Wednesday 26 January 2011

My Reaction-Crocodile Tears

The book Crocodile Tears is a action thriller that has a lot of suspense with many intriguing twists and turns. The author, Anthony Horowitz keeps you interested by his extremely descriptive writing, making you want to read on -I certainly found it hard to put the book down. It's suspense filled plot kept me riverted from beginning to end. I certainly felt that the author successfully managed to relay his point /message by using a variety of imaginative and gripping words which left me wanting to find out more, as a vivid and visual image was created in my mind as the story unfolded.

I think that the book was written for thirteen year olds and over  - as it contained some strong swear words, an adult themed plot and many gruesome images /action scenes. Therefore I do not feel this book would not be suitable for children under thirteen as they might become disturbed by what the book is about. The good points of the book for me centred around how successful the author is in creating a visual picture in your mind, transporting the reader to the places and action experienced by the book characters - it was like I was actually there with them! I do not think that there is any bad points of the book.

By reading the book I learnt many things - the first of this was details regarding the countries landscape and culture in which it's action was set i.e Scotland and Kenya. Secondly my knowledge of dams was certainly increased - in relation to how much water they can hold and what damage they can do if they break/burst. I also learnt how cruel and evil some people can be too in the search for ultimate power. The most interesting part of the book for me however was when the dam broke and you discovered how much damage it did.  There was no bizarre part in the book however possibly the most unbelievable and gruesome event concerned a lady being eaten alive by crocodiles - the image of this was of course rather disturbing to imagine!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action and adventure books. I feel it would mostly appeal to boys, however, girls can read it if  they like this style of book. I have read all of the Alex Rider series as I enjoy Anthony Horowitz's  style of writing  and the type of action thriller story he conjures up - so will definitely read more of his books when I can. If you have not tried them why not give them a go - you might just enjoy them like I did!