I loved the funny lines, the witty jokes and the contemporary feel. I love many things about this book, I am not sure about the plot and the trip to the US but it was a good book.

My eight year old son loved listening to this book at bedtime. It had some great moral themes but without being too preachy! It works really well as an audiobook.

Im not at all the target audience for this one but that said I really enjoyed it! I think that ben bailey smith has done a fantastic job at conveying what its like to been a teen and this one was full of humour!

Brilliant! It was funny but clever, and exactly what we need. Excellent role model and the main character was represented as being realistic and flawed as well as loveable. Not the kind of laugh-out-loud slapstick humour of many of the books competitors, more of a quiet clever kind of funny that is unpatronising and still full of a appeal. Thrilled. I will be recommending it left, right and centre! I also love that Ben Bailey Smith has narrated the audio himself, I think that has added to the appeal even further.

I initially requested this on the basis that Ben Bailey Smith, or Doc Brown, is a fantastic comedian and rapper, and I was excited to see how his sense of humour translated into a middle-grade novel. I was not disappointed. Car, short for Carmichael, is a bolshy teen who says what he thinks (and this often lands him in trouble!) And when he is given the opportunity to roast his entire school: he takes it. However, when this gleens both fame and infamy, Car has to decide whether he's going to use his power to make people laugh for good or evil. (Though I promise - it's not as dramatic as that in the book.) It's an important message that a lot of comedians have been addressing in their stand up. Are there things you can't or shouldn't make jokes about? What happens when you hurt people's feelings? Does it matter that it was 'just a joke'? Bailey Smith handles this subject without being preachy, without telling the audience what the right or wrong response is, showing empathy for all of his characters, and helping Car understand that whilst he CAN make jokes, sometimes the long term consequences aren't worth the short term.

As far as writing style goes, this is an easy read with a fun colloquial tone to it. From a British comedian, I'd expect nothing less than anecdotes about the 'local' London area, and the comparisons when Car's infamy takes him to New York. Yes, some of the facets of the story - such as the internet sensationalism - are a bit convenient, but I'm not going to let hindsight blind the fact I really enjoyed this. It had a similar voice to Benjamin Dean (of Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow) in the way the protagonist is a young boy who thinks he knows what's going on, but is going to have to learn the truth the hard way.

I actually didn't mind Car, though I know some other reviewers found him irritating. As an Ex-Teacher, I can promise you - this is a pretty accurate description of teenage boys. Heart of gold, head full of stupid ideas. I promise they grow out of it eventually. I thought the depiction of the quiet father interesting; Car learns to respect his dad for his soft patience, rather than insisting his father be more 'traditionally masculine'. It was nice to see a sympathetic father figure, who didn't need to shout or lose his temper to show emotion. (It feels kind of sad to say I don't see much of that in YA usually, so it was a nice change of pace.)

Speaking of pacing, obviously, it's a short middle-grade, so everything seems to happen within a week. It does make it more accessible for reluctant readers, and I said - the voice is cheery and colloquial. Friendly and fun. I'd highly recommend schools get this one in, and maybe it'll encourage some comedians for the next generation.