My Especially Weird Week with Tess
Reviewed By Grasshopper2 August 7, 2023
Author Anna Woltz. Translated David Colmer.
Distributor: Rock the Boat
ISBN: 9780861542987
Publisher: Rock the Boat
Release Date: May 2023
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Translated from the Dutch by David Colmer My Especially Weird Week With Tess from Anna Woltz, is an amazing journey into the world of young teens who are slightly different in their approach to life. There is so much to ponder and consider, especially where do you find a parent, a Dad to be exact!
Sam, his brother and father, are staying at a holiday house. In fact, they have just arrived and gone down to the beach to play a game of footy. Sam suddenly hears his brother scream and runs towards him, as does his dad.
They see that Jasper has fallen down a hole. He is in pain and says that he heard a crack. Dad carries him on his back to the car, then to the doctor’s surgery where they are told they “Should have made an appointment.”
Sam waits out the back and is hailed by a large girl who asks him if he can play the trumpet. Being unusual himself, Sam is not fazed by this question and in no time at all, the girl is showing him how to dance.
From then on, many social issues arise and Sam has his head spinning. An old man comes by with his dead pet bird. Sam says he and the girl, Tess, will help him have a funeral for the bird. Then Tess and Sam discuss dying and if the last dinosaur would be sad if he knew they would be extinct.
Sam asks about Tess’s father. She is annoyed and says that her mother decided to have her child by herself. “If I say I don’t know my father, people want to know how come…I don’t ask you how your parents made you, do I?”
In just a few chapters, we are introduced to ideas which children often think about but don’t discuss. There is such an easy dialogue between these two characters that issues arising are examined and given thought.
For Sam, his constant wondering and questioning is just annoying for his family. Tess is the same, so their friendship is one of delight and discovery. For the reader, there is much to delight in as well.
My Especially Weird Week With Tess has been a made into an award winning film My Extraordinary Summer With Tess.