Johannes’ Blog

The book I am reviewing is titled ‘MY STORY: Journey to Tangiwai-The diary of Peter Cotterill, Napier, 1953’. The main characters are: Peter, Mum, Dad, Tom, Uncle Hugh, Uncle Adam, Mr Mason, Mrs Mason, Barbara Mason, Howard, Stafford Bell, Rua and Dick Finlay. The book is about Peter Cotterill’s life leading up to the Tangiwai accident. He talks about scouts, his paper round, his dyingUncle
Hugh,
School and other day to day activities. The diary starts on the 1.1.1953 and finishes on the 31.12.1953.  One of the strengths of the actual book I found was, that because the book is written in diary form it takes the reader on the journey in Peter’s life during that year as well. The book also gives a good in depth description of his and his relatives’ daily life. I also thought the book has a good sense of humor and I learnt a lot about how people lived in 1953. For example how Peter’s family was saving up to buy a car and how Peter was talking about it two weeks before they actually got it. One of the weaknesses I found was that it is a bit repetitive. I guess this is because daily life is a bit repetitive too. Therefore this is virtually unavoidable when writing a diary.  I think this book is suitable for children nine and over who like history books but don’t just want the facts but some characters as well.