She has worked on the music counter at WH Smith, been an investment banker, a waitress, a property developer, investigated missing millions for The Sultan of Brunei, founded a successful consulting business, worked for HM Treasury restructuring banks, oh….and cooked dinners at a care home for the elderly. But her love of writing was sparked when collaborating on the best-selling children’s non-fiction titles You Are Awesome (April 2018) and Dare to be You (September 2020) with Matthew Syed. Kathy believes that children should all have confidence in their own potential, and not be limited by the beliefs they (or others) hold Before starting work on her children’s fiction series, Kathy had quite a few jobs. She was better at some than others. Ik wil de vertaler een groot compliment geven. De namen zijn vernederlandst, maar het verhaal is ook zo aangepast dat het zich afspeelt in Nederland. Dit liep allemaal vloeiend en ik ben geen inconsequente dingen tegen gekomen. The start of a relatable new illustrated series, all about embracing your family, and finding unique ways to deal with life's dramas. While the story is funny throughout and a great humorous read, it also brings up some great issues about friendships and even has some disability representation which I liked as the focus was on the character rather than their condition though it still played a part in the story.

My biggest problem with this book was Harper's parents. I started this book laughing out loud at their scatterbrainedness because they had nice qualities and weren't abusive but after a while, all the gags that were supposed to make the reader laugh only made me cringe. All I could think was these are exactly the kind of parents, people write Reddit AITA posts about thinking it's a funny situation and get the kind of answers that tell them to go to therapy and surround themselves with better people. I mean, I understand Harper is a middle child just entering her teen years so of course she feels invisible and misunderstood but some of the situations that these parents put their kids in reeks of neglect.This book also successes in portraying people going through difficult patches being helped and supported by their loved ones and community without making the story too heavy, which I particularly liked to see represented in a story aimed at younger readers.

Welcome to the totally hilarious and utterly daft life of Harper Drew and her VERY eccentric family – from her totally hair-obsessed would-be internet celebrity brother, Troy, to her Uncle Paul, who swears he’s making a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio (well, he’s got a red carpet at least). Harper is desperate to get invited to Maisie Felix’s summer glamping party. Friendship is a hard thing sometimes at this age, and I really enjoyed how Harper really has a good head on her shoulders.What's New? Talent Show Takeover is an interesting yet catastrophe-filled book full of eye-catching details. I have seen the review below about the parents and neglect and it made me laugh nearly as much as the book itself - I suspect if Harper had read that she would roll her eyes as well. The fundraising aspect was undoubtedly my favourite aspect of the book. Not just because it puts Harper in a great many hilarious, awkward situations, such as the car boot sale, but also because of what the fundraising is for. Harper’s best friend Edward is disabled and their school is inaccessible to him, and while I don’t want to make this all about me, I’ve been in similar situations, so seeing Harper be such an ally made me love her even more than I otherwise would have. Before starting work on her children’s fiction series, Kathy had quite a few jobs. She was better at some than others.

For starters there is a snake on the loose in my neighbourhood - a 6ft Python called Betty to be exact, my dad's decided to re-tile the bathroom and NOBODY is allowed in there, and my older brother Troy seems to be constantly kitted out in expensive designer clothing. I'm the only one who has noticed he's acting shifty ...Harper and her friends are planning a talent show to raise funds for the local food bank. When Troy does something stupid, it becomes even more essential for Harper that the talent show be a success. All this while Harper's dad tries (unsuccessfully) to mend the bathroom tiles, her mom develops a new obsession, her grandfather gets banned from the supermarket and...there's a python on the loose in the neighbourhood! But I need to focus on organising a talent show to raise money for the local foodbank. It's going to be great ... apart from the fact Troy seems to care more about gaining more followers, aka his "DesTroyers" on his YouTube channel, than he does about helping me out. Hoewel ik heel erg moest wennen aan de combinatie van herinneringen en gebeurtenissen van die dag, was het verhaal zeer vermakelijk. Lizzie brengt alles goed en er zit toch een diepere laag in het verhaal. And to top it off our school playing field is going to be turned into a supermarket. But not on my watch!