20 Dec / Boom! by Mark Haddon
If you had any expectations from seeing Mark Haddon‘s name on the cover that this might be a deeply thoughtful novel about family relations, you’d be rather surprised. This is not Haddon’s 2003 breakout title, A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (still one of my favorite YA titles), or his 2006 adult title, A Spot of Bother.
Boom apparently had a former life as Gridzbi Spudvetch, originally published in 1992. Haddon himself jokes in his “foreword” about a book title that “[n]o one knew how to pronounce,” not to mention, “no one knew what it meant until they’d read the story.”
Surprise, surprise: Boom is a sci-fi buddy adventure (!). When Jimbo and his best friend Charlie bug the teacher’s lounge, they overhear two of their teachers speaking in a totally undecipherable language. Then Mr. Kidd’s eyes suddenly start glowing weirdly blue. Mrs. Pearce, they quickly learn, can perform the same party trick, too. What are two curious boys to do?
When Charlie goes missing, Jimbo must, of course, go after him. His cranky older sister proves to be his surprising sidekick … and they’re off on the biggest adventure of their young lives, stolen motorbike and all!
Haddon’s target audience for Boom is somewhat younger than Curious. It’s definitely on the light, silly romp side, from made-up languages, wild intergalactic travel, and aliens who know too much about disco. But that’s what makes the book a fun, fast read … or a swift, giggling listen (read with just the right out-of-breath-excitement by Julian Rhind-Tutt, who thankfully knows exactly how to pronounce that ‘Gridzbi Spudvetch’!). We could all use a space trip now and then to transport us from our daily grind, right?
Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult
Published: 2010