Jack seems like an average 12 year-old boy, navigating school life with his clever best friend Reg and the school bullies and navigating his home life with his neat mother and annoying younger sister and her friends. When Reg pulls Jack into one of his experiments without him knowing, it sets them on a path that might prove dangerous. Unsure whether or not to go along with his friend’s plan, their actions have unexpected consequences. The voice of Jack is very entertaining, his exasperation at his family made me laugh and I’m sure is a perspective adolescent readers and older can relate to. His naivety around Mims and his underlying desire to stay out of trouble is endearing. Jack, Reg and the Wrong Bag has a colourful cast of characters that will entertain readers from about 12 and up, and similar to Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s Millions, the story will pose an interesting hypothetical scenario to readers- what would you do in the groups’ position? The storyline is easy to get into, and pulls you into the escapades alongside Jack, Reg and Mims. You’ll be curious to see what they get up to next and left hungry for Reg’s mum’s cooking. A quick and entertaining read.
Jack and Reg are friends at High School but when Reg carries out his experiment to shoplift and get away with it, Jack doesn’t know what’s going on. Reg has a bigger plan but Jack’s not sure whether he should go along with it, especially as it may prove dangerous. Jack has to decide while trying to navigate life as a twelve year old with a girl who wants to be his girlfriend, his Mum arguing about who carries the toilet rolls upstairs and his Gran refusing to go in a care home because she’ll end up wearing someone else’s knickers. It’s not easy being 12.
