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The Taylor TurboChaser
It’s the latest Brilliant Blockbuster from bestselling Baddiel! A non-stop thrill-ride adventure that will have readers young and old racing to the finishing line.
The Taylor TurboChaser is a road-trip rollercoaster… with a twist.
At its heart is the unforgettable Amy Taylor. Amy loves cars, and dreams of being a driver. But there’s a major catch: her slow old wheelchair with its broken wheel. When Amy finally gets a new electric one, it’s exciting… at first.
But standard engines only have so much power. And that’s where Rahul comes in – Amy’s best friend and genius inventor. Soon Rahul turns a wheelchair into… a supercar!
And so the Taylor TurboChaser is born. But when it all goes suddenly wrong Amy is going to have to hit the road – and drive…
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 17, 2019
32 people are currently reading
376 people want to read
About the author
David Baddiel
85 books446 followersDavid Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter. Baddiel was born in New York, and moved to England when he was four months old. He grew up in grew up in Dollis Hill, Willesden, North London.
After studying at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Elstree, he read English at King's College, Cambridge and graduated with a double first. He began studies for a PhD in English at University College London, but did not complete it.
Baddiel became a cabaret stand-up comedian after leaving university and also wrote sketches and jokes for various radio series. His first television appearance came in a bit-part on one episode of the showbiz satire, Filthy, Rich and Catflap. In 1988, he was introduced to Rob Newman, a comic impressionist, and the two became a writing partnership. They were subsequently paired up with the partnership of Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis for a new topical comedy show for BBC Radio 1 called The Mary Whitehouse Experience, and its success led to a transfer to television, shooting Baddiel to fame.
He has written four novels: Time for Bed, Whatever Love Means, The Secret Purposes and The Death of Eli Gold.
Baddiel has two children, both born in Westminster, London, with his girlfriend, Morwenna Banks.
After studying at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Elstree, he read English at King's College, Cambridge and graduated with a double first. He began studies for a PhD in English at University College London, but did not complete it.
Baddiel became a cabaret stand-up comedian after leaving university and also wrote sketches and jokes for various radio series. His first television appearance came in a bit-part on one episode of the showbiz satire, Filthy, Rich and Catflap. In 1988, he was introduced to Rob Newman, a comic impressionist, and the two became a writing partnership. They were subsequently paired up with the partnership of Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis for a new topical comedy show for BBC Radio 1 called The Mary Whitehouse Experience, and its success led to a transfer to television, shooting Baddiel to fame.
He has written four novels: Time for Bed, Whatever Love Means, The Secret Purposes and The Death of Eli Gold.
Baddiel has two children, both born in Westminster, London, with his girlfriend, Morwenna Banks.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
December 10, 2019
Много приятна детска книжка с главна героиня в инвалидна количка, която е огромна фенка на състезателни коли.
Един ден решава, че иска да докаже на баща си, че тя може да кара, и тръгва на неразумно пътуване от Англия до Шотландия в направи-си-сам кола.
Беше страшно забавна история, която напомня, че когато силно искаш нещо, пречките са само допълнителни предизвикателства по пътя към успеха :)
Един ден решава, че иска да докаже на баща си, че тя може да кара, и тръгва на неразумно пътуване от Англия до Шотландия в направи-си-сам кола.
Беше страшно забавна история, която напомня, че когато силно искаш нещо, пречките са само допълнителни предизвикателства по пътя към успеха :)
March 23, 2020
A girl in a wheelchair becomes a racer. Sadly, it sounded much more fun than I actually thought it was.
I was truly looking forward to all the fun, David Baddiel writes such fun books that you just want to read over and over again. I was loving the fact this one would be about a girl in a wheelchair, we definitely need more characters in books in a wheelchair. I also liked the idea of inventions and racing. Also I read this one in Dutch, so I am using the Dutch names as I have no clue about the English ones.
But the story just lacked and it was just all a bit too much coincidental at times for me. That is why I tagged it as a octarine, aka magic. The trip was fun, don't get me wrong, I loved that the kids were this dedicated to get somewhere and put their best foot forward to get it all done, but it was just too magical for me. I knew I would have to suspend my believes given the fact the girl is driving in a car while never driven and the fact someone made a car like that (though yes, I loved that someone could think of making a car out of every item possible + a wheelchair as its basis), but it was just too much for me. Every time the kids were almost captured something would happen. POOF the car had some magical new function. Poof they would escape by doing x or y. Of course I was hoping the kids would get away, but I would have liked to see it happen in a different way. Same goes for how their journey went, it just felt forced that they had so many things happened. The restaurant? The field? The road being full of cars?
As I said, it was also pretty magical the girl knew actually how to drive. I am sorry, I play enough racing games, but believe me I would crash a car if I would try to actually drive it without actual car experience and someone giving me lessons. :P And I understand the car is essentially a souped up wheelchair, but still you need a bit more knowledge on how cars work before you can drive. :P
The parts with the parents, meh.
And I am deducing one star for two characters. Jessie and Jack. I didn't like them at all. Jack had some parts that redeemed him a bit, but other than that he should stop doing his work as an echo well + his constant remarks were just getting frustrating. I get he is a teenager and I remember myself as teenager, but come on. You could be a bit kinder at least.
Then there is Jessie. My lord, how does that girl even function given her limited knowledge of EVERYTHING in life. I even read parts to my husband and he agreed that he was amazed she had enough brain cells to even breathe. She made the stupidest comments that even a child aged 4 would know, she had a total disregard to the journey (given she texted her parents and didn't think about a gps tracker). I don't mind characters who make the occasional dumb comment, we all do that throughout our lives and then we giggle and wonder why we said that. However if a character is constantly this way... it doesn't get fun it becomes annoying.
Despite so many meh points, I did fly through the book. I had to stop at 143 on the first day as I could only read in the hour I had before sleeping, which I wasn't too happy with but hey, one has to sleep especially now. The next day I just flew through the remaining pages. Yes, I rolled my eyes, yes I groaned, but David Baddiel still has that writing style that keeps you reading. Plus, I loved Amy's backstory, why her father left and how the family is doing now. I loved how kick-ass Amy was + I loved that she loves cars and racing. Plus, the illustrations were just fabulous.
But yeah, too many points that had me going meh, so I am just giving this one 2 stars. I hope the next book by this author is much more fun and features some great characters.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I was truly looking forward to all the fun, David Baddiel writes such fun books that you just want to read over and over again. I was loving the fact this one would be about a girl in a wheelchair, we definitely need more characters in books in a wheelchair. I also liked the idea of inventions and racing. Also I read this one in Dutch, so I am using the Dutch names as I have no clue about the English ones.
But the story just lacked and it was just all a bit too much coincidental at times for me. That is why I tagged it as a octarine, aka magic. The trip was fun, don't get me wrong, I loved that the kids were this dedicated to get somewhere and put their best foot forward to get it all done, but it was just too magical for me. I knew I would have to suspend my believes given the fact the girl is driving in a car while never driven and the fact someone made a car like that (though yes, I loved that someone could think of making a car out of every item possible + a wheelchair as its basis), but it was just too much for me. Every time the kids were almost captured something would happen. POOF the car had some magical new function. Poof they would escape by doing x or y. Of course I was hoping the kids would get away, but I would have liked to see it happen in a different way. Same goes for how their journey went, it just felt forced that they had so many things happened. The restaurant? The field? The road being full of cars?
As I said, it was also pretty magical the girl knew actually how to drive. I am sorry, I play enough racing games, but believe me I would crash a car if I would try to actually drive it without actual car experience and someone giving me lessons. :P And I understand the car is essentially a souped up wheelchair, but still you need a bit more knowledge on how cars work before you can drive. :P
The parts with the parents, meh.
And I am deducing one star for two characters. Jessie and Jack. I didn't like them at all. Jack had some parts that redeemed him a bit, but other than that he should stop doing his work as an echo well + his constant remarks were just getting frustrating. I get he is a teenager and I remember myself as teenager, but come on. You could be a bit kinder at least.
Then there is Jessie. My lord, how does that girl even function given her limited knowledge of EVERYTHING in life. I even read parts to my husband and he agreed that he was amazed she had enough brain cells to even breathe. She made the stupidest comments that even a child aged 4 would know, she had a total disregard to the journey (given she texted her parents and didn't think about a gps tracker). I don't mind characters who make the occasional dumb comment, we all do that throughout our lives and then we giggle and wonder why we said that. However if a character is constantly this way... it doesn't get fun it becomes annoying.
Despite so many meh points, I did fly through the book. I had to stop at 143 on the first day as I could only read in the hour I had before sleeping, which I wasn't too happy with but hey, one has to sleep especially now. The next day I just flew through the remaining pages. Yes, I rolled my eyes, yes I groaned, but David Baddiel still has that writing style that keeps you reading. Plus, I loved Amy's backstory, why her father left and how the family is doing now. I loved how kick-ass Amy was + I loved that she loves cars and racing. Plus, the illustrations were just fabulous.
But yeah, too many points that had me going meh, so I am just giving this one 2 stars. I hope the next book by this author is much more fun and features some great characters.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
January 13, 2020
It was a very funny book and I liked how it was a bit like the kids were against the adults. Also I liked how the Author wrote it that it felt like you were actually there. It was really easy to understand what was happening and also to picture it. My fave rout characters were probably all the kids. I picked all of them because they all had different personalities and all of there personalities I liked and it’s hard to just choose one. I also liked how the author flipped between the parents and the kids.
It was a very good book and I highly recommend it.
It was a very good book and I highly recommend it.
October 9, 2021
It's David Baddiels writing and I love all his books and style but this book didn't really measure up against the rest of them, with a more tame plot that I have certainly seen before. Keep in mind though I am not nescarily the target audience as I am a teenager so I'm sure younger kids would love this sort of book, my brother did anyway.
Its also great to see how far representation has come since I read children's book, so more kids can see the selves in stories and this book definitely follows through with this.
Its also great to see how far representation has come since I read children's book, so more kids can see the selves in stories and this book definitely follows through with this.
June 25, 2021
Fun, but not groundbreaking. Perfect for those younger readers who love their poo-related humour!
May 16, 2024
I really liked the moral of this story and as a parent reading it I felt some empathy towards the dad and could understand how he feels about the situation too
This was such a lighthearted and fun read with some great imagination used too, would definitely recommend it to the younger generation
This was such a lighthearted and fun read with some great imagination used too, would definitely recommend it to the younger generation
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December 4, 2024Don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful for a book to be over. Started skimming in the second half so lowkey don’t even know what happened in the book.
September 11, 2025
I finished this book at home and I think it was a great book that I would recommend for people my age to enjoy. 😁
October 20, 2021
A nice, friendly road trip tale and the way it that all of David Baddiel's books are connected; the other characters don't realise that stuff happened to them. Usually they're mentioned once or twice and that's it really. It cool!
December 31, 2019
I know its a children book, but i love it. Its great story, great illustrations and make us to see an other side of life.
January 18, 2023
It was easy to read the characters and writing it was so beautiful
May 11, 2024
I think this was the most interesting book I read recently.
July 21, 2022
After reading Birthday Boy and The Boy Who Was Accidentally Famous, I felt little disappointed that it wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I reculantly picked Taylor Turbochaser and AniMalcom, books that I have read the summary off. They seemed interesting but so had The Boy Who Was Accidentally Famous so I didn’t have any expectations. Boy was I blown away. Baddiel took an interesting premise and ran with it. I had already seen Rahul from Future Friend which I enjoyed though I was dissatisfied with its handling Taylor. I relate to Rahul being an Indian boy of similar age with similar interest. Mature themes such as divorce are explored subtly as well as the struggles of being a single mother and disabled. The confrontation at the end was raw and heartfelt. The father figure being and distant helped in really selling the whole “my father had left me” shtick. There was a lot of comedic relief to contrast the harsh statements said by some characters. I have mixed feeling in David Baddiel, he makes great books and then he makes The Boy Who Was Accidentally Famous. However, after reading many of his book there seems to be a pattern. David takes on idea, preferably one that many of us have dreamed of such as talking to animals or having our Birthday everyday, then that idea is put in to motion. However it soon becomes a problem with the ending of the book being a wild good chase or some form of finding an identity. Overall, I read this book in one sitting late night derived of any dazzle of fictional storytelling and this book delivered. Writing this as I am finishing AniMalcom which so far hasn’t disappointed either!
November 19, 2021
Name of the book: The Taylor Turbochaser
Author: David Baddiel
Genre: Fiction
No. Of pages: 384 pages
To start with the cover of the book, all I have to say is that it's so so attractive. It grabbed my attention at first glance. It has some very interesting illustrations.
The story is really a roller coaster ride for our ambitious Amy. Though disabled she has a dream to drive her "dream" car and she can go to any extent to do so. The story is quite hilarious at times as it brings forth some queer inventions like the helmet with a toothbrush, that buttering toaster...🤣🤣🤣 (PS: I forgot the exact names of those inventions)
Though the story was too far fetched but it was quite easy flowing. The writing style was so lucid that one can really glide through the pages.
The book had really minimal characters and most of them kids. Each had it's own individuality. A 12 year or 14 year old can surely relate well to these characters.
I also loved the fact that Amy's backstory fueled up the story. I would recommend this to the age group between 10 to 16 year old.
Ratings: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: David Baddiel
Genre: Fiction
No. Of pages: 384 pages
To start with the cover of the book, all I have to say is that it's so so attractive. It grabbed my attention at first glance. It has some very interesting illustrations.
The story is really a roller coaster ride for our ambitious Amy. Though disabled she has a dream to drive her "dream" car and she can go to any extent to do so. The story is quite hilarious at times as it brings forth some queer inventions like the helmet with a toothbrush, that buttering toaster...🤣🤣🤣 (PS: I forgot the exact names of those inventions)
Though the story was too far fetched but it was quite easy flowing. The writing style was so lucid that one can really glide through the pages.
The book had really minimal characters and most of them kids. Each had it's own individuality. A 12 year or 14 year old can surely relate well to these characters.
I also loved the fact that Amy's backstory fueled up the story. I would recommend this to the age group between 10 to 16 year old.
Ratings: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
August 27, 2020
It's always been Amy's dream to become a race car driver but when she was little a car crash caused her to be disabled and now she has to move around in a wheelchair. She has recently asked for a new one and has asked her friend for a new upgrade. But what she expected was not what he had created, he had created the Taylor TurboChaser. When her dad threatens to destroy it, Amy runs off with her friends and her brother to Scotland to change his mind.
I really enjoyed this book as it was fantastic. I raced through it despite it's long length. It was a great adventure story with humour.
- review written by my 9 year old
I really enjoyed this book as it was fantastic. I raced through it despite it's long length. It was a great adventure story with humour.
- review written by my 9 year old
November 15, 2021
My kids are notoriously generous reviewers and give most things 5 stars but they laughed their way through 4 hours of this heartwarming but ridiculous story about a genius kid called Rahul who turned his friend's wheelchair into a car that could do almost anything. And what kid wouldn't want one of those.
June 15, 2020
I loved this because the bit where rahul had turned Amy's wheelchair into a taylor turbo chaser. the best bit was when amy was happy because her dad had made her her a taylor turbo chaser it was the second version.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2021
With her wheelchair pimped as a James Bond style multigadget vehicle, heroine flees with friends on a road trip, chased by parents. Aimed at late primary school age, not sure how well the mix of realism and implausibility works.
February 27, 2022
Great book! I was hunting for a chapter book to read to my class that linked to transport and journeys so this was perfect. Thankfully the story is good, is funny in parts and will be pitched appropriately for their age. Looking forward to sharing it with them!
March 31, 2020
I read this to my daughter and she was upset when it was over. She immediately asked if there was a sequel,
May 11, 2020
Exciting story to read!
September 3, 2020
Funny, warm, exciting, heartfelt.
January 21, 2021
A lovely easy read to remember the joy of being an 11 year old. Full of laughter and morals about believing in oneself in the face of hardship and adversity.
March 31, 2021
A heartwarming story of friendship and family would recommended this book for younger readers between 10-13 but really enjoyable for most.
April 16, 2021
Ripping yarn that tackles disability sensitively and is a must for all young petrolheads. Well-rounded characters and good interplay between the Adults and the Kids.
August 31, 2021
Pretty Good
January 2, 2022
it was funny
March 7, 2023
My nine year old enjoyed this way more than I did. Not my favorite Baddiel book, I just found the journey a tad repetitive. But to be fair, I’m not the target audience for this one!
November 20, 2024
Good book to read. Nice message of always believing in yourself, no matter what.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews