Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Novel product reviews

Miss Eight was overjoyed to see this book. She was visiting with her little brother and had resigned herself to being on her best behaviour, so all that went out the window when she spied the cover featuring Groot and Rocket. Like many children her age, she is into the Guardians and is planning to see the movie as soon as her mum can take her.

We all sat down together - Miss Eight, Mr Four, and I - and, although she is quite competent at reading, she asked if I would read it to her as she preferred to listen. I didn't mind, and soon the three of us were off on our own outer-space adventure with the Guardians. I thought it was a bit too complicated for Mr Four but he insisted that he was enjoying it too, and to his credit he sat and listened right to the end. He chuckled every time Groot said "I am Groot!" and each time I read those words, he repeated them in a funny voice.

There were some anxious moments when we all thought Peter was going to get into difficulties but each time he managed to emerge, whereupon Miss Eight would comment that she knew he would be ok. We both liked the way that there was a line drawing of a different character at the start of each chapter, and spent time looking at the colour photos in the middle of the book. Miss Eight thought they might be stills for the movie, but we were not sure. Not that it mattered - we enjoyed looking at them anyway.

Miss Eight did not quite understand the dynamic between Ego and Yondu and their relationship to Peter, so we did have to interrupt the story to discuss it. She could understand that Peter might have both a birth father and an adoptive father, but she was not able to reconcile that with her own idea of a father - which is someone who loves his children whether or not he actually lives with them. Both Ego and Yondu seemed to have problems with a normal father-son relationship. In the end we went back to the story, but that particular discussion has been put on hold.

Apart from that confusion, she enjoyed the story and is now looking forward to seeing the big screen version for herself. Because of its M rating, Mr Four will not be allowed to go, but Miss Eight saw the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie on DVD not long ago and loved it.