Mr Penguin and the Catastrophic Cruise: Book 3 by Alex T. Smith

Mr Penguin and the Catastrophic Cruise: Book 3 by Alex T. Smith
Release: October 1, 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
Source: Netgalley

Synopsis:

Mr. Penguin and his Adventuring gang board a luxury cruise ship for some much-needed rest and a little entertainment. With Colin, his kung fu spider sidekick, preparing to perform with the Ladies Choir and fish finger sandwiches available twenty-four hours a day, Mr. Penguin isn’t even bothered that he can’t swim and is deeply afraid of water.

But when a series of odd events infiltrates a façade of glamorous parties filled with a who’s who of film stars and politicians, Mr. Penguin can’t help but feel that something shifty is happening on board. And when he befriends a young stowaway with a mystery of her own to solve, he soon finds that Adventures are lying in wait after all.

This third installment in the humorous, page-turning series from Alex T. Smith, the author-illustrator of the popular Claude series, is sure to thrill young readers looking for a good adventure.

Mr Penguin and the Catastrophic Cruise Review:

A BIG Thank You to Netgalley and Hodder Children’s Books for providing me an advanced reader’s copy of “Mr Penguin and the Catastrophic Cruise” for my review.

I have not read the previous books in the series, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But I am so glad that I read it. It surpassed my expectations and turned out to be a wonderful read! I loved it! This is one of those books that just made me feel warm all over after reading.

This book is perfect if you are in the mood for a feel-good, light-hearted adventure. Even though it is targeted for younger readers, I feel a person of any age will enjoy this. There are quite a few twists and turns which even I didn’t see coming. There is so much adventure in this story that I felt like I was re-living the old Tintin comics.

The characters are quirky, charming and just bring a smile to your face. There are some moments that are completely implausible (like how the crew mistake Mr. Penguin and Colin as members because they are in uniform). However, you can still ignore them, as surprisingly, it adds well to the story. Also, Mr. Penguin is adorable as the main character where he overcomes his fears and leaps into adventure. Moreover, I loved Colin and his notepad, Marina, Edith and even the Kraken. The author has also depicted the villains in a dastardly but humorous way.

Now coming to the author. This is the first time I read about Alex T.Smith and I am BLOWN AWAY like Mr. Penguin! He wrote this wonderful story AND did all the amazing, jaw-dropping illustrations. This book is a visual delight in each page, whether it be just the background colors or the large texts (in addition to the main illustrations). In fact, even if I had any problems with the story, the illustrations more than made up for it. I have become a fan of the author and NEED to read all his previous books.

Overall, this story was a delight and made me purchase even the previous two books in the series.