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Happytown Must Be Destroyed
For fans of My Brother is a Superhero and The Demon Headmaster comes an outrageously funny story of brain control, friends, enemies and saving the world, even if you don't really want to.
*From the award-winning writer of The Unbelievable Biscuit Factory*
Leeza's parents are ordinary. Unfit, grumpy, a bit embarrassing. Totally normal, right?
Until today. Today they are jogging. Eating salads and enjoying them. Smiling all the time. They're happy. Really, really happy. Who could complain about that?
Leeza, that's who.
Because it looks like someone's brainwashing everyone in town. Who's going to save the world? Oh no! It looks like it might have to be Leeza.
OK then. Let's do this. You coming?
*From the award-winning writer of The Unbelievable Biscuit Factory*
Leeza's parents are ordinary. Unfit, grumpy, a bit embarrassing. Totally normal, right?
Until today. Today they are jogging. Eating salads and enjoying them. Smiling all the time. They're happy. Really, really happy. Who could complain about that?
Leeza, that's who.
Because it looks like someone's brainwashing everyone in town. Who's going to save the world? Oh no! It looks like it might have to be Leeza.
OK then. Let's do this. You coming?
275 pages, Paperback
Published April 14, 2021
2 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
James Harris
2 books12 followersJames Harris is a writer, filmmaker, performer, pole-vaulter, wizard and exaggerator based in Middlesbrough.
He won the New Writing North and Hachette Children's Novel Award for his first book The Biscuit Factory.
He's made short films, sketches and animations for the BBC and Channel 4, and he sometimes performs live comedy with his friends.
He is a mentor and workshop leader for Writers' Block North East, a Teesside creative writing and development service.
His super powers include time travel (forwards), making the most excellent mashed potato and inventing new words like an absolute blammerchampling.
He won the New Writing North and Hachette Children's Novel Award for his first book The Biscuit Factory.
He's made short films, sketches and animations for the BBC and Channel 4, and he sometimes performs live comedy with his friends.
He is a mentor and workshop leader for Writers' Block North East, a Teesside creative writing and development service.
His super powers include time travel (forwards), making the most excellent mashed potato and inventing new words like an absolute blammerchampling.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 29, 2022
A snotty-happy-go-lucky book featuring tons of hilarity and fun! Oh and aliens!
I was absolutely hyped and excited and yes dancing a lot when I read that James Harris was having a new book! I absolutely loved his book about the Biscuit Factory and now he was having a new book featuring more aliens and happiness.
NOTE: this review is going to be very confusing (and long) haha, it already took me 4 days (read this one May 23rd and writing this review May 27th) to get to writing something. XD
Leeza was such a brilliant character. OK, her indecisiveness was a tad on the annoying side, I mean at first it was OH lord girl, just pick, and after a while I was like, girl… you are in an alien-invasion-scenario now is NOT the time to just think about what to do. Now is the time to do. Go. But I warmed up to her and I loved how she did her best for her friends, family, and town. I loved how she tried to figure out what to do to save the world. How she made elaborate plans and tried to figure out how to execute them. I loved her friendship with Ishy and how she tried everything to save him earlier in the book when he was taken by aliens. Plus, I am always happy to see a character with allergies in a book. I don’t have that beep beep machine she has (never heard of it until now), but I do have enough allergies to sneeze my way through spring (and often other seasons as well) not to mention all the food stuff I cannot eat.
Ishy was a pretty fun character. I loved how silly he was and how he did some weird things just to see if he could. He was definitely a great friend.
I had such a laugh that everyone brainwashed by the aliens was wearing the same colour, apparently that changes per town (yes, this is not the first time these aliens have come round). I mean, it does make it easy to see who is brainwashed and who is not.
I loved the message in the book. Yes, life isn’t going to be hahaha and hihihi and fun everyday, but you have to find your own happiness instead of relying on others, in this case a very OMG YAS alien. This happiness is fun, and I can imagine that people are sad when this happiness (aka the alien) is removed, but do you want to have an alien in your head forever? Not being able to do anything but what they want? I don’t know, that doesn’t sound like happy to me. I know at the moment (writing this just a week after my grandma died) I am not happy, but I would rather make my own happiness again then put something up my nose.
G-dog wasn’t my character at first, I just wanted to yeet him in a bucket of ice cream for quite a bit of the book, but he later on showed some sides that I hope he will show some more. Stop being a dick, start being kinder. I get that you aren’t that happy, but that is no valid reason to bully someone. To tease people. To make harmful comments. I will keep it at that, though I would like to say more.
The ice cream men? Why didn’t they do a better job at figuring out things? I mean, seriously? In this book a what 12 year old discovers what is going on, kicks some butt and figures things out in just mere days while you guys are at it for I don’t know how long and apparently the only things you do is being rude and mean and freeze everything. I was so looking forward to some kick-ass ice cream men doing awesome things, but here I just wanted to encase them in ice. Also question, can you still unfreeze people? I am guessing yes, given the ending, but I would have kinda liked to see that happen.
The ending was a delight! A feast! I laughed~ I oooooohhheeddd! I aahhhhheedd! I cheered and rooted for the characters! I loved the aliens! It was a brilliant ending and I am also happy we got an addition epiloooog (which is just one letter too much otherwise it would be a proper word in my language).
I loved the little extras between some of the chapters. The advertisements, the extracts. It was just a lot of fun, though I was expecting someone to figure that out as well, for now it seems no one is onto it. I am keeping this as vague as possible. Teehee.
Bonus points go to Charlotte. OH MAN, that girl. Don’t come between her and education. XD
More bonus points to great references to all sorts of things. Like the Daddy Cool thing.
I think the only thing that could have made the book even more awesome was illustrations. There are now some small bits as chapter headers, but I would have liked to see much more~
All in all, are you looking for a funny book? Featuring silly aliens and someone going very far because of a silly thing? Do you like dancing? A good message? Then read this one!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I was absolutely hyped and excited and yes dancing a lot when I read that James Harris was having a new book! I absolutely loved his book about the Biscuit Factory and now he was having a new book featuring more aliens and happiness.
NOTE: this review is going to be very confusing (and long) haha, it already took me 4 days (read this one May 23rd and writing this review May 27th) to get to writing something. XD
Leeza was such a brilliant character. OK, her indecisiveness was a tad on the annoying side, I mean at first it was OH lord girl, just pick, and after a while I was like, girl… you are in an alien-invasion-scenario now is NOT the time to just think about what to do. Now is the time to do. Go. But I warmed up to her and I loved how she did her best for her friends, family, and town. I loved how she tried to figure out what to do to save the world. How she made elaborate plans and tried to figure out how to execute them. I loved her friendship with Ishy and how she tried everything to save him earlier in the book when he was taken by aliens. Plus, I am always happy to see a character with allergies in a book. I don’t have that beep beep machine she has (never heard of it until now), but I do have enough allergies to sneeze my way through spring (and often other seasons as well) not to mention all the food stuff I cannot eat.
Ishy was a pretty fun character. I loved how silly he was and how he did some weird things just to see if he could. He was definitely a great friend.
I had such a laugh that everyone brainwashed by the aliens was wearing the same colour, apparently that changes per town (yes, this is not the first time these aliens have come round). I mean, it does make it easy to see who is brainwashed and who is not.
I loved the message in the book. Yes, life isn’t going to be hahaha and hihihi and fun everyday, but you have to find your own happiness instead of relying on others, in this case a very OMG YAS alien. This happiness is fun, and I can imagine that people are sad when this happiness (aka the alien) is removed, but do you want to have an alien in your head forever? Not being able to do anything but what they want? I don’t know, that doesn’t sound like happy to me. I know at the moment (writing this just a week after my grandma died) I am not happy, but I would rather make my own happiness again then put something up my nose.
G-dog wasn’t my character at first, I just wanted to yeet him in a bucket of ice cream for quite a bit of the book, but he later on showed some sides that I hope he will show some more. Stop being a dick, start being kinder. I get that you aren’t that happy, but that is no valid reason to bully someone. To tease people. To make harmful comments. I will keep it at that, though I would like to say more.
The ice cream men? Why didn’t they do a better job at figuring out things? I mean, seriously? In this book a what 12 year old discovers what is going on, kicks some butt and figures things out in just mere days while you guys are at it for I don’t know how long and apparently the only things you do is being rude and mean and freeze everything. I was so looking forward to some kick-ass ice cream men doing awesome things, but here I just wanted to encase them in ice. Also question, can you still unfreeze people? I am guessing yes, given the ending, but I would have kinda liked to see that happen.
The ending was a delight! A feast! I laughed~ I oooooohhheeddd! I aahhhhheedd! I cheered and rooted for the characters! I loved the aliens! It was a brilliant ending and I am also happy we got an addition epiloooog (which is just one letter too much otherwise it would be a proper word in my language).
I loved the little extras between some of the chapters. The advertisements, the extracts. It was just a lot of fun, though I was expecting someone to figure that out as well, for now it seems no one is onto it. I am keeping this as vague as possible. Teehee.
Bonus points go to Charlotte. OH MAN, that girl. Don’t come between her and education. XD
More bonus points to great references to all sorts of things. Like the Daddy Cool thing.
I think the only thing that could have made the book even more awesome was illustrations. There are now some small bits as chapter headers, but I would have liked to see much more~
All in all, are you looking for a funny book? Featuring silly aliens and someone going very far because of a silly thing? Do you like dancing? A good message? Then read this one!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
July 10, 2022
This is a chaotic, fun romp through an alien bodysnatcher invasion, as told from the point of view of Leeza and her friends.
The story is packed with lots of clever pop culture references (some of which only adult readers might get!) and also lots of bogeys and fart jokes - a mixture of humour that has plenty of laughs for everyone.
I love how Leeza is indecisive and REAL, especially when compared to heroic history-buff Charlotte Actually (who is Actually my favourite character!). G-Dog is pretty fun too. In fact, the only character I wasn't particularly fond of was Ishy and he was my son's favourite! (Again, something for everyone!)
Personally, I loathe anything related to snot and bogies, and so should have found this book too disgusting to read to the kids, but actually I would happily read this again, along with any other book from this author!
The story is packed with lots of clever pop culture references (some of which only adult readers might get!) and also lots of bogeys and fart jokes - a mixture of humour that has plenty of laughs for everyone.
I love how Leeza is indecisive and REAL, especially when compared to heroic history-buff Charlotte Actually (who is Actually my favourite character!). G-Dog is pretty fun too. In fact, the only character I wasn't particularly fond of was Ishy and he was my son's favourite! (Again, something for everyone!)
Personally, I loathe anything related to snot and bogies, and so should have found this book too disgusting to read to the kids, but actually I would happily read this again, along with any other book from this author!
July 7, 2022
A fun, alien invasion children's book. An easy read. Not illustrated. Funny in parts. When huge green jelly monsters start invading a town and infecting the people only a few young people remain in order to save the town, their family and their friends. With the help of ice cream men (hero's) to freeze the jelly will they be able to defeat these jelly aliens? Why did these jelly creatures come to this town? It seems to steal their happiness... Enjoyed reading this one. Different. Wasn't sure if it was snot monsters at first as they get into people's bodies through their noses. Very imaginative. A well deserved four stars from me. Highly recommend.
May 17, 2022
This book is FUN! When her whole town's population transforms into grinning exercise freaks, Leeza reluctantly has to find out what has happened and save the town from oppressive joy. When she discovers the sinsiter cause, there is only Leeza, her best friend and the school bully to save the day.
This is an original and hilarious story that rattles by at pace without neglecting plot or character. You enjoy spending time with these kids and the odd figures that pop in and out of the story at the most unexpected points of action.
A cracking, skewiff adventure.
This is an original and hilarious story that rattles by at pace without neglecting plot or character. You enjoy spending time with these kids and the odd figures that pop in and out of the story at the most unexpected points of action.
A cracking, skewiff adventure.
May 21, 2022
Oh my gosh - the kids and I love James Harris. Such a breath of fresh air. Funny, unpredictable, pacy… have recommended this to so many people and so far it’s a 100% hit!
May 8, 2022
This book is every bit as mad, funny and action packed as The Biscuit Factory. It’s packed with characters you’ll love spending time with - G-Dog in the house! - and you’ll never look at an ice cream van the same way again. These books are just so easy to read, they lift your spirits and fire your imagination.
April 12, 2023
This is a fun snot infested book. The perfect book for 8-12 year olds.
June 18, 2022
Honestly, if you're a fan of James Harris, and I am, this is so totally James Harrisy that you're really going to feel that you get the full James Harris on this one. Literally couldn't be James Harrisier. And I mean that in a good way.
August 27, 2024
First real book I read rly nice not a fan tho
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews