Misery Guts - Hardcover

Reviews

Grade 5-8-- Keith's parents, whom he calls "misery guts" because they are so grim all of the time, run a failing fish-and-chips shop in England. When all of his efforts to cheer them go for naught, he tries to convince them to move to Australia, promoting it as Paradise. They refuse until their shop is burned to the ground by a fire accidentally caused by Keith, and relocating becomes their only attractive option. Shortly after their arrival, the boy discovers that Australia isn't Paradise after all--there are deadly jellyfish, falling coconuts, crocodiles, poisonous spiders and coral, dangerous snakes . . . but he can't let his parents find that out. The stress of protecting them and an adventure in a killer storm almost convince the until-now undaunted Keith to throw in the towel; but that's when he finds the family has more resources than he has given them credit for. This is very Australian, but booktalking will inspire students to tackle the many unfamiliar words to get to situations that are universal. Funny as this book is, at no time are Keith and his parents laughable. Rather they are most sympathetic, and the warmth of the family's relations are a real bonus in a book you can promote to your students as humor. --Susan F. Marcus, Pollard Middle School, Needham, MA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In these companion novels, Keith tackles his troubles in a loopy but wholehearted fashion. When he perceives that his parents' fish-and-chips shop in England is making them both miserable, the boy realizes that drastic action is called for. He paints the shop mango orange; his labors don't even raise a smile. Then Keith accidentally leaves a fryer on and the business burns down. He knows it's his chance to get the family to move to a sunnier, happier clime--Australia. In the second book, Keith has a fresh set of worries in the new shop, as his parents grow unhappy again. The two books combine a cheeky brand of humor with a sensible, tolerant attitude toward the emotional ups and downs of family life. A few odd words and phrases notwithstanding ("fossicker," "mullock heaps"), Gleitzman's ( Two Weeks with the Queen ) colorful phraseology ("you daft bugger"; "cockatoos playing chess in Gympie") and his hero's quirky antics make these novels fine choices for middle-school readers. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Keith, who barely remembers when he last saw his parents smile, is determined to cheer them up, but his exaggerated efforts are as inappropriate as they are well intentioned: Mum and Dad are devastated to find their fish-and-chips shop painted with Tropical Mango Hi-Gloss (intended as a maximum contrast to London's fog), and automatically reject his proposals for a South Sea vacation--or a move to Australia's tropical coast. Their real troubles, they confide, are economic: competition is growing. Still they agree to a day (cold and windy, it turns out) at a nearby beach. While they're away, the shop burns, precipitating a move to Australia after all; and despite Keith's new friend's dire warnings about crocodiles, poisonous jellyfish, etc., they find warm weather, friendly neighbors, and a welcome upturn in their fortunes. The more serious realities in this engagingly lighthearted comedy play a larger role in a simultaneously published sequel (Worry Warts: 0-15-299666-4), which begins as a rerun of book one: Keith is painting his parents' jalopy a giddy patchwork in hopes of lifting their renewed depression; troubles have followed with a new resort that's stealing customers. Divorce is now threatened; and though Keith's escapades still entertain (he gets trapped in an opal mine; paints another building), the question of who is comforting whom, and by what loving, if misguided, subterfuges, is a thoughtful undercurrent that surfaces in a surprising but appropriate conclusion. Each book stands alone, but they're stronger and more interesting as an easily read, genuinely funny two-part novel, lively with offbeat incidents and repartee. (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.