What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

The Mustang Machine
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SOLVED: Children's/YA > SOLVED. YA book: Boy starts new school in England, is bullied by 'The Jungle Treatment' (Python Penk, etc.). Read in 1980s. [s]

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message 1: by Dazzla (new)

Dazzla | 6 comments Hello all.

This is a YA book about a boy who (I think) starts a new school where he's bullied by one particulkar boy who subjects him to 'The Jungle Treatment'. This is a series of torments, one of which is called 'Python Penk' which involves his jabbing his pointed fingers into the solar plexus, and another whose name I can't remember that consists of forcing soil into his mouth. You'd think this would be easy to google, but iot isn't.

There's some connection with a bicycle but I can't remember the precise details, and I think my copy had a bike on the front.

It's from the early 1980s, or at the very earliest the late 1970s and for a while I thought it was by Jan Mark, but I can't find it in her back catalogue.

Sorry I can't be more detailed.

Thanks :)


message 3: by SBC (new)

SBC (essbeecee) | 1594 comments Anything on the Bullying list?

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...


message 4: by Dazzla (new)

Dazzla | 6 comments None of those, but thankls for the suggestions.

I forgot to mention: it's set in England.


message 5: by Rainbowheart (new)

Rainbowheart | 28616 comments That's good to know!

Was it a boarding school or a day school?

Was the boy a teenager or a younger child?


message 6: by Dazzla (new)

Dazzla | 6 comments It was just a normal state school in England.


message 7: by Rainbowheart (new)

Rainbowheart | 28616 comments Sounds like just a normal day school then.

What age was the boy, roughly?


message 8: by Kris (new)

Kris | 54891 comments Mod
Dazzla, around what year did you read this book? A range of years is fine.


message 9: by Dazzla (new)

Dazzla | 6 comments It would have been in the early - mid 1980s.


message 10: by Dazzla (new)

Dazzla | 6 comments Rainbowheart wrote: "Sounds like just a normal day school then.

What age was the boy, roughly?"


He would have been in the range of 10-12.


message 11: by SamSpayedPI (last edited Sep 27, 2021 09:28AM) (new)

SamSpayedPI | 2306 comments The Mustang Machine by Chris Powling looks likely:
“Sorry, kid. Python-the-ponk coming up. How can you have the Jungle Treatment without python-the-ponk? Ready Madboy?”

The back cover reads:
The Mustang Machine is a magical bike, whoever owns it will be faster than anyone else. That makes it absolutely vital that the machine does not fall into the wrong hands. One way or another Tim and his friends have to find a way to stop Dennis the Bully claiming the bike as his own.

The Goodread page shows a 2000 publication date, but the book says it was first published in 1981. It's available on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/mustangma...


message 12: by Dazzla (new)

Dazzla | 6 comments That’s it!!!!!!!!!!! Years of searching and you’ve nailed it!!!!!!


message 13: by SamSpayedPI (new)

SamSpayedPI | 2306 comments Glad you found your book, Dazzla!


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