"South by Java Head" by Alistair Maclean (Parent Guide)

              South by Java Head (Parent Guide)

Positive Messages: 3/10

Deals with how far people can go to survive. No real positive messages to take away.

Positive Role Models: 6/10

People sacrifice themselves so the rest can survive. The main character has a good heart, and is kind to young children. He pretty much only kills when he has to, except the end where he only seeks revenge.There are also strong female characters.

Profanity: 6/10

Frequent use of bloody, damn, goddamn, bastard, and other religious exclamations.

Sex: 3/10

A few implicit references. Very very light romance.

Drinking: 1/10

Very few instances of drinking Alcohol.

Smoking/Drugs: 2/10

A bit of smoking.

Violence/Gore: 7/10

Highly frequent violence and some very heavy gore. Throughout the novel people are shot, stabbed, impaled, exploded, burned, eaten, and every other way of killing and torture you can imagine. Some very graphic depictions and descriptions of people dead or dying. People get tortured. At the beginning there are 22 survivors. As the story progresses one after the others die.

Frightening/Intense: 9/10

Highly intense and sometimes a bit frightening. As Alistair Maclean is called "The Master of Action and Suspense" you can imagine. There are some frightening scenes.

Mood: Over all DARK

Key characters die, you lose confidence in who means well or bad. The Characters are puzzled, scared, and wounded.

Overall recommended for teens 16 and up for High Violence, Gore, and Intensity.