Fire Boy

Fire Boy

By Author / Illustrator

J.M. Joseph

Genre

Funny Stories

Age range(s)

9+

Publisher

Hachette Children's Group

ISBN

9781444954685

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

19-03-2020

Synopsis

Fire Boy is a laugh-out-loud story about friendship, unexpected superpowers, magical sweets, Inca legends and a cat named Lemon - perfect for fans of My Brother is A Superhero and The Parent Agency.


When 11-year-old Aidan receives a mysterious package of sweets from South America in the post, he and his two best friends Sadie and Hussein eat one sweet each - and suddenly develop amazing superpowers. Sadie can move objects with her mind. Hussein can control any electronic device. And Aidan can ignite his body at will...though he can't always control the resulting flames.


When they discover that the sweets were sent by a dangerous criminal who is trying to hunt them down to get them back, they have to use all their new powers to outwit him ... before everything goes up in a fiery blaze.


But can three ordinary kids keep their powers a secret? Will Aidan learn to control his fiery capabilities? Or will the ultimate bad guy spoil the whole adventure?

Reviews

Samantha

Right from the very start I knew I was going to enjoy reading Fire Boy, the debut novel by JM Joseph; a group of pals, sweets that give you superpowers, a cantankerous, walking stick-wielding Granny and an undoubtable baddie, who wouldn't? Add to that the possibility of our young superhero, Aidan, perfecting the art of blowing smoke rings from his - bottom, I soon realised that not only was this a great read but possibly the best children's adventure story I had read in many years!

The story starts when Aidan receives a strange looking parcel, sent all the way from Peru. The mysterious package contains a jar of sweets that Aidan and his friends Sadie and Hussein can't wait to try, and that's where things begin to go a little awry. Sadie finds that she can move objects with her mind. Hussein slowly realises that he can control any electronic device without the need for a switch or joystick. While Aidan can 'throw flames' from every part of his body.

Aidan's escapades alone, as he attempts to control his new powers, made me giggle. The idea of running naked on the school stage in the middle of assembly is shocking, but you have to chuckle at the image of poor Aidan trying to maintain his modesty in front of the whole school with just the help of two shoes and a pair of socks.

Fire Boy is a fabulous story of friendship and family, a combination of superhero adventure and rib-tickling humour. A must read for every young reader, ideal for a read at home alone or a class read aloud.

I loved this book and I most sincerely hope that this is not the last that we hear of Fire Boy and his secret superhero pals.

288 pages / Reviewed by Samantha Phillips, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+

 

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