Book review: This Isn’t What It Looks Like by Pseudonymous Bosch

Some books really do need a health warning.

They must not be read standing up, sitting down or while operating heavy machinery and should never, ever be used as a projectile.

On the other hand, if you are prepared to face dizziness, paranoid delusions or even, dare we say it, psychosis, there’s one that could be well worth the risks.

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If you are feeling slightly out of kilter, then This Isn’t What It Looks Like is already working its mind-blowing magic!

The crazy, upside-down, inside-out, mysterious, madcap and fun, fun, fun Pseudonymous Bosch is back with another extraordinary, out-of-this-world chapter in his seriously addictive children’s ‘Secret Series’.

Bursting out all over with comic characters and intriguing adventures, this is his fourth book featuring the memorable Cass, Max-Ernest, Yo-Yoji and the top secret Terces Society.

Their action-packed escapades, this time involving time travel, medieval mayhem, knights, jesters, treasure, trouble, clairvoyants and comas, are the stuff of dreams for thrill-seeking youngsters.

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However, not content with just telling a good tale, the ever-inventive Mr Bosch can’t stop adding some helpful, hair-raising and occasionally hilarious footnotes to keep his young readers on their toes.

Things are not running smoothly for Max-Ernest and Cass. In fact, the Terces Society’s top banana Cass is in a coma in hospital where her family are keeping vigil and the doctors desperately need to find out what happened to her.

Max-Ernest was with her when the calamity occurred but there is no way the society will allow him to reveal that it was a bite of chocolate (extra chocolatey chocolate) that put her in a coma.

It was made with the legendary Tuning Fork, the magical cooking instrument of the Aztecs, and is so powerful that the eater returns to their ancestral past.

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So Cass is trapped in the past and it’s up to Max-Ernest to help her return to the present.

Meanwhile, Cass is wandering ghost-like and unseen through what looks like a Renaissance movie set where people dress in tunics and tights and sell their wares around a crowded town square.

It appears she’s on a mission to right an old wrong but if she doesn’t succeed and if Max-Ernest doesn’t manage to rescue her, the result could be catastrophic. If Cass dies, the Secret dies too.

This Isn’t What It Looks Like is top-class entertainment for kids aged 10 and over, combining comical capers with old-fashioned mystery, sparkling adventure and lashings of Bosch’s zany humour.

It’s a treat almost as tasty as one of Max-Ernest’s magical chocolate bars!

(Usborne, paperback, £5.99)

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