Christopher Edge - The Jamie Drake Equation - Book Review - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books


How amazing would it be to have a dad who's an astronaut? Rocket launches, zero gravity, and flying through space like a superhero! Jamie Drake's dad is orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station and Jamie ought to think it's cool but he just really misses him...Hanging out at his local observatory, Jamie picks up a strange signal on his phone. It looks like alien life is getting closer to home. But space is a dangerous place and when his dad's mission goes wrong, can Jamie prove that he's a hero too? A cosmic adventure for anyone who's ever looked at the stars, from the author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright. 

As soon as you turn the first page, you will suddenly find yourself being transported into a gravitational time dilation. The real world will slow down, as the fantasy universe kicks in, and powers you on into outer space and beyond. The very first page will hook you into a cracking story about a young boy, called Jamie Drake, and his famous astronaut father, who recently left earth. He is flying through space on a mission to send small probes to the further reaches of space, hoping to find proof of extraterrestrial life, but what will they find?

The book is beautifully written. It fully explores science and scientific elements including the solar system and the possibilities of intelligent life beyond planet earth. It is a great educational ride; it subconsciously makes learning fun, cool and very interesting. Christopher really shows off his passion, once again, by showing readers just how much fun science can be through a good story narrative and mixing it with action adventure and family life.  

Another great element of this story is that it has a historical impact on the world today. With the ever-increasing topics of space travel and life beyond earth, the author asks many questions for the reader to think about and perhaps even discuss in class. Just like the characters in Jamie's school, the children are involved in making models, dressing up as aliens and being involved in a live broadcast to space which is beamed into the school from the International Space Center. All are very uber cool, right?

This story is a cosmic ray of light that will uplift your soul to the nebulae and back. It will take you on the best journey that the imagination has to offer and let you escape into a fantasy world that is filled with reality and fantastic characters that make you feel warm at heart. It is all delivered with a bucketful of heart and snappy middle-grade dialogue throughout. The mystery and a twist will keep the reader on their toes until the very end of the book. 

Chris and the team at Nosy Crow have delivered another award winning performance. It is published in paperback on the 2nd March 2017 and has been wrapped up in another fantastic book cover illustration by Matt Saunders.

Comments