Dimdima
Online Children's Magazine from India
Dimdima
Online Children's Magazine from India
BOOK LIST
Author - Georgia Byng
Excerpt: “As Molly watched, it struck her for the first time that advertising was like a sort of hypnotism. A hypnotism that persuaded people to buy things…Then Molly caught her favourite, the Qube ad, and felt all warm inside. How much closer she was now to being one of those glamorous people on the beach. She started to sing along.
The blue –eyed man on the TV winked. ‘I’m sooooo popular – I’ve been Qubed’.
‘Not as popular as I’m going to be,’ shouted Molly, throwing a flannel at the TV and pressing the jacuzzi button on the side of the bath. A moment later she was practically blown out of the water. Molly slammed her hand on the button again, and the bubbles stopped. She wasn’t sure about the jacuzzi. It was like ten monsters farting in her bath all at once. But apart from the jacuzzi, she certainly felt she could get used to this kind of life.”
She is skinny and has spammy legs. Her eyes are close-set, and her nose looks more like a potato. She is called Molly Moon because she was found abandoned in a box of Moon’s Marshmallows. But the inmates of Hardwick House, the orphanage she lives in, call her ‘Drono’. Ten-year-old Molly hates her life and yearns for the glamour and luxury she sees in advertisements.
Just by accident Molly discovers that she has a natural talent for hypnotizing people, and now she can make them do whatever she commands. She wastes no time, but sets off with the dog Petula to New York to make her fortune, and to find her friend Rocky. Overnight, she becomes a singing star on Broadway and actually begins to live her dream life. But ‘Professor’ Nockman knows Molly’s secret and has his own sinister plans for her. How Molly and Rocky team up to foil Nockman’s plot and how Molly finds her dream life back in the orphanage form the rest of this very enjoyable novel.
Molly, the plain but resourceful heroine is sure to become a hit with young readers. She sets out hating everything about her life – her looks, her school, the orphanage she lives in, the people she is surrounded by. She discovers in the end that being herself is best, after all. Her life, even in small-town Briersville, is full of possibilities.
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism, Georgia Byng’s first novel, became a runaway success soon after it was published. It has been translated into 31 languages, and is being made into a film too. Georgia Byng lives in London. She was an actor and children’s entertainer before she turned to writing. Her narration is simple, humorous and full of little details. The book is lengthy (330 pages) but the plot has so many surprising turnabouts that readers are sure to cling to the book until the last page is read.
For those who enjoy this book and wish for more – smile! The sequel to this book, Molly Moon Stops the World, is now available, promising young readers many more hours of fun and thrills.
Recommended for ages 9 and above.
Author: Georgia Byng
Pages: 330
Published by: Macmillan Children’s Books (2002)
Price: Rs 198/-
ISBN: 0-330-39985-3
Format: Paperback.
Reviewed by- Revathi Sachidanandam
Last updated on :8/11/2004
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