusive since the accidental death of his father, he goes round and confronts Vusi, punching him on the nose.
Later making friends, the pair end up making a zombie movie together, and form a close bond.
This is a very short story, but it takes the turns a much longer book might take more time over, but manages to cover the same kind of ground. I enjoyed Clucky, I have a liking for savant-type characters, and unfortunately, he was the best-characterised of the protagonists.
I did think everything seemed a little brief - the friendship and movie-making, a love-interest, Clucky's mum recluse story and that of his father, the plot involving some nefarious local scoundrels. Nothing was really given much depth, all glossed over.
There are moments of emotion, and a good amount of humour from Clucky's narration. I do wish it had been more fleshed-out though.
The readership, because the story is quite short and slight is a little younger than the subject might otherwise warrant, around ages 10-13.
With thanks to Netgalley for the sample reading copy.
Well, pretend zombies. Clucky (Martin's nickname) sees the world as numbers, and looks after his chickens, selling their eggs, when a neighbour's dog kills one of his birds. With his mum reclusive since the accidental death of his father, he goes round and confronts Vusi, punching him on the nose.
Later making friends, the pair end up making a zombie movie together, and form a close bond.
This is a very short story, but it takes the turns a much longer book might take more time over, but manages to cover the same kind of ground. I enjoyed Clucky, I have a liking for savant-type characters, and unfortunately, he was the best-characterised of the protagonists.
I did think everything seemed a little brief - the friendship and movie-making, a love-interest, Clucky's mum recluse story and that of his father, the plot involving some nefarious local scoundrels. Nothing was really given much depth, all glossed over.
There are moments of emotion, and a good amount of humour from Clucky's narration. I do wish it had been more fleshed-out though.
The readership, because the story is quite short and slight is a little younger than the subject might otherwise warrant, around ages 10-13.
With thanks to Netgalley for the sample reading copy.
al3xa's review
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, and Car accident
Minor: Gun violence
colorfulleo92's review
3.0
3.5 stars. This book was a bit quirky, sweet and wholesome story about sickness, friendship and especially shooting a zombie movie.
liesljrowe's review
3.0
This one reminded me a lot of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime": the protagonist has the same love of maths, is struggling to deal with the absence of a parent and ultimately ends up solving a mystery. I love the plot, the right mix of everyday life and the various shenanigans of the children trying to shoot their zombie movie. A quirky and engaging cast of characters just round the whole thing off nicely and it's the perfect quick read if you want a bittersweet heartwarming story.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
mybestfriendsarefictional's review
3.0
A Good Night for Shooting Zombies drew me in straight away with the cover which is really cute and fun. The actual story wasn't quite what I was expecting but I did enjoy it overall. It is a cute contemporary novel, aimed at the 9-12yr old / middle grade bracket, and short enough that I finished it in two fairly short sessions. It's definitely one that I'll be offering up to my children to read as I think that they would enjoy it too.
The protagonist, 'Clucky', was a fun narrator and I enjoyed reading about how he saw life; his eventual friendships with Vusi and Chris, their movie making and what I saw as the actual end plot to the story which I didn't see coming.
Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.
The protagonist, 'Clucky', was a fun narrator and I enjoyed reading about how he saw life; his eventual friendships with Vusi and Chris, their movie making and what I saw as the actual end plot to the story which I didn't see coming.
Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.
jessica42980's review
4.0
All my reviews can be found at: http://jessicasreadingroom.com
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This review will post on my site on 11/21/18
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This is a short novel aimed for children ages 9-12 that they will enjoy, especially if they like stories with zombies. (Though these zombies are not real.) This story was just recently translated into English from Afrikaans and there is also a movie I would like to see.
The story takes place in South Africa and features Martin (aka Clucky) who lost his dad a couple of years ago and since then, his mother has not left the house. Martin reminded me of Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: they both have a love for numbers. There is an incident in A Good Night that deals with a chicken and through this moment Clucky meets Vusi and they become friends. Vusi is determined to make a zombie movie which the boys work secretly at along with a girl, Chris. They have many adventures and make mistakes as they film their movie.
This is a story that deals with tough topics very well: death, grief, and cancer. These issues are handled well where children will not be overcome with emotion, but understand these realities in life. I enjoyed this short novel. I wanted the kids to succeed with their movie and became attached to all our main characters: Clucky, Vusi, and Chris. I liked how everything came together at the end of the novel.
This is a well done novel and I would recommend it. There are also illustrations throughout the novel that help enhance the story. I wish I could have seen the illustrations in color, but my kindle is a paperwhite.
Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.
~~~~~
This review will post on my site on 11/21/18
~~~~~
This is a short novel aimed for children ages 9-12 that they will enjoy, especially if they like stories with zombies. (Though these zombies are not real.) This story was just recently translated into English from Afrikaans and there is also a movie I would like to see.
The story takes place in South Africa and features Martin (aka Clucky) who lost his dad a couple of years ago and since then, his mother has not left the house. Martin reminded me of Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: they both have a love for numbers. There is an incident in A Good Night that deals with a chicken and through this moment Clucky meets Vusi and they become friends. Vusi is determined to make a zombie movie which the boys work secretly at along with a girl, Chris. They have many adventures and make mistakes as they film their movie.
This is a story that deals with tough topics very well: death, grief, and cancer. These issues are handled well where children will not be overcome with emotion, but understand these realities in life. I enjoyed this short novel. I wanted the kids to succeed with their movie and became attached to all our main characters: Clucky, Vusi, and Chris. I liked how everything came together at the end of the novel.
This is a well done novel and I would recommend it. There are also illustrations throughout the novel that help enhance the story. I wish I could have seen the illustrations in color, but my kindle is a paperwhite.
Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.
neonila's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I can't say much right now, but boy did this book make me feel a lot of emotions.
I can't say much right now, but boy did this book make me feel a lot of emotions.
rabbitholereader's review
4.0
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"She said that her husband died ten years ago. That amounts to 3,652 days, if you add two days for leap years. And that amounts to 87,648 hours. How do you survive that many hours when you're as lonely as she is?"
Martin lost his dad when he was eleven years, seven months and six days old. After that, his sister became distant, his mother became an extremely agoraphobic, and all Martin - also known as Clucky - has for company and solidarity is his chickens. That is, until he punches his neighbour in the face who, incidentally, is also dying of cancer. An unlikely friendship forms and Vusi, Clucky's neighbour, ropes Clucky and his friend, Chris, into shooting a zombie film.
[b:A Good Night for Shooting Zombies|40791118|A Good Night for Shooting Zombies|Jaco Jacobs|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531399614s/40791118.jpg|26532855] has been translated from Afrikaans - and also has a movie adaptation (which I need to see)! - and was published in English on October 11th 2018.
This book is [b:The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time|1618|The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time|Mark Haddon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479863624s/1618.jpg|4259809] by [a:Mark Haddon|1050|Mark Haddon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1337988298p2/1050.jpg] - meets the PG rated version of [b:The Fault in Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360206420s/11870085.jpg|16827462] by [a:John Green|1406384|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg]
The narrative is logical, simple, yet sweet. Yet with lots of hard-hitting, relevant topics that plague society today; cancer, losing a parent, different ways of grieving, bullies, et al. My one gripe is that the book is not long enough to properly explore each of these themes, I finished it in around 2/3 hours and it only seems to briefly touch upon all the sadness that expires surrounding these subjects.
Regardless, I really did enjoy this novella. In such a short space of time (and words) it made me laugh, and cry. And whilst I wished the story was longer, I'm not entirely sure my emotional palette could take much more, never mind a child, so it is probably for the best that it is the length it is.
Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book.
miss_lw's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Car accident