Reviews - Spaceboy | The StoryGraph

44 reviews for:

Spaceboy

David Walliams

3.77 AVERAGE

thechocolatefinger's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

jadeamy's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

smitchy's review against another edition

3.0

Another fun and silly story from David Walliams. It is the early 1960's and on a little farm Ruth and her little dog Yuri dream of the excitement of the space race and getting away from her awful aunt Dorothy.
As she watches the sky one night she sees a UFO! Not only does it crash on the farm but there is an actual ALIEN who stubles out of the crash!! HIding Spaceboy from her aunt is one thing but when the government gets involved there plenty of shenanigans as Ruth and Spaceboy try to escape. Will they ever manage to get to outer space?

This is a blend of lots of slapstick comedy, a sprinkle of history and lots of action and it is sure to have young readers laughing their heads off. Lots of illustrations, plenty of silliness, and a great layout will appeal even to reluctant readers.

unfettered_reading's review against another edition

3.5

📱 - The story takes place during the 1960’s space race. Ruth, a young orphan, lives with her cruel aunt on a farm in America and dreams of space. One day a flying saucer crashes on the farm. Ruth rescues Spaceboy from the burning saucer and an adventure full of hi-jinks and fun ensues.

✔️         Ruth and Spaceboy are both smart and feisty, while the adults are varying degrees of mean, stupid and incompetent

✔️       Yuri the three-legged dog stole my heart

✔️      Lots of silly, over the top action make for a fast moving plot

✔️       Comic style illustrations and words printed in different sizes and fonts break up big blocks of text, making the book approachable to young readers.

✔️        Sounds! I loved the way the sound words felt in my brain

✔️      That brief final scene with Dr Shock tugged surprisingly hard at my heartstrings

✔️      The ending!!

✔️         Historical facts about the space race at the end

🔵 Some of the plot felt padded out to make the book longer and I saw the twist coming a mile away

🔵 I struggled to connect with the characters at times

🔵 The book relies on potty humour rather than wit (this is a personal preference, though! I know lots of kids and adults who would love this humour

3.6 ⭐ - well worth the read