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Book Review: The Disappointing 5 by BOBANGA

I have been introduced to teenage madness and vagrancy through Ruskin Bond books. I am still on the lookout for more books where my favourite Rusty – an orphaned Anglo-Indian boy – awaits his next stroke of fate or a misadventure in love. The Room on the Roof and Vagrants in the Valley are perfect epitome of teenage rebel and all the problems that come with this phase of life. No matter what people think or hate you for anything, this is the time when we all experience something that changes us forever. Being into teenage rebel is a beautiful time of our lives; however, not many authors were able to capture it well except Ruskin Bond.


Time has changed! Ruskin’s characters were set in old time like 1960s to 1990s. What about now? The new author BOBANGA tried his hands on contemporary teenage rebel through the book: The Disappointing 5.  It’s a good novel stretching over 200 pages about 5 teenagers, students of 12th in a same school. They hail from different family background – none is that poor like Rusty or Sitaram.

Their problems are different, so do their attitude. They begin feeling the pangs of frustration while being in school. One believes in snubbing others, while one is into bad habits, one thinks of some other world. No matter what, their worry is that rebel factor lies in their hearts. The author stitched a riveting story by mingling them all from time and again. Initially, some chapters keep going on where I see how these characters struggle in their school life and in being aloof. But as the story chugs ahead, more intensity grips the plot, and that involvement of child trafficking, and a secret diary truly mesmerizes the readers.

The main highlight in the novel is its varied characters and their peculiar idiosyncrasies. The theme of the novel shuttles between the characters. Through a gamut of intriguing and complex characters, the author tried to convey the different shades of life. In each of the character, you will find something or other that you can relate to. I loved the strong zest and stubbornness at times.

Overall, it is a novel that can be best enjoyed in a paperback. The narration and culmination of subplots is well-sketched and makes an incredible impression on readers. The characters are different from Rusty and his team, but they do not leave you at the mercy of boredom – it is just their time is contemporary but their priorities are still same where in they seek liberation from social parameters.

For its genre, it is a riveting read. I highly recommend this novel to someone who wants to relive their teenage madness and want to cogitate on their past juvenile deeds.

Buy from Amazon/Kindle.

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