Socks Are Not Enough

LoveReading4Kids Says

Winner of the 2013 Leeds Book Award 11-14 age category.

A Piece of Passion from the Publisher: We at Scholastic Children’s Books are very proud to be publishing Socks Are Not Enough by Mark Lowery.  It genuinely takes a lot to make me laugh – especially out loud. So it may have surprised my colleagues when I spent an entire afternoon at my desk snorting with amusement. “What is SO funny?” they enquired. I proceeded to read them extract after extract of the “really hilarious submission” I was reading. Yes – that submission was the wonderful SOCKS ARE NOT ENOUGH, Mark Lowery’s debut novel.

The protagonist, Michael Swarbrick, is the ultimate geek. But every reader of Socks Are Not Enough will very much identify with him. I know I certainly did.  Anyone who remembers being 14 will recall the same cringe-worthy embarrassment at their parents’ or best friend’s behaviour as Michael does on coming home to discovering his parents are secret nudists – and ready to go public! Sure, my parents weren’t nudists like Michael’s. But my dad did drop me at school on the back of his vintage motorbike which constantly backfired! Any book that makes the reader recall their formative teenage years with so much laughter is one that mustn’t be missed – you’ll even enjoy it if those years are still to come.

Also shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012.

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A Review by Katy Poulter, aged 12

Socks are not enough is a fun, light read that made me laugh out loud. Michael is so unfortunate and everything seems to happen to him, this makes him an incredibly easy character to relate to. I really enjoyed it as it was funny and tackled some topics, which are usually avoided, in a light-hearted way but still got across the impact that they have on people’s lives. I wanted to read this book first as I was drawn to it because of the cover, which is bright and quirky, and the blurb, which is intriguing and unusual. I love funny books but you don’t usually see them in award lists so I think that it is brilliant that this list has one in.

Katy Poulter is a member of the Lovereading4kids Reader Review Panel but she has reviewed this novel in the first instance for the Leeds Book Award as it is one of the 2013 shortlisted titles. The organisers have kindly agreed to let us also make use of Katy's review.

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For further information on the the 2013 Leeds Book Award Award  click here.

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