Vi Spy Never Say Whatever Again - Maz Evans

 

Vi is back (woo hoo!) and is studying at Rimmington Hall but she isn't doing very well, and unless things improve, she runs the risk of being thrown out at the end of the year (this is made worse by the fact that Russell is doing exceptionally well).  Vi decides that she has no other choice but to try to successfully track down Umbra and finally reveal who Umbra is. But can she do what she couldn't do in book 1?  Will Umbra's identity be revealed? Will Vi succeed at Rimmington Hall? Will Easter and Robert ever be able to be together without fighting?  You'll just have to read the book to find out!

Vi Spy Licence To Chill is a brilliant book and proved incredibly popular in school during lockdown 2 where I read it during our daily live whole-school story-time. The characters were wonderful and I relished the variety of accents I was able to use whilst reading (although I'm not certain how successful they were or how well they went down with the children!) so I was very excited to see the return of some of my favourite characters (cue my breathy Joanna Lumley impersonation for Siren!) as well as the introduction of some new ones (Missy Fit made me giggle but I would hate to be Janet!).  Vi is just as feisty and determined as she was in Licence to Chill. We see that from the very beginning of the book and it continues throughout with varying degrees of success. She thinks she always knows best ... but does she?

Maz Evans is a master of comedy and she's absolutely done it again with Never Say Whatever Again, and you will find yourself laughing out loud throughout.  However, what Maz also does brilliantly, is to weave serious issues into her plots in a way that children will find relatable, will understand and will help them to process things that may be going on in their own lives. Once again, divorce and the issues that can surround new families are seamlessly interwoven into the humour and you will go from crying with laughter to shedding a quiet tear and wanting to hug the characters the next minute. I've said it before, but anybody who can write like that, deserves all the awards in my eyes.

Action-packed, fast-paced and laugh-out-loud funny, with an ending that will leave you immediately wanting to get your hands on book 3 (even though I don't think it's actually been fully written yet!) so you can see how the series ends, Vi Spy Never Say Whatever Again has already caused huge excitement in school (there was actual screaming!) and one girl politely asked me every day after if I had finished it so that she could read it! (She read it in under 24 hours once she got her hands on it!). Due for release in February 2022, I guarantee that this will be as big a hit as book 1, but don't take my word for it; the reviews have already started coming in from school:

'I think this was an amazing book!  I loved how there was a plot twist at the end.  It was incredible and I can't wait for the next one.'

‘I haven’t read many books that are better than this, if any!’