I'm back with another book review! It's slightly later than planned but with going back to work and catching a cold within the first few days of being back in school with the children, I haven't been up for writing much.
However, here is my review of Life of Riley: Beginner's Luck...
First, here is the synopsis:
After a traumatic run-in with the fortune teller from a visiting funfair – thanks to an unfortunately-timed sneeze – Riley finds himself CURSED.
Life as he knows it quickly becomes a catalogue of disasters – from wetting himself onstage during the school show, accidentally supergluing himself to his classmates and ruining the school football team’s sponsorship deal, to flooding his house and losing class 4’s pet rabbit – Riley knows the bad luck is out to get him.
Enter new kid: Brad Chicago. He’s super-cool, well-groomed and stylish, with an excellent stationery collection. And for some reason he wants to be Riley’s friend. Can Riley get rid of the curse before Brad discovers he’s a walking disaster?
I love Simon James Green. I've read all of his books including Llama Glamarama, which Simon read aloud to us at a Scholastic event. I couldn't wait to read his first middle grade book.
I read this whole book in one sitting because I really could not put it down. It was such a fun, enjoyable and easy read. Before I knew it, I'd read the entire book.
The character of Riley was simply brilliant. He was entertaining and adventurous and I loved reading through his thought processes and plans as he tried to work out how to lift this curse. I especially liked the interactions between Riley and his sister and also with Brad. He was funny and the way he spoke and acted just pulled me into the story even more.
Simon James Green has written yet another fantastic book and I really do hope that he writes more for this age group. I already want to share this story with the children I work with, who know I read a lot of books and are always asking for recommendations.
The plot of the book was interesting and well-paced. I think this was a big part of why the book was so easy to read in one sitting; it was constantly moving but at a good speed that didn't allow you time to put the book down but also didn't rattle through the story so quickly that you didn't get enough on what was going on.
I also found - which doesn't happen with many books - that I could have easily picked this book up again the very next say for a reread. I managed to hold back on the reread though as I put it forward as a suggestion for the class book, so we may end up reading it again soon anyway.
Overall, I thought this was a brilliant book and I would thoroughly recommend it. I cannot wait to read anything new by Simon James Green, especially more middle grade after Life of Riley: Beginner's Luck.
You can buy your copy of Life of Riley: Beginner's Luck here.
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