Review: Funny, Yes!  A Surprising Page Turner!  A Novel Style of Illustration!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 27, 2014
In short, this book offers a lot to a reader who can deal with 'rude and crude' as well as a bit of 'heartwarming'.  I agree with most of the early reviewers:  this is an entertaining book.  Some sections are laundry lists of punning sentences and many of them are amusing.  Felicity MacKenzie is 'a mother from hell' and a force to be reckoned with.  At no time in the book can she be trusted to be anything but self-centered, grasping and avaricious.  For a father who is always at home (especially during working hours), Billy MacKenzie could just as well be an 'absent father.'  The writing based around them offers a tart satire on parental imperfection.Johnny Nothing MacKenzie is only 10 in this first book but I would not recommend this book as being suitable for so young a child.  The bawdy humor and misery mingled in the text is not conducive to making young children feel secure.  It works best for angry teenagers or for adult readers who might be amused to contrast their real childhood with Johnny's fictional one.For the most part, the illustrations here are fresh, inventive and gripping.  I found myself taking time to study them, looking for style, technique and content.  The art has received lavish attention in the production of this book and the art deserves it.  Frankly, I look forward to a sequel!