Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was warm and funny, and enjoyed following Sam's journey through the book. I thought his family were really well drawn characters and really added to the way the reader feels about Sam and his situation.

Unfortunately, due to technical issues with my ereader, I was not able to finish this book. However, I was thoroughly enjoying the saga of this dysfunctional family,.
It's told through the eyes of the middle child struggling to find his path. He was happy with life until his parents decided to move to London and put all three children in an unconventional school - with a popular older brother and talented younger sister to contend with he apparently has nothing going for him and is a complete misfit in this new environment. Neither are his parents sympathetic to his plight, his mother in particular being absorbed in her latest artistic project.
Think Diary of a Wimpy Kid without the pictures and aimed at older readers. I'm looking forward to getting the hard copy to read to the end.

I downloaded this recently out of curiosity, as I know his other works and was curious to see how he'd handle the subject. Well, I thoroughly enjoyed the read, and I say that as a parent of a tempestuous arty 16 year old! More books like this please to lighten up the current sea of introspective literature.for young adults.

Sam’s not really sure what his dad does, he’s never actually stopped to ask, but when he sells his company and the family are suddenly rich Sam’s mum decides they have to move, and so they leave Stevenage behind, instead moving to a house in Hampstead, and with the new her me comes a new school, the North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented. No while this seems wonderful for his art mad younger sister and his guitar playing older brother Sam has no interest in being an artist, or a musician or an actor. He just wants to play football with his mates back home…

To me this felt like a book of two halves one of which I definitely preferred to the other. For me the first half – well probably over half in all honesty – felt like it was trying too hard to be satirical. There were certain parts that felt over exaggerated to the point it was too much, just seemed a little ridiculous. Things we learn about the academy for example and the mother in particular felt ridiculous and to be honest just annoying. This book’s saving grace was that it seems to be quite short, before long I was 70% of the way through and things seemed to calm down a little, it felt like the author had stopped trying so hard to write satire and it slipped into what felt like an everyday contemporary novel where the guy tries to figure out what he wants in life, and tries to make his mother understand that who she wants him to be isn’t necessarily who he wants to be. I’m pleased I stuck it out until the end because it certainly improved for me, but I must confess if that percentage had been much lower when I glanced down I probably wouldn’t have finished it.

Sam is the central character and I did find him fairly easy to connect with. Pulled from his school, his friends, his home at 15 when the family comes into some money and his mum decides that Stevenage isn’t good enough for them anymore. I stayed at the same secondary school right The was from 11 to 18 but I can imagine if I’d be forced to switch schools that late on and to be put into a school which is so obviously not me I wouldn’t have been happy either.

Sam’s mum, I really had a problem with Sam’s mum, I just found the character too over the top in general, as though the author had taken a stereotype and then multiplied it by itself into some sort of hippy monster. I do think she does things with the best of intentions and genuinely believes she’s doing what’s best for her children but she does say some quite hurtful things to, and about, Sam. She calms down towards the end and I think becomes a much better character for it.

Ethan and Freya are Sam’s older brother and younger sister. Sam and Ethan have what I guess is a fairly normal teen brother relationship, mainly consisting of Ethan telling Sam to get lost, however they have a couple of deeper conversations within the book which I enjoyed. One the other hand I adored seven year old Freya she was frequently hilarious and the sort of sneaky younger sibling no one wants, the sort that lets you think you’ve gotten away with something as they appear to be in their own little world, only to reveal that they most definitely heard what you said by bringing it up at the worst possible time.

There were plenty of stereotypes to be found amongst Sam’s fellow students with at least one who made me shudder and to remove his smug smile on a regular basis. My favourite student outside of Sam and his siblings had to be Marina and I wish we’d had the chance to find out more about her.


Final Thoughts
I love satire and I really wanted to love this book but something didn’t quite click for me. Perhaps I prefer my satire to be a little more subtle. I have to confess that towards the end it did start to grow on me and the last quarter or so where it felt like it moved into more standard contemporary territory definitely added a star to my rating.

A very funny, strong protagonist voice. Real shades of Adrian Mole in the early years. A fantastic read, highly recommended.

Very funny, with many genuine lol moments. Reading this book brought back similar happy memories of reading the Adrian Mole and Georgia Nicolson stories. Every scene with Freya is a joy, particularly her responses to "How was your day?" 😂

I loved everything about this book. The characterisation made you feel you actually knew these people. The youthfulness of Freya, the 'not quite and adult but not a child' Ethan and Sam, loveable, tearaway but totally fabulous. Mum, crazy but deep down knowing what she wants...and dad, who is just dad as every dad seems to be. The chapter titles, something that people normally read but don't read, added to the likability of the whole story
.
I now want to read more of William Sutcliffe's book and he is one I will look for in the future

Rib-tickling adolescent angst, a school/family/teen romance that hits the mark.

Sutcliffe has his finger on the pubescent pulse, with many titles under his belt that talk to teenagers, about teenagers and LIKE teenagers. This made me smile constantly. As a 30-something, I don't often enjoy the typical coming-of-age story unless it offers something a little different, and this had realism and wit enough to satisfy.

Average teen Sam is happy enough in his South-East England life when his parents announce that Sam's dad has sold his business (not that Sam ever knew what this was) and made enough money to move them to a rather swanky part of London, and send all three children to a school for the Gifted and Talented (something Sam does not see himself fitting into at all).
"'We're rich!' 'How rich?'... 'Comfortable,' said Dad. 'Stinking,' said Mum. 'Not stinking,' said Dad. 'Mildly smelly.'

With a musically-talented elder brother, and a seven-year-old sister who lives in a "fantasy universe populated exclusively by fairies, unicorns and cats", Sam is feeling decidedly inferior and not-listened-to. And with his Mum giving up work to pursue her creative dreams (and blogging ambitions), Sam seems to be the only unqualified family member dreading the "holistic educational environment that fosters creativity and engagement with the performing arts."

School is as bizarre as Sam had feared, with ambition, pride and egos vying for attention. And as siblings Ethan and Freya fit right in, Sam struggles to find friends and a niche.

The story not only gives us Sam's story, but we see his family settling into their new lives too, with Ethan hilariously joining a band and his Mum experimenting with 'hobbies' and her parenting blog:
"'Be hungry. It won't kill you. Or make yourself some food. I'm going upstairs to finish my blog.' 'Is this your blog about how to be a good mum?' asked Ethan pointedly."

While there's nothing particularly new about the plot, which even includes a Shakespearian school play, beautiful aloof girl and Sam struggling with competing romantic prospects, the banter and repartee lift it to a higher plane. Sam's smart, his narration is fresh and really, really funny.
"EVERYONE IS GOING TO LAUGH AT YOU! GENUINE LUMPS OF FAECES ARE GOING TO FILL YOUR UNDERPANTS, LIVE ONSTAGE..."

His familial relationships are realistic and also stuffed with amusing scenes. There are also some credible teenage girls that Sam anguishes over.

Sam's story is highly entertaining, a perfect choice for teenagers after something not too challenging but with smarts. It even includes some Shakespeare.

Loved this, and so will readers aged 13 and above.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

Laugh-out-loud funny and well paced. Sam’s first-person POV is clear and fully realised, and I chuckled along to his teen woes, recalling my own passive aggressive secondary school years.

His mum was quite irritating - Mate, you’ve written a blog about your son without his permission, obviously he’s not okay. But she spurs on much of Sam’s hilarious inner dialogue, and the family's banter is fun to read.

The exposition in particular is strong, and immediately pulls you into Sam’s world.

An issue I do have is with Ethan’s ‘coming out’ (which he admits to lying about later) and the particular conversation:

“I mean I could be [gay] if I put my mind to it.” [..]
“Do you like boys or girls?”
“Girls. Basically. At the moment.”
“So why did you come out as gay?”
“It’s a gay band. You have to have a thing to be different [...] Being gay is the most amazing way to get girls. [...] I swear, it’s incredible. Now I’m gay, girls love me. They’re all over me. Hugging, gossiping, inviting me to their homes, up into their bedrooms, it’s like magic.”
“Yeah, but… if they think you’re gay…”
“Bi-curious.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means whatever you want it to mean! That’s what’s so great!”

So, I read this as an attempt at ‘American Pie humour’ - a boy’s tongue-in-cheek ploy at getting with girls, which in itself isn't great - but the suggestion you can be gay (or bi) if you “put your mind to it” feeds into the argument of “You can choose not to be gay”, which also doesn’t do much for the bi community that has a history of defending its validity. The characters use bisexual, bi-curious, and gay interchangeably, as if they aren’t aware what they mean – but teenagers today are more progressive and knowledgeable than any other generation.

I get that it’s a book meant to entertain, but Sutcliffe’s writing is already so funny that there was no need to go there.

Apart from that, the comedic timing is brilliant, and made me crack up so hard at one point I had to pinch my nose to not wake anyone up in the middle of the night.

A great read for the younger ya audience. Hilarious and written so well that i flew through this book.

I've always loved this author - but this book just didn't work for me. I think the YA style of writing just doesn't sit well with me. Unfortunately i had to give up on this book. Other bookish friends have raved about it but it is just not for me.

A fun read about Sam's attempts to fit into a new school. I liked the message that just because a girl is good looking doesn't meant she's worth getting to know. However, I didn't like Sam's behaviour at the end. If a girl doens't want to talk to you, spamming her with messages and chasing her around town is not the way to handle things.

A funny but slightly problematic title.

Oh thank goodness, a YA book that isn't full of angst and misery!

This is a kind, good hearted, bouncy treat, our leading man is a little bit troubled by the fact that he has been moved from his old life and friends to a new life in the big city. Sam misses his old life and even his old school, he has been enrolled in a school which is specifically designed to bring out the creative side of it's students, to cater to the artistic and dramatic side of them. Sam's siblings are delighted, they are able to fit right in, Sam is alone and isolated, hopelessly in lust with a gorgeous girl who is not remotely interested in him, nobody plays football and he is isolated and lonely. Not to mention his mum who has also decided to unleash her latent creativity. Goodnatured Sam deals with all this, but it isn't easy. He has to negotiate a lot on the way to his happy ending but the way he gets there is awesome. And along the way of course, Sam is going to find out that he too is as creative as the rest of the family.

I really like William Sutcliffe's books, they are just the right size, they are engaging, his characters speak to each other like people in the real world would, he is a great writer for teens. Highly recommended for teenagers, just the right amount of bad behaviour and risk taking to be safe for even the most conservative. I really liked this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to this great book.

Fabulously funny book. I laughed from beginning to end. Thoroughly enjoyed every page and have highly recommended it to anyone that listens! Go read it, you won't regret it.

Sam is the middle child, so already at a disadvantage. Both his siblings have a talent for the arts, Sam has not - another disadvantage. When the family move houses and schools to a school for gifted and talented students, Sam fights the change as he absolutely knows he will not fit in. But as a child, he can't alter the course his parents have decided his life will take. He reluctantly and slowly comes around to changing what he is able to change.
This book has many extremely funny throw away lines. A family discussion around the dinner table had me crying with laughter as so much of it rang true. Even the unlikely scenarios of appearing on stage in speedoes and body paint were credible.
Young people will relate to at least one of these characters and the family dynamics. I would hope they would sympathise with Mum, who is also trying to 'find herself'. Apart from Dad, a shadowy character who lives life oblivious to what is going on around him - true of many Dads? Sam's younger sister who sails through the book picking up comments she is not supposed to and is happy doing her own thing, the writing focuses on the other three characters all trying to find their identity and path in life. So teenage life in a nutshell.

Another great story from William Sutcliffe, but this time a break away from Dystopias. A funny family story. 15 year Sam is not gifted and talented and in fact quite ordinary, living in an ordinary town - Stevenage but when his parents get rich , the family up sticks and join the Chelsea tractor set.. Sam and his siblings find themselves at a private school, where the arts are celebrated, behaving and dressing unconventionally are encouraged and sport is the behind the bike sheds activity. It is a great satirical view of modern life.