I had gone into the library to find a book. I had no idea what kind of book I wanted, I just knew I wanted to find a book. So I looked on the shelves, waiting to find a title that interested me. That's when I saw "When I Was Five I Killed Myself". Well, if that doesn't spark curiosity I don't know what does! The fact that one can kill oneself and then write about it was very curious indeed. So I borrowed it.

The story is told through the eyes of an eight year old boy called Burt who is currently in a home for children with mental problems. All we know at the start is that Burt has done something to a girl called Jessica; something awful, but we don't know what yet. The story skips between his experiences in the Children's Trust Residence Center after the incident, to his experiences at home and school, before and including the incident. It felt like a steady build up to the grand finale where we find out what actually happened, which was a bit bizarre and confusing, but you sort of get the jist of it.

The one thing that I think stands out in this book is how creative Burt's imagination is. He daydreams a lot, and these daydreams can surprise and shock you as they can be extremely random as well as unsettling. Burt also remembers a lot of things from when he was younger. Sometimes these memories seem random and unrelated but then you realise that they cleverly demonstrate the rocky relationship he has with his parents. They show us how easily confused a young, fragile and creative mind can be when a parent doesn't explain things properly.

Buten writes in a style I have never seen before. He captures the childlike voice quite well, but often I am left wondering whether an eight year old boy would really put sentences together in the way that they are in this book. I still felt a connection with the main character though, and there are some parts that are very amusing and some that made me think back to my own childhood.

To sum it up: a very interesting yet strange insight into a little boy's mind.