Book Review of Matilda.

Book Review – Matilda

Matilda is a five year old girl who reads books by Dickens and can solve long sums in her head. But is put down by her crooked father sales man and is ignored by her bingo addicted mother. Matilda decides that each time she is treated badly by her parents and is made miserable by them she will get revenge in some way. She plays pranks on her parents which are devastating for them but make her feel much better. The little girl’s pranks include placing superglue around the rim of her father’s hat and mixing her mother’s blond hair dye with her father’s hair tonic to make him look like a fool.

It doesn’t end there; when Matilda goes to school she encounters Miss.Trunchbull the wicked principal. The Trunchbull is very strict with her pupils and gives severe punishments some of which include throwing a boy out of the window for eating in class and gripping a girl by her pig tails and dashing her 400 m into the school allotments. At school Matilda becomes very close to her teacher Miss. Honey. Miss. Honey is surprised to see how clever she is for her age group.

One day the Trunchbull comes to inspect Miss.Honey’s class, when ...

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One day the Trunchbull comes to inspect Miss.Honey’s class, when Matilda becomes very angry after being accused of placing a newt in the Trunchbull’s jug of water. Matilda keeps looking at the glass of water and says to herself tip tip then suddenly the glass tips over. Matilda discovers after talking to Miss. Honey that she has magical powers. Miss. Honey then asks Matilda to go to her cottage. She tells Matilda her life story of how her mother and father died and that her aunt the Trunchbull took care of her. She treated her very badly and she suspects that her aunt killed her father. Cleverly, without Miss. Honey knowing what she was about to do Matilda asks what her father’s name was what her name was and the Trunchbull’s name was when she used to live in her old house.

The next week at school it was inspection day again and like usual the Trunchbull entered the classroom. This time the Trunchbull thought that everything was going to plan, but Matilda knew what was going to happen. Matilda used her magic powers and was able to lift a piece of chalk off the front desk and write on the board. She wrote comments that made the Trunchball run away from the school and never return again. As a result Miss.Honey got her old house back and possessions. Matilda’s father does something dodgy and the whole family have to go to live in Spain. But Matilda refuses to go, so Miss. Honey decides to adopt her.

I enjoyed this book because it’s different from other books and you don’t usually get a five year old who reads Cahrles Dickens books and the parents don’t think that it’s something special. Another thing that I liked was that she gets her own back on her parents and stands up for herself.
I’d recommend the book for 10-12 year olds, but I think that adults would enjoy it also.
I think that everyone would like to read Matilda because it’s not to difficult to understand. There maybe the odd word that you don’t understand but that’s about it.
Extract pages 217 – 221. Most exciting section of story.

By Kashif Anwar 10LKJS