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'A great debut. You'll be itching to read more.' Anthony Horowitz
Meet Itch - an accidental, accident-prone hero. Science is his weapon. Elements are his gadgets. All-action adventure perfect for fans of Alex Rider and Young Bond.
Itchingham Lofte - known as Itch - is fourteen, and loves science, especially chemistry. He's also an element-hunter: he's collecting all the elements in the periodic table. Which has some interesting and rather destructive results in his bedroom.
Then, Itch makes a discovery. A new element, never seen before. At first no one believes him - but soon someone hears about the strange new rock and wants it for himself. And Itch and his family are catapulted into a breathless adventure with terrifyingly high stakes . . .
The debut novel from BBC radio presenter Simon Mayo.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British radio personality Mayo makes his YA debut with this thriller, which sees 14-year-old Itchingham "Itch" Lofte pursued by everyone from unscrupulous scientists to government agents when he comes into possession of a radioactive rock that is actually a heretofore undiscovered element. For Itch, who collects elements from the periodic table (calcium from a seashell, fluorine from a Teflon frying pan, etc.), it's a strange new treasure. For the disgraced Dr. Flowerdew, it's an opportunity to curry favor with his former employers. For everyone in contact with the mysterious element 126, it's a slow, painful death from radiation poisoning. Itch, his sister, and their cousin must dispose of element 126 before it falls into the wrong hands or kills them. Mayo balances the high-stakes plot and serious reality of radiation poisoning with an underlying absurdity, particularly the over-the-top nastiness of Flowerdew and his compatriots. It's an action-packed adventure with some chuckle-worthy moments, appealing protagonists, and a premise derived from plausible scientific theory. Readers will never look at common household objects the same way again. Ages 12 up.
