Saturday 5 October 2013

Book Review - Operation Itchy Bum

Title: Operation Itchy Bum
Author: Niki Daly
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Release Date: 7 Jun 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1444900927
ASIN: B007XNTCV0

Synopsis
Alistair D'Arcy McDermott has a great mum and a great dad who love him very much ... but aren't so keen on each other. He also has a best friend with a wicked laugh and a teacher who wears tight white trousers and likes humiliating kids. So when his mum decides that she's going on a blind date with the teacher from hell, Burke the Jerk, Al's worst nightmare has come true. And when she tells him that they're going on holiday with her new man, Al's got to do something drastic. He packs his bag of total destruction and heads off for the holiday of a lifetime ...

My Review
Do you ever look at a book and think 'dear lord no! I mean really, why would you?' Well this book was one of those for me. It's on our book day list for work so I had to read it, but looking at it, I was overcome with despair. 
However, as soon as I opened the first page and began to read I found it quite charming and funny. I giggled out loud form the start and found that I quite like Alistair, he has a good sense of humour and a sort of honesty about him. 
This book is very short, has quite big writing and illustrations throughout. Meaning I read it in about an hour, but it was an hour I rather enjoyed. This book would actually appeal to boys and girls if they changed the cover and maybe even the title, but it has clearly been marketed towards the male market and are following the route of crude humour. put the word bum or bogey on a book and a boy will pick it up. 
I liked Al's style of narration and the book moves forward at a good pace. Overall I really enjoyed it, much to my surprise. It is one I would definitely give to the kids at my book group. 
Worth a read if you can get past the title!

My Rating
   

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