Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Ghosts

Author: Katie Tsang, Kevin Tsang

Illustrator: Nathan Reed

Genre: MG, Contemporary

Publisher: Egmont UK

Publication Date: February 8th 2018

Format: Paperback (224 pages)

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Synopsis:

Sam Wu is NOT a scaredy-cat (except he is). When a trip to the Space Museum goes terrifyingly wrong, Sam begins a mission to prove to the school bully, and all of his friends, that he is a fearless space adventurer. A truly laugh-out-loud, voice-led and madcap story of ghost hunting, snakes and mischievous pet cats called Butterbutt, perfect for fans of Tom Gates, Wilf the Mighty Worrier and Barry Loser, and readers aged six plus.

My Rating: ★★★★★

Sam Wu and friends are about to become a HUGE hit with young readers across the UK (and hopefully the world!).

Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Ghosts is an absolute blast (excuse the pun) from beginning to end. Filled to the brim with gorgeous illustrations from the super talented Nathan Reed, this witty children’s book will entertain people of all ages and Sam will surely give our younger readers a new hero to aspire to. I couldn’t stop laughing from the very beginning of this book and loved the adventure that Sam, Zoe and Bernard find themselves on. It is so reminiscent of childhood and all of our childhood fears that even I as a *cough* 27 year old *cough* couldn’t help but relate to Sam!

Sam and his family are Chinese and I loved how this was threaded throughout the book. I was practically drooling at the idea of some of the food but it was also hilarious seeing how Zoe and Bernard reacted to tea time at Sam’s house – in a way that only children could! Sam’s sister Lucy is a badass and I loved Butterbutt the cat (what an excellent name!) Talking of excellent names: Ralph Philip Zinkerman the Third is another one that got me laughing!

The layout of the book was excellent and a nice way to introduce young readers to footnotes (especially funny ones) and each page was a true delight to see and read! There is lots of adventure, a pet snake called Fang, a ghost fighting trio of fabulous friends and a heck of a lot of laughter along the way. I can’t wait to introduce Sam Wu to the young readers in my life and I’m already excited to see what happens next for Sam and his friends!

Ps. Sam is definitely NOT afraid of ghosts.

Huge, huge, huge thank you to Siobhan at Egmont for sending me a copy of the book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

Have you read Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Ghosts? Is it on your TBR?

What are your favourite MG books with illustrations?

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