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A review by bookph1le
Loot: How to Steal a Fortune by Jude Watson
3.0
This was a cute middle grade caper novel. I wasn't overly enthused about it, but I did enjoy it. More complete review to come.
Full review:
Loot is the kind of book that's likely to appeal to the middle grade-reader looking for something a little different. Yes, there is a great deal of wish fulfillment going on in the book and, yes, it's not very realistic, but it is fun. It wasn't difficult for me to understand the appeal to middle-grade aged children, even if it made some parts of the book not work all that well for me. Some spoilers to follow.
Character-wise, the book was pretty well done. March is likeable and it's easy to identify with his pain and anger in the wake of his father's death. Maybe the complexity of his morality isn't explored as much as it should be. I didn't think March was bad per se, but he definitely engages in activities that I think it's safe to say most parents wouldn't want their children doing. Still, in the same way that Home Alone is fun because it depicts a kid getting the best of adults, this book is fun. March is clever and resourceful, and he's learned quite well the lessons his father taught him. Things don't always go his way, but his resilience is an excellent character trait, even if it's applied in less than upstanding ways in this book.
March's relationship with Jules is a little more complex, and I'm not sure I got a very good feel for her as a character. It makes sense that things aren't necessarily smooth between them, but I felt Jules was a little underdeveloped. By the end of the book, she was still pretty mysterious to me, but that may have been more because I failed to really click with her. I clicked more with Izzy, which wasn't a bad thing, but I'd have liked to have a better feel for who Jules was and what made her tick.
Darius was the character I found this most disappointing. There are good story elements to him, but he felt too much like a type and not so much like a person. I get the impression this book is meant to be the first in a series, so hopefully Darius will get a little more fleshing out in future installments. The scenes with his mother were probably the strongest in the book as far as his development goes, and I'd like to see more of those.
Where this book really excels is in delivering fast-paced and sometimes madcap entertainment. It's a caper novel in every sense of the world. Even if I felt like character development was a bit lacking, I still enjoyed going along for the ride as March and his friends plotted their big heist. I also liked the group dynamic and the ways in which each of them contribute, even as March masterminds their plans. The chapters are pretty short and snappy, and Watson does a good job of keeping things moving, shading in details that help flesh out her characters but doing so in such a way that it doesn't detract from the action. I admire the economy of her style--which isn't to say that the book is lacking in any interesting writing, but that I didn't feel there were any superfluous details that left me wondering when I'd be able to get back to the main point.
My eleven-year-old daughter also read this book, and she enjoyed it. We're both interested in reading future installments of the series, and I think there's a lot of potential for growth.
Full review:
Loot is the kind of book that's likely to appeal to the middle grade-reader looking for something a little different. Yes, there is a great deal of wish fulfillment going on in the book and, yes, it's not very realistic, but it is fun. It wasn't difficult for me to understand the appeal to middle-grade aged children, even if it made some parts of the book not work all that well for me. Some spoilers to follow.
Character-wise, the book was pretty well done. March is likeable and it's easy to identify with his pain and anger in the wake of his father's death. Maybe the complexity of his morality isn't explored as much as it should be. I didn't think March was bad per se, but he definitely engages in activities that I think it's safe to say most parents wouldn't want their children doing. Still, in the same way that Home Alone is fun because it depicts a kid getting the best of adults, this book is fun. March is clever and resourceful, and he's learned quite well the lessons his father taught him. Things don't always go his way, but his resilience is an excellent character trait, even if it's applied in less than upstanding ways in this book.
March's relationship with Jules is a little more complex, and I'm not sure I got a very good feel for her as a character. It makes sense that things aren't necessarily smooth between them, but I felt Jules was a little underdeveloped. By the end of the book, she was still pretty mysterious to me, but that may have been more because I failed to really click with her. I clicked more with Izzy, which wasn't a bad thing, but I'd have liked to have a better feel for who Jules was and what made her tick.
Darius was the character I found this most disappointing. There are good story elements to him, but he felt too much like a type and not so much like a person. I get the impression this book is meant to be the first in a series, so hopefully Darius will get a little more fleshing out in future installments. The scenes with his mother were probably the strongest in the book as far as his development goes, and I'd like to see more of those.
Where this book really excels is in delivering fast-paced and sometimes madcap entertainment. It's a caper novel in every sense of the world. Even if I felt like character development was a bit lacking, I still enjoyed going along for the ride as March and his friends plotted their big heist. I also liked the group dynamic and the ways in which each of them contribute, even as March masterminds their plans. The chapters are pretty short and snappy, and Watson does a good job of keeping things moving, shading in details that help flesh out her characters but doing so in such a way that it doesn't detract from the action. I admire the economy of her style--which isn't to say that the book is lacking in any interesting writing, but that I didn't feel there were any superfluous details that left me wondering when I'd be able to get back to the main point.
My eleven-year-old daughter also read this book, and she enjoyed it. We're both interested in reading future installments of the series, and I think there's a lot of potential for growth.