Another wonderful book by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre! Pugtastic, and highly recommended to everyone looking for a fun book to read. 😀

I am a big fan of this duo, they really make the most fun books for kids, but also for adults. Filled with illustrations and wonderful stories, I am just squealing each time I hear that they are making a new book.

This one is no different, I was excited for it, and unlike quite a few books that I get excited about and hear a lot about, I wasn’t disappointed.

The story is a very fun, exciting adventure, but with a twist ending that I didn’t saw coming at all. I loved to read about our little pugs, about the little sweaters that they wore (or they would freeze, and who would want frozen pugs?), about their strength and bravery. Because, even though these little guys are, well, little, they are strong and they are dedicated, not giving up even when things get hairy and scary.

And it does get hairy and scary, with yeti’s, a big giant (and pissed off, though anyone would if one would get woken up) Kraken, there is cheating, bridges will collapse, so there is a lot going on, and it is all super exciting. Will our duo make it to the end. Will all of the competitors make it to the end? Or will they fall one by one?

The characters are great, I especially liked the main characters. Shen was a wonderful character, though I felt sorry for him, and it was really fun to see what his wish would be, and how that evolved as the book progressed. Sika was a sweet character, I loved how she cared for her family, and how she befriended Shen. Also definite + points to the names.

I wasn’t a big fan of some of the side characters. For instance, I found it weird that someone would be allowed to have robot dogs. Though my biggest dislike goes to the rich guy who apparently only cares about money and doesn’t at all care about anyone or anything. Though, I guess a book like this needs an antagonist to make sure the race isn’t done 1-2-3. The whole race gave me the feeling of that one cartoon that aired a long time ago: Wacky Races. The events that happened, the things the competitors did to win, it was just all like that.

The ending was just wonderful and I was happy it was like this and not the one I expected. I won’t spoil anything, so this is all I will say. Just be warned that you should bring tissues, as one particular part of the ending brought tears to my eyes.

The illustrations are gorgeous and really fun. I am really admiring Sarah McIntyre for the fact that she could draw 66 pugs and that she kept drawing pugs. Pugs running, pugs with funny faces, pugs with sweaters, pugs with well everything pugs. It was just wonderful to look at the pugs, see what they were doing now.
And not only the pugs were fun, but also the backgrounds, the way the characters were drawn (they looked a bit like something Chris Riddell would draw with strange outfits, weird hair and other characteristics).

I also love the colour scheme in this one. Each of the books have a colour scheme (OatS = grey/blueish/CIS = orange/brownish) and this one is a gorgeous blue/greenish colour. It is wonderful (and it fits with the cold/snow theme), and I can’t wait for the next book to come out to find out what the theme will be in that one.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book to everyone. Looking for a fun book, with some sweet and serious themes? Try this one out. It also has pugs! And everyone loves pugs, right? 🙂