Hi everyone,
Today’s post is a blog tour for Pax and the Missing Head by David Barker.
Synopsis;
In a country beset by civil war, New London defends itself behind a giant wall. Inside the city, children are forced to work from an early age, except for the lucky few who train to be leaders in the re-purposed Palace of Westminster. 12-year-old orphaned Pax is brilliant at recycling old tech. He enjoys working on the verti-farms and just wants a bit of peace and quiet. But when that is taken away from him, his only hope is to pass a near-impossible exam and join the other students in Scholastic Parliament. There he’ll make new friends and new enemies. He’ll get tested like never before. And he’ll discover that not everything is quite what it seems under the mayor’s harsh leadership.
My thoughts;
I haven’t read a middle grade science fiction book in a while but I’m glad I read this one. We follow Pax (along with his friends) as he tries to figure out what happened to their head teacher (nobody actually lost a head, because I totally didn’t think that at all😁).
Pax (our main character) is very shy, he doesn’t like confrontation. But he loves engineering and dreams of becoming an engineer. I liked Pax’s character and it was great watching him make new friends and come out of his shell a bit.
The world itself was intriguing as was the engineering aspect of this book (even though it worried me a bit). I thought it would go way over my head, but I found it surprisingly interesting to learn about.
I read this book in two sittings and I had a lot of fun reading it. I think it will be enjoyable for anyone, at any age so give it a go!
Author bio;
I attended the Faber Academy in 2014 and from that had three climate-fiction thrillers published (The Gold Trilogy, Bloodhound Books). I joined SCBWI in 2018 as I shifted my focus to a younger audience. My MG debut, Pax & The Missing Head publishes with Tiny Tree in late 2023. I live in Berkshire with my wife and daughter. I have a passion for stories, sport and boardgames.
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Thank you so much for reading!
Holly reads a lot 