Smash It, Butterfingers!

I love it when you can begin a series with absolutely any book! I have been eyeing the Butterfingers series for a long time, but I somehow never got around to any of them. And so, when I was asked if I would read and review the seventh one, Smash It, Butterfingers!, I agreed right away. What an enjoyable story it was!

The book opens with Amar Kishen, aka Butterfingers, meeting P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal – in a dream. With everyone’s eyes on the Tokyo Olympics, it was the perfect time for me to read about a sports-mad boy, determined to play, and determined to win!

Amar trips over a badminton racquet and sprains his arm. He is utterly delighted. He revels in the drama of being injured and is disappointed that his arm is not broken, just sprained. Feeling almost cheated, he convinces the doctor and his father to get him a fancy sling so that his injury looks more serious than it is. What’s the point of being injured if you can’t get some attention and tender loving care out it? The fancy black sling is ideal. Until Amar discovers that an eccentric millionaire has announced a badminton tournament for 13-year-olds from his school on Friday the 13th. How can Amar play if he is injured? It is now time to quickly downplay his injury! Make it a minor sprain again, not the dramatised version of it!

I love Butterfingers. He thinks on his feet and comes up with one good idea after another. The fact that his ideas don’t work out as planned isn’t his fault! I also thoroughly enjoyed the number of threads this story weaves together – superstition, detective work, sports, friendship, resilience and, of course, humour. With the perfect enterprising young character, Smash It, Butterfingers! is a good read for middle-graders. The fact that it is part of a series is naturally a bonus!