#FridayFiveChallenge ~ Buy or pass ~ I Am David by Anne Holm

Rosie Amber’s Friday Five Challenge, involves taking only five minutes to choose a book cover which appeals instantly. So take a few minutes, grab yourself a coffee…..and have a browse.

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they really spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

My Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book, and any other details.

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

Inspiration was non-existent this week, I think my brain is addled from packing and then unpacking over 50 boxes, so I looked under books to inspire. I’m not sure what drew me to this cover but this is where I stopped and clicked…

The blurb reads..

‘You must get away tonight,’ the man had told him.

David escapes from the concentration camp where he has spent his entire life and flees across Europe. He is utterly alone – who can he trust? What will await him? And all the while, how can he be sure that they won’t catch up with him . . .

This is the remarkable story of David’s introduction to the world: sea, mountains and flowers, the colours of Italy, the taste of fruit, people laughing and smiling, all are new to David.  David learns that his polite manner, his haunted eyes and his thin features are strange to other people. He must learn to fend for himself in this strange new world.

This is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas meets Jonathan Safran Foer for children. An incredible story of survival against all odds and self discovery.

The book was originally written in the 1960s and translated from, I think, Danish. This edition is from 2000. It’s quite a short story at 192 pages. There’s no kindle edition, the paperback is £6.99/$6.99 but new from other sellers the price starts at £1.97/$1.99. 

There are 83 reviews, all 4* and 5* apart from two who rated it 3* one of which had this to say….An interesting concept, and quite unique, but I found the plot very far fetched and this spoiled my enjoyment. Might suit a teen reader as part of an education and did arouse my interest in Bulgaria.

On the other hand quite a few reviewers read it when they were children and are now reading it, or passing it on, to their own children…Starting this review, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I first read this book when I was in my early teens and have since owned three copies of the book in the 15 years since. This is a book that will always be in my personal collection and one that will be passed onto my children when they reach a similar age.

The cover depicts the storyline well, a boy on a solitary journey fighting the odds.

Will I BUY or PASS? I’ll BUY. For £2.52, a short read, and very different for me, it’s worth it.

More Friday Five Challenge Choices

Rosie chose a historical story set in Penang

Barb found a wonderful children’s book (and tells a hilarious tale about Santa’s little balls)

Shelley chose a christmas story

Liz found a free short story