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|summary=Itch and the books all have a stupid name, but this series seems to make gutsy teenaged adventure almost elementary…
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Itchingham Lofte, we are told, is the most protected boy in the world. While I hadn't read the [[Itch by Simon Mayo|first book ]] about him, we are snappily and easily informed that he has previously been involved in an adventure regarding a very rare chemical – element 126 – and the various people that would control it. While it's obvious to all those in his Cornish village and at his school that something major happened, due to him disappearing for a couple of months of specialised medical care, and returning with an MI5 armed guard constantly at watch over him and his family, only those few people (mum, dad, sister, tomboy cousin, and his various guards) have any idea of what has happened. Oh, and of course a couple of enemies resilient enough to turn up for the sequel…
It's nice to report that it's not just the exposition that's snappy here, for everything is in this hefty chunk of novel. With an awful pun, that also includes the characters – for legs get broken, people get burnt, and injuries can happen to anyone with some fairly strong visual detail at times. I'm not saying this is all-out grue, and while it's great to have realistic threat with nobody living under the author's protective wing, the suggestion it's for the ten-year-old and up is a bit liberal. That meaty action that's on almost every page still allows room for calmer periods of introspection and good dialogue, but in its way through two climaxes it brings in subjects like ecology, global business, good science versus bad science – and a lot of trivial-seeming chemistry.