It’s South Africa, 1990. The country still squirms under the iron fist of Apartheid. Two major events are about to happen: The release of Nelson Mandela, and more importantly, it’s Spud Milton’s first year at an elite boys only private boarding school.

Cursed with parents from well beyond the lunatic fringe, a senile granny, and a dormitory full of strange characters, Spud has to forge a new life for himself in this foreign and sometimes hostile environment.
Surrounded by names such as Gecko, Rambo, Rain Man and Mad Dog, Spud takes his first tentative steps along the path towards manhood. (The path, it seems, could be a rather long road.)

Armed with only his wits and his diary, Spud takes us from illegal nightswimming to the cricket field, from ghostbusting to teacher baiting. He also invites us into the mind of a boy struggling to come to terms with a strange new world; a boy whose eyes are being opened to love, friendship and complete insanity.

If anyone's capable of portraying hell, it's John Milton. In this case, hell is an elite, all-boys boarding school in Durban, South Africa, in 1990, and Milton is 13-year-old John Spud Milton, his nickname referring to the diminutive private parts of this preadolescent boy, an indicator of the level of humor and behavior (and privacy) at the school. Spud is a good guy, a companionable narrator whose journal captures his first year - classmates Mad Dog, Rambo, Gecko and Fatty, and teachers Sparerib, Viking and The Guv. Spud is a good observer and, unfortunately, his portrayal of boarding-school life rings true. A parallel story line - Nelson Mandela's release from prison - lends depth to Spud's tale as he begins to develop a social conscience. Some readers may tire of 300-plus pages of random acts of meanness and the parade of quirky characters, but those humored by it will be eager for the forthcoming sequel. A bestseller in South Africa, it's likely to be a hit with American readers as well. (Fiction. 12+) (Kirkus Reviews)