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Now Look What You've Done: Timmy Failure    by Stephen Pastis Amazon.com order for
Now Look What You've Done
by Stephen Pastis
Order:  USA  Can
Candlewick, 2014 (2014)
Hardcover, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

This is why I don't normally read middle grade material, although, to be fair, I didn't make it to the end of this silly tale about a would-be juvenile detective who is a pint-size version of the infamous Inspector Jacques Couseau of Pink Panther fame.

Timmy Failure, our aptly named PI, sets out to locate a globe taken from the school district superintendent's office and thus win a monetary reward. Along the way he is distracted by a number of other minor cases and odd situations that have to do with his classmates and family.

Using first person, Stephen Pastis lets Timmy speak for himself and thus it doesn't take us long to realize that this young man is rather confused but very amusing in his own bizarre way.

That's the operational word (bizarre) here for this 275 page novel that features a lot of cartoon images of Timmy and his friends. The story is totally ridiculous, but I discovered it does appeal to readers age eight and older who may not necessarily like more serious or realistic material. In fact, youngsters dubbed reluctant readers seem to gravitate towards this character.

This is a series and a third Timmy Failure is planned for release later this year. I'm not sure I am ready for further exposure to this blundering detective, but I have a feeling there will be a whole slew of young people who will relish another Timmy encounter.

Note: Stephan Pastis is the creator of the Pearls Before Swine comic strip syndicated in over 700 newspapers.

Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons.

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