★ “The pace and energy of Barrows’ narrative matches Iggy’s focused enthusiasm for his (somewhat ill-conceived) plan . . . Ricks’ cartoon illustrations are a lively and hilarious complement to Iggy’s thoughts and experiences. . . Iggy’s charm is substantial. . . Genuine and energetic.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

07/09/2021

Gr 2–4—Nine-year-old Iggy is this book's main character. Which means, in his mind, he's the most important one and the hero of everything in the story. He has a vivid imagination, the best of intentions, and a knack for getting into trouble. When the Heckies, his neighbors, are robbed and Rudy Heckie's Halloween candy is taken, Iggy gets nervous. When he overhears his parents offering Rudy the rest of his Halloween candy, Iggy decides to take matter into his own hands. First, he uses the strongbox his grandfather gave him to protect the rest of his candy. Then he starts digging a hole to capture the thieves when they come again. Will his plan work, or will everything go wrong? The illustrations are fun and engaging and complement the text well. The plot is simple but entertaining. Iggy is a humorous, realistic character that young readers will identify with. The other characters are a little two-dimensional, but understandable considering the story is told through Iggy's perspective. Iggy is cued as white. VERDICT Readers who like Megan McDonald's "Stink" series will enjoy this book. A great addition to libraries where humorous realistic fiction is popular.—Kira Moody, Salt Lake County Lib. Svcs.

★ 2021-03-31
Iggy’s intrepid and clever selflessness is open to misinterpretation.

This installment in the chronicles of 9-year-old Iggy Frangi’s (Iggy Is Better Than Ever, 2020, etc.) encounters with unintended consequences examines intent as an element crucial to gallantry. After learning of a break-in at the Heckies’ house nearby, Iggy has a plan for thwarting the potential theft of his best Halloween candy, along with his family’s other valuables. It’s pretty simple: Set a decoy and dig a trap. It’s hardly Iggy’s fault when annoying 7-year-old Rudy Heckie is injured during the trap construction. (No, Rudy’s finger is not severed.) Nor is it Iggy’s fault that Mr. Heckie hurts his tailbone when he trips over Rudy and falls into the trap dug with the shovel that didn’t sever Rudy’s finger. The pace and energy of Barrows’ narrative matches Iggy’s focused enthusiasm for his (somewhat ill-conceived) plan. The apologist narrator, very much on Team Iggy, provides evidence that points to Iggy’s heroism. Ricks’ cartoon illustrations are a lively and hilarious complement to Iggy’s thoughts and experiences. In them, Iggy, his family, and the Heckies appear White. Iggy’s charm is substantial, so blithely optimistic are his intentions and so singular (yet familiar to any well-meaning human) his way of seeing the world. Iggy’s ideas are clear to him—it’s everyone else who ends up asking, “What were you thinking?”

This genuine and energetic, if hapless, antiheroic hero grows on you. (Fiction. 8-11)