Harper Collins Australia

September 2020

• ISBN: 9780733340604
• ISBN 10: 0733340601
• Imprint: ABC Books – AU
• List Price: 14.99 AUD

Ok so it took a while to get to this one but I laughed my way through it today while waiting patiently at my doctor. Pretty sure that others in the waiting room were slightly bemused by my stifled giggles.

The Kid had her swimming carnival at the new school yesterday and enjoyed it very much, not so much for the swimming, of which she did only a little, but the socialising. Clearly something she inherited from both her mum and myself!

Max doesn’t want to swim, he doesn’t want to get wet in fact and he will go to extraordinary lengths (just not in the pool) to get out of the swimming carnival altogether. So a cunning plan is conceived. Max will scupper the carnival so the event can’t go ahead. As one might imagine this can only end badly. With the help of his friends the attempts to sabotage the whole soggy mess are both hilarious and spectacularly unsuccessful. To make matters worse, Max’ nemesis, Abby, wants the carnival replaced with the Maths Olympiad competition and does her very best to undermine his efforts (not that they need much help in that respect).

There are guffaws aplenty as twins Pip and Tyrone decide to reverse their usual good twin/bad twin personas, faithful sidekick Hugo has a mysterious rash and, horror of horrors, their teacher Miss Sweet has a boyfriend and it’s super muscled up swim coach Chaz, of the dazzling smile. It all ends up as the usual Max mayhem and your kiddos will eat it up.

Highly recommended for readers from around 8 years upwards.