Standish Treadwell is a boy living in in an alternative London in the 1950's. The Motherland, the ruling society, is all powerful and all knowing. Their latest plan to manipulate society support is to send a man to the moon for the first time, but Standish has a secret that could overthrow the Motherland forever - the whole landing will be faked on a stage set and one of the 'astronauts', ELD9, is hiding in his cellar.

Who can he tell? Standish is also in danger of being eliminated – unable to read or write, he is considered too stupid for the perfect society. His friend, Hector, has already been taken. Will he be next?

At first this seems like a simple dystopian novel, but on closer reading it is so much more. It is a story of friendship and extraordinary achievements; it's about loyalty in the face of danger and a desire to expose the truth. Some aspects of the story bring a stark reminder of the World War - the perfect, Aryan, society; the Motherland salute; the killing of 'inferior' people and even the name ' Motherland'. The chapters are short, only one or two pages long, breaking up the story into easy, bite size, chunks which propel you through. However, although it is full of action, adventure and mystery, the pacing and writing also creates an atmosphere of a drama - the story of everyday real life, albeit in a different world, which was a fascinating combination.

I really enjoyed this book – it's definitely one to read again and again and on many different levels, making it great for a wide age range. Excellent!

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