This is a well written story with a fantastic adventure for childten of all ages, but probable not for teens. It was a big fun for the younger ones. Frankie ist a smart boy and it was a pleasure with him.

Frankie and her nerdy younger brother, Joel, normally go and stay at their Aunty’s when their mum and dad go away but this time she’s in hospital. Instead, they have to stay with their grandad and Frankie is dreading it as they don’t know him very well. Things get worse for Frankie as soon as they arrive and she realises there’s no phone signal and grandad has no wi-fi! Joel, on the other hand is more than happy to spend the week with grandad’s books and jigsaws. Their mum and dad are game creators, which Joel thinks is great. Frankie used to think it was cool too, until she started secondary school and it somehow became not cool any more. Whilst trying to find a mobile phone signal, Frankie finds her way into the attic and stumbles across some old maps and books. Joel is much more impressed with all of it than she is, even when they stumble across a secret door that seems to lead to another world. Before they know it, Frankie and Joel find themselves embarking on a quest (it’s not a quest, Frankie hates quests) to rescue their grandad. With a whole host of magical creatures including knelves and gnoblins, they must go in search of magical talismans that protect the kingdom of Parallelia.
Forget what you think you know about fairytales as ‘Frankie Best hates Quests’ turns that on its head. Answering all the important questions you never knew you had, like where fairytale characters go to the toilet, this book offers plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. I particularly enjoyed Mrs Archer’s obsession with noodle pots and her favourite flavour ‘Mumbai Madman’. Kenneth Anderson’s illustrations bring Frankie’s quest to life through the journal pages interspersed within the story and I loved the detailed map of Parallelia at the start of the book. With brilliant place names like Splendidness, Calmwater Bay and Fishsmelling-on-Sea, I hope there will be more adventures in Parallelia to come! Children who like fairytales and also those that don’t (like Frankie) will love this magical adventure - perhaps she can help convince a few more minds that quests are awesome!

Frankie best hates quests by Chris Smith.
Frankie Best is not happy.
She's stuck at Grandad's with her annoyingly nerdy brother Joel for a whole week while her parents swan off to the Arctic.Things take a turn for the worse when Grandad gets kidnapped by gnoblins (no, that is not spelt incorrectly) forcing Frankie to embark on a rescue mission across a magical realm filled with strange creatures, dangerous enemies and - worst of all - absolutely no WiFi.Frankie did have big plans to watch YouTube and eat pot noodles that weekend but it looks like she'll just have to go on an epic mega-dangerous quest instead . . .
A fun read for Kids. Loved the cover. 4*.

This book was sooooo much fun. The Quest which was NOT a quest was gripping, funny and an amazing adventure. World-building, atmosphere and character were well thought and absolutely amazing.
Recommended for all gaming wizards and soon-to-be quest-goers.
Hillarious and heart-warming. Loved it!

Frankie Best Hates Quests.

I read this every evening to my 9 years old son and he loved it, Frankie's mum and dad create games and needed to go off and do some research in the next area they were doing a game about which meant that Frankie and Joel her brother would have to stay with their grandfather.

They hadn't visited their grandfather for a long time and Frankie did not know why? But as long as Frankie has her phone and TV she will be happy. But unbeknown to Frankie that wasn't going to be the case!!

Frankie was now at her grandfathers with no phone signal and no TV what was she going to do? Then she finds a secret door in the bedroom which leads to the attic and then everything changes, Frankie doesn't like fantasy games because that is what her mum and dad produce and that was what her friends at school had picked on her about.

But Frankie's eyes are opened by a completely different world which leads to a massive adventure where they meet a vast mix of creatures and characters.


This is a well written story with a fantastic adventure for kids of all ages, recommended read!

This was such a fun book for the whole family, lots of adventure, mild peril and interesting characters. I thought that a week without Wi-Fi was heaven ,the children were horrified. I'm sure that we all laughed and worried at different parts of the story and that was half the fun. Highly recommended especially if reading together across the age ranges.

I loved the characters from the first page. Frankie really is the classic pre teen always on the phone, wanting to be involved in all the conversations with friends and being up to date with the trends.
Frankie then has to go and stay at her grandpa's house with her brother and there is no phone signal.
While they are there her brother Joel comes across a book with weird and wonderful creatures.
Joel suspects something is going on but Grandpa has brushed it aside and claimed to be his imagination.
While in the attic a door opens and it looks very similar to a game that has been designed by her parents.
Surely this can not be real can it?