In the year 2424, it seems crazy that people once needed film to take photos. Max and Oscar – Bluggsville’s smartest sleuths – are shocked when they find a 400-year-old roll of film. They’re even more shocked to discover that it still seems to contain someone’s happy snap!
Unfortunately, they’re not the only people who realise how rare, and valuable, this photo could be. Max and Oscar are going to need all of their wits to make sure the photo ends up in the museum, where it belongs!

Max Booth is such a fun read! I think the premise of having a kid in the future investigating "ancient" technology is so clever - it is perfect for kids and parents to read together, since the technologies (in this case the camera film) are things that today's parents used but our kids won't necessarily recognise. This gives it a great balance of nostalgia for grown up readers, and adventure and discovery for everyone else.

Max himself is a great character. He is smart and a bit sassy - but also a bit vulnerable - and despite living over 400 years in the future he feels relatable. While Max was fun, his K-9 robo-companion Oscar was my favourite character!

I think the book is really approachable for new and reluctant reader. The text is nicely spaced on the pages so that it isn't overwhelming, and the gorgeous illustrations that feature throughout make it a great bridge between more heavily illustrated junior fiction and middlegrade novels. I really like the illustrations, and was very tempted to take my coloured pencils to them!

In the back of the book we get the blurbs of the first three books in the series, as well as a tiny sneak peak of Max's next few adventures - they all look really fun and I'm totally keen to check them out!