Review: Riley’s Failproof Guide To Breaking A School Record

Riley Noodle has been trying to break a school record for seven years. There is only one problem; Riley doesn’t think she’s very good at anything.

This junior fiction book has a little bit of most things and a whole lot of feel-good humour.  

The book opens with Riley Noodle having superglued herself to the school prinicpal’s dog, which sets us up perfectly for the feel of this story. 

Riley is an accident-prone grade sixer who’s flawed and humble, and unaware that she’s really quite funny.

The cast of characters in the story are interesting and diverse – bordering on caricature in moments, but also very human and relatable to readers. 

Friends Henry and Olivia are loyal and interesting. Kaftan-wearing Dad is a little crazy but totally loveable at the same time. 

Some of the humorous moments are over the top and others are understated but they don’t stop – like a runaway train, they just keep on coming.

Clever line illustrations make you smile and add to the reading experience, by being cheerful and perfectly melded with the narrative – which itself contains words of various sizes, fonts, boldness and accents.

The name Larrikin House instils an expectation of clever, quirky and hilarious storytelling (or is that just me? I don’t think it’s just me!). This story lives up to the larrikin - it will delight junior readers, make them laugh and encourage them to feel good about themselves all at the same time.

Now that’s a trifecta!

Title: Riley’s Failproof Guide To Breaking A School Record
Author: Dani Vee
Illustrator: Jules Faber
Publisher: Larrikin House, $16.99
Publication Date: 4 Sept 2024
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781922804815
For Ages: 7 - 12
Type: Junior Fiction