Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen

Book of the Week: 15 September 2019

Ade feels safe on the seventeenth floor of his tower block. He likes the fact that his friend, Gaia, lives on the seventeenth floor of another block he can see from his window. He is worried about his mum who won’t leave their flat and who barely leaves her room, but is determined to do what he can to help. He used to like to watch the world from his window – the bustle, the traffic and the comings and goings of his neighbours. But then, buildings began falling down and people were killed. Strange, blue-tinged plants appeared in the rubble emitting deadly spores and normal life was suspended. Ade is marooned in his tower block and his mum is too ill to help. Will he be able to survive until help arrives or will the deadly Bluchers (the plants) surround and destroy his home too?

This is a tale about friendship, family and survival and how children deal with an adult world and is often confusing and frightening. If you enjoy the scary element of life-threatening plants, you can look forward to reading the classic The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham when you are a little older.