Brilliant

author: Roddy Doyle
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/17
date added: 2015/09/17
shelves: children-s
review:
'Brilliant' by Roddy Doyle and illustrated by Emily Hughes is actually tied in to Dublin's Saint Patrick's Day parade. Back in 2011, Roddy Doyle was asked to write a short story and each chapter would tell a story of the float that people were seeing.

Raymond and Gloria like to sneak down and listen to what their mother and father are talking about. It's a fun game that the adults are in on. Ever since Uncle Ben came to live with them, the growups don't talk out loud at night, and when the kids sneak down, the adults don't notice. It turns out Uncle Ben has some problems and it seems to be even something affecting the entire city. There is a Black Dog of depression that has stolen the city's funny bone.

The kids decide to chase down this black dog and recover the city's laughter. Along the way they are joined by all kinds of other kids who have poignant stories of the sad grownups in their lives. There are other surprises, but I'll leave those for the reader to discover.

My review copy had rough drawings, but I've since seen the finished ones and they are very nice. The story tackles a serious subject but in a kid-friendly way. There is plenty of warmth along the way, including one of Raymond and Gloria's friends who thinks he's a vampire. It's a really lovely story.

I received a review copy of this ebook from ABRAMS Kids, Amulet Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1MubTIX