{
  "id": 8169462,
  "title": "Book Club: Their son had the worst week ever … then his parents turned it into a hit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/book-club-their-son-had-the-worst-week-ever-then-his-parents-turned",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-18T04:18:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/lifestyle/entertainment/worst-week-ever-books/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Matt Cosgrove and Eva Amores, a talented duo, decided to turn their son's week of misfortunes into a hit book series titled \"The Worst Week Ever.\" The idea came to them after their son, Justin Chase, complained that his life was so bad it felt like a series of books from Monday to Sunday. The pandemic provided the perfect opportunity for the couple to collaborate, as Eva lost her job and Matt was unable to give school presentations, leading them to spend more time together.\n\nThe seven books in the series follow Justin through a week filled with embarrassment, family drama, and bad luck. Justin's experiences include his mother marrying a man he suspects to be a vampire, his father driving a giant toilet on wheels, and his cat possibly being abducted by aliens. Even his humiliation online finds an audience. The series progresses from day to day, with Justin facing disappearing swimming trunks, disastrous school photographs, an abandoned island, kidnapping, caves, rats, and even zombies before reaching the final day.\n\nInspired by their own life experiences, the couple has exaggerated the stories to make them more entertaining. Amores explained that a lot of the content is based on their real-life situations, but with a twist of absurdity to make it more engaging. The couple believes that their humorous yet relatable content appeals to both children and adults, making it enjoyable for a wide audience.\n\nThe \"Worst Week Ever\" series has gained international recognition, with translations available in about 35 languages and being accessible in more than 50 countries, including Afrikaans. The series has been exceptionally successful, even beyond Australia, which surprised the authors who initially thought it was just for an Australian audience. The authors aimed to create books that could compete with screens, gaming, and algorithms for children's attention, without talking down to them. The series also tackles important themes such as bullying and media literacy, all while emphasizing the importance of resilience. By the end of the week, Justin comes to realize that perhaps his week wasn't as terrible as it seemed, as he has survived, grown, made new friends, and experienced many wonderful things.",
  "summary": "Matt Cosgrove and Eva Amores reveal how their son's terrible week at school inspired the hilarious 'Worst Week Ever' book series.",
  "key_points": [
    "Matt Cosgrove and Eva Amores turned son's misfortune into book series \"The Worst Week Ever\".",
    "Pandemic provided opportunity for the couple to collaborate and write seven books.",
    "Series gained international recognition with translations in 35 languages."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Turning personal struggles into humorous stories has enabled Matt Cosgrove and Eva Amores to create a globally popular book series that resonates with both children and adults, tackling serious themes with resilience.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}