Spud
Description
I had seen the books, heard a little about them, but was never really interested in reading them. My youngest brother got all 3 of them for Christmas, and has yet to read them. Last Tuesday, he lent them to me to read. I finished the last one this afternoon! 
Not to be too rude, I am often skeptical of SA authors. I think that after reading too many political setwork novels and many an afrikaans setwork, that I was left jaded. Spud left me blown away!
Johan Van de Ruit has restored my faith in local authors. He writes well and leaves the reader wanting more. I really struggled to put the books down, and was a little sad to return them to their owner. (i shall definitely be acquiring my own) In fact, im quite sad that i have finished them. I truly hope that he is writing another book in the series.
The characters are all believable, and the story-telling makes one feel as though they are sitting in the dormitory watching everything unfold, or sitting in class with “The Guv”, or are watching/playing the cricket match. I loved every second of the books.
Relating to Spud’s crazy family was not hard. His family had me in giggles throughout the book. His references to his families attitudes towards the changing SA (first novel is based in the time of Mandela’s release), are true of many people at the time (and sadly, some still today). His language is funny and very honest. He “keeps it real” without the normal political edge.
I will definitely be recommending the books to everyone! In fact, these are the first books that I recall blogging about, and considering my sporadic blogging, blogging about them for me is HUGE!
They are definitely a must-read and a must-have!