A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E by Malorie Blackman (Children's, 9 years +, 9/10)

September 2011, Corgi

240 pages, Paperback

Review copy

Themes: espionage, thriller, family secrets, criminal activity, being framed, codes to break, high tech equipment, living with best friend, sibling rivalry, a fair amount of plot twists, moderate danger, occasional violence

Summary from Random House Children'sPublishers

It's just your average Friday night. Then the police show up.

Your mum's been caught on CCTV, breaking into a giant chemical company. They say she's working undercover for A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E, a group against animal testing - but how is that possible? She's not a spy - is she? Now she's on the run - and only you can uncover the truth. And you've got to crack a code to do it.

Nayuleska's thoughts

This is one of several books at the other end of my review shelf, which for various reasons I didn't get round to reading when I originally got them. It was well worth the wait. It's pretty exciting being with Elliot as all the action happens. He deals really well with his mother being thought of as a criminal, although at times he should have confided in Nosh's parents. 

I love the sibling relationship between Nosh and Nosh's sister, which certainly made life lively for Eliott while he stayed with Nosh. The level of intensity of this thriller wasn't as high as other books I've read. I think it's perfect for the age group to have something a little lighter, but as a personal choice it brought the book grading down a notch just because I'm more used to all or nothing reads where I don't have a clue if there will be a happy ending. Apart from that I'd quite happily read this book again right now.

You can find out more on Malorie's website.

Suggested read

For another thriller involving a girl whose parent has gone missing try The Treasure House by Linda Newbery