Jawsome by R.J. Timmis

Title: Jawsome

Author: R.J. Timmis  

Genre: Humour

Publisher: Allen and Unwin/Albert Street Press

Published: 1^st August 2023

Format: Paperback

Pages: 304

Price: $15.99

Synopsis: If you don’t like this series you can BITE ME. Jawsome is awesome.

“The best graphic novels need to be action-packed with an engaging interplay of text and illustrations. Ideally, they should also be funny. Rebecca Timmis’s Jawsome ticks all these boxes and more.” Books + Publishing

Something FISHY is going on in Chumville …

By day, Finley and his mates are ordinary shark kids. But by night, they are secretly the super-famous rock band JAWSOME!

But not everything is cruisy. Can JAWSOME get to the bottom of an ocean of shady shark-nanigans while keeping their secret identities watertight?

With fabulous illustrations on every page, non-stop adventure and lots of laughs, Jawsome is perfect for emerging readers (and shark enthusiasts of all ages)!

~*~

Finley is just an ordinary reef shark – at least by day. By night, Finley and his friends Hunter, Gilleon, and Gnash are part of a rock band called Jawsome with Ann Chovy, their lead singer. To play in the band, they all have secret identities to ensure they keep their two different lives separate. So, welcome to Chumville, where there are always shark-nanigans and fishy things happening.

There are two stories in this book, so it might look quite long, but each story is about 150 pages long, with short chapters, lots of black and white images, white space and large text to make it easier to read for emerging readers, reluctant readers, or middle grade readers who want something shorter and pacier. The first book focuses on the band needing to find a new singer after Ann Chovy decides to leave the band for bigger things – and now Jawsome has three days to find a new singer – unless they can convince Finley to become their new singer. But poor Finley has stage fright. Between his friends and a special visit from a singer that Finley admires, he might just be able to pull it off.

In the second story, Finley’s class has a new student – Squidley Whistleblower, who has come to his 57^th school as he follows his mother around for her job as an investigative journalist. Whilst she is looking into the chum shortage in Chumville, Squidley is determined to unmask the fish behind Jawsome. He is so sure that they’re a bunch of kids at school, so Finley and his friends have to work out how to throw him off track – even if it means pushing him into the spotlight with his mum’s investigation. Finley and his friends will use all their fins to come up with a plan to protect Jawsome.

These two stories are bound up in a really fun way, and I loved this introduction to the band and Rebecca’s new series. These first two stories are told from Finley’s perspective, and as it is the first book in the series, I think we might be following this through Finley’s perspective. I love how accessible this book is to readers of all ages, and is engaging, funny, and full of puns. After reading Mertales, I expected nothing less and adored the way these swam off the page, like Finley’s parents, Su and Shi, or the names of singers who tried out for the band like Kylie Mernogue, and Billie Eelfish. I think this works because it refers to singers that readers of all ages who take on this book will know, including parents and teachers, so there are lovely little easter eggs – and for writers, the inclusion of a herring named Red will bring a laugh. I loved this reference, and I think that it is always fun when books have references aimed at a broad audience.

Each story is also fast-paced, so it can be read quickly, in one setting as I did, or for those who need to, it is easy to read it in bite-sized chunks chapter by chapter. It can entertain and build confidence for readers as well, and I hope will have wide appeal for a range of readers. I really hope this somehow connects to the Mertales characters. It feels like a very similar world under the sea where it’s better, but different neighbourhoods or towns for the sharks and mermaids. Having read both, it has made me wonder if there is a central place where they can all meet. They are both fantastic series on their own as well, and I think Jawsome is going to appeal to those same readers, and readers who like animal stories. This is one that I think will be gobbled up and read under the covers at night by excited readers, keen to find out more about Finley and his friends.