The Spick and the Span

I found this book to have interesting character relationships while still being highly comical,something that means it is rated quite highly in my opinion.I also enjoyed the sheer wackiness of all the characters ,not to mention the city it was set in!

Isabelle

Carnegie@StBede’s

It was an amazing book. It is full of magic and adventures. My favourite characters are Jezbel and Magda because they are so cool. I love the setting because it is set in a city of magic called the city of Helm. It is so worth it you need to read it. Out of 5 stars this book is rated 5 stars.

Giordano

The Next Chapter

Magicians use real magic, magic stain leftover that changes everything, league of cleaners that clean up after the magicians mess, someone trying to get into the league Good book!

Yehuda

Belsize Stories

I think the spick and the Span is a great book for all ages because they experience having to clean all the time. It also has a great plot and lots of relatable characters too. Personally my favourite character is the frog because he goes through a lot of trauma with his dad and also because he literally got turned into a frog. The front cover art really shows how some of the characters don't like each other very much. I also love how it paints in some LGBTQIA+ as well. I loved reading this book and hope Pil van Mertin makes more books like this.

Isla

Knox Readers

I enjoyed reading The Spick and The Span. In the book, set in the imaginary, magic-filled, city of Helm, a young dwarf cleaner named Ward, attempts to join the league of cleaners. However, along the way he is faced with many tricky challenges such as an outbreak of world-eating monsters called Nix’s, and three near impossible tasks to complete. It is a fun and enjoyable book with a fairly clear plotline, although at some points it drifts a little. It dealt with a variety of real-world problems such as parental abandonment and displacement in an engaging and empathetic way. The world-building is excellent, and the characters are mostly well imagined, although they can at times be a little bland and uninteresting. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable book to read.

Owen

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

I really enjoyed The Spick and The Span. A major event occurred quickly in the plot (Nessus being taken by the Nix). It frequently had interesting adventures and tricky problems that the team had to face. The magical fantasy genre of the book provided endless potential story lines and loads of creativity, like when magic starts to build up, creating new and interesting monsters or objects. I also like the world that it was set in. The different parts of the city demonstrated how the poor struggle compared to the rich when it comes to stopping the magical problems. This was also demonstrated by the differences between the cleaners and the magicians - the cleaners clearing up the magicians' mess. Friendship and teamwork was a strong theme in the book. The plot demonstrated what you can achieve when you work as a team. The characters rely on each other's attributes rather than using their own anti-magic repellents. The book is inclusive. It shows a big range of characters with different genders and sexual orientations, as well as neuro-diverse characters. The visual appearance of characters is also diverse and inclusive. This can help a LGBTQ+ reader feel more relatable to the characters and have a more comfortable read. I like Ward as a character as he has similar personality characteristics to me, so I can relate to his decisions and how he thinks. I also like his efficient style of cleaning up the magicians' mess which makes him an interesting character. I also like Magda because she faces all the struggles of being removed from her home, so she has an interesting back story and it is sad to see her struggle to return home.

Bruno

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

The Spick and the Span was a delight to read full of spellbinding plots, and a real action packed read. The character of Magda was a personal favourite showing talent and hard work despite being from another realm. Although I thought it was a great read, I found the introduction of certain concepts not fully explained, this is demonstrated at the start by something called a nix which on that moment puzzled me of what was happening. I found the outcome of the book rather imaginative which was a common trend shown throughout the whole book. I was also rather fond of the pace of the book moving swiftly and as I have said I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it for younger readers who prefer slightly more mature reading. Thank you for reading.

Emi

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

I thought that the book Spick and the Span, by Pil Van Martin was quite a good read. This is because it is funny and faced paced, which definitely makes it appeal to readers who like a light hearted book. However, I found that the plot of the story is quite average, and a little boring in parts. I think the author also created some good characters, and some good friendships that develop throughout the book, for example between Ward and Magda. I think the subtle use of identities that are less often written about, for example transgender characters, in this book like Jezebel, worked well in this story, and the author did not make it a main factor of the book. The fact that the book was a bit childish did not appeal to me very much, however I can see how people that are younger than me, or enjoy a lighter read could certainly love this book. So overall, I thought the book was a good read, but not necessarily one of my favourites.

Lucy

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

The Spick and the Span review The Spick and the Span is a very enjoyable and fun book that keeps your attention throughout the book. The book follows a young character named ward and his team of trainee cleaners. As the book goes on they have to deal with weird creatures and magical problems. Phil van Martin makes the character easy to remember by giving them completely different backgrounds and personalities which helps to make the book better and more enjoyable to read. The only thing that I think could be improved it how the book is a bit confusing as a the story gets a bit cramped.

William

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

I thought The Spick and the Span was a really interesting book. It is about a boy called Ward who lives in a city called Helm where magic causes loads of problems. Things like houses turning into gingerbread and random magical things happen all the time. Ward wants to join the League of Cleaners, who clean up after magicians polluting the place with their magic. The story gets a lot more exciting when Ward’s friend goes missing and weird creatures start eating magic and causing chaos around the city. My favourite part was all the crazy magic because you never knew what would happen next like the twist when Alba Sauba turns out to be the bad person. The book was exciting and full of action. Some bits were a little boring as some unimportant parts were quite long, but overall I really liked it and would recommend it to people who enjoy fanatsy and adventure fiction.

Jake

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

THE SPICK AND THE SPAN The book I am reviewing is The Spick and The Span. The Spick and The Span had me hooked from the start and always had me eager to turn the page. It was a fast-moving book that carried with it themes of mystery, adventure and most importantly magic. The book contained an array of diverse characters all with unique qualities, appearances and morals, coming together to make a community filled with everything from giant snails to vampires. The leader of this community was Ward, my favourite character, who learned the hard way, never to put ambition before family. My only criticism of the book is that I found the plot to lack depth and structure. The story line felt a little haphazard, often containing too much dialogue and not enough story telling. In conclusion, I absolutely loved this book and reflect that it has taught me many things that only a book can. So, I will continue to keep an eye out for more books by Pil Van Martin as they are fabulous, despite some structural errors.

Georgina

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

A very slow beginning giving you a backstory of Ward's life in his cleaning agency,the Spick and Span. Ward one of the main characters brings a strong sense of inspiration to his desire to become a great well known cleaner 'heroes of the city' in his opinion as he strongly looks up to them. He desperately wants to enter trials to train to become one of the great cleaners. The activeness in the story builds up as more pressing matters come into hand (than Ward's desire to become a cleaner)with a sense of adventure and a few emotional scenes with Magda,a warrior endeavouring to get back home through dangerous portals, recklessly searching for her mum! Not only that but the world becomes unstable with magic and things become out of control. The end is quite dramatic as it's up to Ward and Magda to find a way for survival. I recommend it as it's an adventurous,playful book- a chaotic world filled with magical mayhem!!

Leora

Hasmonean Pages

The Spick and the Span was a great book. Usually in books like this, it takes almost half of the book to actually get into the action, but this was different. It went straight into the action with the live action of the Cleaner's League, which unfortunately resulted in Nessus being lost to the void. Also, while competing, Ward and Magda discovered a Nix, which is a creature from the void. Nixes can be good or bad. As a result of Nessus being lost, they then had to find a magician to rescue the elf. Therefore, they met Jago, the frog magician, who is a rather full of himself. Over the course of the novel, he becomes much nicer. The plot is very entertaining and makes more people of different sexualities normal. It is a quality book.

Caleb

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

The Spick and the Span was entertaining book overall. The plot was extremely fast throughout the whole book, and with the plot diverging into different emotional stories for each character. The main character, Ward was a bit annoying and irritating at the start of the book but gradually got kinder and more pleasant throughout. This was to show how all the things Ward went through changed who he was as a person. The themes in this book were adventure and fantasy but also the misbalance of power that some people had. With the Wizards and the Cleaners each have a different amount of influence. I believe this was to represent the spread of power in the world. The ending was unexpected and interesting with plot twists I never saw coming. The ‘good’ character became the villain, and the villain became the ‘ok’ character. I think this was to show us that you should never take anything by face value. The book was quite funny with a few jokes here and there, but there were also a few serious moments, where the characters experienced loss and heartbreak. This added to the book quite a lot, making it a more well-rounded book. The other character side characters were well developed and talked about in a lot of detail. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read an interesting adventure story.

Richa

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

The Spick and the Span’s plot is fast and fun. As the story moves quickly and lots of new problem happens. The main theme of the Spick and the Span was about taking care of the environment matters which you can tell a little bit based on the front book cover which is two people holding cleaning supplies. In the book we also learn that they cant fix everything alone which you can guess is teamwork. I quite like how the girl, who is called Magda, is brave and goes first and isn’t scared while the blue skinned boy, called Ward Kyanite, is building his courage which is the complete different of stereotypes towards boys and girls. I also like Jago the frog’s humour as he makes clever comments quickly when things get tense. Overall I quite like this book as they make the girl brave and different, and not small and quiet.

Cindy

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

I have just finished reading Spick and Span by Phil Van Martin. This book is really good. It starts with Nessus disappearing by a nix which gets the story going and the rest of the story is full of surprises. I was curious to see what would happen next. The author does a good job of making you want to keep reading. One thing that really stood out to me about Spick and Span is the characters. The author makes each character in Spick and Span very different. They all have their personalities. I liked the character Magda in Spick and Span a lot. Because she’s talented but also keeps ward in line as well as being very smart. The author writes parts of Spick and Span very welI because sometimes it felt like I was there. The author makes you feel like something is about to happen. I really liked reading Spick and Span. If you like books that are exciting and fun to read then you should read Spick and Span. I also really like it because I love Harry Potter and this was a great alternative because it had that fun magic theme would definitely recommend.

Bow

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

I absolutely loved The Spick and the Span!! I loved all of the magic and wizardry in it. I honestly felt that it compared to climate change and how we need to protect our world because the magicians weren't taking care of their world and then it got consumed by the nixes. I would rate this book a 10/10 because it was exciting and engaging, it kept me hanging on to my seat until the last page.

Amelia

SHHS shadows

This book is amazing, it is so unpredictable as the twists and turns of the charecters and the complex situation of the vortex. Martin created a truly origional world with interesting charecters and stories!

Arielle

Hasmonean Pages

I really enjoyed this book but at times it went a bit off track and confused me a little there were some parts where I know entirely what was going on and others where I was basically clueless, but that was only in parts of the book so on that take it was good. I felt the plot twist of the main good sympathetic character turned to evil mastermind was not developed to its full extent they just kind of left it, therefore I found the ending a little bit lacking for my taste. The main thing that confused me about the story was the fact I didn't from which characters perspective I was on. If the characters perspective did in fact switch around then I would like this idea very much but just because I am unsure about it I don't think it hit the right spot. Overall, I really enjoyed the book some parts such as the plot at the end and the perspectives. But this isn't really my age of book, but still really enjoyed it!

Joel

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

I really found the opening of the book was really well written and did not go of track at any point this made me want to keep reading due to sudden character entrances that really helped make the book more entertaining. I felt there wasn’t really a build up to when Nessus got trapped in the void but there was when they got him out. I especially enjoyed this part because you could see they worked together using their talents and team work skills to get Nessus out of the void. At points in the book I felt empathetic towards Ward, one of the main reasons was because of his best friend getting lost in the void, but as I came closer to the end of the book all the effort and hard work had paid of for Ward and I felt happy for him. I like how the writer did not put a gender on some characters, and how some of the words the author made up where at the bottom of the page. I think the author picked Ward to be the narrator of his book because he is ambitious and energetic and he stands up for what is right, I think he makes the book more engaging and believable due to those reasons. I was really immersed in this book due to the author using many techniques to engage you with the characters. I think Spick and Span is a great easy read it has a bouncy feel to it and some mystery to it. I would recommend it if you are into the nonfiction genre.

Edward

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

My Book Review: The Spick and the Span by Pil van Martin The Spick and the Span is a fun and enjoyable book about three very different characters named Nessus, Ward a dwarf and Magda a warrior girl. This story takes place in Helm a world where magicians use magic for everything, creating havoc and opening portals to other worlds. It's the cleaners who are left to deal with the mess left by the magicians. Ward, wants nothing more than to belong to the League of Cleaners. But in order to be accepted he must complete a number of tests with a team of characters he doesn’t trust. Soon tragedy strikes to one of his friends leaving him to ask for help from some unlikely friends. I recommend this book if you are the type of reader who wants to be sucked into a magical and fascinating world where the story and missions unfold quickly. If you enjoy books that explore themes like teamwork, responsibility and kindness. This is the book for you.

William

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

The Spick and the Span by Pil Van Martin is a brilliant book, that shows how true friends are the most important thing in life and that ambition must be balanced out with care, affection and friendship. With a spell binding storyline that is gripping till the end, The Spick and the Span is a great book that brings out characteristics that aren’t usually showcased in other writings. The main character is a loving and open boy – which is unusual and should be seen more often in books - that uses his kindness as a strength although he does make a few mistakes along the way he also faces adversity throughout his adventure while, making new friends and rescuing old ones. He has three best friends and finds his hero may not be all she seems. This book is a funny and easy read and I would recommend it if you want a break from the world and to get away from reality. So the only question is, is cleaning the most noble profession or will magicians take it all?

Rosie

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

‘The Spick And The Span’ by Pil Van Martin is a decent read, as it has some interesting characters, good story, and a pretty great, if not wholly surprising, twist. I also enjoy when the protagonist does not know they are part of the bad guys - how the lure happens to the narrator, instead of one of side protagonists. As for my favourite character, I’d say it would be Magda, because her rather unique worldview (just having been dropped out of a portal into a world whose rules I don’t know, with things I don’t understand, and concepts that are completely alien) allows for some interesting dialogue and character not present in other characters, at least in the main group. One little niggle I have is how one of the main plot twists had already been revealed halfway through. I would also say that the concept is an excellent one, as not only has it possibly has never been thought of before, along with it being reasonable and delving into something that is not really cared about in the magical realms – who’s going to clean up the mess after a magician has been there? Overall, I would give this book a solid 3-4 stars out of 5. It’s a solid story, even if it isn’t outstanding.

Carter

Lincoln Readers

My Book Review: The Spick and the Span by Pil van Martin The Spick and the Span is an exciting and funny story about two very different kids who are forced to work together when their school launches a huge clean up challenge. The plot follows their mission to turn the messiest classroom into the tidiest, but things quickly get chaotic as they uncover secrets, rivalries, and unexpected friendships. The book explores themes like teamwork, responsibility, and how people can surprise you when you give them a chance. Pil van Martin’s writing style is fast and fun to read, so you never feel bored or lost. There is lots of humour, especially when the characters argue or mess things up, and the dialogue feels sharp and real, like the way people actually talk at school. The story keeps moving with all the competitions, disasters, and surprises, which makes it easy to stay hooked. If you like books about school challenges, funny moments, and characters who learn to get along even when they are total opposites, this one is definitely worth reading.

William

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

I thought "The Spick and the Span" was a good book that grew on me the more I read it. At first it was totally insane and did not enjoy reading it but as I kept reading it became more interesting. It covered a wide variety of themes such as grief, poverty and refugees and was very interesting. It had brilliant character development and despite being totally unreal it began to relate more and more to real life. It had a good plot and very good world building. The use of language used by the writer and the tools they used to make it worked well and coherently. Its plot was easy to keep track of in some parts and the climax was very exciting. It created smaller side plots to distract from the main problem which helped make it a more unpredictable plot. It hooked me in places but in some it felt like it was going nowhere meaningful. Overall I thought it wasn't the best read ever but I somewhat enjoyed it.

Max

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

I think the book was great. I love the exiting adventures there was along the way. It was a bit confusing and a bit of a roller coaster but the further I read on the more of a understanding I got. I really liked the main character Ward. I like his leadership and I liked the other characters like Jago and Magda. They were all very different but great I was all about cleaning and magic and there was some good use of humour. Overall I think it was one of my favourite books. I recommend it.

Albie

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

The Spick and the Span is a very good book in my opinion overall. As with many books, it has its highs and lows and although it isn’t a complete page - turner, I thought it was a pleasant read which was enjoyable, and although it was a little confusing at the start, it picked up with the twist at the end. It could have had a little more of an underlying plot, however for children who don’t often read, I think this book would be a positive start to their reading journey. The themes are fitting for the style and the social hierarchy was different but interesting too, with magicians, young magicians, cleaners and so on. I think that the book could be even better if it had some deeper substance around the plot. Other than that, I thought it was an interesting read.

Timothy

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

It was a great book, I loved the plot and the character development. It was well thought out and allows the reader to immerse themselves in to the book. I especially loved the first part of the storyline where Nessus is lost to the void and they have to team up with a magician. I also loved the diversity in the book, not just different roles such as vampires, magicians and cleaners but having completely different people work together like a transgender vampire and a non-binary giant. This provides insight in relationships in real life between family and friends. This book doesn’t have just one big storyline but many short ones such as Magda trying to find her own home, Alba Sauber turning evil and the bad and good nixes. This is what makes the story so capturing and keeps the reader engaged all the time. All of these elements together is what makes the book a hit.

Junaid

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

The books main character is called Ward who works with his friends in Helm. Helm is a city where careless magicians cause magic to constantly build up, changing reality. Only children (who are resistant to magic) can remove magic build ups. When the Spick and Span agency (Ward and his friends Nessus and Magda) try to join the League of Cleaners, he and his friends face impossible challenges, unstable magic and strange monsters that eat magic called nix’s. Alongside Magda, Jago the talking frog (who used to be a magician but is cursed) , and a strange group of ghosts and vampires, Ward finds something that could destroy the city. With fast paced action (which at times is difficult to follow), the story has themes of friendship, teamwork, discrimination, and the necessity of kindness. When Ward learns to trust his chosen family, he finds that courage and cooperation – not ego– is what actually is needed.

tom

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

This fiction book was a dedicated fantasy book, which really suited me as I love all kinds of fantasy. What I enjoyed about this book is that its plot and theme was based on fairytales, but with an interesting twist to keep the reader engaged, this being the overflow of magic leading to random changes and transformations occurring within Helm. One aspect about the book that I was unsure of was the pace of the plot. I found it did not give enough time for me to explore the world of helm as much as I wanted to, especially in comparison to another book I have read recently that is a little longer but takes the time to delve deep into the ways of its world. I did enjoy the extra information given though, which aided me at the least in my need to understand Helm a bit more. The characters, in my opinion, were well thought out in the way that they all have their own personal experiences and problems revealed later on in the book (such as the revealing of Magda's mother and the struggles between Magda and her), which they work through together, strengthening their bonds and making them closer. I usually deeply dislike when authors write 'factfiles' about the characters in the book, as I feel that the information should be gained about them over the course of reading the book, but in this instance, not too much vital information was released to the reader, although I would prefer the author omit the supposed 'factfiles' entirely. In conclusion, the entirety of the book was really creatively made, and the emotional development of the characters extremely cleverly thought out, but I believe this book could be improved by lengthening the book in order to add more detail and make way for further exploration of Helm.

Sébastien

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

The Spick and the Span was an amazing read for me. Once I started it, I could barely put it down. I felt like the author built characters that I could feel connected to and felt sorry for their loss. The plot was one of the best plots I have ever experienced in a book! All the way through the book I thought that Juno was the one causing all of the issues in Helm but in the second to last chapter I found out the it was the person who I thought was good the whole time. In the book I could really relate it to problems that our world faces even though it is in a fantasy world. It was that all of the magic seeping out and causing problems is very like climate change that we have. One thing that I think could have been better was a little bit more humor through out the book. But overall it was really good!

Sam

Norwich School Carnegie Shadowers

I think this book was a great model of a fantasy book as it was very imaginative. Some of the key aspects that I loved was the exploration of different realms and zones and the creativity running through this story. The intriguing plot was a fantastic series of magical experiences - both literally and metaphorically. I also loved sections where the themes of friendship are focused upon as well as certain parts where deep connectivity and act like looking up to role models are mentioned. The main eye-catching part of the story that I particularly liked was the plot-twist inputted right towards the end. I would definitely recommend it to some of my friends who like this sort of genre!

Maryam

HGS Book Club

‘The Spick And The Span’ by Pil Van Martin is a decent read, as it has some interesting characters, good story, and a pretty great, if not wholly surprising, twist. I also enjoy when the protagonist does not know they are part of the bad guys - how the lure happens to the narrator, instead of one of side protagonists. As for my favourite character, I’d say it would be Magda, because her rather unique worldview (just having been dropped out of a portal into a world whose rules she doesn’t know, with things I don’t understand, and concepts that are completely alien) allows for some interesting dialogue and character not present in other characters, at least in the main group. One little niggle I have is how one of the main plot twists had already been revealed halfway through. I would also say that the concept is an excellent one, as not only has it possibly has never been thought of before, along with it being reasonable and delving into something that is not really cared about in the magical realms – who’s going to clean up the mess after a magician has been there? Overall, I would give this book a solid 3-4 stars out of 5. It’s a solid story, even if it isn’t outstanding.

Carter

Lincoln Readers