Itch by Simon Mayo

Itch is fourteen and has a slightly dangerous hobby. Like a lot of fourteen year olds he likes to collect things. Unusually though, Itch is an element hunter and so likes to collect the elements, with the ultimate aim of having all 118 elements from the periodic table in his collection. Being something of a science fan, he also likes to experiment a little with them - hence the dangerous part. Recently, his hobby has gotten him in a little bit of trouble, especially when an experiment with phosphorous lost him his eyebrows and the arsenic in his bag may have made his entire biology class ill. When his aquaintence (called Cake) gives Itch an unusual rock, things are about to get a lot more dangerous with potentially disastrous consequences, not just for Itch but for the whole world! He and his cousin Jack must stop the rock from falling into the wrong hands whilst putting both of their lives at risk.

I quite liked this one. This might be because I'm a little bit of a science geek and so think it's fantastic to have a children's book with a bit more scientific (rather than romantic) chemistry in it. In fact there is absolutely no romance at all (hurray!). It was also difficult to predict what might happen next which makes a nice change. It can be a little slow in places and I was a little disappointed that nothing extraordinary happened involving the mine, although I will concede that this perhaps makes the story slightly more realistic and less predictable as it did throw me off of the scent a little. Mayo does include modern day products which could potentially remove the timeless quality but does help the book to connect a bit more with today's readers (my friend has also informed me that the Lexus RX 450h would not be an easy car to break into and so might not be such a good example for car theft!). Mayo also knows the right amount of detail to withold from the reader to keep them intrigued and want to read more, especially at the end! I am a little confused as to what age this book is supposed to be for. The back says that it is for children aged 10+, it's classified as 9-12 in our store and yet the main character is 14 and the story potentially has slightly more appeal for older children who have a bit more of an understanding of some of the science. There is also a death from radiation sickness and lots of vomiting (but aside from that nothing too grown up).

Itch was an enjoyable read and it should appeal to both boys and less girly girls. It's fantastic if you want a book with absolutely no romance which can be a struggle when you're buying for older children. I do think there's also some future potential for this series (especially as I would love to know the answer to my questions!).

I give it 7/10 :)

Title: Itch
Author: Simon Mayo
Publisher: Corgi Childrens
9-12 Fiction