Matilda vs The Machine Gunners: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Fiction
Matilda
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Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.
The Machine Gunners
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After an air raid, a group of English children find a German machine gun and hide it from adults who are looking for it.
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Matilda highest: Matilda 4.3 · The Machine Gunners 3.8.
- Matilda has the widest readership — 27951 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Matilda | The Machine Gunners | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.3 (27951) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.3 (993) | 4.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (3) | 4.5 (2) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (868) | — |
Reception
| Matilda | The Machine Gunners | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 27951 | 2 |
| Editions | 149 | 20 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 381368 | — |
| Written reviews | 27951 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 18873 | 861 |
| Pages | 242 | 187 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Matilda or The Machine Gunners?
Matilda has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Matilda 4.3/5, The Machine Gunners 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Matilda or The Machine Gunners?
The Machine Gunners is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Machine Gunners (187 pages, ≈ 3 h 28 m); Matilda (242 pages, ≈ 4 h 29 m).
Which is harder to read: Matilda or The Machine Gunners?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Matilda: Moderate; The Machine Gunners: Light.
Have both books been made into films?
Matilda: 4 film adaptations; The Machine Gunners: 1 film adaptation.