Saturday, 4 July 2015

Ali Sparkes - Car-Jacked


Rating: 4/5

Review:
An exciting read


I enjoyed this book.  It's well written and exciting, and it kept me engrossed right to the end.

The story is of 12-year-old Jack, a "boy genius" who becomes involved in the adventures of a criminal who steals a car with Jack in it.  An involved chase ensues, avoiding capture in order to confront and confound the Mr Big who is behind it all.  It's very enjoyable: it has to be said that the plot is absurdly implausible and depends on so many strokes of good luck that you need to suspend disbelief from a pretty high point, but that's fine in a book like this and I think readers of around 12 years old would love it.

There's more to it than just an exciting crime caper, too.  Ali Sparkes is very funny at times, and the opening couple of pages are brilliant, I thought.  Her portrait of an over-pushy, over-protective mother is a bit of a caricature but makes the point well and with humour, and the message about the importance of things other than achievement and self-improvement is well made.

I didn't think this was a real classic, but it's a very enjoyable read with plenty to make you laugh and some serious content too, and I can recommend it.

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