Copyright Date:
2020
Edition Date:
2020
Release Date:
05/12/20
Pages:
230 pages
ISBN:
1-324-01133-5
ISBN 13:
978-1-324-01133-0
Dewey:
Fic
LCCN:
2020009630
Dimensions:
22cm
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
A trio of 11-year-old boys goes on a zany, coincidence-packed journey after one experiences a death in the family.Fred's got only his dad and his grandmother, and his dad's been laid up ever since the accident with the mail truck. His two best mates will soon be away for the summer. Ben's going to the States and Disney World, which would be brilliant except for Ben's horrible stepmother, and Charlie's off to vegan camp because his mother wants him to lose weight. The beginning of the summer holidays takes a turn from merely bad to horrible when Fred's grandmother dies suddenly. A letter Grams left for him reveals something Fred had assumed he'd never learn: the name and birthplace of his biological father, Alan Froggley, who abandoned his pregnant mother before he was born. (She died shortly after.) In a flash of inspiration that makes complete sense to the grief-stricken Fred, he decides on a quest to find Alan Froggley in Wales. Fred has no intention of replacing his real dad, whom he adores, but he's seekingâ¦something. Family? Connection? Answers? Ben and Charlie join him for a slapstick adventure across Wales, with cinematic middle school humor marred only by Charlie's characterization via an endless stream of fat jokes. The boys (seemingly all white) are mistaken for both superheroes and saints by Welsh villagers, and they are chased by a taxi-driving, gun-wielding criminal. By some fluke, all their adventures are connected, as Fred the narrator continuously foreshadows.Goofball comedy with heart . (Fiction. 9-11)
Facts are everything to Freddie Yates--once you know one, it's yours to keep. After his grandmother dies, Freddie has to face the facts: his family has now dwindled to just him and his accident-prone stepdad. When Freddie discovers his biological father might be alive and well in Wales, he decides it's time to get back a family member. Together with his best friends Ben and Charlie, he sneaks off on the adventure of a lifetime (or at least, the summer vacation) to track him down. Freddie doesn't expect miracles--they're not real, after all. But as their road trip gets out of hand and the three boys unwittingly set off a chain of hilarious and unlikely events involving an onion-eating competition, stolen superhero costumes, an angry jewel thief, and some very backed-up plumbing, Freddie discovers that some things can't be explained--and that sometimes what you're looking for has been with you the whole time. Propulsive and laugh-out-loud funny, The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates is a heartwarming story about the true meaning of family.