Going for Broke, by Meg McKinlay

He turns to me. “You sure about this, Nath? It looks – ”
I pick up a tent peg and head for the ramp. “Nah, it’ll be fine.”
Once you’ve come this far, you can’t just turn around and go home. Once you’ve got half a ramp built, you can’t take it apart and pretend you didn’t really care anyway.

Nathan is sick of seeing other kids get awards. He doesn’t want to be the one who gets a dorky piece of cardboard for being ‘nice’. No, Nathan is sure he’s destined for greatness. And now that the holidays are here, he’s going to achieve it – he is going to break a record. He’s just not sure which record.

Going for Broke is a humorous novel for primary aged readers, which shows what happens when one boy (Nathan) tries everything to get his name in the record books. Nathan and his friends Weasel and Ronnie will stop at nothing to break a record – risking life, limb and fresh breath (there’s a record involving onion eating) in an attempt to be the best at something.

Part of Walker Books new Lightning Strikes series, the length of the story makes it accessible to readers of all abilities, with the interest level and humour ensuring it will be popular with primary aged readers, especially boys. From the eye catching cover design, to the sketches and touches of different text types, this is a winner.

Going for Broke, by Meg McKinlay
Walker Books, 2008