June 7

‘The Cockroach War’ by Jonathon Harlan

Cockroach war coverJonathon Harlan’s “Cockroach War” is an enjoyable fun filled book about a 13 year old boy who, with his sister, has a plan to make his annoying, rude, selfish, unbearable, and uncivil neighbors, the Cadwalladers pay.

 

The Judge family is a kind, caring and ordinary family who live peacefully on Dagenham Road next to the Cadwalladers. The Judge and Cadwallader families are great friends and neighbors. They have barbeques together and do other fun activities together.

 

Then one day, one ordinary day, this all changed. The Cadwalladers won 40 million dollars in the “lotto of a lifetime”. The whole family, two children and a mother and father, went insane; so insane that the mother became very ill with demented and she acted like a baby without knowing, and the father,Dick, started spending straight away.

 

One of the first things he spent money on was building a mansion and demolishing their house. Once work had started it didn’t finish until the house was done and the Judge family didn’t like the noise at all.  Toby Judge and his sister Emma thought of an ingenious plan to make the Cadwalladers move out of their monstrous building to a normal family home in a different street.

 

This book is written brilliantly and it is a very enjoyable book. I would recommend this book for girls and boys from about 10-14 because its humor is right for that age group. I really enjoyed this book because it was funny, very enjoyable and a fun read. I didn’t want to put it down once I had started.

 

Louis Year 8

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In this hilarious book, you will experience the story of Toby Judge. It is about the Judge and Cadwallader families. One morning in their nice Suburban Street something shocking happened. The Cadwalladers had won the lottery. I know what you’re thinking… well that’s not so bad, but you’re wrong. They thought the same, but when the constant construction and parties kept happening, that’s when it started to get out of hand. After a while they didn’t talk to each other or even look at each other.

 

This book is both a comedy and a thriller. You will never expect what is around the corner. There are so many exciting sections in the book. But the question is: will the Judges defeat the Cadwalladers in the cockroach war? Will they finally have the freedom to be normal again. This is why I recommend this book to you.  If you do read this book, you will find out the exciting end to this amazing book.

By Mason, Year 8

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What if you won $40 million dollars? How do you think your neighbour’s would react? Meet the Cadwalladers, a kind loving family from hell! The poor Judge family, how would they cope with parties, helicopters and an explosion.

 

 

The story is set in a peaceful neighbourhood where neighbours would help and treat each other nicely but not for long. The lottery was where everyone would buy tickets to win big. Every family would buy to win and for one family this was their greatest day.

 

 

Not everything works out how you would expect and the families are getting along. No, this wasn’t just a change in the Cadwalladers but the Judge family too. The Judge family loved the Cadwalladers till now; now they hate them. The Judge family are made up of mum, dad, daughter and two sons. The  Cadwalladers are the same as any Aussie family with Dick Cadwallader, Beverly Cadwallader and their two sons Ian and Shaun.  The two families are typical working families, not better or worse then each other. 

 

 

The Cadwalladers win $40 million dollars, spending their money on blowing up their house, buying a GX-26 fully automatic helicopter and installing a landing pad as well as throwing wild parties night after night. The sister sends in secret weapons to spy on the Cadwalladers to stop their mockery and to put an end to their shenanigans. 

 

 

I really enjoyed this book The Cockroach War as it was an easy read. The story’s setting and finding out what happens at the end made me think of what I would do with $40 million dollars. I would recommend this book to sci fi lovers and males aged 8 to 14 who are interested in fantasy.

 

 Angelo.L, year 8  

 

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Posted June 7, 2013 by marjk in category Adventure stories, Funny books, Realistic fiction, Student Reviews

About the Author

Teacher-librarian at Aquinas College, Southport, Gold Coast, Australia

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