The Great Gatenby

by John Marsden

"Australia's king of young adult fiction" The Australian"A very funny, very Australian book" West AustralianMaybe deep down every kid knows his parents want him to be the Pride of the School, the Captain of Cricket and Tennis and Rowing and Darts and Knitting and anything else that's going down.They don't want to know about the fact that you've had more detentions than any other new student in the history of the school, that you're going out with the girl who doesn't wear a bra to PE, that the Head Swimming Coach is some kind of Nazi whose last job was training the shark in Jaws.Erle Gatenby has been sent to boarding school to straighten out, but there's about as much chance of that happening as there is of his giving up smoking. . . or drinking. . . or falling through the Art Room roof. Erle's a full tank of petrol. . . and wild, sexy Melanie Tozer is about to light the match.Fans of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and John Flanagan will love John Marsden.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Boarding School

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1989

About the author

There is more than one author with this name in the database, see f.e. John Marsden.

John Marsden was an Australian writer and school principal. He wrote more than 40 books in his career and his books have been translated into many languages. He was especially known for his young adult novel Tomorrow, When the War Began, which began a series of seven books.
Marsden began writing for children while working as a teacher, and had his first book, So Much to Tell You, published in 1987. In 2006, he started an alternative school, Candlebark School, and reduced his writing to focus on teaching and running the school. In 2016, he opened the arts-focused secondary school, Alice Miller School. Both schools are in the Macedon Ranges.

Reviews

[Clare Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this over and over in my teen years, mainly for the sex scene. Thanks John Marsden

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found on bookshelf in a hostel in Australia where pickings were Slim. Had to read til nearly the last page to confirm that yes, the title similarity to the much more famous book is totally intentional, if kind of random (a half-hearted marketing attempt?).

I always enjoy reading boarding school fiction, whatever decade. Semi-reminiscent of The Lawrenceville Stories in its schoolkid hijinx, but set in the '80s this time and with some teen sexual awakening. Especially fun to read a quick novel set in Australia while I was actually there, and which referenced 2 different cities in Aus and NZ that I was actually visiting!

Semi-entertaining if you've attended boarding school, otherwise not worth the hunt.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of my all-time favourites. Some very funny parts. Have read it over and over.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun novel about about a teenage boy dealing with life at a boarding school, funny and not too deep.

[Roman Gage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Youthfully sweet. I have the urge to become a Scout Leader.

[Kindred Spirit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I expected to. John Marsden was my favourite author until I was about 15, so I've read a lot of his books - just not many of his ones with male protagonists. It took me a while to adjust to Erle's style of narration, but once I did I found it intriguing and I grew quite attached to Erle.

Which started to pose a problem later in the book. Like I said, I've read a lot of Marsden's books, so I know what happens! I know how happy endings sometimes allude the main characters and how he likes to lull you into a false sense of security before hitting you with some horrible revelation. I was especially concerned when they went on a hike in the mountains really close to the end of the book - I was convinced someone was going to fall off the mountain and die! Luckily, nothing of the sort happened. I feel I can now count his boarding school books as one particular class that have better endings than some of his other books.

The book was a nice easy read, although some of the language was a bit odd at first. I don't know if was an age thing (the book was published when I was only a couple of years old) or maybe a girl-boy thing (I didn't know any boys like Erle when I was in high school and for all I know there are young men out there who talk like that). But once I got used to it, it was a good read. The descriptive language was quite good!

[Davina]

This was my first John Marsden book ever and I must have loved it because I couldn't get enough of his books afterwards. Funny thing is the only thing I can remeber about this book was them falling through a roof oh and the fact that when I got it off the shelves at the school library one of my male classmates told me I probably shouldn't borrow it as it wasn't really suitable for me.
The fact that, that is all I can remeber probably really isn't a recomendation for the book considering Letters From the Inside, ending still haunts me. The Journey still gives me a bit of a kick in the butt when I'm being judgmental about someone and the idea behind Tomorrow, When the War Began still plays on my mind.
Maybe this should be a reread for me.

[Rosemary Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I reread this, remembering how much I liked it when I was about 12/13/14 years old. Sadly I was kind of underwhelmed, I had better memories of it. But perspective, age, blah blah blah. In summary; it's like a less complex, slightly younger/less serious, Australian Looking For Alaska.

[Miffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can clearly remember reading this book and thinking it was funny. There's a scene with a window (I think) where I laughed out loud. But other than the fact that it is set in a school boarding house, and the main character's name is Gatenby, I recall nothing else. Getting old.

[Kezia · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic book.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite John Marsden book, most of his others are very serious but this is just silly and funny. It makes me laugh so much.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read this last night, after first having read it about fifteen eyars ago. Still made me laugh. I think one of Marsden's finest examples of his work.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great teenage boy story. Was teaching at a boys' school when I read this so there were plenty of character types like this around! Very funny and highly enjoyable.