Eat Your Vegetables, Don’t Become One

Recently, I have been rereading some of my favorite books. One of these books was The Astounding Broccoli Boy by Frank Cottrell-Boyce. It has really struck my interest and I have read this many times over the years. It has a very great storyline with a great main character. Roy Rooney, the main character likes to make his problems into a superhero comic style, so when Roy turns green, he makes the best of it.

If you have been liking If I Ever Get Out Of Here, then I’m pretty sure you will this book too. Like Lewis, Roy has to deal with a bully who just won’t leave him alone, and it’s really affecting his life. It is also a pretty funny book. While Lewis’s jokes make it funny, Roy’s sticky situations make this a very entertaining book. While reading the book there doesn’t seem to be much funny about Roy’s bad situations, but after looking back, it’s funny how Roy is living in his superhero life that he imagines. He literally turns green and starts thinking he has superpowers, and he has to stay with his bully, Grim, in a deserted hospital.

The irony of all of Roy’s situations just tops off the greatness of this book. As already mentioned above, Roy always loved making his situations into a superhero comic scene, and now he literally turned green and is getting tested in a hospital, and he can make Grim into the villain of his story. He thinks he can use 200% of his brain and teleport, but not very much. One time before any of this, Grim is bullying Roy, he takes Roy’s favorite dessert, which has peanuts in it, and Grim has a horrible peanut allergy. While his friends are thanking him for saving them from the big school bully, Roy is pushed into a stream while on a school trip. When he emerges, he is green, and he is rushed to a hospital. On top of all that, his bully, Grim, also turns green and now they are stuck in a hospital room together. As if that wasn’t enough, Roy now has to save Grim from his terrible sleepwalking problem, which almost gets them both killed. It’s also funny that Grim becomes actually kind of smart because of the disease they have, which is something new for a bully who stole a peanut dessert while having a serious peanut allergy.

If I had to rate this book, I would give it a 9/10, and only because it’s for a younger audience since the word choice isn’t very complex. It’s an amazing book, with a very eventful storyline. The author makes every part exciting whether it is turning green, saving a sleepwalker, or teleporting. The book is 400 pages long, but still can be a short read, it has pretty short and easy-to-read chapters, and since it’s such a great book, it boosts you to read more and faster. I encourage you all to read this book and also think about some connections with If I Ever Get Out Of Here because they are pretty interesting.

-Gavin McGill