This is a great book for seniors or college students because it gives various details, tips, and rules about grammar and language and how you can master these topics. Knowing the tricks of inserting great grammar and words into a piece of writing takes skill and some of the tips in this book, such as “the more periods the slower the reader will go,” and “don’t use the word ironic when you mean coincidental” made me clearly understand new concepts that I had not previously recognized. I was taught this information every school year, however now I understand their real importance in writing and why they are to be used correctly. The short fifty lessons presented in this book will definitely allow me not to envision “learning the elements of language with drudgery and frustration,” but with excitement. These lessons are showcased in a very appealing manner, hence urging the readers to continue expanding their knowledge.
I would recommend this book to high schoolers. The author’s writing style is very persuasive and descriptive. I often spotted the writer using multiple metaphors and similes to compare his grammar to aspects in nature. For example, the first passage of a few chapters opens with him mentioning punctuation marks being referred to as “blood clots in the body of the story,” exploring the “atomic energy of letters and words,” and feeling like “drowning in a sea of capital letters” (Clark 77, 153, 251). The choice of making such a complex topic of grammar and language so fun and whimsical urges the eyes to continue reading. This use of figurative writing in the first paragraph of chapters energizes the readers, in fact the effect of this choice is to make people be more captivated and not bored by reading grammar rules. Adding hints of metaphors and similes makes grammar easily be part of the natural world and allows readers to read with excitement.
-Neha
