This book is so much FUN!
Exploding with humour, big emotions & it so relatable.
It gives young readers tools to deal with their big feeling encourages talking about them & not to bottle them up.

This is another laugh-out-loud story from Maz Evans. Her books never fail to make children (and adults!) smile, laugh, think and feel and The Exploding Life of Scarlett Fife is no exception. This, and its sequel, is very popular in my classroom.

(Short review due to requesting and reading the book was a long time ago before personal issues prevented me from fulfilling my reviews promptly and prior to publication. Apologies.)

I read this book with my 8-yr-old and she still talks about it. We really get the feel Scarlett's frustrations. The events that lead to her explosive feelings are ones that a child will readily understand Maz Evans tackles the tricky topic of anger, and the effect outbursts have on ourselves and others, with great sensitivity and trademark sense of humour.

Maz Evans is an absolutely awesome author, fitting so much humour between the pages of her books. A brilliant way at looking at expressing feelings without being preachy or soppy. Fab.

We really enjoyed this hilarious new book from Maz Evans! We read it as a class and it was one of those books that is really great to hear out loud.

We liked how it showed how it’s OK to have negative feelings and be mindful of letting these out and having people around us to help.

Anger has never been so funny – splat!

“I AM SO ANGRY I THINK MY BUM MIGHT FALL OFF!” Well, Evans, start as you mean to go on. And that’s with humour, a great child’s voice, and an eye and ear for what matters in children’s lives.

Scarlett is as her name suggests, often a little red-faced with anger. At the mum who forgets trip money for the gift shop. At the boy in her class who gets everything he wants. “William U’s mum says William U has lots of syndromes. Some of them are so new that the doctors don’t even know about them. But William U’s mum finds them on www.MyChildCentre.Universe and that make them true.” Almost too brilliant for children.

Scarlett’s friend Maisie adds to the hysteria for any adult sensible enough to decide they enjoy reading children’s books, with her misheard Latin/French: “You just have to accept it… William U is Start of the Week. It’s a feta company.” Now my 10-year-old will NOT understand that. But I’ll enjoy reading it out to him and explaining.

Scarlett narrates for us her life, her frustrations, what makes her angry. And the story, short at 125 pages anyway, really takes off when we realise that, like Dahl’s Matilda, there may be a physical manifestation to Scarlett’s emotions…. Oh it’s so much fun!

Real problems that children experience, real frustrations and things that will get on top of them. Boys and girls will relate to Scarlett, and hopefully the sage advice she finds in family and in learning control will also filter through without taking anything away from the hugely entertaining story.

I’ve loved Maz Evans since the first Who Let the Gods Out? title arrived. My eldest has taken to that series as well, and I’m sure is going to love this change of genre for this highly talent comic writer.

This will work well as a read-alone or one that parents might want to read to their children, the issues well worth discussing, the giggles will be shared alongside them.

For ages 7-12.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

This was such a funny book. Scarlett is a really great character that I'm sure lots of children will relate to, alongside numerous others that are equally well imagined. I loved the good anger management advice and discussions that were included, the reassurance that it's ok to be angry about some things and that there are ways to help you deal with all those BIG FEELINGS. It was also very good at gently highlighting possible reasons behind the behaviours of others, which I felt was particularly well done. The main thing here though was that is is just so much fun!

This is quintessential Maz: gorgeous families, wonderful characters and gloriously funny! Poor Scarlett feels BIG feelings and they end up making things explode. Can she learn how to control her emotions before she ruins her aunties wedding? I loved this. It’s just so wonderfully done. This has gorgeous messages about feeling your emotions, family dynamics and what matters. There’s brilliant humour in this too - a particular illustration proper made me cackle! The illustrations by Chris Jevons add so much glory to this story.

Maz Evans has done it again! The Exploding Life of Scarlett Fife is perfect for younger readers with its short, snappy chapters, laugh-out-loud humour and messages about family, friendship and learning how to deal with tricky situations when life just doesn't seem fair. Destined to be a big hit with fans of the Baby Aliens series from Pamela Butchart!

A laugh out loud funny and touching story about a little girl with a BIG temper. Written by Maz Evans for younger readers. I loved the way this was written. Reminded me a little of the Molesworth books by Geoffrey Willans, the same stream of conciousness style, explanations and asides mid-paragraph. I believe more stories are planned. I for one can't wait.

Scarlett Fife is in year 5 and struggling to control her emotions. As she tries to keep everything bottled inside things start to happen around her that are difficult to explain. When Scarlett is frustrated she just can't keep it in any more and her emotions spill out in the most unexpected way! Trouble is, there are so many things going wrong...William gets to take the class hamster home for the weekend, she doesn't get the role she wants in the school play and her mum hasn't sorted her lunch or money for the school trip!

This was a brilliant story from Maz Evans with plenty to keep adult readers entertained - from the names of teachers and courses the head goes on, to the incorrect use of phrases by Scarlett's best friend. I laughed out loud and I'm sure many other teachers would too!
This would be a great book to share with children in year 3 and 4.

A joy to read. And, one of the funnuest books I've read in a long time.

It follows the life of Scarlett Fife, a Year 5 student, as she tries to come to terms with all of the challenges of life. In a short time, it covers a huge array of issues, and does so in a wonderfully concise and child-friendly manner.

This book will be particularly helpful for children who struggle to display/regulate emotions. It describes Scarlett's challenges beautifully, and, then, describes the ways she is supported in managing those challenges.

As a teacher, the description of goings-on within the school (the names of the teachers, the courses the headteacher goes on etc.) were particularly enjoyable. As were Maisie's little sayings, in which she tries to use idioms but speaks them phonetically.

If ever there was a book to convince adults to read children's books, this may be it.

Fantastic to hear this is just the start of a new series, I suspect Scarlett will be much loved by little readers who will giggle from start to finish. It's definitely one the grown ups will lol to too, though thanks for making me feel ancient at the mention of video recorders!

Most children will see bits of themselves in Scarlett and her angry bubbles that sneak into all of us sometimes. It really is a must have book that will be great for conversations around handling emotions, but be warned, be prepared that you’ll want a UniMingo sequin jumper like I do now!

I really enjoyed this book.

Scarlett is always getting into trouble when her BIG FEELINGS explode, she s on her last chance when her BIG FEELINGS disrupt her aunts engagement party, if she has anymore BIG FEELING moments she will miss out on her trip to Mega Awesome Sicky Fun World.

Scarlett finds it very hard to hold her BIG FEELINGS in so she can go on her trip, however the BIG FEELINGS must go somewhere and she ends up exploding things - including an elephant's poo.

In this book Maz Evans tackles a big issue of how to handle your anger and how to talk to grown ups about it. But is it is done in a funny way where the reader can understand why Scarlett feels like this.

I thought the characters were great, even William U - the boy whose mother gives him everything he wants!

A great book to help children understand the emotion of anger.

We loved this wonderful, pacey, lower middle grade book!

Scarlett is a brilliant character surrounded by a vibrant and diverse cast of family members and friends (everyone needs a friend like Maisie) who has to deal with a whole heap of unfair reality with some hilarious and heartfelt consequences. The Exploding Life of Scarlett Fife by Maz Evans is a gorgeous book that really captures BIG FEELINGS with a little magic realism thrown in too.

It has a well-mastered plot that is intelligent and full of warmth with some brilliant humour – my seven year-old laughed along heartily too – and some lovely lessons along the way. I loved how it captured Scarlett’s grievances and the growing anger that she must somehow learn to quell. I was rooting for her – and could completely identify (even at my BIG AGE) with her frustrations and the absolute unfairness of it all! The little twist that takes it out of reality really adds to the fun, and who wouldn’t do everything in their power to secure a trip to a place called Super Mega Awesome Sicky Fun World?

I highly recommend this excellent book for 5-10 year olds (and their parents) – it’s both hilarious and full of warmth and I can’t see how anyone could not love Scarlett!

So much more than I expected!

Having recently read Vi Spy, I knew this would be funny and engaging but I didn’t expect it to make me feel so warm inside. Scarlett is incredibly likeable as we travel through her explosions of anger, learn about emotions and how, even if we can control them.

This book is perfect for my year 4 class (currently have 4 of them reading Vi Spy!). I love how Maz uses humour to explore sensitive topics and tricky family situations in way that they will gain so much from. Any child struggling with emotions should read this, actually it’s perfect for all children.

I’m still smiling at ‘case a raspberry’ - how does Maz think of things like this!

I will be recommending this to my class tomorrow. Thank you for writing a warm, funny and an explosively wonderful book! I think it’s my favourite book written by Maz Evans ...

Having read WLTGO with my class, I had high hopes for this book. The character of Scarlet Fife is easily identifiable with children, being someone who is easily distracted and has thoughts and expectations about the world around them and is disappointed when this doesn't follow through.

This would be a very suitable book for younger and less able readers, as it is short and easily understood.

Exploding with humour and very BIG FEELINGS, the relatable Scarlett Fife will quickly become a firm friend of readers of 7+.

Scarlett Fife has some very BIG FEELINGS, so big in fact that they sometimes just explode out of her. After an untimely incident at her aunt’s engagement party, she must suffer the consequences of ‘Mumishments’ and the threat of not being taken to Super Mega Awesome Sticky Fun World to ride the Guts-a-Churno coaster. But the more Scarlett tries to keep the anger in, the more it wants to come out…in the most explosive of ways. Can Scarlett take control of her feelings…

A book that opens with the line, “I AM SO ANGRY I THINK MY BUM MIGHT FALL OFF,” Is going to grab the attention of any reader and it took me a good few seconds to stop laughing. Maz Evans delivers a laugh-out-lead read that is exploding with humour and all of the things that matter to children whilst at the same time exploring big emotions and necessary coping strategies.

Nearly ten-year-old Scarlett is brilliant. Her sharp and witty take on everyday grown-up situations and her misunderstandings are hilarious. Equally sharp are Scarlett’s frustrations at the daily challenges of life and the total unfairness of important things like having to be a goat in the Christmas play, not getting enough Positivity Points to take the school hamster home or not being able to have a birthday party at Stuff-a-Squishie. Life is very annoying and this makes Scarlett get very, very angry and when the the bubbly anger bubbles up inside her strange things happen, or more precisely, things explode - drinks, elephant poo, paint!

Through humour and everyday situations, Evans helps children to understand that it is very normal to experience big feelings and that anger is a perfectly acceptable emotion, and - in some instances - is an important emotion to feel as it can be a precursor for positive change. With many anger provoking situations, Scarlett most definitely has her work cut out. But in Maisie, Aunty Rosa, Aunty Amara and grandma she has a great support network offering all kinds of useful advice. By the end, readers, - like Scarlett - will understand the importance of talking and will have strategies for dealing with anger rather than bottling it up inside.

The book is incredibly diverse and many children will themselves and their lives represented. Scarlett’s parents are amicably divorced. She has a Polish step-dad and a real dad with a prosthetic arm (sometimes mistaken for a ‘Prosecco arm’). Her Aunty Rosa is getting married to Amara, giving Scarlett another aunty. Best friend Maisie is a foster kid, new girl Polly only has her mum (her dad has died) and Karam is a refugee from a war-torn country.

I award Maz Evans all of the positivity points, she can keep Mr. Nibbles for as long as she likes unless Ms. Pitt-Bull says otherwise!

Recommended for 7+.

With thanks to Maz Evans and Hachette Children’s for the advanced reader copy that was received through NetGalley.

Loved The Exploding Life of Scarlett Fife by Maz Evans! This short, snappy chapter book is full of relatable moments (for teachers, parents & kids!), heart & humour! Maz does it again with this laugh-out-loud linguistic inclusive genius! Independent read across KS2, or guided to explore the hidden gems, perfect illustrations by Chris Jevons really bring Scarlett and all her energy to life!

Maz Evans has brought her unique brand of humour to Scarlett’s woeful history of unfairness in her life. Scarlett allows her temper to take over when events do not go as she would like. So when she is not given the part in the Christmas play she had wanted, when she was told her Mum could not afford the longed for birthday party, when she can’t buy a sparkly pencil because her Mum had forgotten to send in money on the school trip, Scarlett’s feelings boil over and perhaps coincidentally various things around her explode. A smoothie at her Auntie’s, the burnt macaroni cheese at home, and worst of all elephant poo at the wildlife park all splattered around when Scarlett is thwarted.
Various people give her advice on how to control her temper, especially important now the threat from her Mum is to control her feelings or she will cancel the holiday to Super Mega Awesome Sticky Fun World. Scarlett does try these tactics and it is finally recognised that she has tried hard to improve by both her very strict teacher and her equally strict Mum who acknowledges her own stress. But Scarlett, who had been oblivious to what was happening around her and the feelings of others, also comes to see life from the point of view of others and is a better person for it.
There is a lot of humour here and what will forever stay in my mind is Scarlett describing how, when someone wet themselves in Early Years in school they had to go home with their tights in a Special Bag, then referencing needing a Special Bag at other points in the story. It will forever be code for wetting yourself in future.
A book to show how important it is for children to talk to adults about their feelings as well as adults considering how their decisions impact onto children who perhaps haven’t grasped the bigger picture.