Review Detail

My Crazy Uncle Walter is a very enjoyable read, with a small cast of strong characters.
Joe Johnstone is now an elderly man but as he recalls the summer he was 14,it is like he becomes his teenage self again.
He is telling the tale to Sarah, his 15-year-old neighbour; a headstrong, feisty girl who does not get on brilliantly with her mum. She is longing to get out into the world and away from the control of her parents, so hearing Joe's tale of his uncle Walter and the world that he belonged to fills her with intrigue and excitement.
Uncle Walter himself was Joe's uncle and was a very strong influence on Joe (not necessarily an altogether good influence). He was a conman and convicted criminal who, just out of prison, can't quite change his ways. However, he was also a warm and caring uncle who Joe thought the world of.
The book is by Australian author Peter M Clutterbuck so employs some Australian expressions which readers may take a little getting used to but the characters of Joe and Sarah, and the adventures Joe and his uncle Walter got up to will appeal to young readers all over the world.
It is a very well-written book and structured in such a way that it is easy to follow its jumps from present to past and back again. Overall a very enjoyable read which is also a little thought-provoking in places.