Book review of "Checkers" by John Marsden

Checkers
John Marsden
Drama

The book is about A teenage girl , of whom the name is not said in the book, that lives in a hospital for mentally ill teenagers. In the past she was a bright and cheerful girl. And she lived in a suburb with beautiful landscapes. She always wanted to have a dog and one day her father gets a new contract and she gets one. She calls it Checkers because he looks like a chessboard. A few weeks later there is a rumour that her father had kind of bribed the Premier to get the contract and there are all kind of reporters around her house. She was not allowed to tell them anything. One day while she was walking with checkers a man asked her some things about checkers. And she answers them. But this wasn’t very smart. The next day the news papers are full of pictures of 2 dogs checkers and the dog of the Premier. This proves that all the rumours are true. When her father comes home that day he is furious and he kills checkers. After this is had to go to the hospital because she thinks she’s guilty for the death of checkers. After her treatment she goes to a boarding school together with her brother. It takes place in 1987 (it’s said in the book).

A teenage girl lived with her mother, father, brother and her dog named Checkers, in a beautiful house in the suburbs. She suffers from depression and she now lives in a mental hospital. She has never had many friends, neither at school or at the hospital. She and some other teenagers attend a daily meeting called group. She has never said anything in group because she is afraid to tell them her story and that they will think that she’s weird. One day, she just couldn't handle it anymore. She had to tell somebody. This is her story ...

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I like how this book tells a story about a teenager's life experiences. I can relate to them, such as depression and social issues. This story is suspenseful. Once I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. Every chapter ends with a cliff-hanger. You just want to keep reading. The author doesn't give away the story of how she got in the hospital until the very end. This was also very confusing sometimes because you are reading two story at the same time one in the present in the hospital and the other about what happened. If you have any troubles with some complicated words, there's a glossary in the front of the book to tell you what they are and what they mean. Because this book was written in the I-structure you get the feeling that you are the girl. The characters seemed very realistic, and alive.

I would recommend this book to people who like stories which are realistic and are thrilling till the last page. It would satisfy your needs if you are the type of person who likes to read other people's diaries or journals. I would especially recommend it to any teenagers who think they have a bad life. You think you know, but you have no idea.

Setting:

The main character is laying in bed of the mental hospital, it’s dark and there is no one else. She is moving al the time and she can’t fall asleep. It’s totally quiet when we hear her voice. But she is not speaking. It are her thoughts.

Voice-over: It’s so quiet. I don’t know what time it is, maybe two o’clock or three. I’m glad I’ve my own room now. I’ve always had my own bedroom

The main character (MC) and Olivier are sitting on her bed it’s an early afternoon and the it’s raining outside. MC is telling Olivier why she’s here.

DOG THE MISSING LINK IN CASION INVESTIGATION.

“months of rumour and innuendo about the Premier’s involvement with Rider Group came to a head last night when the teenage daughter of a Rider group executive admitted to the mail that the family’s pet dog named Checkers was a personal gift from the Premier.

Faced with an unwanted puppy, from a litter of two, in March the Premier did what most of us do: he gave one away too someone who owed him a favour. Someone who owed him a Billon-dollar favour! The dog was handed over at a secret meeting with the Rider Group’s finance director, Murray Warner. Someone whom Premier Scranton has consistently claimed, both inside and outside parliament, he has never met.

All the lies from Premier Bruce Scranton will probably cost him is job. Al lot members of the parliament are angry with him. And the