Felix has been full of money-making schemes all of his life. The trouble is that most of his enterprises have come to nothing … until now. When Felix’s friend Mo produces a card for his grandmother, Felix spots her potential as a card designer. First his grandmother’s friends buy packs of Mo’s cards, then local people, and soon Felix is runs his own online business: Kardmart.
At first Felix, Mo, and their classmates Ned and Ellie-Mae have equal shares in the business. Felix is the manager, Mo the card designer, Ned is the computer wizard, while Ellie-Mae is the accountant. They also employ Felix’s 18 year-old brother to pack the envelopes for minimum wage. The business skyrockets, and the media take interest in the four children who have successfully done what many adults dream of doing, but Felix soon learns that there is more to running a business than fame and fortune. Can Kardmart survive friendship issues, family drama, and the ever-changing demands of its customers?
This is a fantastic story that will delight any young person who has ever dreamed of being an entrepreneur. It will also raise a laugh from adults who grew up in the era that the story is set: when the internet was young and many people dreamed big. Anyone who, like myself, was raised in the 1990s and noughties will recall news stories about kids who made serious money by putting their artwork on teatowels, or creating human-shaped beanie toys, or by monetising their blogs. Lots of kids dreamed of following in their footsteps but what Felix learns is that having a successful business isn’t what matters. It’s the skills that he learns along the way that make him a true entrepreneur.
Felix’s Uncle Rufus and his relationship with the family forms an interesting subplot. Uncle Rufus is a well-off business-owner, but he hasn’t seen the family in years. This part of the story shows how people who’ve achieved wealth and status are far from perfect. Uncle Rufus has a large house with a swimming-pool but he is very far from having it all. He’s got a lot of emotional growing to do.
This would be a fantastic story to introduce the concept of business to younger readers. It’s also hilarious and warm-hearted and paced so well that it is impossible not to read on. A contemporary middle-grade hit.
- Felix Unlimited by Andrew Noriss is available now from David Fickling Books. RRP. £6.99 (Provided for review as part of a promotional blog tour)
