Spud [Library Binding]

John Van De Ruit (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 9, 2009

It's 1990. Apartheid is crumbling, Nelson Mandela has just been released from prison and thirteen-year-old Spud Milton is about to start his first year at an elite boys-only boarding school. Cursed with embarrassingly dysfunctional parents, a nutty granny and a dormitory full of strange characters, Spud has his hands full trying to adapt to his new home. With only his wits and his diary, he takes readers on a rowdy boarding school romp full of illegal midnight swims, catastrophic cricket matches, ghostbusting escapades, girls and disastrous holidays. South African comedian John van de Ruit invites the reader into the mind of a young boy whose eyes are being opened to love, friendship and complete insanity!

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Some rave reviews from South Africa: Funny, fast-paced and wonderfully observant -- Book Shelf The Daily News Once you pick it up it's almost as if the pages turn themselves Metrobeat Achingly funny Sunday Times Lifestyle --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

John van de Ruit was born in Durban, South Africa. He went to the University of Natal where he completed a Masters degree in Drama and Performance. Since 1998 he has been a professional actor, playwright and producer, winning numerous awards. Spud is his first novel. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 317 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439590672
• ISBN-13: 978-1439590676
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,948,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 24, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spud (Hardcover)

SPUD has been compared to The Catcher in the Rye, but I see it more as a twisted Harry Potter minus the magic and the nasty, evil villain. It is boarding school at its craziest and best.

Even though it is set in South Africa, and I'm guessing that most of its readers will not have attended boarding school, teens everywhere will be able to relate to the trials and tribulations of main character John "Spud" Milton.

Through Spud's diary, the reader gets to follow the antics of The Crazy Eight. Their wild adventures include the infamous "night swims," porn magazines and videos, attempts to break the school farting record, and investigations into the mystery of the school's resident ghost. All their schemes and pranks are done at the risk of being caught by Headmaster Glockenshpeel, known as "The Glock."

Spud not only deals with all craziness while at school, but he also deals with issues when he goes home during breaks. His father is a drunk who is sure the country is doomed now that Nelson Mandela has been released and Apartheid is over. Spud's mother puts up with his father's nonsense most days, but there are frequent, loud battles which sometimes end in her throwing him out. Add to all that a seriously senile grandmother Spud calls the Wombat. She has never-ending stories that, due to her declining mental abilities, she constantly repeats. Spud's father is seriously considering poison as a method for ridding them of his obnoxious mother-in-law.

John van de Ruit's book is sure to be a success here in the U.S. His newfound fans will be happy to know he is at work on the further adventures of Spud and the gang.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wicked Fun With Willies and Wickets, March 30, 2007

By 

David Zimmerman (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Spud (Hardcover)

I got a pre-US publication copy of this book, which has been very successful in South Africa, the home country of its author, John van de Ruit. Thirteen-year old protagonist John "Spud" Milton receives a scholarship to boarding school in 1990 and with apprehension welcomes the opportunity to escape from his increasingly wacky and warring parents. They think they're sending him to a world of structure and discipline. What he finds is a world not much less bizarre than Hogwarts, where he bonds with housemates "Rambo", "Boggo", "Fatty", "Gecko" and others into the "Crazy Eight". As with most 13-year old boys, their thinking is preoccupied by sex and in this case farting, a talent with which "Fatty" challenges the school record. Spud, so nicknamed for the slow pace of his pubescent development, develops in many other ways, as he struggles to survive in a world of crazy classmates, sadistic upperclassmen, drunken teachers, from whom his only escape is the occasional weekend visit to the maniacal world of his parents and grandmother, Wombat.

An American reader will enjoy both van de Ruit's sense of humor and his inside look at South African in a time of great change, as Nelson Mandela is freed and apartheid ends. Along the way Spud reads some modern classics, "Catcher in the Rye" (his resemblance to Holden Caulfield isn't lost on either him or us) and "Catch-22" and discusses them with his English prof (and cricket coach).

Part "Catcher" and "Catch", part A Confederacy of Dunces (Evergreen Book)(and part "Diary of Anne Frank", as the book is written in as Spud's diary entries), and all wicked South African fun, "Spud" is highly recommended to both adult and teenage readers (though for some reason, Amazon has it categorized for 9-to-12-year olds).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SPUD Review, October 25, 2007

By 

MDG - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spud (Hardcover)

Witty, charming, and consistently hilarious, "Spud" combines the prep-school humor of "The Catcher in the Rye" with the rebellious teen antics of "Dead Poet's Society." Though John van de Ruit's 13-year-old protagonist Spud (real name: John Milton) may hail from Durban, South Africa, his adventures, insecurities, and humor are universal. Anyone who has experienced life as a teenager can relate to Spud. First crush? Check. Feelings of alienation? Check. Crazy family members? Check. Throughout the novel we follow Spud as he meets his new friends "the Crazy Eight," tries out for the school play, serves as moderator for his eccentric family, and witnesses the end of apartheid.

Since first reading this book (and falling in love with it), I have recommended "Spud" to friends and family ranging from 15 to 60 years old. I have yet to find one person who wasn't won over by Spud and his motley crew of prep-school buddies. A novel that will appeal to people of all ages, "Spud" is sure to find a fan in anyone who reads it.