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INTERMEDIATE FICTION
Lai, Remy

Fly on the Wall

330 pp. | Holt | September, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-250-31411-6 $16.99 | Paper ISBN 978-1-250-31412-3 $7.99
(2) 4-6 Lai's follow-up to Pie in the Sky (rev. 7/19) is another accessible, fast-paced, copiously illustrated novel (this one in journal format) starring an unconventional hero. Henry Khoo is determined to prove that he is not a bao bao (Mandarin for baby) by embarking on "the greatest adventure everrr." Unbeknownst to his hyper-protective mother, sister, and grandmother, the twelve-year-old embarks from his home in Perth, Western Australia, for his father's apartment in Singapore. Henry's first-person present-tense narration is studded with text-speak, sound effects, doodles, web comics, poems, and more, resulting in a youthful, authentic voice. The three major arcs of the story (before, during, and after the flight to Singapore) move swiftly and are peppered with Henry's memories and musings on failed friendships and fraught family dynamics. Readers intermittently discover Henry's true reason for his flight: a host of insecurities (from mild to massive) that drove him to publish Fly on the Wall, a mean-spirited gossip blog about his school. It is only once Henry's adventure (imagined as an epic martial arts TV drama) comes to an end, and through the guidance of several quirky characters along way, that he acknowledges the damage he has done. With multiple overlapping subplots, a large secondary cast, and an overabundance of metaphors (both written and visual), the story's momentum can get muddled, but it is always reestablished through authentic emotion and entertaining cartooning. Lai's ­journal-format novel is ideal for readers looking for a more introspective tale than is ­typically offered in other big-name diary series.
Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

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