SuitabookThis Book Is Not Good For You
Pseudonymous Bosch
- Reading
- If the reader is comfortable with suspense, read alongside them during the kidnapping and escalating threats. Pause to discuss which adults can be trusted, then check how the ending resolves the danger.
- Themes
- Children’s agency under danger: Cass, Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji investigate kidnappings, secret societies and adult deception, often taking action themselves. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Power pursued through secrecy: The Midnight Sun seeks immortality, while Señor Hugo kidnaps Cass’s mother to obtain the tuning fork. The book takes a critical view of this.
- Sensory pleasure and danger: Chocolate, taste and a chef’s elaborate food experiences are central to the mystery, including a dangerous chocolate-related scheme. Food is presented as enticing and imaginative, while also connected to manipulation and danger; the overall judgement remains uncertain.
- Worth knowing
- Consider whether the kidnapping, confinement, blackmail and threats to children fit the reader’s tolerance for suspense. Chocolate and taste are prominent, while adults’ smoking and gambling are also mentioned.