Granny

by Anthony Horowitz, Nickolas Grace (Read by)

Overview

Twelve-year-old Joe Warden isn’t happy. Sure, he’s rich, but his parents don’t care about him. His grandmother should make everything better, except that Joe’s granny is a nightmare. She’s not just physically repulsive, she’s horribly mean. Everyone thinks she’s just a dotty old woman, but Joe knows the truth. He’s seen behind her mask and glimpsed the wicked glimmer in her eyes–she is pure evil. And now she’s out to get Joe, unless he can stop her and her band of nasty grannies first.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781486248643
Publisher:	Bolinda Audio
Publication date:	07/21/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 6.75(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Anthony Horowitz lives in London, England.

Editorial Reviews

With the wickedly fun undertones of Roald Dahl's The Witches, Horowitz (The Switch, reviewed below) imagines that stooped, child-hating grannies are out to take over the world. To do it, they need Jordan Warden, aka Joe, a filthy rich 12-year-old who lives in London with his self-obsessed mother; his cold, can't-be-bothered father; and a quartet of odd but affectionate servants. Joe's Granny-a kleptomaniac with peculiar eating habits-sets out to kidnap him, and Joe ends up in a hotel full of old ladies assembled for the Golden Granny Awards (one prize is for longest time spent boarding a bus). They are also clamoring for his youthful enzymes. Of course, to get those enzymes, Joe has to die. Horowitz resorts to the lights-going-out-at-the-right-moment trick to get Joe out of his predicament, but even that old chestnut doesn't detract from the excitement. Although some parents may cringe at the blackness of the humor, kids who can shudder through the explosions will love the campy ending. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)

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Publishers Weekly

Joe Warden is a not so average kid with everything, or so it seems. His parents are rich but self-absorbed and uninterested in him. His best allies are servants, until they start dying at the hands of Joe's creepy granny and her mean granny friends. In this book that will remind readers of James and the Giant Peach or A Series of Unfortunate Events, Joe is left in Granny's care while his parents are away and she takes him to a granny resort. The old ladies have a plan to extract Joe's youthful enzymes and use them to regain their happiness and youth. Of course, Joe will have to die in order for them to get his enzymes. At the very last moment, as Joe is confined in a strait jacket waiting his fate, the lights in the resort go out, leaving the hall full of grannies in the dark and Joe is freed by a mysterious rescuer. The dark humor will not be appropriate for all readers but those who enjoy Roald Dahl will relish the creepiness of the old ladies, particularly Granny, and will delight in the well deserved end. Reviewer: Ellen Welty

Children's Literature - Ellen Welty