Description
Spud: The Madness Continues… by John van de Ruit is the second novel in the Spud series, continuing the comic coming-of-age story of fifteen-year-old John “Spud” Milton in 1991 South Africa. Spud is returning to boarding school for his second year, hoping that being older and no longer the youngest or smallest will make life easier. Instead, he faces another year of embarrassment, friendship troubles and increasingly chaotic adventures.
Back at school, Spud finds himself among the Crazy Eight, meets a new member of the group and encounters a new crop of first-year boys. Outside school, life is no less complicated: his mother is determined to emigrate, his father is making money from homemade moonshine, and his eccentric grandmother Wombat adds to the family madness. Spud also finds himself dealing with women trouble, ill-advised late-night escapades and a disastrous school production of Noah’s Ark that puts his dreams of a career on the stage under serious strain.
Funny, bittersweet and sometimes painfully honest, the novel continues Spud’s awkward journey towards adulthood through the friendships, humiliations and absurdities of teenage life. A good choice for readers who enjoy coming-of-age fiction, South African stories, school novels and irreverent humour.
