Shift by Jeff Povey

Get ready for one apocalyptic detention. These misfits are going to save the world! Meet Rev, Billie, the Ape, Johnson, GG, Carrie, the Moth and Lucas, a motley crew of bickering teens who find themselves totally alone in the world after a strange power surge hits their classroom during detention. With no answers as to why or how the rest of the world has disappeared, the mismatched group is soon facing a bigger nightmare than they could ever imagine… Standing between them and the only way home are lethal duplicate versions of themselves, super powered teenagers who will kill anyone who gets in their way. Our unlikely heroes must somehow work together to save themselves… or they'll never see home again. SHIFT is the first in a fast-paced, page turner of a series, filled with action, adventure and humour. Perfect for fans of Michael Grant, Charlie Higson and Antony Horowitz and for anyone who loves Misfits or Shaun of the Dead.

This book is not my usual type of book, however there was something about it that made me give it a go and I was glad I did! 

The book starts rather strangely in a detention room, where there is Ape - who I thought was an ape, but was actually the nickname of a pupil. Something strange happens while they are in that detention because when they leave, there is no one else around, the whole world's population appears to have disappeared.

As I said this is not my usual genre of fiction but I did enjoy the book in some ways. I liked that the characters were average school children, nothing special about them - although they had been given detention so I suppose they were all 'unruly children'. The fear that they felt when they left the detention and realised that there was no one else around was real - some showed it while others went on a rampage around the local supermarket, where others still thought it was wrong to take items and therefore left IOU's at the supermarket. 

I must admit I was not keen on the descriptions of the burning flesh etc when other people were discovered - however they were not overly graphic, just not what I like to read and should not deter others from reading.

I would recommend this book to fans of Antony Horowitz and Charlie Higson. It is a great read for young adults - and I think that this is a series that will grow in popularity.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children's Books for sending me this book to review.