Granny

by Anthony Horowitz

Overview

Twelve-year-old Joe Warden isn't happy. Sure, he's rich, but his parents don't care about him. His grandmother should make everything better, except that Joe's granny is a nightmare. She's not just physically repulsive, she's horribly mean. Everyone thinks she's just a dotty old woman, but Joe knows the truth. He's seen behind her mask and glimpsed the wicked glimmer in her eyes - she is pure evil. And now she's out to get Joe, unless he can stop her and her band of nasty grannies first.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101019849
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	01/08/2009
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	565,521
File size:	199 KB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Anthony Horowitz is perhaps the busiest writer in England. He has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. He writes in a comfortable shed in his garden for up to ten hours per day. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider ongoing series of books, he has also written episodes of several popular TV crime series, including Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders, and Murder Most Horrid. He has written the television series Foyle's War, which aired in the United States, as well as the libretto of a Broadway musical adapted from Dr. Seuss's book, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. He penned the script for the film The Gathering, which was released in 2003, starring Christina Ricci. Horowitz has also written the Diamond Brothers series.

Editorial Reviews

With the wickedly fun undertones of Roald Dahl's The Witches, Horowitz (The Switch, reviewed below) imagines that stooped, child-hating grannies are out to take over the world. To do it, they need Jordan Warden, aka Joe, a filthy rich 12-year-old who lives in London with his self-obsessed mother; his cold, can't-be-bothered father; and a quartet of odd but affectionate servants. Joe's Granny-a kleptomaniac with peculiar eating habits-sets out to kidnap him, and Joe ends up in a hotel full of old ladies assembled for the Golden Granny Awards (one prize is for longest time spent boarding a bus). They are also clamoring for his youthful enzymes. Of course, to get those enzymes, Joe has to die. Horowitz resorts to the lights-going-out-at-the-right-moment trick to get Joe out of his predicament, but even that old chestnut doesn't detract from the excitement. Although some parents may cringe at the blackness of the humor, kids who can shudder through the explosions will love the campy ending. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)

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