Book reviews by Gabriel, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Lizard’s Tale

Image shows the cover of a children's novel: Lizard's Tale by Weng Wai Chan. The cover illustration shows a building in Singapore prior to World War II.

REVIEWED BY GABRIEL, 12, NSW

Lizard’s Tale by Weng Wai Chan, Text Publishing, ISBN 9781925603910

Gabriel received a copy of this book to review.

Lizard’s Tale is written by Weng Wai Chan and is set before WWII in Singapore, featuring a young boy named Lizard and his best friend, Lili. Lizard’s guardian, Uncle Archie, disappears without explanation. As an orphan, Lizard barely scrapes by as he has to buy food and rent a tiny apartment, so he does odd jobs for random people and theft for Boss Man Beng.

Lizard had almost choked on his noodles. One hundred dollars! Nearly one year’s worth of rent and food.

Lizard had just got himself the dream job. All he had to do was to steal a teak box from the Raffles Hotel which belonged to a British army visitor and deliver it to the train station at 10pm. Otherwise, he would expect the worst. It couldn’t be that hard, could it?

Lizard soon dives into a world where conspiracies and secret codes thrive, buzzing around concerning the next war. How will Lizard deal with all these problems, especially since his best friend isn’t who he thought she was? Can Lizard reveal the plot in time and save his friends and other people he loves? Will he be able to succeed in foiling his enemy’s plan by himself?

I recommend this book for preteens or young kids who love history and exciting adventures. I would rate this book 9/10 as there are great themes and it’s also a family friendly book. You can find this book online on Amazon as a kindle copy or a paperback, or even in your local bookstore. Have fun reading!


Gabriel is a regular book reviewer at Alphabet Soup. You can read more of his reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!