A quirky little story that will be popular because it's the ultimate in wish fulfillment for many New Zealand boys. Twelve-year-old Daniel is lucky enough to have a magical ability to slow down time. He calls it The Thing. The ability allows him to run fantastically fast - so he tries out for the New Zealand Warriors and is accepted. But the season doesn't turn out quite as Daniel expected, and he realises that there are more important things in life than being famous.

Daniel is a gifted rugby player. His ambition is to play for one of the leading teams in New Zealand, the Warriors. Ordinarily this would beimpossible for a twelve-year-old boy but Daniel can be quite persuasive,particularly when he employs the use of his special “gift”, a gift that sees him unstoppable on the field. Falkner does not dwell on the nature of the “gift’ or its origin, probably hoping to introduce this elementwithout branching into the realm of fantasy. My curiosity was sparked, though, and I was left with a burning desire to have my many questions about the “gift” answered. This was not to be, though, and instead I focused on the interactions in the book and the effect that Daniel’s new sporting career had on his existing friendships and his relationship with his parents. This debut novel from a New Zealand author offers a treat for sports fans but provides somethoughtful insights that extend its appeal.

They'll also enjoy Henry and the Flea, probably because it's gimmicky. I'm not being derogatory when I say this: there's a good gimmick/idea at the centre of this book, and it will intrigue boys. It's this idea that gives the book a wonderful initial spurt; it really launches it. Sadly it has no strong narrative with which to continue. the tale lapses into invertebrate form halfway through.
Thirteen-year-old Danny wants to play rugby league for the Warriors (read New Zealand Warriors), and he can do this because he possesses a magic trick - usually accessed by blinking twice - that transforms him into a sporting whiz. It's every boy's dream come true, and I imagine that this fantasy allws Brian Falkner to get male readers' attention snappily. His prose is snappy too: it's energetic and workmanlike. The scene is set quickly, and events move along fast.
Except that one woners what for? Because although Danny does get to play for the Warriors, and learn about friendship and fame, and have a bonding experience with ace player Henry Knight(just a big kid at heart), there isn't a lot of story happenng. I couldn't say what this book was about at all and throught the author actually avoided story, simply charting Danny's progress through a league season.
Early on, Falkner makes statements that ring alarm bells for me. Phil Domane, the possible villain of the story (but in fact a cipher), "just wasn't very nice". This signals an early evasion of characterisation; it's putting a middle-class prudish mindset on a character who could contribute to the story in a dynamic and possibly evil way, for Phil Domane, alias "the boy without a brain", ends up with Jenny, the girl whom Danny (even at the tender age of 13) vaguely intends to marry.
Apart from a bit of strange hero-worshipping bonding with Henry, Danny isn't allowed to get invovled with his mates or his girlfriend. Indeed, early on, Danny says, "Jason and I were close friends. Not best friends, 'cos boys don't have 'best' friends. That's something that girls do."
Really? I suspect Falkner of putting strict parameters around relationships so that he doesn't have to explore them and face the hard creative work of developing characters. Indeed, Danny's relationship with jenny (his future spouse) is so "okay" and devoid of feeling that I started to suspect there was some curious misogynistic agenda running through the book.

I suspect there are sporting fantasies locked inside the eads of boys of all ages. Here's one that's mae it on to the page - a league fantasy about 12-year-old Daniel, who maks it into the Warriors. Danel has a secret that enables him to hop around the field ih incredible speed and agility, out-manoeuvring players several times his body-weight. He becomes known as the Flea, a media sensation - but what happens when his secret deserts him? And, while he's busy with endless training, he's losing touch with his best friends. Their lives, he discovers, go on without him and suddenly he's not so sure he wants to leave his childhood behind so abruptly. It's fast and funny, but with serious undercurrents about growing up, judging others, honesty and friendship. A great read for sporty kids.