Felix and the Future Agency

Twelve-year old Felix has the ability to see the future – disastrously his parents did not believe his warning and died in a car crash he foresaw. He lives with his Gran in Wales, but suffers at school, partly because he is dyslexic, but mostly because his fellow students think he has caused the accidents he predicts. So when he is summoned to the Head’s office, with Gran in support, accused of being a liar, and told he is too much of a problem to stay at the school, he is not surprised, but the Head says there is a place for him at another school for ‘challenging’ pupils, and he is introduced to Lydia, who shows him that she, too, can predict the future, and invites him to Sparkleton High School in London, where he will have to be a boarder. Gran is persuaded that her grandson shows exceptional talent in coding, and could be useful to the government, so off he goes.

He has a lot to learn about his skills as a ‘Spirit Speaker’ who can talk to ghosts, and one of the teachers seems very harsh, but he makes friends, and enemies, among his fellow pupils, and establishes his relationship with his celestaur, a crow. Everyone at the school has one of these ‘familiar’ creatures, and they can be small and hidden, or grow large and sometimes fierce, reacting to their owner’s feelings. There is a wonderful train system, the Buckingham Palace line, which takes students and teachers to Teacup Junction, or to the Drowsy Dorms, and the Enchantment Embankment is great fun. Education is disrupted, however, when there is a premonition about the release of an evil Spectre, and Felix and his friends realise that the guardians have rushed off in the wrong direction. They spring into action, it all gets very exciting, and there are some unexpected outcomes, as not everyone is what they seem!

This is Rachel Morrisroe’s first middle-grade book, but she has also written the How to Grow Magic series, the Beastly Besties series and the Superpets series, so she has lots of writing experience. She may have used ideas such as the daemons in His Dark Materials, and, of course, the magic of Harry Potter’s world, but they are developed in different ways, and work well in this very exciting story.