This novel feels more like a collection of short stories, as there is often no continuation of the narrative between the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next, and sometimes details are repeated as if we had not previously been told about it.

The book is in three parts. I like the first two parts of the book as I have a particular nostalgic preference for stories about being a kid in the seventies - even across completely different countries and cultures to the one I grew up in there are prevailing themes of the zeitgeist and social behaviour in the pre-information age.

The third part however jumps 25 years forward to 2001 and we see how the characters have turned out. This is a completely unnecessary addition because a) it adds very little to the previous stories of mischievous school kids and b) the plots are ridiculously implausible.

Some of the plots appear to be constructed around gags and there are some funny moments in the novel, but in general I wish the author would have kept the story in 1976-9 as the adult section falls flat. ( )

a funny but sincere story about all the angst and ambivalence that comes along with adolescence; this book is deceptively simple- it's a fast and fun read but there is wisdom under its lighthearted surface ( )

The Book of Ralph was about two children who become friends who are completely different and extends into their adulthood. ( )