Picked it up as an impulse buy from National Bookstore a couple of weeks ago. Anyone who grew up in the 80s will appreciate Bob Ong’s trip back to his elementary/high school/college days. His tales of school will ring true to anyone from around the same era; younger folk may not appreciate it so much. (My younger brother seems to have no idea what Spin-a-win is/was, although he is aware of SOS, Flames, etc.)
The earlier parts of the book are mostly funny and/or amusing, detailing those silly little things that school kids tend to obsess with. The latter parts start to get serious once the author gets to his college years; he goes into serious stories of dropping out of college, taking a vocational course and eventually becoming a teacher, where the book comes full circle (and a bit preachy as well).
The book is hard to classify; it’s not exactly comedy, it’s not exactly serious. It’s more like the author kept a running blog since he was in grade school and published it all. Also, there doesn’t seem to be much information about the author himself; apparently “Bob Ong” is a pseudonym of some sort. A very satisfying read all in all, I know this because I felt compelled to buy his next two books because of it. His books are cheaper than the usual book prices anyway =)
See Also