Regrettably, my boys wanted to read this after having so much fun with the first installment. This book, however, got tiresome fast. My two little boys thought it was fantastic, but I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

There isn’t much here except cheap laughs. The book reads like two separate short stories. You’ve got the first part of the book, which takes place in outer space, and the second part, where three of Charlie’s grandparents take Wonka vitamins, which make them grow younger and then older by turns.

The book portrays adults behaving like idiots. The President of the U.S. and everyone in the White House are lunatics (and so politically incorrect that even I was cringing, and I love when things are politically incorrect). The astronauts aren’t the brightest bulbs, either. And Charlie’s grandparents act like the worst kind of selfish children.

Chocolate Factory had a sense of cohesion, with each spoiled child getting what was coming to them…we know this is how it’ll play out, and it’s satisfying to see, in a sense, because we know it’s the point. But this book feels so disjointed, like there’s nothing holding it together as a connected narrative. There are no character arcs. Very few lessons learned.

It’s slapstick but has few redeeming qualities. I think you can skip it for sure.

Content warnings: If you can’t roll with stereotypes, then don’t read this.