Thursday, 15 August 2013

Kids' book review : My Parents Are Out Of Control - Pete Johnson


My Parents Are Out Of Control is the sequel to How To Train Your Parents, but I still really enjoyed it without having read the first tome. As a parent, I found it very funny and I'm sure the teen and pre-teen market that it is aimed at would find it equally funny, just maybe not for the same reasons !

We meet Louis, your typical teenage boy, who watches with horror as his parents make a cringeworthy effort to be young and cool again. They bump fists, use words like "safe"; "sick" and "wicked" and start following all his friends on Facebook ! When his dad starts turning up at school in ridiculous badboy rapper clothes and backwards baseball caps and showing him up, Louis decides that it has gone too far and he needs to react.

There is a slightly deeper level though. We get to see that it's not just a laughable midlife crisis and Peter Pan complex. There is actually a slightly more sensible reason why Louis's dad suddenly wants to be cool and trendy and reagin his lost youth, so we can feel a bit sorry for him, even while we snigger at his ridiculous antics.

The tone of the book, seeing life through the eyes of a teenager, reminded me very much of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole that I enjoyed reading as a child. It's a fun read that will keep book-loving teens and pre-teens amused during the summer holidays.

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £6.99

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Yearling (6 Jun 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0440870135
  • ISBN-13: 978-0440870135
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm



Disclosure : We received a review copy of the book.

Other reviews you may be interested in :

Children's book review : Rescuing Gus - Melissa Wareham

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