Review of The Tragic Age

[Chinaza Nnabuenyi]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Tragic Age" by Stephen Metcalfe.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Tragic Age: A Novel by Stephen Metcalfe is a story about the pretty messed up generation we live in. The narrative centralizes on a bunch of high school friends. It focuses majorly on Billy, Twom, Ephraim, and Deliza. At eleven, Billy Kinsey lost his twin sister and suffered from insomnia. Twom Tomey is a derelict who lives with his grandmother. He also has a juvenile record of consistently going against the law. Ephraim was sort of a big baby, always neglected by his parents. He's also a computer addict. Deliza Baraza is a rich kid who will get away with anything she does. How these four became friends and their impact on one another constitute an exciting part of this book, which readers would discover.

The Tragic Age: A Novel is a beautifully written narrative on love, romance, friendship, hate, and fear. One aspect of this book that I considered positive was the writer's ability to capture many of the problems teenagers face. Many of these problems arise from family background, educational systems, societal influence, and in some cases, past experiences. With an alarming development in technology and the internet, The Tragic Age: A Novel is a timely intervention in this generation. This novel also portrays the consequences of bad decisions and how to overcome them.

The author gave a short but detailed explanation for every health condition mentioned in the book. This was helpful in understanding, as there was no need to switch between the book and a dictionary. This is another aspect of the book I liked. Also, in every chapter where the writer used a random word that is not frequently used, the writer made sure to give verified facts about that word. This can be found on pages 9, 16, 30, 36, and 47, especially on page 82, where the writer gave a short history of Leonardo De Vinci's Mona Lisa.

The story's genre is an exciting one. The writer designed a heartwarming beginning to fuel any reader's interest in reading more. At first, the storyline did not exactly look like what it turned out to be. It could be likened to scattered pieces of a puzzle that could turn out to be a beautiful picture.

The use of unnecessary profane words was the only negative aspect that I could think of. But no book about teenagers would be complete without a bit of slang, which still complements the book. My rating of this book is three out of four stars. The content is very educational and informative. But the book doesn't appear professionally edited; hence, I deducted a star.

I recommend this book to every teen who has a lot of questions about life. This might be the answer you've been waiting for. This novel gives an elaborate view of young people's mindsets and thought patterns.

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The Tragic Age
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[Sopulu Ezidimma]

Stories on the life of high school students are always interesting and this book did fail at this.
Thank you for your review. I just feel bad for Billy Kinsey.

[Elendu Ekechukwu]

I would skip this book because of the profane words. However, this review is nice

[Jen Nghishitende]

When I saw it was about teenagers I thought I would recommend it to my niece, but the book seems like a tale of tragedy and hardship. The Profanity does not help much. I wonder if there are happy endings for troubled teens? If not I would not recommend it for a teenager who is already struggling.

[Amy Luman]

I am not offended by profanity, especially by teenagers, so I don’ think that would bother me. I like the fact that the teenagers from differing backgrounds become friends. At this age friends are usually people who are very much the same.

[Nino Chinonso Onwurah]

I would really love to see how these teenagers of different personalities became friends and how they'd influence each other. Nice review.

[Uwe Neufeld]

Yes, it reminds me of the Enid Blyton series in my younger years.
Good review!

[Tina M 2]

I have many questions about life and if some are bound to be answered in the book I wouldn't mind reading it. Thanks for the review!

[Peace10]

I've always loved movies and stories about young adults. They inspire and also teach lessons. I hope this won't be different.