Review: I, Nigel Dorking by Mary-Anne Fahey

Today, in January Magazine’s children’s book section, contributing editor Sue Bursztynski looks at I, Nigel Dorking by Mary-Anne Fahey. Says Bursztynski:

I am in two minds about this. There are so many novels, these days, seen from the viewpoint of a loser. While everyone has had problems and times when they feel unpopular and unloved, you really have to be able to suggest that the hero has something admirable about him to make it work. Another book written in the last year, Michael Bauer’s Don’t Call Me Ishmael! has a bully who is actually defeated by wit when one of the characters stands up to him verbally. It may not be realistic, but the reader wishes it was. Readers can identify with the characters in the Bauer book, however nerdy, while it’s difficult to identify with Nigel. When he meets a bunch of bullies early in the novel, he hopes to get them on-side by telling them all sorts of fascinating facts and it only leads to a beating. You cringe and wish he would shut up, because the reader, unlike Nigel, can see where it will end.

The full review is here.