Canned

An exquisitely told, different tale, full of mystery, adventure, lessons on friendship, and wry observations of adults through children's eyes. I read this aloud with my two 8-year-olds, and we all eagerly awaited family reading time each night to get to it.

Canned is absolutely delightful. Fergal and Charlotte become fast friends - the common denominator? They both collect cans. Fergal especially likes cans with no labels - AND cans that "feel" different. You know, the ones that aren't quite the same as all of the others; they're lighter or make strange noises when you shake them. Fergal and Charlotte find very interesting objects when they open these cans: letters, body parts, jewelry! But where are these things coming from? And who is putting letters in cans? This is a great book for girls and boys - middle school boys especially will love the gross parts of this book.

I loved the back cover of this book, that had a can label with nutrition information on it. where the UPC is. I loved the beginning of this book, wherein we meet Fergal. Fergal, whom adults think must be clever because he collects cans. Yes, cans. Cans without labels, to be exact. He found his first one in the bargain bin, and it was so cheap, since one really couldn't know what was in the can. Fergal liked the idea of the promise the cans held, and had soon amassed a collection of fifty. That's when his mother told him he must open one before he could purchase anymore. And that's how he found the finger in the can. It was while snatching up a new can that made an interesting rattle that he discovered Charlotte, another can collector! It turns out Charlotte had found a few interesting things in cans as well, and now they had a mystery to solve. I loved the gruesome humor in this book, I loved Charlotte, and I loved the mystery. I did not love the end, which felt a little weird and rushed, although it was the most natural and obvious conclusion. I did not like the sections that began as "Fergal's Diary" because they added no action or content to the story. I have no idea why they were there. But I loved the last line. Canned is definitely for the dark-humored among us, will be great for male and female reader (I'd say more of a boy book if you forced me at gunpoint), and best for ages 10 - 13.

Meet Fergal. He is a loner and a bit of an eccentric. His parents often worry about him. They like to think he is clever, but sometimes even being clever doesn't explain everything. A recent visit to the grocery store with his mother has Fergal excited about something new. While at the store, he discovered the wonders of the "bargain bin." It is where items with bumps and dents and nearly expired dates go to be rescued by some value-minded shopper. What Fergal finds in the bargain bin is a shiny can missing its label. The mystery of the unidentified can inspires Fergal to begin a collection. Fergal becomes obsessed with label-free cans. In no time at all his collection grows to over 40 cans. His parents think it is a bit strange but hopefully harmless. When the collection takes over the bookshelf in Fergal's room, his mother insists that for each new can he finds he must open one of the old ones. She considers it a waste to just collect the things and not use the contents. This leads to Fergal's gruesome discovery. One might think that Fergal is the only person to think of collecting unlabeled cans, but he bumps into a fellow can-collector at the store one day. Her name is Charlotte. She has also opened several of her cans and found something equally as gruesome as Fergal. Together they set out to solve the mystery. Alex Shearer's CANNED offers misfit characters, humor, and just the right amount of "gross" stuff to satisfy typical middle grade and teen readers. Even though the story is set in England and uses British jargon, most readers will relate to Fergal and Charlotte as they quietly carry on their investigation under the noses of clueless adults. This wacky, off-beat adventure is well worth checking out. Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"