Simon's done it again - another fast paced, action-packed, thrilling adventure featuring the rather unlucky Lofte family and friends. If I was Itch's parents, I'd tell him to take up a different hobby!
The very unloveable character of Flowerdew rears his (literally) ugly head again, and he's out for revenge - with Itch his main target. Itch has been very lucky so far - he's like a cat with nine lives. But has his luck, and his lives, run out this time? Many heart-stopping and moving moments, as the adventure takes us from Cornwall to South Africa to Madrid.
Even though I enjoyed the book, I found it lacking in some of the really addictive thrilling moments of the first 2 books in the series. The part in Madrid is a little over-long and laborious, but other than that, it's exactly what you'd expect from an Itchingham Lofte adventure!
Itch
by Simon Mayo
Itchingham loves chemistry and has an unusual collection of all the table of elements - well, nearly all of them. He keeps them in shoeboxes under his bed. He gets some items from a local dealer called Cake. One of the items (arsenic) which he secretly takes into school makes the whole class sick, resulting in the school greenhouse being closed down. Another item he buys off Cake has far deadlier consequences, and Itch finds himself the centre of unwanted attention from the police and some rather unsavoury characters across the world. How can he get rid of this deadly element that is causing such devastation?
A brilliant book for 11+ set in Cornwall. Just released is the sequel Itch Rocks. Check out my review!
Itch Rocks
by Simon Mayo
Wow! This was even better than the first, Itch! The adventures and thrills just kept on coming - a 400 page rollercoaster ride! You feel sorry for poor Itch having to go through so much terror - and pain! Loads more chemistry lessons, which is good for me as I was hopeless at it as a schoolchild. Such an original storyline for this series, I think that's why I enjoy it so much - no dystopia, no wizards, no vampires!
In this second instalment (and surely not the last?!) we find Itch, Chloe and Jack under close protection provided by MI5. Itch had buried Element 126 down a well under an old school in Brighton, but there are bad people around who are desperate to know its whereabouts - desperate enough to kidnap or even kill. The return of a couple of salubrious characters, and a moment's worth of slackness in MI5 protection, mean Itch and the gang find themselves yet again in mortal danger.
