‘Radio Boy’ by Christian O’Connell

About the book: 

Meet Spike, aka Radio Boy: a new Adrian Mole on the radio for the internet generation. 
 
Spike’s your average awkward 11 year old, funny and cheeky and with a mum to reckon with. When he becomes the first presenter ever to be sacked from hospital radio, he decides to carry on from a makeshift studio in the garden shed, with the help of his best friends Artie and Holly, disguising his voice and going by the moniker Radio Boy. 
 
Week by week, word gets around and soon Spike is a star… if only people knew it was actually him. When Spike begins to believe his own hype, and goes too far with his mocking of the school headmaster, a hunt is launched for the mysterious Radio Boy. 
 
Can Spike remain anonymous? Will he get to marry the girl of his dreams, Katherine Hamilton? Will he become famous and popular? The answer to most of these questions is no… 

 

My thoughts: 

It’s been a while since I’ve read an MG book (Middle Grade, which is aimed at 8-13 year olds or Year 5-8) but this book instantly reminded me why they are so great.  Reading ‘Radio Boy’ I felt like I was 11 again, curled up in a nook in the school library (I’m romanticising, my school library did not have reading nooks) and loving every page of Spike’s adventure.

Spike is instantly likeable as your average Year 7 kid: he’s not in with the in-crowd but he has friends, he’s not a fan of homework, his older sister annoys him and his often over-protective mum regularly asks about his toilet habits.  Spike inevitably gets caught up in the hype of his alter-ego Radio Boy, and the way in which he deals with the inevitable fall out is entertaining and perhaps quite predictable.  I don’t mean that to sound negative – honestly.  The aim of great MG books is surely to help guide pre-teens and ‘Radio Boy’ does a great job of reminding them how to develop and protect their friendships.

‘Radio Boy’ is both funny and inspirational, reminding the reader that if they work hard enough any dream can come true. Would I read a sequel? Definitely.

 

Many thanks to Christian O’Connell, Harper Collins and Netgalley for a review copy of this book.  This was my honest opinion.

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