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Itch
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  • Published: 15 March 2012
  • ISBN: 9781446495414
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 432

Itch

Formats & editions
EBook
15 Mar 2012
Audiobook
12 Apr 2012
Paperback
2 Jan 2013
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The first book in the new action adventure series by BBC radio presenter Simon Mayo.

'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.
  • Published: 15 March 2012
  • ISBN: 9781446495414
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 432
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About the author

Simon Mayo

Simon Mayo is a writer and broadcaster. He is the presenter of the podcast Simon Mayo’s Books of the Year, a daily host on Scala Radio and co-presenter of Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review for the BBC. His previous books include Mad Blood Stirring, Blame and the Itch trilogy, filmed for TV by ABC. Knife Edge is his debut contemporary thriller.
portrait photo of Simon Mayo

Also by Simon Mayo

Mad Blood Stirring
Tick Tock
Black Tag
Blame
Itchcraft
Itch Rocks
Homework Sucks!
See all

Praise for Itch

A cracking thriller which had me seriously worried our hero might not survive the story . . . A fantastic read for 13- to 16-year-olds, I've also got some staff who would enjoy this for a bit of 'R and R'

Rachel Ayres Nelson, The School Librarian

A great debut. You'll be itching to read more

Anthony Horowitz

A gripping and wholly enjoyable debut . . . I’m greatly anticipating the sequel

Daily Record

Amid the teenage intrigue and heart-in-mouth escapades there are sequin flashes of real science: reminders that physical chemistry really does make things happen

Tim Radford, Guardian

An exciting and nail-biting thriller

Booktrust

Itchingham, a science-mad boy, is trying to collect examples of all the elements. He gets hold of a peculiar rock from a shadowy contact but some sinister heavies are also keen to get hold of it (and him) and he goes on the run in this gripping read

Financial Times Books of the Year

It's worth noting that ITCH is clearly the result of a man driven by a passion for his story, rather than a desire to be published. It's a genuinely thrilling and original adventure, with added sciency geek-chic . . . a great read and certainly worthy of its ISBN

Helen Mulley, Teach Primary

Mayo balances the high-stakes plot and serious reality of radiation posioning with an underlying absurdity, particularly the over-the-top nastiness of Flowerdew and his compatriots. It's n 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 in the same way again.

Publishers Weekly, Publishers Weekly

The story is mad and fantastical and I loved it . . . It has literally everything I love in a good book - mystery, action, adventure, genuinely engaging characters and without knowing it, I've learned stuff . . . teachers will have a field day getting kids to read this. We'll have a new generation of mad scientists on our hands. Wait, maybe I shouldn't say that?

Liz, myfavouritebooks blog