Questa serie narra il percorso di formazione di un giovane ragazzo che affronta le sfide di un prestigioso collegio maschile in Sudafrica. Attraverso un misto di arguzia pungente e osservazione commovente, esplora le lotte universali dell'adolescenza. I lettori vengono immersi in un mondo di personaggi eccentrici, primi amori e situazioni esilaranti e caotiche. Offre uno sguardo umoristico ma acuto sul percorso spesso sconcertante verso l'età adulta, visto attraverso gli occhi di un adolescente perspicace.
In 1990, thirteen-year-old John "Spud" Milton, a prepubescent choirboy, keeps a diary of his first year at an elite, boys-only boarding school in South Africa, as he deals with bizarre housemates, wild crushes, embarrassingly dysfunctional parents, and much more.
Spud's nearly 15 and although he is no longer the youngest or the smallest in his dorm, his second year at boarding school is beset with women trouble, misguided late-night adventures and excruciating family visits. He is a boy who discovers that the long path to manhood is never easy, especially when all around him the madness continues.
Spud Milton (practically a man in most areas) is hoping for a smooth ride as he returns to boarding school as a senior. But instead he finds his vindictive arch-enemy is back to taunt him and a garrulous new boy has taken residence in his dorm, along with the regular inmates and misfits he calls friends.
Spud Milton is in his final year at boarding school. Now a prefect and on cusp of adulthood, he thinks this may be his best year yet. But soon his life is as chaotic as ever as he wages a battle for his room, directs a play in which the actors refuse to learn their lines and (most terrifyingly of all) attempts to find a date for the matric dance.