rosieg 's review for:

The 1,000-year-old Boy by Ross Welford

3.0

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I am going to preface this by saying I didn’t look at the reading level when I picked this book! 🙈 I read the review, thought it was interesting and went from there. I thought it might be something like The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared… instead it is for 10 year olds! 😂

That said, it is an engaging read for the right age. Alfie Monk is an interesting character… he’s not presented as heroic, even the way he came into his ‘immortality’ is rather foolish but the book does raise a lot of questions on the negative side of being an eternal 11 year old. Including how the challenges changed over time along with practical things like dental care. It seems being immortal doesn’t mean your teeth are!

But Alfie doesn’t exactly act like someone who is 1000 years old. The off hand comments about seeing historical battles or knowing long dead writers come across as quite clunky. However his relationship with the other main characters – Aidan and Roxy – is beautifully presented and really encapsulates the importance of childhood friendship when everything is “Serious” and the adults just don’t understand.

All in all it was an enjoyable read with a lot of action and adventure. If you have a kid who likes to read, get them to give it a go!