Xander Maze is a 15-year-old boy living with his mum while his grandma is in the hospital fighting stage 4 cancer. Nanna asks him to complete 100 remarkable feats to save her. She has an alternative motive for giving Xander the list (which I won’t spoil for you).
Some of the remarkable feats are: kiss a girl (preferably Ally Collins), make a best friend, watch the entire ‘Star Wars’ trilogy in one day (episodes IV to VI only), learn to cook Nanna’s beef and potato curry, go on a road trip, stand up for someone in trouble, and #createahashtag.
The list also includes feats that ask him to break the law: drive a car (preferably a fancy one) and get into a bar or nightclub. My favourite feat is the ‘say yes to everything for a day’ because I think everyone would love to try it, even if it wouldn’t end with the best results.
I loved this book because you get to watch Xander complete each of his feats in different ways and with different people. The power of this book is that it makes you happy, it makes you laugh, and it also made me cry. The book is also set in Sydney which was a different reading experience for me because so many YA books are set in other countries.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone, especially if you want to know if he gets to 100 on the remarkable feats list: Save Nanna.
Reviewed by Olivia, Year 7
Cammeraygal High School, North Sydney NSW
Age Guide 13+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Clayton Zane Comber is a writer from the South Coast of NSW. He has held many varied roles, including lawyer, optical dispenser, club DJ, creative writing tutor and saxophonist in a Chinese restaurant. He received his MA from the University of Sydney. He graduated from Oxford University with distinction for his Master’s in Creative Writing.
In 2017, Clayton opened Bouquiniste Bookstore Cafe Bar, where he is the licensee, book curator, occasional DJ, and head dishwasher. His novel 100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze was published in 2021.
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