*Disclosure: I was compensated and provided with this book to facilitate my review. These opinions are my own and were in no way influenced by another person.
Jacky Ha-Ha by James Patterson
I was recently asked to join the #HaHaBook club and accept the challenge to read Jacky Ha-Ha with my 8 year old daughter Lauren. We love books, so this was an instant YES for us, but I really had no idea what we were getting into. This book was written by James Patterson so I was very curious to see just what kind of writing style he has when it comes to books for young girls.
This book, from the very first page, is awesomely entertaining AND while it’s for young girls, it’s perfect for moms too because Jacky HaHa IS a mom, writing to her children about her adventures as a child growing up in the 90s which just so happens to make this book REALLY easy to relate to if you were alive and functioning in the 90s. *also a bit scary that the things that she refers to are now “old” but that’s beside the point.
What’s so funny?
If it makes my girl laugh, it makes me laugh. But here’s the thing. This book would be funny to me without my daughter reading it with me. But the fact that we can read it together and laugh, makes it even more special for me. We read together a lot, but that doesn’t mean that I am always totally into the story that we are reading. Let’s be honest. You can only read so many “mystery kitten” books before you start to figure out that the kitty names might have changed, but the mysteries are always far from true mysteries.
Jacky is funny. Her descriptions of other characters and events are exciting. She uses fun words and her views on life are edgy and humorous and this book is extra exciting to read out loud. If you have a young girl in your life age 6-10 (actually I think even older kids would love this character) then I highly recommend this book.
This book is BIG. It has pages, but it’s a smooth read. Lots of fun photos and sketches and cartoony things that make it extra fun to read.
My thoughts? I don’t want to be a spoiler because honestly, for us, the element of surprise is what made this book so fun. But I will say this. There is a lot more to Jacky than just a fun jokester who bring humor and jokes into every situation. She does those things yes, but she is also struggling with real issues that are on track with that any girl her age might encounter. She has real fears and she looks for real solutions. She is definitely a class clown, but this book also takes a realistic look at how she has to deal with that when faced with family and life issues that aren’t super funny. Growing up is tricky and this book shares the ups and downs of a young girl with young readers in a way that they can relate to.
Lauren’s thoughts? My daughter enjoys this book because Jacky is funny and “fun” and she really loves the cartoons and sketches throughout the book. She likes that Jacky has neat ideas and explains things really well. She also added that she really (really!) hopes to see more Jacky books from this author.
Here’s a peek at my daughter Lauren and I sharing with you our thoughts about this book:
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