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A review by maycho
I Funny by Chris Grabenstein, James Patterson
3.0
3.5 Stars
A fun, quick-read about a boy stuck in a wheelchair who dreams of becoming the world's greatest stand-up comedian.
I didn't like the writing style in the beginning because it felt off-handish and really quite irritating, but then I realised that when I was in Middle School, this was exactly how I used to talk. It still irked me a little throughout the entire read, but I got used to it, largely because I liked the narrator.
Our narrator is middle schooler Jamie Grimm. After a car crash that killed of his family and left him disabled, he sought solace in reading joke books. This consequently leads him to pursue his dream of stand-up comedy. I liked Jamie. He was annoying at times, sure, but his character was heart and humour combined. He does not pity himself and yearns greatly for people to treat him like how they treat everybody else.
I liked the way issues of death, discrimination and bullying were handled in this book. These are definitely elements that children will go through in life and I felt that the subject matters were appropriately dealt with in the book.
The jokes in the book were, for the most part, humourous but it was not laugh-out-loud funny. I enjoyed them, though. Jamie likes to pull one-liners of famous comedians, so now I've got a huge list of stand-up comedians to check out.
One thing I disliked immensely about this book was its title. I mean, I Funny? Really? It's a limp, weak and annoying title. Wish it was named differently, but oh well.
Looking forward to reading the next book!
A fun, quick-read about a boy stuck in a wheelchair who dreams of becoming the world's greatest stand-up comedian.
I didn't like the writing style in the beginning because it felt off-handish and really quite irritating, but then I realised that when I was in Middle School, this was exactly how I used to talk. It still irked me a little throughout the entire read, but I got used to it, largely because I liked the narrator.
Our narrator is middle schooler Jamie Grimm. After a car crash that killed of his family and left him disabled, he sought solace in reading joke books. This consequently leads him to pursue his dream of stand-up comedy. I liked Jamie. He was annoying at times, sure, but his character was heart and humour combined. He does not pity himself and yearns greatly for people to treat him like how they treat everybody else.
I liked the way issues of death, discrimination and bullying were handled in this book. These are definitely elements that children will go through in life and I felt that the subject matters were appropriately dealt with in the book.
The jokes in the book were, for the most part, humourous but it was not laugh-out-loud funny. I enjoyed them, though. Jamie likes to pull one-liners of famous comedians, so now I've got a huge list of stand-up comedians to check out.
One thing I disliked immensely about this book was its title. I mean, I Funny? Really? It's a limp, weak and annoying title. Wish it was named differently, but oh well.
Looking forward to reading the next book!