(Review) Thirteen by Tom Hoyle

Title: Thirteen Author: Tom Hoyle Pages: 325 Published: February 13, 2014 Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books Review Copy: Yes Why did I want this book? It looked promising.

Synopsis:
Born at midnight in London, on the stroke of the new millennium, Adam is the target of a cult that believes boys born on this date must die before the end of their thirteenth year. Twelve boys have been killed so far. Coron, the crazy cult leader, will stop at nothing to bring in his new kingdom. And now he is planning a bombing spectacular across London to celebrate the sacrifice of his final victim: Adam. Thirteen is the first in an exciting action series from debut author Tom Hoyle.

Cover:
The whole book is yellow. Even the fore-edge, head and tail! There is a font printed on it and a checklist with twelve lines. It is also unusual, that the authors name isn't on the front page. But you can find him on the spine.

Title:
The title is referring to the other twelve kids, which got already killed. Adam is supposed to be next, because he was born at midnight, 2000.

Writing style:
The book is written in 3. person and multiple points of view. Of course, there are a lot of scenes featuring Adam, but there is also Megan, his best friend and the antagonists. It was really interesting to see what was going on, because the cult, who tries to kill Adam, is very creepy. Of course, this reveals some things very fast, but it was still fun to read.

Characters:
Adam is a nice guy, but a little bit naive at the beginning. He isn't a typical outsider, since he has friends and knows how to defend himself (what he proofs pretty early), but it takes very long until he realizes, that he gets stalked by some other teenagers. It is Megan, who tells him, that something is off. During the end of the book, he almost acts too bold. He is thirteen, not sixteen what would have been a better age. I think Coron, the cult leader was the most interesting character. His character development is very good and shows that he is a fanatic.

Noteworthy:
Usually, I would say this book is for teens 13+, because the character is so young. But the book can be very violent, so I wouldn't recommend it to children. On the other side, it is a great read for YA lovers. A lot of times, I forgot that the protagonist is so young.

Stuck in my Head:

"I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skilful to destroy. You shall be the fuel for the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land." (p. 150)

What I didn't like:
Some scenes where just too much for a thirteen year old to handle.

Quick and dirty:
A great book, on the inside and the outside. It is captivating, I couldn't put it down. I did have a problem with the young protagonist, so sometimes I imagined him a little bit older.
But it was a great read, so it still gets five stars!

Thank you to ...

...  Macmillan Children's Books, who gave me this review copy in exchange of a honest review!