Before starting, I want you to know one thing: this book is strange (in a good way). The characters go through some strange adventures, they enter a strange world where they meet a strange person... And even the author has a strange name: I. M. Strange. It’s a pseudonym, of course, but I really liked the idea! :)
Toby and his two best friends, Emma and Lucas, live in a seaside town called Weirville. On Toby’s 11th birthday, the three kids play with a new ball on the beach. Yes, Weirville is a nice-looking town... if you avoid the abandoned funfair on the pier. Many people call the town “Weirdsville” because of this strange place.
After a while, the three friends bump into a very annoying person: Keira Ramone. She gets her hands on the ball and kicks it towards Happyland, the funfair. Now Toby, Emma and Lucas are left with nothing. But their sadness doesn’t last for long because, all of a sudden, four tickets fall from the sky. The kids can’t believe their eyes. These are not ordinary tickets; they’re entrance tickets to Happyland! Even if this place gives them the creeps, Emma, Keira, Lucas and Toby can’t miss such an opportunity!
Toby doesn’t mention anything about the funfair to his mother. Her sister went into this place when she was only a kid, but she never came back... After such an event, Toby’s mother wouldn’t let her son go to Happyland! Never in a million years!
At midnight, the four of them enter a whole new world. At first, the place seems to be safe. But after a while, things start to change... Emma, Keira, Lucas and Toby meet a lot of kids at the funfair. But none of them is happy. They all look pale. It’s just like they have been trapped in this place for years. Soon, the four kids get to meet the owner of the funfair, Happy. He’s a crazy clown. He does everything backwards and talks like a maniac. Stealing kids makes him happy... Toby and the others want to escape, but there’s only one way. They have to try three different rides or games and then bring Happy three photos from each place. Even though everything in Happyland is scary, the four kids have to smile for the camera...
In my opinion, the most challenging part is the one when Emma, Keira, Lucas and Toby go to the roller coaster. Emma is afraid of heights. During the ride, she feels sick and can’t even keep her eyes open. Lucas and Toby try to make her laugh before reaching the end of the ride. There’s so much tension in the air!
During the story, the four kids get some help from Camille (or Milly, for short), who is also trapped in Happyland. There’s something familiar about Milly, but Toby doesn’t know why he has this feeling. At the end of the story, when everything turns back to normal, Milly tells her new friends that she is the sister of Toby’s mother (aka Toby’s aunt). Even though she has been trapped in Happyland for a lot of time, she hasn’t grown up.
I really liked the ending, when Toby’s mother found her lost sister: “I spun around to see someone leaning over the gate. Milly grinned and waved. Mum gripped the door frame, blinking rapidly. “Camille?” she murmured. “But... you...” Then she fainted to the floor. Milly bit her bottom lip. “Uh-oh,” she said. “Didn’t mean to do that...” “I think you’d better come in,” I said. “We’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.” (pages 183-184)
My favorite character is Keira. She is very rude at the beginning, that’s true, but she realizes that she has done many mistakes... In the end she turns out to be a very nice girl. That’s what I like about her! :)
The book is written well, but I think it’s more suitable for younger kids (under 14). It’s a short story (almost 200 pages), so it’s quite easy to read it! Anyway, “Welcome to Weirdsville – Happyland” isn’t the only book written by I. M. Strange. There are two other stories in this series. :)
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