Review: PROMISING DEBUT
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 14, 2013
Teenage author Alex Goodwin has written a funny and thoughtful first book.`Problem Cousin' is a series of skits features the antics of Bob Bobinson and his best pal Billy Boogendoodle. They shop for pickled goat's feet, fight roaches, re-join first grade for a day, meet a `banana witch,' hang out with the eponymous Billy-Bob, go on a disastrous mini vacation, endure a strange cold and chase a Xmas tree down the side of a mountain.The author inserts himself into the narrative with the occasional direct address to the reader, a sort of running commentary on the action that is done sparingly enough to not be bothersome.Overall, the writing is mature and even handed. One might expect crude toilet jokes and other juvenile sort of diversions but the author wisely avoids this kind of humor and successfully finds ways to make the reader smile and occasionally laugh out loud through story and character, from the bizarre situations and how these characters react.Probably the most impressive quality of the book is the general professionalism of the presentation. I didn't find a single typo and the book doesn't feel padded. If Alex Goodwin continues with this level of quality publishing, I predict a rosy future for him on Amazon.