This is a fantastic story about two best friends who are framed for graffitiing their school and are sent away to a strict Pakistani summer school for difficult children. However, it turns out there’s a lot more in store for them, including saving the world!

I loved how Humza and Umer’s friendship is portrayed, they are such normal boys and characters that lots of children could relate to.

I'm not going to give this a rating because, as usual, I always feel weird giving kids' books a star rating as if I've put immense thought into the writing style and narrative quality. I haven't. I read the book and judged whether it was something I'd read to or with my younger siblings or cousins. The final verdict is that I would. This is definitely something that I can see them enjoying, particularly if they're around the age of 11.

I'm definitely not the target demographic of this book, let's be realistic. I'm a 22-year-old woman (yes, I am a Pakistani Muslim, but not a child in any physical manifestation at least). As expected, it took me a while to really connect with the vibe of the book, just because I'm completely not used to reading this writing style. But once I got out of my 'adult' brain and got in tune with my 'kid' brain, this was a lot easier to read. Honestly, I enjoyed the story. I had to really suspend my belief, but a child definitely wouldn't have to work so hard to do that, which tells me it was a good enough story. By the end of it, I was ready to accept every obstacle the characters faced.

The protagonists of this series are, I believe, Pakistani Muslim boys. The friendship between Humza and Umer can only be compared to child versions of Man Like Mobeen's Mobeen and Eight. I can't explain it in any other way. What's great about this series is that this young generation of Pakistani Muslim kids gets to see themselves as the hero of an action-packed superhero story. It's not a secret that, growing up, we were never centre stage, so this is a refreshing and welcoming new narrative.

I will say that I occasionally felt this book wasn't entirely suitable. Having grown up watching Humza Arshad on YouTube and having Diary of a Bad Man constantly playing in our house, I completely understood his humour and how it was reflected in the main character. Still, it wasn't really something I'd want my younger siblings and cousins to be reading and be influenced by, but that might just be because I know them very well and I'm aware of how impressionable they are (and how they would not hesitate to attempt to pull off Humza and Umer's pranks). There are some stereotypes that I honestly wouldn't have picked up on unless I was looking for them -- which I always am, sadly, since it's rare to find accurate representation of our culture that's not displayed through internalised stereotypes. I'd advise that parents/guardians/adults read this before giving it to the children just to make sure you're happy for them to take these things in.

Otherwise, and I cannot believe I'm saying this, I actually enjoyed Little Badman and the Time-travelling Teacher of Doom. I don't know how, I don't know why. I just did.