Jon for Short

by Malorie Blackman

Jon keeps waking up from a recurring bad dream to find that he is missing his arms and parts of his legs. Kept constantly sedated, as Jon's body disappears his nightmare gets worse. The nurses seem to hate him and the doctor won't answer his questions. Who is Joe? Why do they keep calling him by that name? Tense and horrifying, this story compels the reader to its chilling climax. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers of 14+


Originally published in a different form in Incredibly Creepy Stories, Random House Children's Books, 1996 and was later published as Joe's Nightmare in The Stuff of Nightmares, Random House Children's Books, 2007.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Fiction, Read For School, Childrens

72 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

An award-winning children's author, Malorie Blackman was honoured with an OBE in 2008. Her work has been adapted for TV and stage.

More information available at:
Myspace
British Council: Contemporary Authors
British Council: Encompass Culture
Channel 4 Learning: Book Box

Reviews

[Jani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jon for Short is an eerie, creepy, thrilling read. The progression from start to finish, both in the main character and the narration style, kept me from putting this story down until I'd finished it. I'll reread this for sure. The illustrations lifted this book to an entirely different level as well, and I'm definitely adding this to my list of favorite books for the year. Pick up a copy.

Many thanks to Kat Ellis who reviewed this on her blog and sent me a copy. http://katelliswrites.blogspot.co.uk/...

[Ophilia Adler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helt ok lättläst ungdomsbok. Den hade fina obehagliga bilder samt en intressant och lite skrämmande berättelse. Jag hade nog viljat ha mer förklaringar eller förstå mer av historien då jag anser man lämnaded ett väldigt öppet slut. Men samtidigt förstår jag att det är en lättläst bok och man får inte alltid ut samma av det.

Snabb 20 min läsning innan sängen.

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as a potential book to read aloud to KS3 for World Book Day. I think they will want to find out what happens next and be interested in the suspense and horror, but can’t decide if it’s too scary!

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for me, so can't really fault it. A interesting story and grown up for older children with a lower reading age

[zack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jon keeps having these awful nightmares, but what comes after is almost worse. Every time he wakes up from one of these nightmares, someone has removed one more of his limbs. He knows he's at the hospital but he doesn't know why, or why they keep removing his body parts.

Sometimes the doctors and the nurses come into his room; it's obvious most of them dislike him but he doesn't know why, and they won't tell him either. The only thing they'll do is call him Joe, but it doesn't make sense. He is Jon, not Joe. Why do they keep calling him Joe?

It is a short horror story with a lot of suspense and a shocking plot twist. I kind of saw it coming but I also feel like I'm too old to be considered the target audience for this book. If I was ten years younger, I would've loved the shit out of this book. But I felt like I read it a bunch of years too late.

Another thing is that I honestly didn't really understand the book at all. It left me with more questions than answers, and definitely not in a good way. It felt like there was something missing, or like the author felt like something was obvious when it was indeed not obvious at all to anyone else. But it is a good start for kids to get into the horror genre, I guess.

[A Bookish ✧ Fable · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was meant to be creepy.. but i felt kinda sad reading it haha.
Jon is a 14 year old boy in a hospital, and he is having wierd nightmares.. Everytime he wakes up, The doctors have taken a part of him, cut a leg or an arm off.

A story about a very psychologicaly damaged little boy who killed his twin brother.

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damn this is darker than I expected but like in a good way

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My opinion of this book, is that it is extremely underrated as , the further you get through the book the the tension rises and you start to ask yourself questions in your head .Although the book is short it is still very interesting and satisfying to read .This book is also scary and weird but makes total sense at the end of the book .Another reason why I think this book is Satisfying to read is that at the start of most chapters the dream repeats and another part of joes body is gone .

My favorite character in this book has got to be Jon as he Is sort of the main character in this book and he really makes you think , why is he in the hospital and will he make it out alive ?
But at the end there is a twist and answers all the questions in a small part at the end .
When reading this book there will be pictures that match and also explain what is happening in the book this also makes this book unique and more spooky at the same time.

[Dan Allbery · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my pursuit to locate books that provide a more inclusive reading experience for my students, I ordered a copy of Jon for Short by Malorie Blackman. I continue to be drawn to Barrington Stoke's books for readers with dyslexia, or just reluctant readers in general. Their stories are short and inviting, but still have the edge and grit that older readers want.

The plot is eerie and mysterious--definitely a horror book. The pictures pair with it nicely, and I especially liked how the nurses and doctors were depicted. The 14+ age advisory is spot on. I'm thinking this book is a "no" for my GR 7 readers given the content toward the end. They would love it, but it should live more in a HS environment. Call me a reading prude. Recommended for GR 9 and up, content-wise. *The reading level is accessible for lower level readers.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jon for short

The book is about a boy called Jon . He has woken up in a hospital and doesn’t know what happened to him. Every night he falls asleep something comes closer and fast, closer and fast. Finally he wakes up with one of his body parts missing.


I really enjoyed the plot twist-the cliff hanger that leaves the rest for your imagination. It puts you in his shoes so you don’t know what is happening. I really liked the character Doctor Black because she is nice to him. I really feel for Jon, he is so confused. As soon as I started reading I couldn’t put the book down i love the horror, the mystery and the guessing.


Overall, I really enjoyed the short book I loved every scene this book was really for me. It’s an easy read but the ideas are complex.
👺🔪🧘🏼‍♂️🔰👹

[Nicholas]

The whole book revolves around the mysterious main character who wakes up to him being imprisoned to a hospital bed and with every night the main character who everyone thinks is supposedly John but is actually his brother has nightmares which progressively grows more cruel and wicked with each passing night and when the main character wakes up after every night one limb gets cut off which is supposedly what Johns delusional thinking had made up and even after showing the fact that all his limbs are gone with both his arms and legs gone the doctors around him don’t see anything wrong but after the final night with just his head left with the rest of his limbless body decapitated he snaps into a rage and the book ends there with the doctors talking about a evil scheme in the making. This book was very mysterious for me to read but was surprisingly enjoyable at the same time with the anxiety of wanting to know how the MC ended up where he was and why his body slowly lost each limbs with each passing night I turned over each page until I ended up finishing the book and being left on a silent cliff hanger this made me think about how cruel someplaces can be and even though it is a book I can somehow picture something along the same lines as this happening in real life.

I would recommend this book to viewers that like the mystery genre and to teenagers or young adults.

[Moose Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soft foot steps sounded in the dark...the glare of a knife...the flashes got harder and faster, harder and faster...he kicked out with his arms and legs...drip drip drip..."JOE JOE JOE".

In my opinion the book Jon for short is really too short and the end doesn't give you enough satisfaction, but other wise I love the confusion in this book and how it is repetitive. It was clever how it keeps you guessing and you haven't got a clue what is going on. Every time it gives you a bit more to guess with till the end where you are still left guessing.

I would rate it 4.5 and good for ages 10+.

[Charlie Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is something else. A different experience entirely from your typical book. It reminded me of those eerie short films where things don't make sense and you are left with a vague feeling of unease. And yet I read it in one sitting because once I started I just had to find out what happens.

I only gave it three stars because its not my typical read, but I feel like the younger version if myself would have given it 5. I'd recommend this for angsty teens who like things dark and odd.

[Kate Atkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barrington Stoke collection - What a horrifying and spine-chilling read! A quick and easy story which will delight anyone wanting a psychologically terrifying experience... will be passing this onto our weaker readers who are ready for some thrills.

[Sanna Bergkvist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really what I expected, after looking at the front, and reading the back, and unfortunatley it was not a what I expected in an all good way. Didn't really get a good feeling, but I would still see areas where to use this book in my line of work.

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very creepy with great use of a repeated cycle that gradually expands to reveal more. Great for reluctant older readers as the content is suitable for 13+ but easily readable. My only criticism is the ending is a bit unsatisfying

[Ziggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a scary book, it gave me chills all over my body. But even though it was terrifying, I still got compassion for the man who the book is about (have forgotten his name). Anyway, the book was very good and suitable if you want to read something shorter.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure whether to put it out for 11-14 Year olds. Any comments gratefully received.

[Lady Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good - not her usual thing. Kept me guessing.

[Reina Inoue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhilarating. An amazing short and dramatic novel.

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superbly gripping & well written quick read horror for teens

[Reetta Saine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brrr, tämä oli oikeasti aika panajaismainen tapaus!

[A Severs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what I think of this! Totally gripping and makes use of some great writing techniques but ultimately is very shocking!

[Alice Visser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this twisty, creepy book so much that we read it to our Y7/8 students for World Book Day. Feedback was great and I hugely enjoyed reading it aloud.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is a lot more eerie than i expected it to be

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it because of how intense the story is.

[C.J. Pallister · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stupid plot twist.

[Mairin · Rating 5 out of 5]

creepy but my type of creepy

[Jossi · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's ok, not the best, kinda understood the end in the beginning, but yeah

[Layla Bashir · Rating 3 out of 5]

A creepy quick-read