Twenty-Four Hours

by Margaret Mahy

Book Overview

Seventeen-year-old Ellis has just graduated from prep school. In the next 24 hours, he will find an old friend, shave his head, get a tattoo, and help rescue a kidnapped baby. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689838840
• ISBN13: 9780689838842
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

24 Hours In A Strange World

I do enjoy this book very much because it is really interesting, attractive and mystery especially in the epilogue part. You can't guess what the ending is if you not read throughout the whole story, when you read more, there will a force put you to continue to read. Although this is my first time reading Mahy book. I am quite impressive not only the content of the story, but also her writing style and she use many different kinds of words to express her view.This story starts with a seventeen-year-old boy, Ellis who just graduates from prep school and start a holiday. In the next twenty-four hours, he meets a friend, Jackie who brings him go to a mystery world that cannot escape. Inside the world, Ellis loses his hair, becomes a tattoo, help find a kidnapped child, fall in and out love and persuade an old friend from suicide¡K Every thing is strange. Although the situations are quite adult, it can reflect the normal life that everyone may encounter, so that it is suitable for every age group.I like this book very much so that I rate it with a four stars, but there are a little blemish which is the beginning of the story, everything happen too slow and a little bit boring, you want to pay more attention to the person at every parts because it will turn up at the most important part and act as a key person. On the whole, if you want to know what happen to the Ellis¡¦s life, does he success to find the kidnapped child and success to persuade his old friend. I am strongly recommended to you.

A Book For All Ages

The author Margaret Mahy really used the young character in the story 24 Hours. I really found how she wrote the book was really suspencful and thrilling. I find myself entering the book as the character. She used figurtive language to add to the story but the language was still understandable by anyone who would read this story. I liked how she used the young teenager in the story making the events in the story believeable. Meaning they really could happen to anyone. That is why I liked this book so much was because I could really relate to the characters. I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about challenges, hardship and true life.

Review: 24 Hours By: Margaret Mahy

I enjoyed the book 24 Hours very much, it was very interesting! However I would have to rate this book with 4 stars. Simply just becasue I didn't like the beginning. The beginning part of the story is very boring until you reach the middle where all of the action starts. To me Margaret used tons of details and quotes in the beginning such as, " retreating, like precisely spaced bloms in a park garden, they rose on long green stems that curved elegantly at the top, then blossomed into hoods of deep crimson." That was one part that really got me involved in the book, with the words flowing all perfectly together. However, she used to much detail to set the stage. To me it seemed to take six chapters till we finally got to the action. Some people might like that, but personally I am not one of those people. so if you stick with the book I assure you that you will not be disappointed int the end, because this book has a fantastic and puzzling ending!

Ellis Does the Underworld

Margaret Mahy always turns out interesting and thought provoking young adult work, although with this particular outing she mostly eschews the magical overtones that characterize her earlier works (The Changeover, The Tricksters...). Basically, this looks at the life of Ellis, a good kid (going to college, trusted with his mom's car, etc.) and how he gets mixed up for 24 with kids his own age, but who are leading very different lives. Mahy does a good job of portraying these less fortunate kids in a realistic, unsentimental way. They often have harrowing stories to tell, yet their personal resilence and determination to make something of their lives is quietly inspiring. Ellis' journey is not so much about a 'good' kid having a quick taste of another side of life as it is about him stretching his personal horizens. He isn't just along for the ride, a cynical observer, but is actively caught up in helping his new-found friends overcome some of their pressing problems and is able to help them out of his own resourcefulness. It would be interesting to read a sequel and see how it all turns out, though if we can believe the crystal-ball wielding Fox, Ellis will indeed return to the Land-of-Smiles.

Everything happens in "24 Hours" !

Imagine this - you've left school and you have a day of freedom. What do you do ? 17 yr old Ellis is debating about going to the movies when he comes face to face Jackie Cattle, an odd boy he used to know. Before Ellis has time to think, Jackie drags him into a whirlwind of totally new experiences. In 24 hours, Ellis crashes a party, is involved in a wild car chase, gets a tattoo and among other things, is trying to stop someone commit suicide. Does he succeed ? "24 Hours" is an exciting novel, delving into the seamier side of teenage life, but as exhilarating as the wild car chase it contains.