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Book Summary and Reviews of Boom! by Mark Haddon

Boom! by Mark Haddon

Boom!

by Mark Haddon

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  • May 2010, 208 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

An explosive, highly charged, and hilarious middle-grade adventure from Mark Haddon, acclaimed author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

From the moment that Jim and his best friend, Charlie, bug the staff room and overhear two of their teachers speaking to each other in a secret language, they know there's an adventure on its way.

But what does "spudvetch" actually mean, and why do Mr. Kidd's eyes flicker with fluorescent blue light when Charlie says it to him? Perhaps Kidd and Pearce are bank robbers talking in code. Perhaps they're spies. Perhaps they are aliens. Whatever it is, Jimbo and Charlie are determined to find out.

There really is an adventure on its way. A nuclear-powered, one-hundred-ton adventure with reclining seats and a buffet car. And as it gathers speed and begins to spin out of control, it can only end one way ... with a BOOM!

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"In all, a well-knit tale that hurtles down a logical path to a satisfying conclusion ... well worth a second chance." - Kirkus Reviews

"Adventure and quirky humor keep the pages turning, and readers will connect to Jimbo with little difficulty. If they can overcome some of the cultural differences, they will appreciate the simple and engaging tale." - School Library Journal

"It’s exactly the kind of caper you imagine when you’re a kid, filled with adult conspiracies, secret codes, and wisecrack-filled escapades. Sure, it gets a little tiring during its zany spaceship finale, but it’s hard to find much fault in a climax featuring a giant, disco-obsessed alien spider named Britney. Grades 4-7." - Booklist

This information about Boom! was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

luxmiyaa

BOOM!
This book is so good I definitely recommend it!

Cloggie Downunder

a fun read
Boom! is the first book by Mark Haddon and was initially published in 1992 under the title Gridzbi Spudvetch! This edition for 10 and over readers has been updated in 2009. Jim’s life is upside down: his father is out of work and spends his days on the couch watching TV or flying model planes; his mother is the hard-working breadwinner; his sister Becky has stopped washing her armpits and has a biker boyfriend Jim calls Craterface; and Jim is worried he will be expelled from school due to his less-than-stellar academic performance. After they eavesdrop at the teachers staffroom and hear Mr Kidd and Mrs Pearce talking a strange language, Jim’s friend Charlie is convinced that they are spies, robbers or aliens. Soon he and Jim are shadowing teachers, breaking into homes and finding more than they bargained for. Haddon’s updated version of his first book will delight younger readers with secret languages, alien teachers, travel to another planet, rides on stolen motorbikes, thought-controlled food machines, sentient spiders, explosions and quite a bit of biffo. A fun read.

Book reviewer

Boom Mark Haddon
It was a good book but not perfect. Quite funny as well. I recommend it.

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Author Information

Mark Haddon Author Biography

© Nigel Barklie

Mark Haddon is the author of the bestselling novels The Red House and A Spot of Bother. His novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction and is the basis for the Tony Award–winning play. He is the author of a collection of poetry, The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea, has written and illustrated numerous children's books, and has won awards for both his radio dramas and his television screenplays. He teaches creative writing for the Arvon Foundation and lives in Oxford, England.

Link to Mark Haddon's Website

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