The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates; Jenny Pearson, illustrated by Rob Biddulph

Debut books do not come much better than this. Jenny Pearson makes a big seagull-shaped splash with her first middle grade fiction book; this is a knock-out of a read.

Freddie is not sure about miracles, he prefers to deal in facts. And he certainly knows a lot of facts…if you let him he can give you fascinating facts on snails, walruses, smoking, bees, swans, babies, envelopes, doorbells, underwear, vegetables, stardust and even spit!

Freddie and his mates Ben and Charlie have just finished primary school and should be looking forward to the summer holidays before starting high school. But…Freddie’s Grandma (Grams) has just died and his dad is on crutches after inadvertently running himself over. Ben isn’t looking forward to going on a trip to the USA with his dad and step-mum Becky. And Charlie definitely does not want to be going to a vegan sanctuary with his mum and dad.

After finding a note from his Grams with his birth certificate, Freddie decides to go in search of his biological father and of course his two best mates are more than happy to tag along. And the boys are in for the most exciting of summer adventures…

This is a laugh-a-minute adventure story that will leave tummies hurting from all the giggles! As the boys journey from Andover to St. Davids via a couple of other Welsh towns they get involved in all sorts of madcap antics, causing chaos at a local festival, inadvertently becoming superheroes, making the news and trending on social media. Not to forget building up a criminal rap sheet for trespassing, breaking and entering, arson and theft - none of this was strictly their fault of course - and it was all done for the right - hilarious - reasons.

The premise of the book is simple enough, Freddie wants to go and meet his biological father as his family is quickly diminishing and he is worried that if his dad (the one that he lives with dies) then he will be all alone. In the hilarious dash across the Welsh countryside the boys need to make it to St. Davids before their parents know they’re missing or their actions catch up with them  (including a gangster from the criminal underworld).

In amongst the laughs and mayhem there are some really sensitive and touching moments and messages. Each child is going through their own personal crisis; Freddie is dealing with grief and loss, Ben is struggling to adjust to life with a new step-mum and Charlie is becoming conscious of his weight. Ultimately though, this is a feel good read about mates having fun and enjoying the good times of summer.

Recommended for 9+