Jaws

NAME OF BOOK: Jaws

NAME OF AUTHOR: Peter Benchley

TYPE OF STORY:Action, Mystery

WHEN AND WHERE THE STORY WAS SET: It was set in 1974 in the coastal town of Amity, on a small island off the coast of New York.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PLOT: One night in the small town of Amity, a teenager ventured out into the sea for a leisurely swim. She hadn't counted on one thing - a 20 foot shark that had claimed its territory. No-one knew what happened, apart from a teenager suddenly went missing while skinny-dipping. Police Chief Brody was certain that it was a shark attack because there was no sign of the body. Even though these events occurred, the town vowed to keep the beach open, on the basis that it was a freak accident. But then, the shark struck again, murdering a young boy and mentally wounding a loving grandmother. After this incident, they realized that two shark attacks in a matter of days wasn't a co-incidence, so they went against the town's wishes and closed the beaches. Around two months later, the town hired an oceanographer to help them with managing the shark. He believed that at this time, the shark would have travelled somewhere else because there was no "food" in the water during this time, so they decided to re-open the beaches.The oceanographer had thought incorrectly. This time another young boy almost became shark feed, so again, they decided to close the beaches.The town then hired a fisherman to find and kill the shark. The final events are mind-blowing. The shark rams into the boat, swallows the oceanographer (who had come on the boat, along with Chief Brody) and the fisherman and was about to swallow Chief Brody when he shot a diving tank that was lodged in the shark's teeth. The shark died in an explosion of a diving tank.

WHO WERE THE MAIN CHARACTERS?: Police Chief Brody (aka Martin Brody), Sea Captain Quint (fisherman), Matt Hooper (oceanographer) and Ellen Brody (Chief Brody's wife)

DESCRIBE ONE CHARACTER IN DETAIL: Sea Capitan Quint was a very confident man, until he met the shark that he was contracted to deal with. His optimism was the reason why he eventually got eaten alive by the shark.

WHICH CHARACTER DO YOU LIKE BEST AND WHY?: Martin Brody is my favourite character because he had the guts to look into the mayor's eyes and tell him that he was going to close the beaches during the most vital time in Amity's tourism.

WHAT WAS THE BEST PART OF THE BOOK AND WHY?: The best part of the book was when Martin Brody nearly got eaten alive by a 20-foot shark.

THE VERDICT: 9/10. I must admit that the movie was better than the novel, but if you can't be bothered renting the movie, the book is just as good.

WHO WOULD YOU RECCOMEND IT TO?: Well, I'd be surprised if I came across anyone who hasn't read the book, so I would recommend it to them.

SOMETHING ELSE OF INTEREST TO YOU: The bit where the scooba tank is exploded by a single shot from Brody's gun is actually fake because Mythbusters actually tested this scene.