Twelve year old David Eliot has just been expelled from Beton Academy, and as a result his parents have sent him to the mysterious Groosham Grange, a school that claims it can “lick David into shape.” On his journey to Groosham Grange, David meets two other children who are also being sent there – and they have both been told that this school has different things to offer. Jill’s parents were told that this was a really classy finishing school, while Jeffrey’s parents were told that it was a great sports complex. What is really in store for them, however, is so completely different than any of them ever expected.

For one thing, they have to sign their names in blood into the school roster when they arrive. For another thing, all of the students are really well behaved – no bullying, and everyone seems to enjoy classes. Plus, what’s up with the teacher who misses classes every full moon? David, Jill and Jeffrey have decided to stick together to find out what’s really going on at this school and to see if they can escape. And soon, because their thirteenth birthdays are all looming on the horizon.

If this hadn’t originally been published in 1988 in Britain, I would have thought that it was trying to capitalize off of the Harry Potter phenomenon. A kid is sent off to a boarding school where there are all sorts of crazy things going on, one of his teachers is a werewolf, he finds out he’s a wizard, etc. It doesn’t have the same depth of HP (not even in the case of The Philosopher’s Stone, which is aimed at the same age group), and came across as more humourous – or at least trying to be more humourous – than the HP books. (David’s father stabbing his mother in what appears to be a fatal sort of way, only to have her survive it practically unscathed doesn’t strike me as being particularly funny, but it was written in such a way that it comes across that it was supposed to be humourous. At any rate, I can see it being funny for other people who enjoy that sort of humour.)

If I had read this closer to when it was first published, I would have been at an age where I would’ve really appreciated the book. It would be great for kids. The style of writing was a bit lost on me, the humour was really over-the-top, the ending was extremely anti-climatic, but the basic premise of the story itself was a lot of fun. I’m wondering, though, do the Alex Rider books come across this way too?