Aliens Don't Eat Dogfood by Dinah Capparucci

Aliens Don't Eat Dogfood by Dinah Capparucci
Buy Aliens Don't Eat Dogfood by Dinah Capparucci at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Madeline Wheatley
Summary: A very funny, over the top tale of three boys (and two dogs) causing complete chaos when reality T.V. comes to town. Reading it without laughing is an impossibility.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 240	Date: April 2008
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN: 978-1407102726
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Jordan, Ryan and Boy Dave are in Year 8 when a reality T.V. crew arrives to film lessons in their school. When it comes to getting into trouble the boys have quite a record, and even more imagination. But creating a huge smoking crater in the roof of the school science block takes them to a whole new level of trouble. Their attempts to get their lives back to 'normal' leads to a series of increasingly manic events.

The Aliens title is a hook to get you into the boys' world. The story is far more school-fiction than science-fiction. Not that this matters, as the real reason you will carry on reading this book is that it is so funny. In 2008 it was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize (the newly inaugurated children's book prize) and it is certainly a worthy entrant.

In addition to making you laugh, though a couple of the characters verge towards stereotypes, the author has also created characters that leap off the page and uses very apt details to describe them. Here is Jordan introducing us to his sister:

Joanna's my sister. She's fifteen, three years older than me, and lives in a parallel universe. This is like a continuous episode of Friends, One Tree Hill, Hollyoaks, and other programmes that are mainly on E4. She was wearing pink pyjamas with cute written on the T-shirt. It should have said vile.

The typical antagonistic/occasionally supportive relationship between brother and sister is true to life, and the scenes in which Jordan's family are together are one of the books strengths.

Some of the descriptions used in the book are equally evocative. When the boys have to get dressed in damp, grubby clothing it was like being wrapped in slugs. Doesn't that capture the feeling perfectly?

All in all, the book is a mix of good fun, extremely unlikely events, and extremely likeable characters: a book to make you smile.

Thank-you to the publishers for brightening my day with this book.

If this book appeals then we think that you might also enjoy Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce – compulsive and fun reading about a twelve year old World of Warcraft fan.

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