Jawsome (R J Timmis, Albert St Books)

The best graphic novels need to be action-packed with an engaging interplay of text and illustrations. Ideally, they should also be funny. Rebecca Timmis’s Jawsome ticks all these boxes and more. The witty asides and fish puns are really ‘somefin’ else and are sure to be a hit with the target audience of 6–10-year-olds (there’s even a farting fish and characters called Billie Eelfish and Prawn Mendes who play Craystation and Fortbite). The main character is a reef shark, Finley, who attends Chumville School for Sharks. Finley and his mates are ordinary shark kids by day, but by night, they are the super-famous rock band JAWSOME! Timmis’s novel is divided into two parts and revolves around two ‘sea-ascos’ involving the band. First, the urgent need to find a replacement singer, and second, keeping the identity of the band secret from a nosey new student. The first part is more dynamic, with an effortless flow of jokes and dialogue, including a positive mission for Finley to face his fear of singing in public and to become fearless. Jawsome will appeal to emerging readers, shark fans and anyone who likes funny cartoons. As for any critics out there? Let’s allow the author to have the final word: ‘If you don’t like this series, you can BITE ME. Jawsome is awesome.’

Books+Publishing reviewer: Michelle Atkins is a Communications professional and published educational author. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Reviews