Me and the Robbersons

Author: Siri Kolu

£6.99

ISBN: 9781788953177 Category:

PUBLICATION DATE: June 9 2021

BINDING: Paperback

EXTENT: 224 pages

DIMENSIONS: 129 x 198 mm

In stock

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A madcap adventure starring a bandit family, a LOT of sweets and a girl who is ready for anything…

Maisie is convinced her summer holiday is going to be as boring as ever – until she’s snatched by the Robbersons, a bunch of bandits with an insatiable appetite for sweets! Soon Maisie realizes that life on the open road with the Robbersons is just the adventure she has always longed for. They’ve even started to see her as one of the gang! So when she discovers that the police and her parents are hot on their trail, Maisie decides she isn’t quite ready to be rescued…

A fresh and fun story about what it really means to escape, ME AND THE ROBBERSONS is perfect for fans of Roald Dahl, Danny Wallace’s HAMISH series and THE SUPER MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF FREDDIE YATES.

PRAISE FOR ME AND THE ROBBERSONS

“Entertainingly different”The Times

“Funny and sweet and just the right level of anarchy!” Nicola Penfold, author of Where the World Turns Wild

“It pulsates with humour, tenderness and outright anarchy with a plot that accelerates, weaves and spins like a high-octane car chase” V’sViewfromtheBookshelves

“With a deliciously anarchic Dahl-ish energy to it and a lovely message to end, The Robbersons is already a hit all over the world – it’s about time we got a chance to read it here” – Daniel Hahn, author and translator

3 reviews for Me and the Robbersons

  1. Veronica Price

    This story grabbed me as surely as a highwayman’s hold on his ill-gotten gains. It pulsates with humour, tenderness and outright anarchy with a plot that accelerates, weaves and spins like a high-octane car chase. I can best describe it as a modern day mash-up of Pippi Longstocking and Robin Hood and I would love to see it filmed by Taika Waititi. It is wonderful to see a hugely enjoyable European-authored book about to be made available for a UK readership, particularly at this point in time. Siri Kolu’s original text has been translated into English by Ruth Urbom and I certainly hope that there will be future publications available from this partnership. I highly recommend this story to readers of 9+ who love off-beat, wacky humour mixed with adventure.

  2. Schizanthus Nerd

    “Robbing’s our thing. That’s what we know how to do.”

    Maisie is kidnapped on the way to visiting her Grandma. This might sound like the beginning of a traumatic experience for Maisie but it turns out to be just the adventure she’s been looking for during the summer holidays.

    But this is no ordinary kidnapping; Maisie is stolen from the family’s car in front of her parents and older sister. And these are no ordinary kidnappers; the Robbersons are a family of bandits.

    Wild Karl is the chief bandit and his wife, Hilda, is a reckless but enthusiastic driver and champion cook. They have two children: nine year old Charlie and twelve year old Hellie. Charlie wants to attend school, whereas Hellie embraces the bandit lifestyle completely. Hellie (my favourite character) is good at everything, although repurposing Barbie dolls is one of her specialties. Golden Pete, a friend of the Robbersons, is loyal to Wild Karl.

    As a hijacked person, Maisie quickly learns all about the various ways to get the best loot. She also becomes part of the family, using initiative to come up with new ways of doing things. She knows that she’ll need to return home at some point but she’s not ready yet.

    “I was their prisoner, the loot from a robbery, and so I tried to look glum. Whenever I remembered.”

    Sweets are mentioned so much in this book that it’s possible you’ll get a sugar high just from reading. Kids will love the freedoms enjoyed by this family, who eat what they want when they want, can decide to go swimming on the spur of the moment and don’t have to do anything routine or normal, like work or attend school.

    I found Maisie’s response to her kidnapping quite implausible. I can’t imagine a ten year old who wouldn’t be traumatised by being taken from their family by a bunch of strangers. The fact that Maisie didn’t even seem to miss her family and treated her kidnapping like a fun adventure added to this unreality. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t supposed to be taking any of this seriously. As a kid I would have simply been along for the ride, no questions asked.

    This book, the first in a series, has been translated from Finnish. I want to know how Golden Pete became involved with the Robbersons. I’m assuming this will be mentioned later in the series. I’d like to spend more time with the other bandit clans. I’m interested in reading the next book to see what’s next for Maisie and the Robbersons.

    Thank you so much to NetGalley and Stripes Publishing, an imprint of Little Tiger Group, for the opportunity to read this book.

  3. Susan Somerville

    This was the best summer ever. This was the summer I became a highway robber….I read this book about Maisie who is kidnapped by a band of hilarious highway bandits that travel around Finland with my 9 year old son. He laughed out loud and loved the story of this quirky family that live an unconventional lifestyle. Many thanks to Netgalley and Little Tiger Group for this ARC.

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