WARNING: Grandma's Gone Bonkers

by B. Ware

Nero fears his grandma may be losing her mind. After all, she’s been acting very strangely…

But when his parents vanish and top-secret government agents are called in to investigate, Nero begins to question everything. Are his mum and dad responsible for the recent spate of burglaries in the area? Is his headteacher really a vampire? And what’s with the mysterious cloak hanging in his grandma’s hall closet?

Determined to get to the bottom of things, he and his best friend Jess are left with no they must enlist Grandma’s help and launch an investigation of their own.

Will their quest for the truth send the old lady over the edge? Or could there be more to Grandma than meets the eye?


Praise for Grandma's Gone 'Engaging, charming and utterly bonkers! Grandma is such a fun character, the pace never lets up and the mystery will keep you guessing till the end.' - Jack Jackman, author of Maisie vs Antarctica

'Funny, fast-paced, and full of surprises! With unforgettable characters, a page-turning mystery to enjoy together, and Grandma at the heart of the chaos, this story delights kids and grown-ups alike.' - Jen A. Egerton, author of Bonds of Blood and Duty

'Funny, bouncy and chatty, I couldn’t stop smiling as I read this rollicking story.' - Megan Hopkins, author of the Starminster series

'Hilarious, charming, and, well, utterly bonkers! The new must-read addition to B.Ware's Words of Warning collection!' - Simon Batsman, author of the Sarsen series

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 24, 2026

Reviews

[Alice Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

So excited to be part of the unofficial book tour for WARNING: Grandma’s Gone Bonkers — especially after loving B. Ware’s other books through the Rebel Reading Society and hearing brilliant feedback from my class.

Despite not being my usual genre, this book completely won me over. The title alone hooked me and it delivered laughs, mystery and chaos in the best way.

Perfect for LKS2 readers: funny, easy to read but with some lovely stretch vocabulary too. I can see this working brilliantly as a Year 3/4 shared read or a giggly 7+ bedtime book.

I loved how it shifts from comedy into a proper little detective story — piecing clues together was great fun. Plus the cheeky narrator interruptions (from a very funny old man!) keep you turning pages.

A harmless, hilarious adventure full of teamwork, mystery and plenty of bonkers oldies. Definitely recommend — and thanks again for letting me join the ARC fun! ⭐

[Fatguyreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well what an absolutely fantastically funny, fun read this was.

I read this with our 9 year old Daughter over about a week of bedtime stories and we both really enjoyed it.

This is our first read by this author, but we'll definitely be looking up her other books for some more bedtime laughs.

It's a real gem of a book and kept us both wonderfully amused during those few hours it took us to read it.

There's sleuthing, bungling criminals and plucky, zesty senior citizen, all wrapped up in a fun mystery adventure that I'm sure, like us, will have you laughing out loud.

A big 5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from us.

[Amy Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

👵🏻 🤪 Warning: Grandma’s Gone Bonkers by B. Ware 👵🏻 🤪

ARC I AD I PR

🧐 Well I have no idea if I am unofficially on the official book tour, or officially unofficial- but what I do know is that I want to shout LOUD and PROUD about this hilarious book.

💛 From the moment Warning: Grandma’s Gone Bonkers arrived on my doorstep, the excitement was there. I knew I was in for a treat after reading the blurb and admiring the awesome front cover by Theo Jarvis.

🥸 From shady characters, magical cloaks, questionable moustaches, bonkers OAPs (who are actually SUPER cool IMO - and not because I am old, thank you very much!!), vampires, rotten teachers, spies and more… there is something for everyone in this book.

🤩 Nero and Jess are the heroes of the story. Nero has somehow managed to get through his life without knowing much at all about his mysterious parents - even though they live together in the same house. Super sus! He is loyal, loving and I think very much crushing on Jess. Jess has the BEST active imagination and conjures up some absolutely laugh-out-loud moments. Some of her ideas are so far fetched and hilarious. She might be a little gullible too… 🤷🏻‍♀️

👵🏻 Gran is a legend! 🙌🏽 Resourceful, flexible and cunning. If you want to know if she is actually bonkers, then you must read the book for yourself. If I told you she has a secret underground laboratory under her bungalow, would that help?! How cool! 😎

👴🏼 My favourite part of the story was the narrator’s voice. They added so many brilliant asides, explanations and reflections. Sometimes a little sarcasm, sometimes a random tangent. He reminded me of myself when teaching, because I totally over-share all of them time.

💛 I adored Jo’s writing style and great sense of humour throughout. This book will definitely be a hit with confident readers in Y3 upwards, so 8+. I can’t wait to share it with my class.

Check out: @bewareauthor and @the_rebel_reading_society on Instagram for more reviews and book fun.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic read from this wonderful children’s author! Now, I say children’s author but you know what, I absolutely loved this! I decided to read without my son as I was reading a digital copy (he will want to read the ‘proper’ book!) and I devoured it within 24 hours. I laughed out loud, I was drawn into the plot and couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

The book starts off with a poem, which is brilliantly written and has the narration parts throughout, like the previous two books. Although written in a similar style (which I absolutely love!) all 3 books are wildly different so you just don’t know what to expect!

This time we are following Nero, as he starts investigating some strange goings on! But not only that, his grandma appears to have gone bonkers! Everyone is concerned for her, but nothing is as it seems!

We are led straight into the mystery and action, which will keep any young reader engaged. This book is perfect for younger readers who will want to cuddle up and share the story being read to them, but also the older child who can read to themselves.

The author is always so clever with how she ‘removes’ the parents so that the children can take centre stage throughout the book.

This time however, the children are assisted by some fantastic older people. They bring such humour and joy to some very precarious situations!
Grandma and Charlie are my absolute favourites.

I also noticed some clever hidden messages throughout this one, like how it is okay to cry, and how, perhaps children hide these things because us adults do the same.

So all in all a brilliant read, this author is becoming a firm favourite in our house (and also those of friends with young children). I know my son will enjoy this and won’t be satisfied with just one chapter at bedtime!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author and publisher for the opportunity to read.

[Claire Smith-Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great fun read that was full of science, technology and fabulous pensioners. I had a great time reading it with Henry and explaining different elements and admitting I didn't know what was happening too but that I wanted to find out. Henry is busy trying to create his own invisibility cloak and be a spy so I'm happy he's been inspired by reading. 

Henry loved the spy elements and kept questioning everything, he loved when Nero played the trick on Miss Jorn early on in the story.

Nero is worried about his gran as he keeps overhearing his parents say that she's going bonkers. On a visit to check on her, he finds her in a precarious position and starts to think his parents must be right. Grabbing a cloak to keep the rain off on his way to school he inadvertently discovers he's picked up an invisibility cloak, which his friend Jess persuades him to use for some fun but it lands him in hot water. His parents are called in and after that they disappear and strange things begin happening, including being accosted by secret agents! With the help of grandma and her book club, Nero and Jess unravel the mystery and set about enacting a plan to trap the bad guys! 

[Julie Ditton · Rating 5 out of 5]

B. Ware has done it again. Mix together middle grade sleuths, feisty senior citizens, stupid criminals and a touch of science fiction and you have one rollicking good time. The author has crafted a fun mystery adventure with outlandish details and fun characters. As usual the book begins with a narrator who relates the goings on and frequently breaks the fourth wall to talk to the reader. Once the actual adventure begins, the book follows a youngster named Nero who is quite worried that Grandma seems to have gone Bonkers! But Mom and Dad seem to be acting strange and secretive. Things aren't always as simple as they seem and when people start to literally disappear, Nero doesn't know what to think. Kids will love this fun adventure where kids have to help save the day. But adults will too. I devoured this laugh out loud book in one day. I received this an electronic advanced reader's copy of this book from the author, but I can honestly recommend this book to any middle grade adventure reader, not to mention the parent who likes to read along.

[Tami Wylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cracking read! Nero is convinced something is terribly wrong with his grandma. She’s been acting very strangely: swinging from lights, talking to ghost and other odd things. Not to mention, he keeps hearing phone messages saying, “grandma‘s gone bonkers!”Next, he winds up with an invisibility cloak he got at Grandma’s house. To top it all off, his parents get kidnapped after visiting his principal,who Jess is convinced is a vampire. Nero, his best friend Jess and grandma set out to find his parents, stop the bad guys and protect his parents’ secret invention. There was plenty of humour and some fabulous characters in this book. I loved Grandma and her book club friends. They were gloriously feisty and up for anything. This is a book that I would have happily shared with my class when I was teaching and with my son when he was young. It has everything that children in the targeted age group will love! A fantastic read for adults too!

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the content and the illustration. It is a joyful look at dementia. I am getting old, so that kind of made me dread old age a wee bit less. The illustration makes grandma look so endearingly bonkers.