Acutely observed. World Cup aficionados will warm to Luke Farrell, as soccer crazy as he was in The Stretford Enders, but now even more hormonally charged and self-absorbed. . . . A cool, gripping narrative

Life, love and football make their interweaving demands on 15-year-old Luke

Ambitious, entertaining, magical and whimsical, this marks a strong beginning to a new trilogy,
invoking just a little Harry Potter and Series of Unfortunate Events along the way

It's bright and energetic and has some exciting set pieces

Stephens spins a tightly paced, engaging yarn

The writing is perfectly judged . . . John Stephens knows how to make things visual, and it's accessible but not too simplistic. Junior fantasy fans are going to love this book

With exceptional skill, Mr. Stephens weaves the resulting pathos into the children's characters and into their sibling relationship

The Emerald Atlas kind of encompasses all my firm favourites, His Dark Materials, The Chronicles of Narnia and of course Harry Potter. It was a thrill to read

The Emerald Atlas is a fantastic start of a series. Plenty of questions are yet to be answered and I look forward to the sequel

The book is reminiscent in some ways of C S Lewis and J R Rowling and the excitement and gripping writing will ensure readers are immersed in the story. The book leaves issues undecided and the reader wanting more

It is a fantastical adventure that will appeal to those people who loved Harry Potter, Narnia and Lord of the Rings, with an epic tale, lovable characters and an engaging and fast paced storyline

Stephens' top-notch time-travel thriller has a quirky mixed bag of heroes and villains, a clever and compelling plotline and graphic action sequences that just cry out for the big screen treatment

A wonderful story you can easily lose yourself in

First-rate fantasy

It's very much that wet sloppy fart kind of humour. Your kids will absolutely love this book. It's a great "next step up" the reading ladder