quippe | Entries tagged with jim smith

The Blurb On The Back:

Melvin and Rhubarb love a good mystery.

Unfortunately, nothing ever happens in their boring old town.

Until the Donut Hole Monsters turn up …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jim Smith’s self-illustrated humour book for children aged 8+ (the first in a series) is an entertaining, silly affair that sends up both the desire to be cool and to find mysteries where there are not. It takes a while to get going and there are a number of typos in the text, which is disappointing, but it’s not as cruel as Smith’s BARRY LOSER SERIES and focuses on the importance of genuine friendship and as such, I would happily read more.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

I've never minded that my name's Barry Loser because my coolness has always cancelled it out, but ever since Darren Darrenofski joined school with his horrible little crocodile face he's been completely ruining my life about it. "I Am Not A Loser" is the first of three notebooks belonging to Barry Loser. Follow Barry as he tries throw off his loserness, take revenge on the terrible Fronkle-burping Darren Darrenofski and finally become a winner.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jim Smith’s book (the first in a trilogy) is an amusing-enough story with some great illustrations that’s likely to appeal to fans of the WIMPY KID books but it didn’t have enough of a heart for me and I found the characters to all be equally unlikeable. The drawings are a lot of fun and the story unfolds at a decent pace. Ultimately though, there was just something missing from this for me and I’m not sure that I’ll be reading on.

Thanks to Starbucks for the free copy of this book.