I received an ARC of The Parent Agency and from the synopsis it sounded like a fun read and it truly was. Barry hated his name, hated the way his parents were, they were boring, and they always too his twin sisters side on everything. He was 9 years old coming up to 10 and his parents wouldn't allow him to do things his friends were doing. After asking his parents for a James Bond party and getting the hump he goes to his room and strange things start happening. He arrives in the Parent Agency. This agency is run by kids and the kids can choose who they want to be their parents. A fantastic idea so Barry thought. But after trying out 5 sets of parents he still couldn't decide who he wanted to be his parents because although some things were good with the ones he had tested it wasn't all that brilliant for him.
I was giggling like a school girl reading this. The names of the characters, their manourisms, place names it was all funny and great fun.
Everytime I picked the book up for a five minute read I found myself still reading 45 minutes later. I was truly hooked.

This is the first book I have read from David Baddiel as an author and I will definitely be looking out for more from him. ( )

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Had no idea what to expect and it turned out to be really entertaining with a great message to boot.

Barry hates his name. It's too old-fashioned and he blames his parents. He blames them for a whole list of things. One of which is the lame birthday parties they come up with. Barry is about to turn 10. He loves two things. James Bond and Lionel Messi. They can't even plan a James Bond themed party that is mildly fun. Barry storms off in protest and the next thing he knows he's in an alternate London called Youngdon where couples compete to be chosen by kids to be their parents. He is whisked off to the Parent Agency to find himself a set of parents. The head of TPA gives him a five day package to try out five different sets of parents. First he asks for rich parents, then famous, then athletic, then pushovers, and lastly spoilers. Each set of parents have to plan a birthday party for him. None of them are quite the right fit, so you can pretty much figure out how it ends.

My only comment relates to the very present British nuances in the book. Editors replaced British words with American words as much as possible in the American edition (mum, lorry, football is changed to mom, truck, soccer), but certain things just couldn't be changed such as the daily tea and London setting. I wouldn't be surprised if Argentinian soccer player Lionel Messi also has limited fame with American middle graders.

I both read and listened to the story and I have to say that I preferred the audiobook even though it's the British version. The author read his own book and he was absolutely fantastic. ( )

Barry wishes he had better parents, and dreams that there is an agency that allows you five days to pick the perfect parents. This enjoyable story is fun and imaginative. ( )

It was cute but a little disappointing. Boy doesn't like his parents, ends up at a parent agency, tries out five sets of parents - rich, famous, sporty, permissive and parents who treat him like their favourite...decides he wants his original parents back. I wanted the parent agency to be explained and expanded a lot more than it was. ( )

a humourous look at role reversal where children choose parents, but be careful of what you wish for as you may get the parents who do things to the extreme. Barry has always hated being called Barry. In fact, its number 2 on the list of things he blames his parents for, along with 1) 'being boring' and 3) 'always being tired' and so on and son. But then one day Barry makes a fateful wish, and finds himself in a world where everything is reverse. Barry has 5 days to find the perfect parents for him and he makes choices based on his top 10 list of the perfect parents. Things do not go to his plan as adults and children do not apply the same meaning or logic to interpretation - a very humourous look at how both groups view parenting and childhood. ( )