Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good

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There's also a lot of comic relief to be found in Heimdall's attempts at parenting, with frequent reference to a variety of self-help books, but behind this is a serious message about family. All the kids Loki meets at school are pretty typical. Some are bullies, some are nerds; they are just kids. Loki keeps trying to make new friends, but he just bribes or bullies them instead of really connecting with anyone. One of the side characters, Valerie, is Loki's only friend, and we meet her two moms. She calls one Ma and the other one Mom.

My favourite part of the book was when Loki decided to help Valerie, a student at his school, because he showed that even naughty people are capable of being kind if they are not inherently evil.

I felt that with the inclusion of Sif the story came very close to doing the "thing" where a supporting female character has to outdo the main male lead...but not really. And I liked that Sif was allowed to be strong, just as a Norse goddess should be. As Loki himself says, not just wife of Thor.

The points system is gripping as it made me wonder whether Loki would get enough points to go home or not. It should be in EVERY bookshelf—perfect as a hilarious school class read which would lend itself so well to historical themes and also a brilliant gift for any child who just wants to or needs to laugh … a lot! Also we need a TV show please! When Thor’s hammer is stolen, the master of mischief is suspected of the crime. But this time is Loki really to blame? All he needs to do is find the hammer, identify the real thief and get everyone to admit that they were wrong about him. Simple, right? As if moral improvement and the indignities of school weren’t challenging enough, Loki is banned from using his awesome godly powers and (even worse) must put up with Thor tagging along and making him look bad.

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None of the characters were real in themselves because most were based on mythological creatures, but I could relate to Loki’s journey because I think all good-natured people will want to learn as well.

I did like Loki except when he humiliated Valerie because the way he did reminded me about when I was humiliated that way in school. It was horrible, but I am glad that unlike my bullies, Loki saw the error of his ways.After crossing the line too many times, Loki (the God of Mischief) is banished from Asgard into the body of an 11-year-old boy on Earth. Using doodles and comic strips, he must navigate moral improvement whilst living as a boy without using any of his powers.