Bomb by Sarah Mussi

Hodder Children's Books, 2015. ISBN: 9781444917864
(Age: 14+) I'm Genesis Wainwright. I'm a sixth-form student. I come from Somerset. My mum is the best mum in the world. I play the guitar (badly). My best friend is Holly. I'm searching for answers to the Meaning of Life. I believe in True Love. AND I'M IN LOVE WITH NAZ. I want to be a performance poet. And I'm crazy about motorbikes.
Genesis is trying to get over her romance with Naz. She goes on a blind date and wakes up strapped to a bomb with an earpiece glued in her ear. This story (told by Genesis) describes a world where an extremist group is gaining influence across the globe and is using unwilling participants to wreak havoc, including mass destruction.
The story is full of action (car chases, helicopter surveillance, motor bike chases and police snipers) and is running to a time limit. The bomb is set to detonate later that day, so the action runs at break neck speed keeping the reader involved and turning the pages.
The quotations appearing regularly throughout the writing (for example, 'Life is a string: you just don't know how long it is.') give the reader some sense of the character of Naz, and why Genesis cares for him.
The premise of the book, and the accompanying Book Trailer could initiate interesting discussions related to current response to the rise of extremists in society.
Linda Guthrie