Title: The Goldfish Boy
Author: Lisa Thompson
Publisher: Scholastic

Teacher review

As a life-long fan of mystery and detective stories, I’m always looking for ways to introduce children to the genre. So I was delighted to meet the character of 12-year-old Matthew: observant, smart, witty, and a potential sleuth.

Like all great detectives, our hero is flawed. Withdrawn, alienated and housebound by crippling obsessive-compulsive disorder, he spends most of his life watching the world from the sanctuary of his bedroom - hence the nickname Goldfish Boy. His world is Chestnut Close and its assortment of inhabitants: from the strange, graveyard-visiting Melody Bird to the mysterious, hermit-like lady known as Old Nina.

One day is very much like another for Matthew, as he dutifully documents the neighbours’ mundane routines in his diary. Until the unthinkable happens: Teddy, the lively toddler grandchild of Mr Charles, mysteriously disappears from his garden and Matthew just happens to be last person to have seen him. All the residents are now suspects - including Matthew. Will he be able to use his acute skills of observation to solve the mystery and find the missing child?

Matthew is a likable and empathetic main character: he isn’t one-dimensional, defined by his illness. His wit, attitude and humour make you laugh. You feel his frustration, and that of his parents, willing him desperately to overcome the overpowering compulsions that restrict his life. The guilt he also carries is heart-breaking. (Ironically, it just makes you want to hug him, an act that Matthew would find repellent.)

Meanwhile, as the investigation develops, we find that Matthew’s neighbours are not all that they seem from first impressions. Matthew is not the only one struggling to cope with life.

Written in a child-friendly style, with inclusion of diary entries and email conversations to help tell the story, this is a moving, modern whodunit. A sensitive and well-executed debut novel from Lisa Thompson. My 10-year-old self would have loved it (and probably prayed for a series).

Tracey Seaman is assistant headteacher at The District CE Primary School, in Merseyside.

Pupil review

The Goldfish Boy is a new book about a child called Matthew, who suffers from an illness called obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although you feel sorry for him, his cleverness and sense of humour make you laugh.

The author skillfully knits together a cast of weird and wonderful characters into a modern-day detective tale. Will Matthew solve the case of the missing child? Will his OCD be cured? Will we find out what happened to his baby brother?

Written by Lisa Thompson, this is an adventurous, humorous first novel, filled with mystery and mixed emotions. It will make you laugh and cry.

Comical and witty, creative and imaginative, this is a perfect book for 10 to 11 year olds. If you are a fan of mysteries, you will love this original, puzzling story.

Amy, Mollie and Matthew, Year 6

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