ALA Booklist

A huge best-seller in South Africa, this raucous autobiographical novel about a scholarship boy in an elite boys' boarding school in 1990 is mainly farce but also part coming-of-age tale. Mandela's release helps Spud decide that he wants to be a "freedom fighter," but his politics is decidedly light. In diary entries (sometimes written hour by hour), he relays his major concerns llies in his dorm, his farting roommate, his friend having sex with a woman teacher, falling in love with three girls, and still having a soprano voice. He also writes about his crazy family, including his racist dad. The ridicule of his senile grandma verges on the offensive, and all the cricket and rugby talk will bore some American readers. Still, the mockery ("honesty, honesty, honesty rget it," says Spud's teacher-mentor) is great, and the fast, funny plot reaches out to universals of friendship and loyalty. Pair this with John Green's Looking for Alaska (2005).

Horn Book

Thirteen-year-old white South African John Milton--nicknamed Spud for his prepubescent body ("...when my balls drop, I'll get another nickname")--details his first year at boarding school in 1990. Spud's story is a mix of schoolboy mischief, emotional growth, slowly burgeoning political and social awareness, and heavy issues (alcoholism, racism, hazing, a child's death), all related with a very light touch.

Kirkus Reviews

If anyone's capable of portraying hell, it's John Milton. In this case, hell is an elite, all-boys boarding school in Durban, South Africa, in 1990, and Milton is 13-year-old John "Spud" Milton, his nickname referring to the diminutive private parts of this preadolescent boy, an indicator of the level of humor and behavior (and privacy) at the school. Spud is a good guy, a companionable narrator whose journal captures his first year—classmates Mad Dog, Rambo, Gecko and Fatty, and teachers Sparerib, Viking and The Guv. Spud is a good observer and, unfortunately, his portrayal of boarding-school life rings true. A parallel story line—Nelson Mandela's release from prison—lends depth to Spud's tale as he begins to develop a social conscience. Some readers may tire of 300-plus pages of random acts of meanness and the parade of quirky characters, but those humored by it will be eager for the forthcoming sequel. A bestseller in South Africa, it's likely to be a hit with American readers as well. (Fiction. 12+)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

John Milton, 13, a scholarship student at an elite boys' boarding school in South Africa, records his disturbing but often hilarious exploits in this diary-style first novel set in 1990. As the year begins, President F.W. de Klerk decriminalizes the African National Congress and orders the release of political prisoner Nelson Mandela—but not even massive societal upheaval can get pre-pubescent boys to think about something other than girls, or set aside their depraved trick-playing. Nicknamed Spud because of his small “willy,” John reports without judgment the events around him. The large cast of housemates includes mayhem leaders Rambo and Boggo, who instruct in “how to rape and pillage schoolgirls,” Gecko, who succumbs to every passing malady, and Fatty, an overeater intent on breaking the school's sustained-fart record. The faculty is another can of mixed nuts: the drama teacher, unimaginatively named Eve, seduces an underclassman; the Guv begins English class by calling Henry James “a boring poof” and tossing his novels out the window. In many ways Spud appears to be a literary cousin of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson, whose diaries also detail, in colorful slang, life with whacked-out relatives, obsession with emergent sexuality and school-related capers. There's a bit more heft here—away from home, Spud sees his parents' racism clearly—but he doesn't come of age: he's a star choirboy whose voice hasn't broken. After all, there are three years of school left and a sequel due next fall. Ages 12-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-This South African import, very successful in its own country, makes the ocean crossing uneasily. Written in diary format, the story tells of a 13-year-old boy who is in his first year at boarding school in 1990, the year that Nelson Mandela is released from prison. He is called "Spud" because of the diminutive size of his genitals. The book documents the sometimes violent, sometimes chaotic atmosphere of his school. Characterized on the cover as "a wickedly funny novel," the book tries hard but fails to exhibit any humor. Spud's parents are presented as ridiculous and bizarre, with his father nailing his doors and windows shut and calling Spud to tell him that "the barbarians are at the door" when Mandela is released. There is plenty of sexual and South African slang terminology. With plodding language and little insight into the many characters at the boarding school, the novel is unlikely to find much of a readership.-Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Voice of Youth Advocates

South Africa, 1990-Mandela is released from prison, apartheid is abolished, and na´ve John Milton, soon to be known as Spud, begins his scholarship year at a boys-only boarding school. A young-looking thirteen-year-old with a beautiful voice, John is placed in the treble, also called the "Spud," section. All the usual boarding-school pranks, anatomy references, and eccentric personalities are included in Spud's entertaining and lengthy diary. Finding his niche at school, coping with a hilariously dysfunctional family, and experiencing first love (more than once) comprise Spud's memorable year. Starring in the school's production of Oliver, he becomes the center of attention and unexpectedly popular with girls. Spud's diary is fresh and insightful, and some situations, especially those featuring his family, are laugh-out-loud funny. The author creates a sympathetic, likeable character-the reader cheers for Spud all the way. With his embarrassing parents, eccentric grandmother, and unusual roommate who has the "nasty habit of pulling out large clumps of his own hair with a thunk," Spud's life never lacks drama or humor. More Adrian Mole (despite Spud's statement that "Adrian Mole wouldn't last one day in our dormitory") than Holden Caulfield, Spud appeals to a wide range of readers. Great literature? Maybe not. Great fun? Definitely. The deft blend of humor and seriousness makes a welcome addition to the coming-of-age genre, and the diary format engages the reader from the start. New fans will look forward to the sequel, Spud: The Madness Continues (Forthcoming, 2008).-Judy Sasges.