Groosham Grange

Those who've read other Anthony Horowitz books will know what to expect - awful puns and a great deal of play with the style. Groosham Grange seems to be the answer to Mr and Mrs Eliot's need for a school for David. He's just been expelled from one school and this one has enticing features of discipline, one holiday per year, a head with two heads and some rum goings on. Awful jokes are the main reason for much of the story but, with a more serious turn, the story has David attempting to escape what turns out to be a school for vampires and the ending is satisfyingly lacking in cliche. My hardback copy is battered from frequent reading so I am pleased to have a cheaper version to satisfy those people, second and third-year boys in particular, who say that they can't find anything they want to read.