Reviews

Episodic adventure of a father and son fighting injustice - with Walliams' first same-sex characters nicely handled.

This has taken us a while - it's the first of Walliams' books that my son and I have read on paper rather than listening to on the school run in the car. He's been as desperate each night to read more as with the other Walliams titles we've had though, and has surprised me by remembering details days later that show just how closely he's listened.

I can see this making a great TV adaptation next year: some great characters, a wonderful central relationship between a father and son, some over-the-top villains, exciting set-pieces (car chase, prison break), even some terrible poetry.

It's going to appeal to Walliams' usual audience of 7-13 year olds, and has a few tricks up its sleeve as well that readers won't be expecting.

Frank and his dad are getting by, despite his mum having walked out on them. His dad is a 'banger racer', a talented driver who along with his car Queenie regularly wins races that his son proudly watches. Until the night he has an accident and loses a leg...

Now they are struggling to survive, with only one bulb in the house working and no money for Christmas presents. Frank's dad, desperate to give his son a gift does a job for the local gangster Mr Big...

A bit madcap in places, Frank keeps the plot in check and is the 'smarts' of the family. I enjoyed the father-son relationship, and was surprised but very pleased to see an equally loving (if slightly mocking) look at Frank's relationship with Auntie Flip, the relative who cares for the boy when his dad gets himself into trouble. Her awful poetry is excruciating to read (my son loved it!!) though she also proves a willing sport who crucially becomes Walliams' first LGBT character.

For me and my son, talking about a same-sex relationship is par for the course and a fantastic learning opportunity. Some may find it a little uncomfortable if they weren't prepared for this kind of relationship, though it is handled really very nicely - and is central to several scenes. I applaud the author for including a same-sex relationship in here and treating it with delicacy and warmth.

As ever though, the protagonist's 'mother' figure is stereotypical - Walliams does only seem to give his children mothers who have died, left the family or who are uncaring and focused on themselves. Frank's mum has left him and his dad. I hope he can show a functional and loving mother-child relationship in a future book.

A very stereotypical villain in 'Mr Big', with Fingers and Thumbs the henchmen (and Ronnie and Reggie an evil pair of cats!), and a lesson about money not being able to buy love and the things that REALLY matter.

Frank has quite a mature outlook, his dad often takes guidance from his 'mate'. Their roles seem reversed some of the time, but it does work for the story, though sometimes Frank does speak in a rather too-adult way.

Loved the action set-pieces with car chases and a great prison sequence I can't wait to see on screen. Of course, good old Raj is here, it wouldn't be the same without him.

Lovely to see a father and son being the heart of the story. This will delight fans and is an easy enough read for parents, though I needed to quickly come up with a few henchmen voices and work out how Auntie Flip needed to sound before her character became clear. Note to self- always read ahead!