posted on 08 Sep 2020

The Invasion of Crooked Oak by Dan Smith

When Nancy arrives at school with the news that she’s come to doubt that her mom and dad are actually her mom and dad, her friends Pete and Krish are intrigued but sceptical. The two boys love nothing better than reading those internet sites that are full of ‘unexplained mysteries’ and having one right in their own back yard seems too good to be true. Nancy’s story has an extra dimension too because her dad just happens to be the school’s head teacher.

On top of Nancy’s new problem with her parents there’s another mystery in town – what’s happening on the new fracking site that has been established at Carpenter’s Field? Why has it shut down suddenly and been fenced off?  And, does this mysterious closure have anything to do with the increasingly bizarre behaviour of Nancy’s parents?

As other adults in town also start to behave oddly – and to smell horribly – the mystery deepens. Pete, Krish and Nancy find themselves at the centre of a high octane ecological thriller that would give John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids a run for its money.

Published by Barrington Stoke in their ‘super readable’ series for reluctant readers, Dan Smith’s book is an unputdownable romp that mixes some serious issues about the environment with traditional downright adventure thriller. It would be foolish of me to tell you anything more about the plot because that would spoil the read for you but suffice it to say that you’ll never look at a bottle of shower and bathroom mould spray in quite the same way again!

The book also benefits from a series of full page black and white illustrations that have been done by Leeds-based artist, Chris King who specialises in strong, figurative drawings that give the novel’s characters form and shape.

I read this in a single, breathless sitting I can easily see how younger readers might also find themselves pulled in and unable to put the book down. It seems to me this is exactly the sort of book that could introduce someone who is sceptical about reading to its pleasures because its uncluttered and cuts to the chase.

Highly recommended.

 

Terry Potter

September 2020