Dead Average by Moya Simons

This book is written by Australian author Moya Simons who likes to write about family situations. (I was pleased to find out that we both have something in common; we don't like people who whinge.) It is an easy read for the 9-12 age range and has no pretentions whatsoever. It is a simple plot about twelve year old Danny Thompson, the average boy next door, who lands himself a role in a television commercial for an "essential pharmaceutical product." He thinks he is about to make a fortune, something like between five hundred and a thousand dollars for one day's work... but... of course there wouldn't be a story if things pan out as he he expects. This book is a sequel to Dead Meat which I actually haven't read but it reads well as a stand alone novel. Danny's dad owns a delicatessen just down the road and his mum helps out there when she can. His baby sister whom he calls Bub Tub keeps everyone fairly busy, especially her infatuation with keeping dead cockroaches as pets. You have to love the Australianisms in this novel: "My face is hotter than Bondi Beach.""I'm just an average kind of bloke." Each chapter basically encapsulates a witty story about the family.