Image: Bloomsbury
Sequels. Some are bad. Some are worse. But some match the quality and excitement of the first, perhaps even surpassing it.
The sequel to 2009′s A Whole Nother Story, Another Whole Nother Story is everything a sequel should be. It carries on the storyline, and improves on the first book. Picking up where the original story left off, this book takes the Cheeseman family further on their adventures. Small spoiler: This book has the added benefit of time travel.
Unlike the first book where you often had no idea where the story was going and you just enjoyed the ride, in this one you know what the characters are trying to accomplish as the story progresses.
But like the first book, it is full of laughs and silliness, and is entertaining for both kids and adults. Also like the original, the chapters are interspersed with asides, information and humor in the voice of the author, Dr. Cuthbert Soup of the National Center for Unsolicited Advice. He goes on about tangentially related topics and can really share his voice there more than in the story itself.
I enjoyed this book so much that I feel it is better than the original. You are familiar with the characters, the storyline is more cohesive, and, well, there is time travel.
There isn’t much out there that makes me laugh out loud. An occasional comic strip. Badly done closed captioning from Beauty and the Geek (“brownie in motion”). Most episodes of The Big Bang Theory. It almost always takes something unexpected to make me laugh. But these books make me laugh out loud, many times per book. That’s quite a feat.
As I was getting close to the end of the story, I wondered how Dr. Soup was possibly going to wrap up the storyline in just a few pages. He didn’t, leaving plenty of loose ends for a third book. That makes me happy, knowing I’ll have another excellent book to read in the future, but sad because of the amount of time I’ll have to wait to read it. The third book won’t be out for another year, and then there will be a fourth book. But probably not a fifth. There is only so much room for the title on the cover, after all.
For adults, Another Whole Nother Story is an incredibly quick read. Partly because you want to see what happens next, and partly because it is so well written. And there aren’t too many big words. If you’re interested in reading what Dr. Soup has to say for himself when he isn’t writing, read a recent interview with him. Also check out Dr. Soup’s website, designed by Good Friend to GeekDad, Chuck Gamble.
Another Whole Nother Story retails for $16.99 and is great for anyone with a sense of humor, child or grown-up alike. But if you are interested in reading it, I highly recommend reading the first book first, A Whole Nother Story, as more of this book will make sense that way.
Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.
