The Unbelievable Oliver and the Sawed-In-Half Dads

Unbelievable Oliver #2

by Pseudonymous Bosch, Shane Pangburn (Illustrations)

In this second hilarious installment of the series that Kirkus called "ridiculous fun," Oliver is performing at a wedding rehearsal when one of the grooms goes missing in the middle of his magic act!

Oliver is new to the magical arts. In fact, he has only performed one act so far, and that one was interrupted by a theft-in-progress that he, his friends the twins Teenie and Bea, and his wisecracking rabbit, Benny, managed to thwart. Now Oliver has been hired for an even more important gig: a wedding. Teenie and Bea's fathers are finally getting married, and Oliver is supposed to entertain at the rehearsal brunch. He has chosen the classic sawed-in-half trick, which will be especially amusing when he calls up the grooms as volunteers. What could go wrong? Except that weddings are supposed to be about bringing people together, not splitting them up . . . and before the trick is over, one of the fathers will have disappeared. Luckily, Oliver seems to be a better sleuth than a magician!

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Childrens

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 2020

About the author

Pseudonymous Bosch is the infamously anonymous author of the New York Times bestselling Secret Series and the Bad Books. Despite rumors to the contrary, his books are not actually written by his pet rabbit, Quiche; the rabbit is merely his typist.

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

TW: none

Such a fun and goofy read! The audiobook version performance was one of the best I've heard. I'm definitely reading more from Pseudonymous Bosch!

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in the series, The Unbelievable Oliver and the Sawed-in-Half Dads can be enjoyed by itself and provides a small amount of background knowledge for those new to the series. Cartoon gray and yellow illustrations appear on almost every page, making this book suitable for children who are just graduating to chapter books. The setting contributes to the mystery vibe, as the children navigate a mansion with hidden rooms and a garden maze while solving the mystery of the missing father before the wedding, which takes place on Halloween. The straightforward writing ticks along, including lots of dialog and simple descriptions that will appeal to young readers. The humor is often silly and sometimes slapstick. All of the frights are mildly scary, and the kidnapper was introduced earlier in the story, making this an age-appropriate mystery. Oliver’s talking rabbit adds another fun element to the text. This book will find wide readership in grades 2-4.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second book in the series following The Unbelievable Oliver and the Four Jokers. I started with this book and was hopeful it would be a new easy chapter series to recommend but too many things made shake my head. Several comments made by characters sounded way too old and honestly insensitive. After talking to Teenie and Bea’s grandfather about kidnapping the kids thank him for the “lovely interview”. One of the girls even calls kidnappers’ ransom notes “cool collages out of magazines” and “they look fun”. Toward the end the retired police officer grandfather drives to the police station in his police car. I don’t know any retired police officers who still drive a police car. It was impossible to connect with any of the characters or the story. Unfortunately, this book was a train wreck for me and I’ll pass on reading any more of this series.

[Geordie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A middle-school mystery book with a lot of goofiness and some tongue-in-cheek moments, this book was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The characters are distinct, the pacing quick, lots of silliness for kids, and some clever winks to any grown-ups reading along. While the mood might sometimes annoy an adult (someone disappears, possibly kidnapped, and Oliver & Co just kind of dither around), it feels spot-on for the target age. Definitely recommended!

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is suppose to be funny it wasn't. The rabbit was a dick. The audiobook was so fucking annoying!!!!

I HOPE YOUR HAPPY WREN!!!!

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING 👏 🙀 😯

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy through Edelweiss.