Moone Boy 2: The Fish Detective by Chris O'Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy
| Moone Boy 2: The Fish Detective by Chris O'Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: As daft as the first one, this is a ridiculous but somehow endearing follow up story about Martin Moone! | |
| Buy? yes | Borrow? yes |
| Pages: 336 | Date: October 2015 |
| Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 9781447270973 | |
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Christmas is coming, and Martin Moone's family are on a strict budget. Placed in charge of finding the family a Christmas tree Martin, actually, is more worried about how he'll ever manage to get a Game Boy. He decides to get himself a job but of course, being Martin, he can't get himself the usual paper round. No, Martin Moone becomes a butcher's boy!
Everything about these stories is silly, from Martin's imaginary friend Sean through to the increasingly unlikely situations they find themselves in. I find, being a grown up, that I have to be in the right mood to read these sort of shenanigans, but so long as I am they do make me laugh. I can still hear Chris O'Dowd's voice very clearly in my head as I read, and I think perhaps it helps if you can mentally read the stories with an Irish accent! I like that they are innocently silly, and that although there is plenty of suspense and intrigue, it isn't scary or horrible.
As in the first book, there are plenty of definitions throughout the story, for situations where the reader might be wondering who or what 'the A Team' is or who the 'pet shop boys' are. I personally think a lot of the humour in those little snippets is aimed at the grown ups who might be reading along with the youngsters! There are illustrations too, with little black, white and red pictures to show us what the characters have been getting up to. I like that they match the tone of the story, and don't feel intrusive in the book but rather a continuous part of it.
There are several new characters introduced in this story, and although it's nice to revisit Martin's crazy family, I liked the new people we meet, especially the rather bizarre Francie Feeley. His fish factory certainly provides plenty of entertainment, and I enjoyed the storyline, and the way things worked out in the end. The writing style means that the book is easily accessible for readers of varying levels, and also good for those who, when faced with long text-filled chapters, close the book quick-sharp. The large fonts, inserted definitions and illustrations all go towards making this a more attractive read. It is about a boy, but I don't think that limits it to male readers in any way, and the cover isn't one of those that shouts 'boys only' all over it. It has a good pace, and I found it quite hard to put down once I'd started, as I wanted to see just how big a mess Martin was going to get into! Certainly good for a giggle!
Further reading suggestion: If you're wondering where it all began, take a look at Moone Boy: the Blunder Years by Chris O'Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy or you might enjoy reading Tom Gates is Absolutely Fantastic (at some things) by Liz Pichon.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Moone Boy 2: The Fish Detective by Chris O'Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Moone Boy 2: The Fish Detective by Chris O'Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy at Amazon.com.
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