The Incredible Record Smashers: 1

I haven’t requested many reads from Net Galley recently: partly because I ‘ve been trying to reduce the size of my physical TBR pile and partly because many of the titles haven’t appealed. Up until now, that is.Jenny Pearson’s debut book The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, was the stand out funny book of the year for me – a laugh-out-loud tale of a boy’s mission to find his biological father, packed full of slapstick humour and I was desperate to know if this would be written in a similar vein. While I did not find it as hysterically funny as the first book, I absolutely loved it because it is a much deeper read – a fabulously heart-warming story of how far one girl is prepared to go because of the deep love she feels for her mother.That girl is Lucy, who when we meet her has just been excluded from school – an unfortunate event at any time in a child’s young life, but especially unfortunate at the very end of Year 6 with its traditional rituals and rites of passage. Lucy is not the type of child one might assume would find themselves in trouble but after being pushed too far by classmate Billy Griggs, she has punched him on the nose. The cause of this altercation is a smart alec remark in response to an end-of-year presentation Lucy has given. After sitting through her peers’ attempts – all of which she has considered to be of a poor standard with the exception of classmate Sandesh’s – Billy asks her why, when she demonstrates she has a clear talent for fixing things, she has been unable to ‘fix’ her mother, Lily.Collected from school by Auntie Sheila, Lucy vows to herself on the way home that she will fix her mum – she just needs to ‘figure out how’. Sadly, on returning home, it is clear that Lily is very unwell and when Sheila gently asks if she needs help she replies: ‘Yes, I think I’d really like that,’ before apologetically telling Lucy she is: ‘ever so broken.’ And so, at the start of the summer holidays, Lucy finds herself staying at Auntie Sheila’s; not for the first time.After a surprise pretend ‘gas attack’ from catastrophiser Sheila, Lucy is further taken aback by the revelation that Sandesh has been invited round for a ‘play date’ by her temporary guardian since his grandparents, with whom he is staying, are neighbours of hers. Initially irritated by this, Lucy and Sandesh soon become firm friends and it is to him that she turns in her attempts to fix her mother after discovering a photo of Lily with singer Paul Castellini bearing the message: ‘You are my happiness.’ For Mr Castellini is one of the judges on reality show Record Smashers – a programme where members of the public attempt to break records in order to win their 15 minutes of fame and Lucy believes that by reuniting the two adults, Lily’s restoration to true happiness is bound to be the outcome.Having decided to get themselves onto the show, it only remains to find a record to break and Lucy and Sandesh together try out various things before settling on one involving kumquats, if only because nobody has set a record up until now involving the small citrus fruit. As their opportunity to shine and impress the crooner approaches, will Lucy’s tactics bring about the result she seeks and will she and Sandesh get to the bottom of the strange messages he is receiving on a second-hand mobile phone bought at a car boot sale?In common with the superb Boy Under Water by Adam Baron, this book tackles the subject of a breakdown in parental mental health in an extremely sensitive and age-appropriate way but this read balances the seriousness of that with glorious moments of humour. It is much to the credit of Jenny Pearson that she has got that balance absolutely spot on – had this been filled with the same level of farcical happenings as Freddie Yates, this would’ve been a much poorer read. Don’t get me wrong – in saying this I do not mean that this is in any way second best to Jenny’s first book; it is different and that is a good thing – a sibling rather than a twin.With the inclusion of Auntie Sheila and all of her wonderful eccentricities, Lucy has a guardian fighting in her corner who is empathetic but not overly so. Many children would adore to have a significant adult in their lives with whom they can be themselves and have fun in the way that Lucy does – one who is not nagging about homework and tidy bedrooms but whose idea of an appropriate place for her young guest to lay her head is a sleeping bag in a canoe. Throughout the book, it is Sheila who very often provides the humour with what many children will consider to be her unconventional appearance and unusual lifestyle choices. With so many guardians in books portrayed as unsympathetic characters, it is refreshing to have one who is utterly reliable without being too good to be true.Sandesh also has a vital role to play in the story. While he is totally supportive of Lucy, she is so absorbed by her mission to free her mother from the constraints of her depression that she does not recognise that he too is lacking in parental attention while he stays with his grandparents. Although many children may not recognise that in any of their own friendships there is often a disparity – one child gives while the other is only too happy to take – they should recognise it here and I think if this were to be used as a class reader, this would be a perfect starting point to spark some discussions about friendships – especially in year 6 ahead of transition to high school – as well as talking about the importance of caring for our mental health.My only disappointment with this read is that the illustrations by Erica Salcedo promised on the cover have yet to be included but this is only a very minor disappointment and one that will be very easily rectified by my purchasing a copy when this is published on March 4th next year. This is definitely a book I want to include on my little library shelf – a fabulously entertaining story with the potential for a great deal of discussion with my class and one most worthy of a ‘smashing’ 5 out of 5 stars.As always, enormous thanks must go to both Net Galley and to Usborne Children’s Books for allowing me to read and review this ahead of publication.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Usborne in return for an honest review.This is the first book I have read by this author, so I went into it not quite knowing what to expect. What I discovered was a story that is funny, realistic and painfully (in a good way, if that makes sense) accurate in its depiction of living with a parent who has depression. I'm so pleased there are books like this available which sensitively discuss mental health and reach children who might not feel ready to talk about what is going on in their lives but will appreciate knowing they are not alone.The book follows the story of Lucy and her best friend Sandesh. Lucy has a talent for fixing things and loves tinkering around with broken objects to make them work again. Her patient and loyal friend Sandesh knows pretty much every World Record there is and can provide obscure facts and information for pretty much any situation. When Lucy finds out about the Record Smashers TV show, she sees the perfect opportunity to combine these skills and find a way to fix her mum. Along the way, Lucy and Sandesh discover that somethings aren't quite as simple to fix as others and even the best laid plans can go wrong!As someone who grew up with a mum that had depression, I thought the character of Lucy was spot on. The reluctance to let others know that your family is struggling, the guilt that it's somehow your fault and the anger (immediately followed by more guilt) that the person you love can't just be happy. All of these things were beautifully represented, but nothing was overplayed so that every action and emotion felt genuine. With all the heavy subject matter, this could have been a very serious and sombre book, but actually it's incredibly sweet and funny. The characters of Sandesh and Aunty Sheila bring excitement and joy to the story and Lucy's interal thoughts and commetary are also often hilarious. I also loved the inclusion of bizarre World Record facts to start every chapter.As I was reading along, I was concerned about how the ending would be handled. I didn't want it to seem like there was a quick fix for something as compex as depression but equally, I didn't want the ending to be more sadness and frustration. I needn't have worried. The ending is perfect. It made me cry. It said everything that needed to be said and I hope that anyone who is going through a situation like Lucy's will have the opportunity to say those words and have those words said to them.This book should be read by people who like funny stories, heart-warming stories, realistic stories that tackle real issues. It should be available in all KS2 classrooms because you never know what someone is really going through and who might need to hear what this book has to say.