I don’t really do reviews. I will post reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, etc, but my blog doesn’t seem to be a place that I will ever review other author’s books. Maybe if I feel like I need to I’ll start a separate blog.

AnyWHO, I did want to tell you what I thought of Johnny Nothing. No . . . I want to think out loud about what the story seemed to be getting at underneath all the middle school boy potty humor (Yes, boys will find this hilarious. Yes, there is humor inserted just for us parents).

Mr. Probert thinks deeply about things, I can tell. I haven’t read any of his other books, but Johnny Nothing is a call to social change. He’s not throwing it in your face or ramming it down your throat. He’s using his skills with humor, puns, and satire to remind us, the readers, of the true meaning of generosity.

His characters have names that are have a strong resemblance to those characters Charles Dickens has created. Examples are Ebenezer Dark, Uncle Marley, etc.

Dickens was an author who used his stories to subtly encourage social change, too. I am a Charles Dickens fan, so this works very much in Mr. Probert’s favor. 🙂

While I’m not exactly a fan of farting, vomiting, and nose-picking-type humor, I am not opposed to it. I get (understand) why Ian Probert uses it for writing to this age-bracket. Boys (and some girls) like to snicker over such things. He throws in plenty of humor that Mom and Dad can appreciate, too. Eventually, I’ll let my boys read this, but not until I’m sure they know the difference between humor and a really bad idea. haha!

At this point, I’d say Johnny Nothing is a quick read and worth the point the story is ultimately leading the reader to discover: Having Everything doesn’t make you Somebody. Have Nothing doesn’t make you Nobody. And generosity is the Something worth having.

I don’t know, Ian Probert, what do you think? Did I miss the point?