Changes

The age of a book’s protagonist can play a crucial role in how it feels; a reader is likely to place their own prejudices onto the character - old, young, male, female etc. ''The Catcher in the Rye'' shows us that a young protagonist does not mean that the book has to feel like it was written for teenagers, but ''Harrison Squared'' is no ''Catcher''. In fact, it is more of ''Young Bond'', but with more tentacles. Despite Daryl Gregory’s earlier work being adult fiction, ‘‘Harrison Squared’’ feels very much like it is for the juvenile audience. The relationships between the school children and the lack of coarse language are only two of the obvious flags.

For a junior reader picking up ''Harrison Squared'' knowing that it was aimed at their age group, there is some fun to be had. The idea of sea creatures and a secret magical war is well worn, but fun none the less. However, even if the book is sold to teenagers it is not quite up to the standard of the best work on offer in the genre – [[:Category:Carl Hiaasen|Carl Hiaasen]] is able to do teenage angst better, whilst the likes of [[:Category:Philip Reeve|Philip Reeve]] are able to create more intriguing worlds. ''Harrison Squared'' is a book that sits somewhere in between these two stools, not quite good enough to appeal to the high school drama fans or the science fiction lovers. Adults who pick up the book by accident will be particularly let down by the naïve writing and young characters – especially when compared to the likes of Gregory’s earlier sublime ''Afterparty''.