Just when Anthony, who is ten years old, thinks his family can't get any bigger or wind each other up any more with four other siblings and a stressed Mum and Dad, his brand-new big brother Ben comes along out of the blue. So when his Dad shows COMPLETE favouritism towards the new sibling and asks for silence from Ant he decides not to use his voice at all. Literally.

At long last his parents notice Anthony's odd silence and bribe him with cheese and presents, but he remains quiet. Eventually his parents take him to see a doctor called Jess who gives him the Journal that he is writing this story in.

He gets himself into all sorts of scrapes at school, breaks up with his best friend Murphy and a photograph breaks the family bond. Will Ant ever manage to sort everything out and learn to love his large family? Intrigued? Read the book!

I really enjoyed how the story is written in a journal style and how he compares himself to different cheeses at the beginning of some chapters. You will certainly know more about a great range of cheeses and cheese related jokes after reading this! It is both hilarious and moving and has emotional issues that children can relate to. The cover illustration by Tony Ross really sums up how Anthony feels and is a eye catching addition to the book.

The story kept me hooked for every one of the 296 pages so I couldn't rate it anything less than five stars. This is a thoroughly entertaining book that I think is suitable for children aged 8-12 to enjoy and then reread over and over again. It is the first book that I have read by Ellie Irving and I will definitely be checking out her other books.

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