Fool’s Gold is an entertaining family based adventure story that follows Lottie Baxter, a 12 (and a half) year old girl and her eccentric but loveable great Grandad, ‘Cheddar George’ as they race to stop bully and business man Timothy Pinkerton from swindling everyone in Alum Bay, Isle of Wight in order to make himself rich.
The story is filled with humour and vibrancy. There’s magic and gadgets and I think that this would be a good book for 9 year olds to enjoy, perhaps with a parent who will also enjoy the amusing descriptions, particularly of Cheddar George’s movements and actions. There’s also cultural references that will appeal to parents and guardians as they read, including Showaddywaddy references and rock ‘n’ roll chapter titles.
This book has a lot to offer, with something for a variety of different interests too. The plotline includes stories based in WWII as well as the modern plotlines focusing on school, friendships and bullying. I very quickly found Lottie endearing and I enjoyed the relationship she has with the great granddad. This is the first in a proposed series for Lottie Baxter and I’m sure it will be a popular one.
Lottie Baxter lives in Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight and her school holiday is about to get exciting.
Timothy Pinkerton is a bully and a businessman used to getting his own way. He discovers that a scientific experiment he performed as a kid can make him a gazillionaire, so hatches an evil plan to gather all the ingredients to recreate his experiment on a grand scale. But, that involves swindling all the residents of Alum Bay.
With help from some extraordinarily hi-tech stationery from World War II, her eccentric great grandad, and a Showaddywaddy Rock ‘n’ Roll tribute band, Lottie embarks on a frantic adventure to thwart Timothy and save Alum Bay.
