Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the first in an exciting new middle grade series set in a dystopian London of the near-future.
Dystopian fiction seems to have become increasingly popular over the past few years, at least in part – I think – because for a significant amount of that time we seem to have been living through challenges that only a few years ago might have seemed like an impossibility.
Even for young readers, such fiction can be – unsurprisingly – quite bleak but here is gentler read, one which does of course portray a vastly changed society, with the problems that you would expect that to bring, but one that is full of hope and friendship as our hero Pax finds his life changing for the better when he is transported from the drudgery of his working life and given the chance of an education in his quest to become an engineer.
London workhouse resident Pax is carrying out his duties as a worker on the verti-farms when we meet him, dreaming of escaping his hard and boring existence – something that seems impossible unless he is prepared to sign up to join the Defence Force like older boy Charlie. Following a meagre lunch, Pax heads to the Tech Recycling Lab where the work is more to his taste and he secretly manages to acquire a few components that will be of use to him for his own projects. Happy at what he has found, Pax’s day takes a considerable turn for the worse when the Commandant visits the lab and assigns him to a spell of sewer duties.
A few days later, Pax has another run-in with the Commandant which leads to his sewer duties being extended and, at the suggestion of computer system Alderman, Pax claims the right of Parliamentary Privilege – a test which would see him sent to the mines if he failed but would offer him the opportunity to attend Scholastic Parliament if he passed, where he would receive an education with the chance of becoming an engineer in the future. Despite several obstacles presenting themselves, Pax passes the exam and finds himself starting the academic year alongside those who have already been attending.
Assigned to the Party of Judges – one of four houses of pupils – Pax soon realises his lack of formal education means he needs to work even harder than his peers, especially if he is to help the Judges avoid coming bottom of the table at the end of the year. Soon settling in and making friends in his party, Pax also makes an enemy of Zachariah – one of the Loyals – who is determined to see him expelled. But before long this is the least of his worries, as the school’s Head disappears after an accident and the Lord Mayor steps in, changing the curriculum with worrying results. Can Pax and his new friends find out what has happened to the Head and prevent the Mayor making his terrifying changes permanent?
Hardworking, loyal and with a real flair for technology and problem-solving, Pax is a very likeable character. Having struggled to fit in in the workhouse, he is genuinely surprised when he starts to make friends at the school and at first is not really sure what to do but soon overcomes the disadvantages of his origins to become a valued member of Judges. Used to flouting the rules to his own advantage, he is initially discouraged from doing so by roommate Samuel but soon finds his own ways to bend them rather than break them, and young readers will cheer him on as they root for him throughout his adventure.
Although Pax lives in an England that is at civil war, and there are trips to the shelter and attacks from the Countryside Alliance to live with, once he finds himself at the Scholastic Parliament, his life becomes far more comfortable. Yes, there are dangers to be faced and questions left unanswered at the conclusion but much of this first story is taken up with setting up the characters and I think the author was right to do that. Confident readers in Year 4 upwards will very much enjoy this story – as I did. Now totally invested in Pax, his friends and even the truly horrible Zachariah, I for one cannot wait to find out what will happen next.
As always, my enormous thanks go to publisher Tiny Tree Books and to TheWriteReads for my gifted review copy and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour. Pax and the Missing Head is on sale now.
Mrs Sydney's Famous World's Smallest Library 