Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett

Blackbury, a small town near London, is where a young teen named Johnny Maxwell lives. After dreams of the night Blackbury was bombed during WWII, nearly 60 years ago, his friends think he is starting to lose it. While walking back from the movies one night, Johnny and his friends, Wobbler, Bigmac, and Yo-less, stumble upon a homeless woman named Mrs. Tachyon. She appears to be injured, so while she is in the hospital Johnny keeps her cart in his garage. Later that day he discovers that the cart can be used to travel through time! While at the mall, they travel back in time to evade the authorities, Johnny realizes he is on the very day Blackbury was bombed! Only to make matters worse, when they head back to the present they notice they forgot Wobbler! Can Johnny get back to the past in time to save Wobbler and innocent people from being bombed?

I thought this was a very entertaining book. It was fast paced and very funny in parts. My family has been reading Terry Pratchett for a long time, so I was happy when I realized that I had read the first two books in this trilogy. Since the book was set in 1996, I don’t understand why it wasn’t a little more up to date. His characters were very “teenage” like, unlike some writers whose younger characters are much too adult-like. Again, this was a great book and should be enjoyed be readers everywhere.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Denair, California America