Sometimes there is nothing that can hit the spot quite like a funny, wise, middle-grade book. I’ve never read a Charlie Higson book before but of course, I know him as a comedy actor. I had a really fun couple of hours with this story and I’m sure it will become a much-loved summer read with a lot of kids this year.

Stan is worried about almost everything. Especially strange food, strange places and strange people. So, going to Italy with his fifth best friend Felix and a bunch of strangers doesn’t sound like something that Stan would do but he is! How will Stan survive?

Stan is the epitome of an anxious child. I have no doubt that many shy, awkward, nervous kids will fully relate to him. His mother appears to be the same, so it’s not too hard to understand why he is so afraid of so many things. However, most of the things on his original ‘Duckit’ list are actually pretty scary, so I’m sure many other older readers will see where he is coming from too!

I couldn’t help but smile sadly at the parts where Stan believes that adults have it all figured out and ‘understand the world’. Of course, this is exactly what a lot of kids think and I had such a strong, almost maternal, urge to educate him. I get sad when kids wish their childhoods away and I was so desperate for him to see how great his life really is.

Of course, there is plenty of humour. It’s silly, child-friendly humour but I still laughed at several points. It’s also wonderfully British and I really hope the ridiculous charm of it translates to foreign audiences. Our swear word alternatives are really quite hilarious!

Stan’s relationship with his dad is riddled with problems that I’m not sure he even recognises as problems. Stan’s dad wants his son to ooze boisterous masculinity and there’s just no way that Stan ever will. I know that so many boys will grow up with a similar dynamic between themselves and their fathers and I can’t help but feel that this book might give them some comfort. It almost says ‘yes, my dad says things like that to me too but you must just stay true to yourself.’

The differences between adult and child perspectives is also really clear at several points in the book. I’m not sure I’ve ever read another book where there are so many adults and children spending time together like this. The fact that the adult women are so fixated on comparing themselves to each other but Stan is able to correctly identify that the only actual difference between them is confidence. He is a very smart, observant kid but it really reminded me that our perceptions become so warped as we move through life and the world.

I loved the budding romance of the book. Higson depicts the experience of a first crush perfectly. The awkwardness, the uncertainty, the confusion was all so accurate. Stories of first love and infatuations always make my heart sing because they’re so full of innocence and joy.

Felix’s uncle Mark acts as a wise, dependable figure in the book and Stan learns so much from him. In fact, if it weren’t for Mark’s presence, I’m not sure that Stan would have gone on the personal journey that he does. Towards the end, we learn of the horrific tragedy surrounding Mark’s life and it’s so easy for an older reader to see how that has shaped his character. I think I would have liked for this story to have been a bit more prominent but it perhaps would have changed the whole tone of the book.

Worst Holiday Ever is a quick, funny read with some really wonderful characters. It’s about coming out of your comfort zone and finding out who you can be in scary situations. The Italian setting made for a fantastic sunny escape too, so pick it up for a light-hearted read about courage and friendship in the sunshine.

This was epically delightful!! I loved how Worst.Holiday.Ever was all about family life and learning that adults don't have their shit together any more than children do, because hello RELATABLE.
I also deeply identified with Stan, who's a list maker - I'm all about lists and I loved how he utilized them to kind of live out loud what he can't imagine "saying" out loud.
It made him so intriguing to me as a character.
I wish there was a sequel to this. Not because the resolution of the plot left a lot to be desired, but because Stan just was a really cool character to follow.

Stan is going on holiday with his (fifth) best friend and his family for the first time. Stan's family are very conservative and his life experience is pretty limited. His mum gives him advice on what to do in some very unlikely scenarios (what to do in the event of a shark attack etc...), but Stan things some different advice would be far more useful. A sweet story about learning more when you step out of your comfort zone. Ideal for Year 6/7.

I read this with my son and he admitted when we went on our first holiday he had some anxieties about going.
We loved this book and we laughed a lot and we felt sad at times but such a great read. We can all sympathise with Stan and how he feels and great for showing kids that’s ok.
We are hoping for a second book.

Stan is going on holiday with his friend from school. Not his best friend: in fact Stan's not really sure why he was invited to go...

Stan's family aren't very well off and his mum is very protective. Stan is very anxious and makes a list before he goes on holiday of things not to do, to be aware of, to stay away from. Throughout the course of the holiday, Stan meets new people, makes new friends, encounters several funny mishaps and starts to overcome his worries.

A good read about being brave and overcoming your fears and how that can lead to you having a great time!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was funny. Sad. But great . The plot was very good. I enjoyed the writers style. It was very well written

I really enjoyed this book. At first I requested it expecting it to be like a lot of other books aimed at this age group (Wimpy Kid, Tom Gates, Barry Loser): that it would be alright and would be another series to offer the children at school. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The main character was so well written and I really believed in him. His anxieties about going away on holiday with a friend's family were so normal and were just the sort of things I remember worrying about as a child. I felt that I was reading the thoughts of an early teenage boy, rather than an adult writing as one.

Stan is going on holiday with Felix, who is not his best friend. Stan has never been away from home, away from his family, away from his routine.
The story, told in the first person, slowly reveals an anxious young boy who likes to makes lists, likes order and likes routine, primarily because he does not know how to cope outside of his comfort zone, which is a very small, restricted area. Slowly, we come to realise these restrictions have been partially imposed upon him and the holiday teaches him how to cope without his usual safety nets in place.
I initially thought this is unlike any of Charlie Higson's other books, but in a way it is exactly the same - we have a boy who has to cope with the unknown (unknown to him), who goes on an adventure, is without parental supervision and finds himself in frightening (to him) situations. All delivered with Charlie's dry wit and reluctant spirit.

A funny, touching and recognisable portrait of the trials and tribulations faced by a socially awkward youngster when his worst nightmare come true - a holiday with a friend and his parents!!!

This was probably great for the target audience, but I couldn't get into this at all. I was expecting something that would be wonderful for anybody to read, adults and children alike, as the best of books are, but no. This is pitched young, and nothing else. To the target reader, then, this is a semi-relatable tale, told by a semi-relatable kid, who's nervous of absolutely everything and in absolutely every situation, semi-forced to go to Italy for a villa holiday with a 'friend' from school. To the adult this is a weakly-plotted splurge of observational stand-up ("aren't airport shops bad? Why can't I be an adult and allowed to swear?" etc ad infinitum), featuring the world's least likeable child.

So by the time we do finally see what the book is actually about – and it's not a child's-eye view of adults on holiday, or even how our hero finally gets to talk to girls and not come out of it with egg on his face – we've had too many chances to ditch this, and no foreshadowing that there is a different aspect to it all. It's about letting go and letting life pull you along, and how you have a choice in how firmly you doing any steering. And how adults (and boy the adults here need a slap just as much as the sad sack kid does) don't know it all. That could have come across marvellously – and I dare say if my balls were still dropping it might have done to my taste – but at this remove, it wasn't much fun at all. The kid's narration was so full of verbal diarrhoea, and lists to pretend it wasn't just a stand-up routine, I ended up skimming this in record time. One and a half stars from me, a potential four stars from my younger, alternative-universe self.

As the saying goes- “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. This light-hearted, delightful read personifies that notion. We follow the narrative of Stan, a 12-year old young boy that despite himself, revels in being cautionary, reflective and hesitant in all his endeavours, no matter how big or small.

Against his better judgment, he agrees to a holiday with his friend, Felix and his family. Slowly but surely, as Stan is launched into situations in which he thought would provide the worst possible outcomes, he realises that he is braver and nobler than he had given himself credit for. A real uplifting read that makes you want to take ‘that’ risk.

Many thanks to Penguin and Net Galley for this ARC- it was very much enjoyed!

I loved this book. Stan’s family are very conservative. Mum is protective, they are not well off, and as a consequence Stan’s life experience is very limited. This changes when he goes on holiday to Italy with his friend’s family.
Stan writes endless lists of things not to do, to be aware of, to stay away from, listing all the food he won’t touch, all the activities he wouldn’t consider, thinking this helps his anxiety. It certainly helps the reader to see the extent of his obsessions. However, much on these lists has to be crossed off when he finds himself in circumstances he never would have chosen, but finds it impossible to escape from. But ‘the fear of it was worse than the actual cold water’ and Stan discovers that without trying new experiences he can’t know if he will enjoy them or not.
He manages to overcome many fears and helps others in the process. He realises what adults know that – ‘Adults aren’t really any more sorted out than us kids’, although children never think this whilst young.
This book is about family life. There is no such thing as a perfect family. Each unit blunders through in their own way and Stan discovers this is normal. It’s a book about being brave and taking charge of your own life, and the humour mixed with the empathy is a perfect mix.

Stan is a list maker- creating lists of reasons not to holiday with Felix, adventures to avoid and fears and worries.

Finding himself actually having to confront some of his fears, this might actually be the summer that Stan grows up.

Having been invited by Felix to spend 2 weeks at his villa in Spain, Stan is worried about the travel, the food, the marine life, and being away from his parents, especially when his Mum tells him that his Dad is in hospital and needs surgery on his heart.
With definite ups and downs to the holiday, it is uncertain whether Stan and Felix’s friendship will survive 2 weeks together. They barely speak, they fight, the ignore each other- not great signs for a good friendship.
Staying in the villa are a multitude of family members and friends of Felix’s parents, Shy Stan must overcome his shyness and mingle.
The ups to the holiday for Stan are meeting Jess, trying and liking new foods and enjoying the freedom of not having his parents there.

A great book, perfect for 12+ I would think.