SkyWake: Battlefield - Jamie Russell

 


In book 2 of the SkyWake series, Casey, her teammates and her brother, Pete, find themselves on Hosin, a distant alien planet that they believed only existed in their favourite computer game, SkyWake.  Having discovered that it is in fact very real, they have now been forced by the the Red Eyes to battle the Squids in order to get themselves and the other hundreds of gamers back to Earth.  But things aren't quite what they seem and, when Casey begins to hear voices in her head, she realises it's the Squids asking for her help.  But can she trust them and can she save her team and her brother?


I first read SkyWake: Invasion last June and absolutely loved it; it's been a huge hit at school as well with boys and girls both loving the high action, gaming theme of the book.  Since then, I have been waiting with huge amounts of excitement for book 2 (as have many of the children in my class!  In fact, one child has been asking me on a daily basis, of late, if I have a copy of Battlefield yet!).  So, when I got home on Friday evening to discover a copy waiting for me, I was utterly thrilled (there may have been dancing round the kitchen!).  Fortunately, I had finished my book earlier that day so SkyWake: Battlefield zoomed straight to the top of my book pile and I began reading it immediately! (well, after I'd put my pjs on!).


I love that the book starts with a recap of book 1 which helped me to remember all the little bits of the book that meant I could start book 2 without having to wrack my brain to remind myself.

And then we were off, and I simply couldn't put the book down!  From the get-go, the plot is fast-paced and grabs you in its thrilling ride.  As the story progresses, you get to know more about the characters (including the aliens), their personalities and their history, with true characters coming to the fore which adds to the development.  Casey is, as in book 1, a strong female lead but she has some tough decisions to make and I felt for her at times.  It's great to see a female lead in a gaming/sci-fi book and she has appealed to boys and girls alike in school.  I'm looking forward to seeing what she does next as I suspect there will be more difficult choices coming her way in book 3!

There are some unexpected twists that will keep you guessing in Battlefield and the final third of the book is, without doubt, an edge of your seat, unputdownable action-fest (I won't say any more as I don't want to spoil things, but there was more than once occasion when I was shouting at the book over things the characters did!).

I absolutely loved SkyWake: Invasion but I think I love SkyWake: Battlefield even more!  I know that I will be incredibly popular in school on Monday morning when they see the book in my hands and I won't see it again for a while as it makes its way round the SkyWake fans in school - there will absolutely need to be a waiting list!  This is guaranteed to be another huge hit for Jamie when it publishes on the 7th April and I just have one question: exactly how long am I going to have to wait to find out what happens next?!




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