Johnny Mackintosh flies into The Sun
Political observers argue over the influence of Britain’s best-selling tabloid. Normally the paper supports the Conservatives and “It ‘s The Sun wot won it” was a famous headline from April 1992 when John Major confounded the opinion polls to defeat Neil Kinnock and give the Tories their fourth straight election win.
Currently, I’m reading The Alastair Campbell Diaries (Arrow Books). Tony Blair and his chief spin doctor went to a lot of trouble to woo Rupert Murdoch and have The Sun on board to support Labour in the 1997 election, which they duly did. Was it The Sun wot won it again?
Now, in 2009, I’m delighted to say The Sun has come out for Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London. I posted a copy of the new paperback to Natasha Harding who reviews books for the paper’s Something for the Weekend section. She sent me a lovely email back saying, “I started reading it last night, and although I’m not your target audience I think it’s great.”
I’m not sure that the paper has the same influence on the book-buying habits of its readers as it claims on their voting habits, but it’s great that they’ve joined the Daily Express in recommending Johnny and Clara’s adventures.
Johnny Mackintosh went into The Sun on Friday 23rd January. The full review reads:
JOHNNY MACKINTOSH AND THE SPIRIT OF LONDON by Keith Mansfield (Quercus, £6.99): Johnny is a 13-year-old who lives in a children’s home. He’s often in hot water for getting up to no good with the help of his dog Bentley.
As well as loving football, the youngster is a techno-wizz which has made him a firm favourite with his peers but not with the staff of Halader House.
When he runs away to find his sister he falls straight into alien hands and is sent into outer space.
In order to escape, he needs to find out who he really is – but could that mean he will never get to go home?
Although aimed at young lads this was a great read and I really enjoyed it.
If you click on the image you should see a larger version of the actual piece.
To read all the reviews of Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London, go to the What other people say about Johnny Mackintosh page on the johnnymackintosh.com website. I have to say they’re all lovely and I’m grateful to everyone who’s written about the book.
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