Before they know it, Frankie and Joel find themselves embarking on a quest (it’s not a quest, Frankie hates quests) to rescue their grandad. Frankie did have big plans to watch YouTube and eat pot noodles that weekend but it looks like she’ll just have to go on an epic mega-dangerous quest instead . Parallelia is a land full of imaginative details and engaging, original characters (notwithstanding the disappointingly stereotypical Princess Prince).

Things take a turn for the worse when Grandad gets kidnapped by gnoblins (no, that is not spelt incorrectly) forcing Frankie to embark on a rescue mission across a magical realm filled with strange creatures, dangerous enemies and – worst of all – absolutely no WiFi. So I hadn't heard of this author before but a few of the books I have read recently have been quite dark plus just life in general so this was perfect book coming along at the perfect time. Chris Smith has wanted to be an author ever since he was eight and won a competition by writing a story about a baby dinosaur who loved biscuits.One of my grandsons, 9 years old and slightly dyslexic, was in need of something to capture his imagination which would help with his reading. Kenneth Anderson’s illustrations bring Frankie’s quest to life through the journal pages interspersed within the story and I loved the detailed map of Parallelia at the start of the book. When their Granda is kidnapped by gnoblins they have to enter a magical realm to get him back embarking on a magical, dangerous and unbelievable tale like the games their parents created.

I’ve not read a middle grade for 24 years and although I’m a lot older now I enjoyed every second of this book it made me feel like a child all over again. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

This is unbearable news for Frankie, who is forced to accept – when Grandad is kidnapped – that she is just going to have to go on a big quest with lots of silly fantasy creatures.

Instead, they have to stay with their grandad and Frankie is dreading it as they don’t know him very well.Frankie really doesn’t like Parallelia when she first steps into it, but her little brother Joel loves it so much! That's where he met Greg James, and in between messing about on the airwaves the pair created the bestselling Kid Normal series. Frankie and her nerdy younger brother, Joel, normally go and stay at their Aunty’s when their mum and dad go away but this time she’s in hospital. It is an effective device that adds humour and occasional respite from a thrilling pace but, at times, it feels unnecessary and somewhat undermines the story – which is genuinely tense and dramatic.

Frankie Best Hates Quests is a love letter to the great sci-fi/fantasy epic novels, especially Tolkien.As the true nature of her quest is revealed, Frankie begins to question her priorities: perhaps there is room in her life for a little magic, after all.