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Title: Get Past the Format and Enjoy the Story!
Review: This is a story about 10 year old Patrick Clarke, his family and friends. The entire book is totally stream of conscious from Paddy's point of view. The boys in his crew terrorize Barrytown and each other! He also picks on his younger brother Francis - calling him Sinbad. Paddy's parents fight a lot and we find out, in the end, that the title of the book comes from his father's deserting the family and the boys chanting "Paddy Clarke, ha ha ha, he has no da, ha ha ha."The book is truly entertaining - there is no question on that end. It is also extremely hard to read in any broken-up setting (commuting, a little each night, etc.) because there are no chapters, no breaks and no natural flow to the plot. This also helps the credibility level as 10 year olds really act and talk like this. The insight might be lacking, but it frees the mind to imagine background to the characters as well as a future for each of them.
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