While the story is funny throughout and a great humorous read, it also brings up some great issues about friendships and even has some disability representation which I liked as the focus was on the character rather than their condition though it still played a part in the story. Harper and her brother face a difficult dilemma caused by Troy. They decide to host a talent show to resolve the problem. Troy enters the talent show…Will he win it? Read this book now to find out. This book also successes in portraying people going through difficult patches being helped and supported by their loved ones and community without making the story too heavy, which I particularly liked to see represented in a story aimed at younger readers.

Ik wil de vertaler een groot compliment geven. De namen zijn vernederlandst, maar het verhaal is ook zo aangepast dat het zich afspeelt in Nederland. Dit liep allemaal vloeiend en ik ben geen inconsequente dingen tegen gekomen. But her love of writing was sparked when collaborating on the best-selling children’s non-fiction titles You Are Awesome (April 2018) and Dare to be You (September 2020) with Matthew Syed. Kathy believes that children should all have confidence in their own potential, and not be limited by the beliefs they (or others) hold about themselves. With this in mind she has worked with both primary and secondary schools on confidence and resilience building programmes for young people. The start of a relatable new illustrated series, all about embracing your family, and finding unique ways to deal with life's dramas.Welcome to the totally hilarious and utterly daft life of Harper Drew and her VERY eccentric family – from her totally hair-obsessed would-be internet celebrity brother, Troy, to her Uncle Paul, who swears he’s making a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio (well, he’s got a red carpet at least). Dad is highly accident-prone and gets Harper into more scrapes even with the best intention. And Mum is obsessed with bleaching every surface and going to…supermarkets. Yup. (Sounds a little like me on holiday 🤣💨) What's New? Talent Show Takeover is an interesting yet catastrophe-filled book full of eye-catching details. Dit roze boek kan niet ontbreken in de boekenkasten van beginnende boekenwurmen. Lizzie stelt iedereen voor aan de hand van snoepjes, welk kind houdt nou niet van snoepjes?

For starters there is a snake on the loose in my neighbourhood – a 6ft Python called Betty to be exact, my dad’s decided to re-tile the bathroom and NOBODY is allowed in there, and my older brother Troy seems to be constantly kitted out in expensive designer clothing. I’m the only one who has noticed he’s acting shifty … Written in a diary format, the book follows the drama and antics of the Drew family, recorded by Harper, middle child and probably the only sane person in the family (except for her little brother, The Prune, but he's still young so there's time for that to change). Fizzing with fun. From friendship dramas to family catastrophes, it’s a perfect choice for fans of funny!”– Jen Carney, author of The Accidental Diary of B.U.G The relatable new series, all about embracing your family, and finding unique ways to deal with life’s dramas.My biggest problem with this book was Harper's parents. I started this book laughing out loud at their scatterbrainedness because they had nice qualities and weren't abusive but after a while, all the gags that were supposed to make the reader laugh only made me cringe. All I could think was these are exactly the kind of parents, people write Reddit AITA posts about thinking it's a funny situation and get the kind of answers that tell them to go to therapy and surround themselves with better people. I mean, I understand Harper is a middle child just entering her teen years so of course she feels invisible and misunderstood but some of the situations that these parents put their kids in reeks of neglect. Fizzing with fun. From friendship dramas to family catastrophes, it’s a perfect choice for fans of funny!”– Jen Carney, author of The Accidental Diary of B.U.G.

My name is Harper Drew. I'm using my new journal to take note of all the totally ridiculous things that seem to go on around me with my family and friends. I seem to be the only one who sees all of this stuff for what it is. Completely beyond normal. My name is Harper Drew. I wasn't sure I was going to carry on with this journal. I started it in the summer holidays to write down the mayhem happening around me. I thought it might have calmed down by now but I should have known better!Here are a few of our favourite illustrative pieces by Aleksei from this brilliantly funny project. But I need to focus on organising a talent show to raise money for the local foodbank. It’s going to be great … apart from the fact Troy seems to care more about gaining more followers, aka his “DesTroyers” on his YouTube channel, than he does about helping me out. The father although loving is an overgrown child who never stands up to his wife or parents his kids, the mother has some kind of OCD/shopping addiction for sure because no matter what might be happening in their lives, she needs to burn a couple of hours every day in every kind of supermarket she comes across no matter what kind of state of exhaustion her children are (forcing five people to stay closed inside a car for hours so she can go shopping and going on holiday with nothing but bleach and canned food being two of the examples) - if this wasn't a middle-class white family, they would have child services called on them. These parents sure are something but I don't think it's funny. This is where the second level comes in - because author Kathy Weeks’ really wins on her witticisms. Harper “writes” these lines with an honest-to-goodness straight face. They’re hilarious and older middle graders and especially the writers will appreciate!

I have seen the review below about the parents and neglect and it made me laugh nearly as much as the book itself - I suspect if Harper had read that she would roll her eyes as well. She has worked on the music counter at WH Smith, been an investment banker, a waitress, a property developer, investigated missing millions for The Sultan of Brunei, founded a successful consulting business, worked for HM Treasury restructuring banks, oh….and cooked dinners at a care home for the elderly.With the help of her real friends and her perfectly imperfect family, can Harper find the inner confidence she needs to stop trying to impress Maisie and just be herself?