A very pleasant and interesting story that doesn't rely heavily on action.

A book review of Robert Westall's novel "The Scarecrows." I loved the writing in this book, it was very atmospheric.
The book mainly explores the relationship between the protagonist Simon and his stepfather Joe and it's done quite well. I was able to relate to Simon as I didn't always get on with my mum's first boyfriend and could understand that it would be different for him as Simon goes through this at a later age.
I found Simon very interesting, I wanted to see if he'd become a better person by the end of the book or if he'd end up doing something terrible.
It's clearly not for everyone, it has problems but I think it's well worth trying out.

The brilliant first instalment in a fantastic action-packed series by Alex Scarrow.

Though it's not that scary it is creative, making it an enjoyable children's book.

Though not a terrible book, with some good description and pleasant conversations, it's let down by the fact that you can expect to be treated like a young adult but the clichéd characters you're presented with are the sort of clichéd characters you'll find in children's books and films.

I honestly think this book is awful. If you've read it tell me what you think of it. I'm glad I read it. As a writer, you should read some bad books as well as good ones, so you can recognise where these authors go wrong and it can give you a good feeling, make you challenge yourself to do better. I'm not saying the author of this book is terrible, it's a matter of opinion, we all like something different, not to mention he's had a writing career and I haven't yet.