Millie Hardiman and the Red Parrot Fever by Eddie Owens

Book Title: Millie Hardiman and the Red Parrot Fever
Author: Eddie Owens
Genre: Middle-Grade
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: A review copy provided by the author

Amazon UK, Goodreads

Goodreads Summary: Millie Hardiman is a thirteen year old from Bognor Regis, with a wild imagination, who dreams of becoming a writer.
When Millie’s scriptwriter Dad, Barry, has writer’s block, Millie becomes his muse for the daytime television soap, Double Top.
After her success on Double Top, Millie creates a Sci-Fi, teen drama, The Adventures of Martian Girl.
Millie falls in love for the first time with Wolf Van Der Beek, an arrogant, South African child actor.
This is a story about friendship, first love and growing up.

What did I think?

I would like to thank the author Eddie Owens for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Millie Hardiman and the Red Parrot Fever is not a book I'd usually pick up, simply because I don't normally read middle-grade books, but I really enjoyed the read.

The book follows a 13-year-old girl called Millie Hardiman. She is charming and creative but also somewhat of a compulsive liar who spends the majority of her time fabricating wild stories. This trait of hers becomes particularly useful once her father, who is a scriptwriter, starts suffering from the much dreaded writer's block.

The author depicts various aspects of a young teenager's life in an amusing manner: friendship, school, family. I especially enjoyed to see a girl change into a teen who falls in love for the first time. Is it the right boy? Or the wrong boy? And along the way she learns about responsibility and maturity.

The only negative thing I noticed while reading this, is that some of the plot feels wildly unrealistic in an otherwise realistic setting (though Millie's father is writing a soap opera, so maybe this is just a creative nod in that direction) and I'm sure that won't bother young teenagers who are hungry for adventures.

If you're looking for an amusing read for a kid with an over-active imagination, give this one a try.