The main character, who has the marvelous name of Itchinham Lofte, is fairly ordinary 14-year-old who loves science and has one obsession, his collection of elements. His obsession puts him and his friends in a lot of danger.
There is plenty of intrigue and action with a bad guy, in the form of a mad scientist and a ruthless corporation with dubious morals laying claim to the new element Itch has in his hands. Is the element dangerous and did it cause the death of the mysterious traveler “Cake”? Itch needs to know more but who can he trust with his secret?
An action adventure with a science theme made this book a little unusual. The pace was brisk and the ending a good one. So, after believing you have poisoned your whole class with arsenic gas then going on the run from a your mad science teacher and to top it off almost dying of radiation poisoning, what adventures could there be to write about? There were a few big questions unanswered at the end of the book so there are enough things open for a follow-up story. ( )

Absolutely brilliant - quite a grown up read for 10 , science geek meets Alex Rider an apt description, but it is better than that!
I thoroughly enjoyed this! ( )

Itch by Simon Mayo (Teen Fic)

Itchinham Lofte (Itch) loves chemistry and is on a mission to collect a sample of each of the elements in the periodic table. However, things don’t always go smoothly – that is why he is currently without eyebrows. However things get really dangerous when some very nasty people take an interest in one of the rocks Itch has acquired.
This is a great read that starts out as an adventure but turns into a thriller with some cool science stuff thrown in. This would make a good read for Alex Rider fans and will appeal to girls as well boys. ( )