Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink – Book Review
Rating (1-5):
Reviewed by Nick
Amazon site: Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink
Author: MAC
Website: www.whoismrwho.com
Genre: Crime Mystery
Anna Smudge – Professional Shrink is one of the cooliest books I’ve read in a long time. Anna is a middle-school girl who doesn’t really know what she’s good at till she gets in trouble. She ends up talking to a guidance counselor who convinces her she’s good at listening to and helping others. She decides to become an 11 year old shrink…”uh, therapist”, and starts getting many clients, including one who is a hit man hired to kill someone very important.
For a children’s book, Anna Smudge – Professional Shrink had some pretty adult situations. What I mean by that is the book put the main character in real situations, even if they were scary or “mature”. This caught me off guard at first, but I liked it. I found the book very easy to read; I breezed threw it in a couple days. Every chapter had something exciting in it and really kept my interest.
The characters satisfied me more than I expected they would. Each one was different but believable enough to care about. My favorite was Donny “The Meatball” Fratelli, an interesting bad guy but not completely one-sided. Author MAC showed Donny’s personality changing and made it flow.
The graphic art by DC/Marvel comic artist Glenn Fabry, colorized by Sean Ellery, was excellent, and really added to the story and intensity of the characters. Popular cover artist Greg Horn will have kids grabbing it at Barnes & Noble. Check out the characters images below:
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The plot seems well thought out and it all seemed to fit together in the end. I really dug the way she structured the chapters, counting down to the conclusion. Several times I thought, “Hmm. I think I know what might happen”, but was then surprised how things turned out. It was fun trying to figure out each mystery. I didn’t just read this book, I participated. I was surprised with the ending, and I am looking forward to the next book in the “Professionals” series by MAC.
Recommend for: 10 – 14 years old.
(Review based on an advanced uncorrected proof)
Here’s some links to additional reviews, interviews, and stories related to the Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink book debut:
[NYCC PREVIEW] THE WIZARD Q&A;: GLENN FABRY
[NYCC PREVIEW] THE WIZARD Q&A;: GREG HORN
-both by Andy Serwin
Pop culture on the couch
Trends: Therapy more common than ever, showing up in film, TV, books
-Jocelyn Noveck
Horn, Fabry Pencil “The Professionals”
WHO’s Doing Kids’ Books?
-Johanna
There’s a Kid’s Book at New York Comic Con…
-Kevin Powers
Tags: Book Reviews, kids book review, mystery
April 21st, 2008 at 6:02 am
Sounds like a good one for my oldest daughter. Did I miss a link to buy? I would buy through you if you had affiliate link.
April 21st, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Yep. The link is in the opening information, “Amazon site”. If you hover over it you’ll get a preview and pricing, or you can just click through if you know you want to buy.
Nick
April 30th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
only if I was younger to read these this type of books. It appears the youth of teenage years have good books to read. Though it is always good to read on a level that is respectful.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:15 am
I have to say, I enjoy reading your site. Maybe you could let me know how I can bookmark it ? Also just thought I would tell you I uncovered your web page via Bing.
October 8th, 2010 at 2:15 am
Each post as bookmarking and sharing tools at the bottom. There are about 7 icons for DIGG, Technorati, and more. If you want to follow my blog or my other sites, there are icons floating on the right side of the page for my YouTube, Twitter, and RSS feed.
October 31st, 2010 at 5:34 am
it is a good idea to look for book reviews first before buying an expensive book “