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The Short but Brilliant Career of Lucas Weed
Take one hyperactive frog, one pair of bright red undies and one epic plan for disaster on school athletics day, and you have the recipe for a Youtube sensation.
Meet Lucas Weed, aka Undie Man - one-time loser, now legend. He's a Prank-star Extraordinaire!
Meet Lucas Weed, aka Undie Man - one-time loser, now legend. He's a Prank-star Extraordinaire!
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 16, 2018
Lucas Weed has just started a new school and wanted to fit in with others and somehow doing so made him infamous in the school as he became known as the "prank master". This children's book is the perfect read for those who love Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Tom Gates. It features Lucas Weed who does a range of pranks around the school from putting a frog in the teacher's bag to filling the swimming pool with dishwashing liquid. This was a fun read that I had to read for a Kids Lit Quiz, but wouldn't be a book I would normally read and enjoy. Definitely perfect for boys aged 7-10 years old as also filled with the potty humor that boys that age love.
April 14, 2018
It is easy to see why Chrissie Walker won the Tom Fitzgibbon Award in 2017. She has written a humourous tale that moves with pace and plenty of action. Set largely in a school, the actions and reactions of both students and teachers will keep readers 7-12 turning the pages, wanting to know what the next prank will be.
The story is about Lucas Weed, relatively new to his school and yet to make firm friends. By showing he is prepared to do crazy things he earns the acceptance of Thomas, a boy with a lot of influence in Year 6, his approach bordering on bullying, and his friends Hunter and Oscar. The resulting pranks, with each step clearly thought through by Lucas, are of increasing complexity and the worrying chance of detection and punishment grows, especially once the actions are filmed for YouTube.
The language is up to the minute, with words to be emphasised printed in a variety of fonts and forms and sizes, so the reader fully understands Lucas Weed's feelings, whether bored, excited, fearful, etc. Told in the first-person, Lucas explains his understanding of human nature and the interplay of personalities well.
By making the decision to end his 'career' as a prankster, Lucas acknowledges the stresses involved including the constant need to be alert and quick-thinking and the fear of being outed. Brought up to not tell lies, his life becomes more challenging. But he has the strength of character to ultimately over-ride Thomas. Initially surprised to realise that Oscar admires this, Lucas is delighted to have made a firm friend.
Reviewed by Chris Wright (Bookrapt)
The story is about Lucas Weed, relatively new to his school and yet to make firm friends. By showing he is prepared to do crazy things he earns the acceptance of Thomas, a boy with a lot of influence in Year 6, his approach bordering on bullying, and his friends Hunter and Oscar. The resulting pranks, with each step clearly thought through by Lucas, are of increasing complexity and the worrying chance of detection and punishment grows, especially once the actions are filmed for YouTube.
The language is up to the minute, with words to be emphasised printed in a variety of fonts and forms and sizes, so the reader fully understands Lucas Weed's feelings, whether bored, excited, fearful, etc. Told in the first-person, Lucas explains his understanding of human nature and the interplay of personalities well.
By making the decision to end his 'career' as a prankster, Lucas acknowledges the stresses involved including the constant need to be alert and quick-thinking and the fear of being outed. Brought up to not tell lies, his life becomes more challenging. But he has the strength of character to ultimately over-ride Thomas. Initially surprised to realise that Oscar admires this, Lucas is delighted to have made a firm friend.
Reviewed by Chris Wright (Bookrapt)
September 26, 2018
The Short but Brilliant Career of Lucas Weed is the latest (2017) winner of the Tom Fitzgibbon award, awarded to a manuscript from a previously-unpublished author. And I can see the appeal. It is a lot of fun, with Lucas Weed being a fairly ordinary school boy, someone easy for the audience to relate to. The new kid in school, he is neither popular nor unpopular, which is - he thinks - the way he likes it. But is it?
One day, he stumbles upon some other boys in the midst of plotting a prank. His curiosity leads him to be noticed, and he is inadvertently drawn into the scheme. It involves a frog, a backpack, and a teacher, and thus begins Lucas Weed's short, but brilliant, career as a prankster.
Weed's pranks are never cruel (except perhaps to the poor frog), mostly harmless, and never bullying. The main target is generally himself, and Lucas is not afraid to make a spectacle. Thus I feel this was more a "class clown" situation than a pranking one. His plotting to make himself look the fool leads to the next stage: becoming a YouTube sensation. A fairly low-key, and short-lived one, but I suspect for a 10-year old, even a few hundred hits is something to be proud of. After a while, the continued deception (after all, the teachers are not fools) and stress of devising more creative pranks begins to be exhausting, and thus Lucas plans one final prank - which culminates far more spectacularly than he and his new friends could ever conceive.
Intended for a 7-10 age group, this extremely readable and very relatable book comes stocked with a healthy dash of humour, including the expected quota of fart jokes. Fans of Tom Gates, Wimpy Kid, and other school-based middle grade fiction should readily devour it.
One day, he stumbles upon some other boys in the midst of plotting a prank. His curiosity leads him to be noticed, and he is inadvertently drawn into the scheme. It involves a frog, a backpack, and a teacher, and thus begins Lucas Weed's short, but brilliant, career as a prankster.
Weed's pranks are never cruel (except perhaps to the poor frog), mostly harmless, and never bullying. The main target is generally himself, and Lucas is not afraid to make a spectacle. Thus I feel this was more a "class clown" situation than a pranking one. His plotting to make himself look the fool leads to the next stage: becoming a YouTube sensation. A fairly low-key, and short-lived one, but I suspect for a 10-year old, even a few hundred hits is something to be proud of. After a while, the continued deception (after all, the teachers are not fools) and stress of devising more creative pranks begins to be exhausting, and thus Lucas plans one final prank - which culminates far more spectacularly than he and his new friends could ever conceive.
Intended for a 7-10 age group, this extremely readable and very relatable book comes stocked with a healthy dash of humour, including the expected quota of fart jokes. Fans of Tom Gates, Wimpy Kid, and other school-based middle grade fiction should readily devour it.
October 15, 2018
This book is hilarious. Loved the characters and the escalating pranks, and laughed-out-loud throughout. Perfect for wannabe pranksters, even so far as to warn of the dangers of choosing such a career or hobby. Highly recommended for kids aged 7+ and hope to see more from this author in the near future.
May 4, 2019
Hilariously funny, there were times I caught myself laughing out loud. Chrissie has captured 10 year old boys perfectly. If you are offended by mentions of body parts or functions don't read it but that's boys to a tee!
March 7, 2022
My grandson recommended this book. Loved it for its humour and life lessons intertwined
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews