Adam Wallace and Jack Wodhams (text), Tom Gittus (illus.), The Vanilla Slice Kid, Ford Street, 1 Oct 2015, 165pp., $14.95 (pbk), ISBN: 9871925272024
Twelve year old Archie is born with the amazing superpower of producing and shooting cupcakes from his hands, but his horrible, uncaring and greedy parents keep him at home to take advantage of his talents for their on-line cupcake business. Eventually, however, the ‘real’ world intrudes as Archie is briefly sent off to school, before being willingly drawn into a seemingly beneficial scheme to use his powers for good. While Archie does befriend a couple of other kids with surprising superpowers, he is never quite sure who to trust or what is really going on at the secret facility run by the weird and crazily incoherent ‘General’. Wild hilarity, mayhem and madness ensue with outrageous incidents occurring at an increasingly hectic pace. Things seem to come to a reasonably satisfactory conclusion, but then the epilogue ends with a surprising twist – something is not quite right -leaving readers hooked for what might happen next. Amusingly titled cooking-themed chapter headings are relevant to the wild plot twists, and the inclusion of copious black and white drawings should ensure that this frenetic romp, with its extended competitive joke sequences, ridiculous superpowers and OTT villains, would most appeal to boys in upper primary.
Reviewed by Chloe Mauger