August 2012, David Fickling Books
240
pages, Hardback & ebook
Review
copy
Themes:
good vs evil, angels, devils, being whacked by a hammar, good sister vs
difficult sister, its all in the muffins, wanting to break free from everyone's
image of who you are, getting into trouble at school, trials of sisters, lots
of humour
Summary
from Random House Children's Publishers
Everyone has a Lifetime Deed Counter (LDC). It works like this:
You offer to help with the housework: Lifetime Good Deeds +1
You steal your little brother's sweets: Lifetime Bad Deeds +1
Looks straightforward, huh? But what if your every thought was disputed by opposing forces of good and evil - by an angel wearing ray bans (called Windleberry) and a demon in the form of a wart (called Muddlespot)? And within your mind they were fighting a fierce battle over your actions, a battle dictated by a game of poker?
When Muddlespot is promoted from a devil's janitor to special agent, the pressure is on for him to infiltrate Sally Jones and make her Bad. If he doesn't, it will be Very Bad for him. But as his mission leads him down Sally's ear and into the deepest recesses of her mind, all becomes unclear. Just what does it mean to be good? And can it be good to be bad?
You offer to help with the housework: Lifetime Good Deeds +1
You steal your little brother's sweets: Lifetime Bad Deeds +1
Looks straightforward, huh? But what if your every thought was disputed by opposing forces of good and evil - by an angel wearing ray bans (called Windleberry) and a demon in the form of a wart (called Muddlespot)? And within your mind they were fighting a fierce battle over your actions, a battle dictated by a game of poker?
When Muddlespot is promoted from a devil's janitor to special agent, the pressure is on for him to infiltrate Sally Jones and make her Bad. If he doesn't, it will be Very Bad for him. But as his mission leads him down Sally's ear and into the deepest recesses of her mind, all becomes unclear. Just what does it mean to be good? And can it be good to be bad?
Nayuleska's
thoughts
This
is a book that makes you laugh and think a lot. Good vs evil is a common story
theme, and the battle to win Sally is a tough one. Muddle and Win each try to
please their bosses, but there comes a point where the lines between each side
blurs which is a focal point in the book. For those whose beliefs include good
deeds and bad deeds, the Lifetime Deed Counter makes a lot of sense. Sometimes
it is obvious which deeds are good - hurting people is a no-no. But sometimes
bad deeds can seem good: it's bad for Sally to do,SPOILER but it forces Billie
to SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER.
I admire Sally and when I was younger I was mostly
like her at school, but at home I shared a good few of Billie's traits. That's
how life is, good and evil all mixed up. If only we did have actual good &
evil physically with us, their arguments are entertaining. This gets 9/10
because it took a bit of time to get to the style of story which I'd expected
from the start.
You
can find out more on John's website.
Suggested
read
For
an older read try Ministry of Pandemonium by Chris Westwood
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