Author: Eoin Colfer
Title: Benny and Babe
Rating: 5
Reviewer: Pkaps Grade: 7
Review:
Benny and Babe, a humorous novel by Eoin Colfer, is an excellent book. It is told from the standpoint of thirteen year-old Bernard (Benny) Shaw. He has recently taken a trip down to the rural fishing village of Duncade, Ireland, where his grandfather is the lighthouse keeper. There Benny meets some friends that are very unlike his own friends. They are farmers and “culchies,” as he calls them. They all spend lots of time playing games of Hurley, a traditional Irish sport similar to field hockey.
One of the friends he meets is Babe, a girl who you would think was a boy if you didn’t know she was a girl. Benny and Babe join together hunting baits on the coast and then selling them back to the gullible “townies” (what Babe calls people that aren’t local, and Benny) for half of their worth. One day while bait hunting in the dangerous Black Chan, Benny and Babe get trapped when the tide overwhelms them. Benny breaks his leg and they both are facing doom. Through their adventures, they develop an unbreakable friendship. That is, until Babe turns into a real girl. What will Benny do?
This book is full of adventure and danger. With the malicious Furty Howlin (just released from a juvenile detention center) lurking around every corner, you’ll start worrying about Benny as if he were real. Although there are serious parts in this book, it is still able to guarantee anyone a laugh. The hilarious Benny and Babe duo will have you laughing until you fall off the couch holding yourself in sidesplitting laughter.
If you were a fish, then this extraordinary book would be a triple-barbed hook with a feast attached. It grabs you by the eyes and pulls you in, and it only lets go when you’ve finished reading.
9/2/03