Josh Walker is a boy who likes a list. Top of his ‘things to do this year’ is: commence upper-body-related action with girlfriend Becky; form a band (death metal preferably); and get a tattoo. By the end of the book he’ll have achieved two of those – not bad going! This is J. A. Buckle’s second novel about Josh, and it’s that rare thing, a novel for younger teens that manages to be genuinely funny, a bit silly – there’s a wonderful cast of slightly eccentric but recognisable characters – but also full of reassurance about life and coping with the various things it might throw at readers, whether that’s lack of confidence, your parents’ marriage breaking down, or even your mum getting cancer. The important messages are skilfully and lightly done, and it had me laughing out loud more than once. ~ Andrea Reece
Jaqui Buckle has teamed up with Young Minds, the charity for young people’s mental health, to donate a percentage of her royalties to the charity. Young Minds will support and promote publication of the book.
| Suitable For: | |
| Recommendations: |
16 year old Josh is starting 6th form college and is determined to form a band, get a lot closer with his girlfriend Bekcy and , hopefully, pass the odd A level. A few days in and he has already embarrassed himself in front of a class ... he'll need all the help his ferret, a little witchcraft and a lot of smoky bacon crisps can give.
My Smoky Bacon Crisp Obsession by Jacqui Buckle is the sequel to the successful first instalment of metal-head Josh Walker’s diary, Half My Facebook Friends Are Ferrets, and it’s set to find a new readership of teenagers charmed by the book’s balance of wit and deeper issues. Buckle takes 16 year old Josh and his crowd of bloke mates to the next level, exploring the dynamics of a male pier group and the intensity of their formulating years. The group battle and deal with mental health issues like depression, anxiety and eating disorders, but Buckle’s light touch ensures the book retains its characteristic wit and charm. It’s not all about crisps, despite what the title may say – this time Josh Walker continues his rock ‘n’ roll dreams, but his mum won’t even let him grow his hair long, his friends are either geeks or nerds (they haven’t decided yet) and he’s had precisely zero Valentine’s Day cards. Will he ever live up to the cool, tough dad he’s never known?
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed My Smoky Bacon Crisp Obsession and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
My Smoky Bacon Crisp Obsession features in the following genres: Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Recommendations, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Recommended Children's eBooks, Featured Books for Young Adults
My Smoky Bacon Crisp Obsession is available in Paperback
My Smoky Bacon Crisp Obsession was written by J. A. Buckle and published by Curious Fox
My Smoky Bacon Crisp Obsession has 192 pages