Wouldn’t you just love to be a fly on the wall sometimes? To hear everything that is going on around you and yet remain unnoticed? What if you were in that situation and didn’t want to be? How would that affect your life? What would create such a situation? All these ideas are explored in Remy Lai’s novel for middle schoolers called Fly on the Wall?
What I am Reviewing
Fly on the Wall is written by Remy Lai. It is an illustrated fiction book geared to middle school. Incorporating prose, text and comic format to ably tell the story of Henry Khoo. Remy Lai also illustrated this biographical style novel. 336 pages, published by Henry Holt & Co. I received an ARC copy to review for Raincoast Books.
Henry Khoo’s family treats him like a baby. He’s not allowed to go anywhere without his sister/chaperone/bodyguard. And he definitely CAN’T take a journey halfway around the world all by himself!
But that’s exactly his plan.
Follow along on Henry’s adventures.
Fly on the Wall Details
Henry, your typical middle school child, yearning to figure out the world around him yet struggling through the process. His Best friend is no longer, but why? New people are like chattering magpies and he doesn’t fit in. His family hovers over him. What does a boy do? Using humour and compassion we learn Henry’s story.
Throughout you will find illustrations, and occasionally text messages. These text messages kept Henry on his toes, trying to figure out just who this “frog” was who had discovered him.
Most pages were black text on white, with the occasional page being the reverse. Middle School humour filled the pages, it was an enjoyable read. As the book progressed, I became more and more curious who “frog” was.
By the close of the book Henry learned a great deal about his family, apologies were made all around, the mystery was solved and I felt like I had read a decent book. 🙂
Should You Get it?
Fly on the Wall is well worth reading. I would rather borrow it than add it to a personal library collection. BUT if you know a middle schooler who likes a good mystery with a touch of personal drama, this is definitely birthday present material. Giving said child a great escape from the world while following the fun antics of Henry Khoo.
Sounds incredibly unique!
It was a good read. Seriously. Not what I expected, decently good read.