Billionaire Boy by David Walliams
Published by Harper Collins Children’s Books
Review by Aliss Langridge
Surely billionaire Joe Spud has everything he could ever need? The interesting front cover certainly suggests so: Joe is surrounded by piles of money. Everybody’s dream, right? Maybe not, as David Walliams suggests in his third children’s book.
We meet Joe in Chapter One and discover he lives a ludicrously rich lifestyle – does anyone really need five hundred pairs of Nike trainers? Or two crocodiles? Joe lives with his father in a very large house (so large that it’s visible from outer space, in fact), however he confides in Mr Spud that he’s lonely. He doesn’t have a friend. Mr Spud agrees to let him enrol at the local comprehensive where (hopefully) nobody will know about his father’s rich status.
The structure of the story is simple – each chapter is short and develops the action. Every chapter title teases the reader about a hilariously ridiculous event to come (and there are many of those to entertain the average twelve-year-old).
Likewise, the simple language helps maintain the pace and the writer’s engaging narrative introduces us to concepts such as ‘bum jumping’ (you’ll have to read it to find out). The humorous tone hits the right spot, making this a fun book to read.
Despite the light-hearted tone, Walliams manages to poke some fun at the lifestyle of the rich and famous, and how frivolous it can be.
He reminds us that in this modern culture of celebrity it’s important to remember the things which we may take for granted: family and friends.
Overall Billionaire Boy is an easy, enjoyable and heart-warming read.