Saturday, August 7, 2021

Down with the Dance by C.T. Walsh - Book Tour & Review


 Down with the Dance

Meet Austin Davenport, whose fabulous luck landed him on this earth only eleven short months after his brother, Derek, putting them in the same grade. While Austin's brain power is unmatched, it appears as if his brother got all the athletic gifts and the family butt-chin, meaning their parents love Derek more than Austin, or so it seems. 

Join Austin on his journey through the tumultuous waters of middle school as he navigates the swampy and undeodorized hallways and explores the depths of the cafeteria's seafood surprise. 

Oh, and someone is plotting to take down the Halloween Dance, the one that Austin has his sights set on, so he can take Sophie Rodriguez, a girl way out of his league, but who doesn't seem to know it.  

Can he stay one step ahead of the new principal who has it out for him? Will Austin figure out who the perpetrators are? Will he save the dance in time? Will he wear a diaper on a stakeout?  

This first in a planned series of twelve will have you ROFLing like you never have before.  

The funny and fast-paced nature of this series is meant for middle grade and early young adult readers.

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1950826015

US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1950826015


My Review
Down with the Dance is an amusing middle-grade novel that's in the same vein as Ned's Declassified (a TV show from the early 2000s) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I found it entertaining and fun, while it also made me think about my time as a middle-schooler. That was the beginning of the end for me (lol), or at least it felt that way at the time. And while I haven't been a middle-schooler for 20+ years, I do have a teenager (who just hit high school, actually), and this book would definitely be right up his alley.
The story follows the trials and tribulations of Austin as he navigates life in middle school, along with his best friend Ben and the "girl of his dreams" aka Sophie.
What do you get when you mix a new, terrible principal (nicknamed Butt Hair), a smarmy, I'm-better-than-you older brother, and a plot to ruin the Halloween dance? Middle school mayhem, of course.
This was a really fast-paced read, and I rather enjoyed it. It's a bit overly silly at times, but for the age range this book is geared towards, the humor fits perfectly. 
Austin is a very relatable character, and you can't help but feel bad for him at times, because I think we all know being a tween can be a very difficult time sometimes.
Younger readers will find themselves laughing along as they read, while older readers may find themselves nodding along, saying "yep" a bunch of times as they remember those days.
4 stars from me.


Author Bio –

Besides writing fun, snarky humor and the occasionally-frequent fart joke, I love spending time with my family, coaching my kids' various sports, and successfully turning seemingly unsandwichable things into spectacular sandwiches, while also claiming that I never eat carbs. I assure you, it's not easy to do. I know what you're thinking: this guy sounds complex, a little bit mysterious, and maybe even dashingly handsome, if you haven't been to the optometrist in a while. And you might be right.

My goal with my writing is to engage young readers with fun and adventure. With so many competing forms of entertainment available to our kids (and so many of them mindless), I really try to provide a reading experience like no other.

I value the importance of combining fun with learning and life values. My stories are humorous and adventurous with strong characters and solid life lessons with some potty humor sprinkled in. You gotta give the kids what they want...Hey, it's better to read fart jokes than to play video games, right?

 

https://www.facebook.com/ctwalshauthor

https://www.instagram.com/ctwalshauthor/

 

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