Alfie and his family have moved from the city to a village called Folding Ford. His sister Lily has been the victim of terrible bullying and they are hoping a new start in a quieter place will help her overcome it.

This new village is anything but boring. There’s the weird weather stuff to start with. Ice forming over puddles on sunny days, or icicles in random trees. There’s rain that falls in one spot, with everything surrounding it remaining dry.

Then there’s the freakily tall man, Alfie and his friend Sam call the Cloaked Strider. With his big coat flapping in sudden wind gusts and moths surrounding him as he walks down the street, it’s not only Alfie who thinks he’s weird.

Alfie talks Sam into checking out the big man’s house, and against Sam’s fervent protests, Alfie sneaks into the garden. There’s been talk of mutant animals and strange machines on the property and Alfie is dying to find out if the rumours are true.

He stays far longer than he intended, following a strange noise to an even stranger box. He lifts the lid just a tiny bit, letting out something beyond even his wild imagination.

This being can light fires, and ride lighting. It can make people do stuff they never would have dreamed of doing. Alfie finds himself in grave danger, full of guilt, without his best mate and finally – facing the law.

How will he ever get everyone to believe what is causing the trouble? No one will listen. Sam won’t speak to him, Dad has to return from his job in Sweden to try and sort out the mess, and The Cloaked Strider has vanished.

Electrifying is definitely the right word for this middle-grade read. What do you do when something so freaky, unimaginable and amazing happens to you and no-one else believes you? Alfie is a likeable character trying to put wrongs right, all the while as more wrongs take their place.

Weather, Science and imagination are the key parts of this story. The cause of the trouble is portrayed in such a way you can practically feel a crackle in the air and see the bolts of light shooting around you as you read.

The inclusion of an older sister overcoming bullying and anorexia grounds the novel, as Alfie battles with the imaginative side. Part novel, part journal entries, the buzz never stops.

Author – Clare Weze

Age – 9+

(Bloomsbury, 2021, Science, Electricity, Lightning, Friendship, Family, Bullying, Guilt, Innocence, Doing the right thing, Police, Blame, Mystery, Weather, Secret)