Review *PAX & the Missing Head*

by David Barker Illustrated by Bruna Oliveira Marini Published by Tiny Tree Books 📕 an imprint of Andrews UK Ltd.

*Pax and the Missing Head is a sci-fi adventure with brilliant characters, incredible world-building, and a story that will have you HOOKED*

From the Publisher:

*In a country beset by civil war, New London defends itself behind a giant wall.

Inside the city, children are forced to work from an early age, except for the lucky few who train to be leaders in the re-purposed Palace of Westminster.

12-year-old orphaned Pax is brilliant at recycling old tech. He enjoys working on the verti-farms and just wants a bit of peace and quiet.

But when that is taken away from him, his only hope is to pass a near-impossible exam and join the other students in Scholastic Parliament. There he’ll make new friends and new enemies.

He’ll get tested like never before. And he’ll discover that not everything is quite what it seems under the mayor’s harsh leadership*

Review:

PAX is 12 years old. He was born in 2045, the first seedling boy of that year.

With his fingers, he can feel the metallic dots that spell out the serial number *45B1* on the back of his head.

This is one of the first of several unusual things we learn about the life of our main character Pax.

We are immediately immersed in Pax's unusual world which starts out rough, in an orphanage. He's a smart, tough character and isn't scared to take risks. When Pax is awarded a place at a school - the new function of the Palace of Westminster - he knows he has to be careful in this very structured environment.

Things aren't going to be simple or easy - competition is fierce & failure isn't an option. He'll face the toughest exam of his life.

In a high-tech, structured world & where life for Pax is shaded with tough chores & struggles we tag along in the youngsters' lives & experience their dynamics and challenges.

Popularity isn't the top priority for Pax but he's tech-smart & has plans for his own inventions. He hopes to re-purpose spare scrap parts into his own creations.

The length of this book *213 pages* is great. It will appeal to young readers who might avoid the majority of books reaching or passing 300 pages. I feel there's been pressure in the industry to have higher page/word counts over the past few years.

I also believe the shorter chapters contribute to a more enjoyable & encouraging, positive reading experience for some.

This is an unusual & creative story with super characters. A great way to dip into the exploration of dystopian worlds & ideas for readers who have yet to try the genre.

About the Author David Barker attended the Faber Academy in 2014 and from that had three climate-fiction thrillers published (The Gold Trilogy, Bloodhound Books). He joined SCBWI in 2018 as he shifted focus to a younger audience.

Pax & the Missing Head is Barker's MG début.

Thank you for having me on this tour 📕