Review Blog

Nov 18 2009

How to get dumped by Pat Flynn

Puffin, 2009. ISBN 9780143303947.
(Ages 10+) The very funny Pat Flynn is at it again, this time getting into the mind and heart of a year nine boy, overwhelmed with the problem of dumping his overbearing, manipulative girlfriend, Ashleigh. Tony has landed Ash, but she decides early on in their relationship that she must restrain from kissing for a month to be able to write a poem about sacrifice. Tony has just made the grade and likes kissing so it distressed to find this avenue of fun things to do cut off. But when he realises that she has manipulated him into spending lunch times, the only time in the week he can play his beloved handball, in the library, he is moved to action.
But try as he might with deceptive maneuvres, she always sees his deception as positive. He engages his best friend, Kane to cut in on him and take his girlfriend away. Another complication involves Ash's last boyfriend, who has threatened Tony with dire happenings should he hurt Ash in any way, and apart from that Tony's eyes have moved happily to another, his friend's sister, Lacy. All the ingredients for a funny, fast paced story set in a school, with familiar figures, a hippy teacher, the slightly dippy librarian, school bullies and so on are threaded together to make for an entertaining read for upper primary and lower secondary kids.
Fran Knight