Tania Lacy (text), Danielle McDonald (illus.) Tracy Lacy is Completely Coo-Coo Bananas!!!, Scholastic Australia, 1 Sept 2016, 288pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781760156251
This is a madcap adventure centred around the lead up to starting high school. Tracy Lacy is an impulsive and quirky twelve year old, who remembers vividly all the most embarrassing events of her primary school years, and is planning not to repeat her mistakes, fearing the social death which might befall her in high school. Fortunately she has two good friends whose advice just might save her, if she can finally avoid her habitual impulsiveness.
Tracy’s family is a loving one, but set to cause some problems for her plan, with their embarrassing habits and hobbies. Over the summer holidays Tracy also meets BOMD – boy of my dreams – making things just a little more interesting.
BOMD is a sample of the many abbreviations and special names which are sprinkled through the book. The book design incorporates funny line drawings on every page, including illuminated text of the comic variety, and lots of visuals emphasising the narrative voice, which fairly screams off the page.
Tania Lacy, the author, is a comedian who has turned her talents to the amusement of the young. Readers, including those perhaps reluctant to pick up a more traditional novel, will get a good many laughs from this book, and it might prove a useful model for their own comic story writing.
Reviewed by Marita Thomson
- Read Katie Mineeff’s review of Tracy Lacy