Itch: The Explosive Adventures of an Element Hunter

Great series and educational. Fast and enjoyable read.

it is a amazing book with no boaring parts and has alot of action and always keeps u guessing. P.S. u learn science

Good debut effort from BBC Radio 2 presenter Simon Mayo. Has some good science-related content, but not so much that it would turn off people who aren't interested in that kind of thing. Even though it's a young adult novel, older folks should find it to be a good read as well. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

The book is readable and the characters have their own personalities which leads to involvement in the plot and a curiosity to find what happens next. The best judges are the students of our book club who met at an 'Itchfest' after school, arranging English refreshments and planning to meet again in September to review the second book in the series.

This book series was recommend by Jason Issacs on his Twitter account. My daughter loves this series. It should have received more attention from book readers.

3.5 Stars ITCH is an exciting young adult adventure that follows teenage science fanatic Itchingham "Itch" Lofte, whose science experiments and love of the elements has gotten him into more than a little trouble. When Itch gets his hands on an unknown rock and discovers a new element, his usual level of trouble escalates into real problems when an evil corporation comes after him trying to steal the rock. Itch must find a way to keep the element away from the wrong hands and keep himself alive in the meantime. This was a really interesting and fun young adult science fiction adventure novel. Itch is quite an unique main character. You don't see many teenage science geeks as the leading male in books. He is quirky but really likable and has a strong sense of morality and courage for someone his age. The plot was full of action and adventure, along with science fiction elements mixed in. The writing was well done and had me hooked from the first chapter. I was eager to see how Itch would get out of his dire predicaments and what would happen next. The book was fast paced, but wasn't rushed - it was a great speed to keep readers engaged in the story and the action happening in the book. Overall, Itch was a great character that I would love to read more about and I'm eager to see what the next book in the series will bring! Recommended for fans of science fiction and adventure novels. Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful books to read with kids, loved the science geek character, a refreshing change. As good as Harry Potter. Looking forward to reading the next.

First Impressions of Itch: I actually didn't hear too much about Itch before I accepted it for review. I also never heard of the author before even though he is pretty well known in Britain, but since I'm from the U.S, that doesn't surprise me! I'm always a little nervous when it comes to reading books produced by people with careers that don't start off with being an author. Let's face it, not all of them are very good at writing. However, I really liked the synopsis and the book trailer for Itch. It's been a while since I've read a good middle-grade book and I thought if I liked it, I could hand it over to my little cousin to see if he enjoyed it. It's nice have a test-dummy like that in the family! Who better to give an honest opinion about a book with a boy protagonist than a mischievous 12-year old kid? First 50 Pages: I'll admit that it took me a little time to really get into the story. For the first 50-80 pages, I wasn't sure where the story was going. It was a little slow and I felt like it lacked a solid plot line. Somewhere around halfway through the book, the plot thickens and the book picks up some speed. Not to say that I wasn't enjoying it, because I was. I enjoyed the characters and especially Itch and Chloe. Maybe I had a harder time relating to them and that was my problem. However, after I finished the book, I handed it over to my cousin who finished it in one sitting and loved it. I'm already being asked to please procure the next book for him, which is odd because this kid doesn't like much of anything. So, that made me happy! Characters & Plot: Itch starts off with an earthquake in Cornwall, England. Fast forward about six months and we meet Itch (who admits his name is absolutely ridiculous) who almost blows himself up in his bedroom. He was conducting an experiment that didn't go quite right, but luckily, all he loses are his eyebrows. He lives in a home with his younger sister, Chloe, and his mother. His father works away from the home and isn't around very much. There is some obvious tension between father and son that shows up not too far into the story. After the failed experiment that almost caused their home to go up in flames, Itch's mother banishes his experiments and all of Itch's elements to the shed. Itch basically collects all of the elements on the Periodic Table of Elements. He doesn't have all of them yet, but that's his hobby and his passion. Nobody really understands why he is into this stuff and he isn't like all of the other kids who love video games and soccer. Itch is unique and I like that about him. However, Itch isn't very careful and his experiments tend to get him into trouble. A situation occurs at his school which lands many of his classmates in the hospital and a teacher. As the story progresses, Itch continues to run into danger. I mean, the kid has his own person named Cake that locates elements for him for cash (almost like a drug dealer), but Cake is a pretty cool character. I was a little sad about what happened to him. Overall, I liked Itch. He's a nerdy sort of kid who just loves what he loves. He doesn't entirely think of the consequences of his actions, but he is a good kid. I also really liked the dynamic between Itch and his sister Chloe, as well as his cousin, Jack (who is a girl). Chloe and Itch have a good relationship and they don't bicker all the time like most siblings do at that age. Chloe actually understands and accepts Itch's quirks and she doesn't try to much to change the type of person he is. The same goes for Jack. All of these characters felt more like best friends than family members. I liked the action in this story once it picked up. I also enjoyed all of the science in this book and I never felt like it was too over the top. In fact, it was pretty educational without it coming off preachy. I don't even like science very much, but the way the author describes certain things makes it exciting. Final Thoughts: This book ended with plenty of room for a follow-up novel or two. Even though I had a tough time getting into the story at first, I ended up really enjoying it. It was given a big thumbs-up from my cousin, too. I definitely think that kids in the 10-14 bracket will enjoy it and I don't think that this is just a boys' book. There are plenty of female characters that younger girls will be able to connect with. This was a surprisingly pleasant read and I'm glad I took a chance on it!

My 9yo son had an itch to scratch after finishing the Harry Potter series and a friend of his suggested the Itch (see what I did there?) Series of books for him. He loved all of the books and now seems to be in the process of memorising all the facts from a big periodic table of elements we had to buy - a side effect of reading this book. While I cannot claim to have read more than the first chapter I can give a full and whole hearted recommendation of a none year old who loved the books

I bought this book as a present for my granddaughter who is 8. She loves it, reading time has to be rationed!

I would not have been aware of this book if it had not been written by Simon Mayo. I enjoy his radio shows so I guess a little biased and read the book willing it to be great. I was not disappointed. Simon is hugely talented and makes everything he does seem effortless. Of course this only comes from hard word and massive amounts of preparation, as he says himself. This seeming effortlessness makes him a joy to listen to and this book a joy to read. Itch is the story of 14 years old Itchingham Loft, obsessed with collecting the periodic table of the elements, not fussed about football or video games. This leads him into increasingly perilous situations. There is a real enthusiasm for the science but not to the extent that it gets in the way of the story. It is not a science book; it is an adventure story that happens to have some science in it. It all makes sense even if you have no idea what an element is. The story starts with a bang and shortly thereafter we get lots of vomit. The characters are well drawn and believable. There is a real sense of dread and danger. Actions have consequences and bad things happen to characters. Simon's love of Cornwall comes across strongly. There are some great baddies and the mostly absent parents are handled well. Particularly in the last third it races along at a breathless pace. I would have loved this book regardless of who had written it. It is a great story, well told and at no time does it feel like a vanity project or something that was quickly thrown together. There is an undeniable quality about the book. Although I guess marketed at young-adults I am a 40 something who remembers chemistry at school fondly. My even older, science hating, friend loved it too. I'm now listening to the audiobook; good narrator but wish Simon had done it himself, even if he can only do 4 accents. I am really looking forward to the next book, next spring apparently (assuming Simon keeps up his 1,000 words a day habit I guess).

Great adventure with a fair share of suspense and action! Also appropriate for a younger reader. Backed up with good science.

Chemistry is widely considered as one of the most difficult subjects to make exciting, but Simon Mayo, radio presenter of the BBC's Drivetime and Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, seems to have discovered the perfect formula for doing so: (explosions x noxious materials) ÷ sinister global corporations. And, utilising this winning equation, Mayo has penned his debut novel, Itch; the story of fourteen year old Itchingham Lofte who, whilst attempting to collect every element in the periodic table, comes into possession of a curious new element with world-changing potential. At its core, Itch revolves around the relationship of Itch, his younger sister Chloe and his cousin Jacqueline (Jack) as they cope with the problems associated with possessing a radioactive substance the world and his dog would do anything to obtain. And what a charming and absorbing relationship it is; despite being the youngest, Chloe is the most sensible of the trio and keeps her likeable brother in check as his escapades teeter on the verge of disaster. Jack brings an abundance of smarts to the dynamic, helping Itch see through his more risky moments with a tomboyish expertise. Mayo has written all three of the central trio brilliantly, and you can't help but wonder if some traits of his own children have contributed to the mixture. As for the chemistry included, it's well measured, clear and undeniably fascinating; from learning how the household objects you own relate to the periodic table, to explanations of explosive reactions, there is enough here to justify Itch as an informative text without ever suffocating the exciting plot. I recently wrote a piece arguing that the Pokémon games successfully communicate biological principles to their target audience, and I think it's fair to say that Itch does the same for Chemistry. Being set in modern-day Cornwall (and being a young adult title), a good proportion of Itch takes place in the central trios' school. Mayo has always been vocal of his love of the Harry Potter series and some of the disastrous goings on at Cornwall Academy echo some of the more memorable happenings in the classrooms of Hogwarts. However, whilst there was always the healing properties of magic to help smooth things over in Rowling's universe, the potential consequences of Itch's exploits are more serious, and this is perhaps the book's greatest strength: whilst tremendous fun, there is the constant, underlying feeling that the main characters in Itch may well be about to come to serious harm.