scrawl by mark shulman

Title: Scrawl
Author: Mark Shulman
Series: Stand alone

Pages: 140
Published: September, 2010
Rating: 4.5/5
Source: From author
Get your copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Summary (Goodreads):

Tod Munn is a bully. He's tough, but times are even tougher. The wimps have stopped coughing up their lunch money. The administration is cracking down. Then to make things worse, Tod and his friends get busted doing something bad. Something really bad. Lucky Tod must spend his daily detention in a hot, empty room with Mrs. Woodrow, a no-nonsense guidance counselor. He doesn't know why he's there, but she does. Tod's punishment: to scrawl his story in a beat-up notebook. He can be painfully funny and he can be brutally honest. But can Mrs. Woodrow help Tod stop playing the bad guy before he actually turns into one . . . for real? Read Tod's notebook for yourself.

My Two Cents:

So I read Tod's notebook myself, it's a-ma-zing! It's interesting and very intelligent. It might a story of a bully kid which at first I have nothing high to expect from it. I believe I was drawn and eager to read it because I think it's different and I never read anything from a bully perspective before. So, it's great that I did.

This story is not like other young adult story. Tod opened himself in the journal, instead of other people. He's funny and sometimes I grinned, or smiling when I read his writing in the journal. He's so easy to relate to and he brings out the real kid problems that sometimes we don't understand why they did wrong. Maybe for attentions or maybe just friends influences, or it might it's the kid really a trouble maker. Reading his daily journal, I think Tod never realize how much he has progress, but I think I do and hoping that he'll change to be better although I think we all know how difficult a kid bully to change. I personally don't like a bully but I can't to not like Tod. He has so many flaws to be hate, but as I go through reading it, it tells us to hope for Tod to be a better kid because I think he is clearly a smart kid.

The author creates such a unique character and it's obviously difficult to voice out what a bully would say and be, but he did it excellently. I find the writing style is very easy in journal format as well as it's a page turner that you'll keep reading till you know what's the ending. And not to forget the book cover, I love it! It tells a lot with only on a simple sheet of cover, don't you think?

The story is simply amazing and suitable for all age levels. I think young boys would love this as well as older readers, parents and teachers.

About the Author:

Mark Shulman has been a camp counselor, a radio announcer, a maitre d' in a fancy restaurant, a New York City tour guide, and a creative advertising guy. He's written many books about many things--sharks, storms, robots, palindromes, gorillas, dodo birds, Star Wars, Ben Franklin, how to hide stuff, how to voodoo your enemies, and how to make a video from start to finish. He's written picture books for Oscar de la Hoya (the boxer) and Shamu (the whale). Mark is from Rochester and Buffalo, New York, but he has lived in New York City for so very long that he tawks like he's from da Bronx. So do his kids. His wife Kara, a grade school reading specialist, has perfect diction.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from Author Mark Shulman for an exchange of fair review. Receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review and these are my honest review.