Fourteen year old Marv is your typical teenage boy. He’s got his best mate and his football and he’s content. That is until love at first sight takes over and new girl Carly becomes all that he can think about. Marv is desperate for Carly to notice him and for somebody to help him in his quest to secure true love but who can he turn to? Help arrives in an iconic soulful form and together they embark upon a mission to win Carly’s heart. It’s not an easy journey and poor Marv’s awkward encounters as he optimistically tries to navigate his way through will certainly raise a smile. A tender and amusing account of an adolescent rite of passage that will touch your heart and remind you of all the consuming power of first love and of how sometimes, it just might be found where you least expect it.

Marv's madly in love with Carly and can barely string a sentence together when he's anywhere near her. Luckily, Otis Redding is on hand to help. Yep, the deceased Otis Redding! Although 'help' might be pushing it a bit! Marv tries all sorts to get her attention, and he definitely gets that. There are cringy moments, poignant moments and laugh-out-loud moments. Poor Marv, things just don't go his way. A superb read about 1st crushes and the lengths a teenager will go to for the girl of his dreams.

What a wonderful, emotional, cringeworthy, funny, heartwarming hug of a book Phil Earle has written.
Marv feels that Otis Redding’s songs speak to his heart and he feels understood as his emotions go into turbo drive when he falls in love for the first time…until Otis gives him some outdated advice on winning a girl’s heart.
The TikTok moment makes me feel so glad I was a teenager long before social media. Normal gossip was embarrassing enough in those days.
Yet again, Phil Earle has written a 5 star + story and Barrington Stoke have another banger in their catalogue.

This book was such fun. It's a short (accessible) story about a teenage crush and features many toe-curling moments of adolescent embarrassment told carefully and with much sympathy as well as humour.

Northern Soul is a comedy about a teenaged boy’s first crush and his attempts to chat her up which range from awkward to disastrous. Teens will identify with Marv whose embarrassing dad and footie mates leave him woefully underprepared for even speaking to the girl of his dreams.
This book has every nightmare that could befall a love-struck teenager: a full set of brand-new train track braces, embarrassing yourself at your first teen party and making a public declaration of your feelings. The role of Otis Redding as a genie and spirit guide to Marv is quite surreal but overall, I think Northern Soul will appeal to its teen target audience as both the comedy and the disastrous dating are sure to engage even reluctant readers.
This will be a great addition to our Barrington Stoke collection.

'Northern Soul' is a hilarious romcom for younger teenagers in which our hapless hero Marv (and I can hardly believe I am typing this) accidentally enlists the ghost of soul singer Otis Redding to help him win the love of Carly, the girl of his dreams who has just joined his school. Perhaps unsurprisingly, very little goes to plan but Marv learns some valuable lessons along the way.

I absolutely loved Phil Earle's writing style in this book. There are so many laugh-out-loud lines. For instance, when Marv first meets Carly, he "didn't just feel like a rug had been pulled from under my feet. The rug had been set on fire. With me still standing on it." Later on, when he plucks up the courage to speak to Carl, she responds with "a sad smile - the kid you'd give to a three-legged donkey rather than the future father of your fifteen beautiful children." And anyone who has endured the woes of teenage orthodontic treatment will smile at Marv's description of his new braces: "My gob was set to look like a complicated Scalextric set. If a bolt of lightning hit my jaw, I could become the most powerful bad guy in the Marvel Universe."

Another joy of this book is its use of soul music - something Marv discovers thanks to his crocs-wearing, record-shop-owning single dad. The character of Otis Redding turns out to be pretty much the worst kind of genie imaginable but he generates plenty of laughs as he creates chaos for Marv.

This book is published by Barrington Stoke and is designed to be accessible to reluctant and struggling readers, but as is so often the case with their books, it will be enjoyed by all thanks to its brilliantly strange premise and humour. Thank you to NetGalley and Barrington Stoke for sending me a copy to review.

I am a great admirer of Barrington Stokes super accessible titles. I have also enormously enjoyed all of Phil Earle’s MG novels to date, so I am disappointed to say that this one was not for me. The rather silly story of a boy’s first infatuation with a girl, his attempts to ‘get off’ with her aided and abetted by the ghost of a North of England version of Otis Redding, felt very contrived. The ending was unfortunately predictable and rather sentimental. Sorry.. That said, I suspect many kids in their early teens will be amused by it and enjoy reading it,

I've been desperate to read this from the moment I first heard about it, and it did not disappoint. Hilarious, awkward, and full of heart- it's sure to make anyone who reads it smile!

Phil Earle's short novel for Barrington Stoke is a surefire hit and it's perfect for those teens who are navigating falling in love for the first time.
Marv's life has been problem-free, he loves football and his best mate until a new girl - Carly joins his school, she also happens to have just moved into a house on his street. Marv's dad owns a record shop and no one appreciates vinyl and music as he does, Marv definitely doesn't understand his dad's fascination until his first encounter with Carly, Marv turns into a jibbering wreck when he attempts to speak to Carly and upon returning home he happens to hear his dad playing Otis Reading. Marv believes that Otis is speaking to him through his lyrics and he is the only person who truly understands what love is. That is until Otis actually appears in Marv's bedroom - the same Otis, who has been dead for many years and who can't seem to stop eating!
The novel plays out with Otis guiding Marv into trying to impress Carly but will the boy get the girl?
A lovely story with some true laugh-out-loud moments.

Northern Soul is an absolute winner from start to finish .

Marvin lives with his single dad - a croc wearing record shop owner who sells the wrong kind of music.- and spends his spare time playing footie with his pal Jimmy. All this changes with the arrival of Carly- a new girl in class. Marvin is spellbound. Who can he ask for help? His dad isn't much use but Marvin hears a song that hooks him into a world of soul and the voice of Otis Redding. Magically, the figure of Otis appears who offers advice and so begin Marvin's escapades to try and get Carly to at least recognise he exists and at best win her with his "charms"

Phil Earle is a great writer and knows how to reach into the heart of YA readership and create stories full of heart and humour . Marvin's increasing desire and desperation to impress Carly are pitch perfect and his 'failures/humiliations' are palpable- comedic and painful- and certainly those experienced by many teenagers.

This is a book I will certainly recommend for 11-15 year olds and colleagues in KS3 . Perfect for reluctant readers and anyone who appreciates great story writing.