A civilisation of surprisingly stupid robots exists on a planet way out there, that they were supposed to terraform for the expanding humanity but decided to keep instead. After a lengthy war – not helped, from the robots' point of view by a traitor who fought for the humans – squidgy people were banned, and robots settled back into a world of rampant consumerism and the search for more and more unlikely cosmetic upgrades. But we're soon to discover three characters – two young human siblings, there after all this time, and the traitor robot, who the kids decide to call Scrap for all the ungainly mish-mash of dented parts and missing bits he's left with. He wants nothing to do with them, but is kind of duty-bound by history to keep them safe, even if their cockamamie plan is to go into the badlands, find what is left of the ship the humans arrived on, and get off-planet. None of them will get their way…

This was a really decent read – a proper sci-fi adventure story with a light-hearted touch (I assume the cameo from Terry and June is a joke for the grandparents). The sisters are definitely on the bickering side, but they're excused all their quibbling, especially as they're in the unlikely situation of having to pass as robots for much of this. And Scrap as a character gets to stand out enough, so any idea that he is just a "Wall-E" character, or Peter Brown's "Wild Robot", is soon shot down.

Add in a rogue hunter, an evil mayoress, all the world-building adverts and suchlike that start each 'episode', all the machinations of all the characters prior to this story starting, and a dash of "Real Steel" and you have something pretty distinctive and clever. It's not that clever that you forget how implausible it is for the robots to not know the girls are humans – the story takes place over several days and even when they're not hungry they're going to have drop character and go loo at least a few times – but it's getting there. It's certainly kinetic and highly readable enough to just about make you gloss over any such issues (the way the robots have to be vocal in order to get a body-swap – certainly a dodgy design flaw).

Principally it's deft in doing the old switcheroo – it looks like being a sci-fi story, then turns into a lesson for us all about cosmetic surgery, Turkish teeth, the new 'me' we're told to want, and then reverts into proper sci-fi action for all ages. It's a classy piece, and with two more in the series to turn up eventually it's good news all round. Four and a half stars.

A wonderful adventure book with incredible world building. There are plenty of twists to keep everyone guessing and lots of heartwarming moments.

It is the time Something Something and humans have begun to colonise planets throughout the universe.
Meet Scrap, official name K1-NG, a robot living in exile after helping humans escape during the Robot Revolution on Somewhere 513. Now, he is free to live his morose and bitter existence amongst the Piles. That is, until he is tracked down by two if the last things he ever expected to meet again … humans!
Guy Bass has once again created a character who will take root in your heart and leave you wanting to know more.
A fast-paced, thrilling adventure story with themes of trust, friendship and being happy in your own skin, or case, this is a wonderful novel for older MG readers.

I really enjoyed this one. The first thing that really drew me in was the cover. While usually the dystopian/AI stories don't really appeal to me, I gave this a shot because the cover art really appealed to me. About the book itself, I never thought that for the age group it's aimed at, a story about a dystopian world would work. But I was so wrong. There is humour, hope and warmth in the story that offsets the bleakness. The titular character is extremely endearing and the relationship between the sisters, Paige and Gnat is very touching. I am looking forward to the second book in the series!

What a fantastic read for a Sunday morning. I love the idea of robots wanting to have their own world which is separate from humans. There are some real moments of humour and some of jeopardy which just make you want to keep reading to see what happens next. The characters of Gnat, Paige and lovable Scrap are all fantastic and very well described. The illustrations throughout just add to the charm of this book.
I can't wait to see what happens next - I hope book 2 won't be too far behind this one.

What a delight ! A very moving tale that is so engaging. The characters are so relatable and you want things to go well for them. The illustrations are beautiful and add so much to the book. Cannot wait till the next installment.

A great read to help the discussion about what would happen if humans had to find another place to live. Additionally there would be a great opportunity to write about robots and the rise of AI. I would use this book for a class read and English unit for reading and writing.

This book had me at that beautiful cover (amazing art by Alessia Trunfio) and that fantastic first page - "Humans had spread like peanut butter across the galaxy..."! You know you're in for a treat when a writer can put words together like that. It's a real gem of book - a wonderful sci fi adventure full of heart and humour and lots to think about.

I'd definitely recommend reading this book in class. It covers so many topics middle graders should discuss about, and despite the plot and world not being exactly happy places, there's still hope to be found.

I fell for this book right from the first page. It is so different from other children's books. The world depicted in the story is bleak yet not without hope and laughter. It is a story about two sisters who are the only humans left on Planet 513. As humans are banned there, they have to stay hidden. They go looking for Scrap -- the King of Robots-- built by their mom. When they find them, a new adventure begins.

I love the premise of the story as it gives a lot of room to discuss different issues with my class.

An exciting other worldly adventure. I love the uniquness of this story and the subtle hints that reflect today's society of fast consumerism. Scrap is a great main character, a true diamond in the literal rough. Page and Gnat are also great protagonists. A true sister double act with a beautiful relationship. The unlikely trio fight against all odds, flashy upgraded bots and a robot mayor with sinister ulterior motives to seek a better life. Scrap's lifelong endeavour to maintain his authentic self is great life lesson to younger readers. A beautifully powerful story of friendship, staying true to yourself and standing up for what you believe in.

Thank you so much to Little Tiger Group and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

After the war between robots and humans, no humans were allowed to live on their own planet. Then K1-NG who fought for the humans is living in the piles of robot remains is found by two young human girls who need his help. Together they travel through the evolved robot world to find a way off and risk their safety.

I’m not a huge robot fan I will state that right away, I don’t usually find I enjoy them, but this changed my mind in such a good way. I found that I actually really enjoyed this story it had a lot of heart to it, it had a fun adventure, lots of action and it was intense in places, the characters were all amazing and the illustrations were stunning. You didn’t really know where exactly the story would go but it leaves you excited to find out where it’s going.

I really enjoyed the protagonists with Scrap being a former king robot, who doesn’t want to be bothered just wanted to be left, but is incredibly loyal and caring toward the two girls. Gnat and Paige who neither of them had ever had real robot interaction before both are adorable especially little Gnat who has the cutest way of talking and is so happy and open minded, versus Paige who is fast thinking, incredibly smart, slow at trusting the robots but an incredibly loving sister and friend. Together they navigate this completely changed world, all whilst it was difficult as they were being hunted by multiple robots.

Mayor Highshine was a menace, wow she was brutal and conniving in everything she did. She was such a cleverly thought out character that even though I hated her I absolutely loved her, she was so entertaining with her evil plan, the storyline twists, the sneaking and randomly showing up, I loved but hated her she was so great. I loved Morton he was adorable and so sweet, having been forced into a life he didn’t really like I felt so sad for him. I also loved so many of the other characters that we met, each one had been really well crafted and it was incredible how many interesting robots we met on this journey.

I loved all the action and adventure, there were so many twists and always something fascinating happening, someone or something would spring up out of nowhere and keep you on your toes whilst reading. I loved following Scrap on his journey and how he went from nothing to realising no matter what case he was in he was still king, he was still important and still family to the humans, I loved him.

The design of the world was really interesting with all the piles of past robot pieces just thrown around, each robot being told, encouraged and almost forced in some cases to upgrade their looks so they were a better more efficient robot was really fascinating storyline. It showed how the leadership was within that land but also showed a really sad side to it all that they would so easily discard someone.

The illustrations for this book were literally stunning and really aided and helped with the world building. They were wonderful to look at and I stared at some of them a long time as they were perfection for this story, sharing our characters and landscapes.

This was an incredible book and I want to read it all over again now, I enjoyed it very much, from the action packed adventure, to the characters that grasp your heart so quickly, to the end of the first adventure. This book doesn’t let you down once and you will be riveted within this world on planet Somewhere 513. I am really excited for the next stage of their adventure in the second book, it’s going to be incredible, I cannot wait.

Young readers are going to love reading this quaint, cute, heart warming and entertaining fictional story about robots, the past following you, trust and adventure. A planet ruled/conquered by robots, no humans allowed. But maybe not all the humans have left. What will happen when two young sisters put their trust in Scrap, not the robot ‘King’ he once was? Read and find out what happens as these two girls and a robot find out they need each other so much. Thank you to Little Tiger Group and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I’ve said before how, like a lot of readers, I am heavily influenced as to what I choose to read by how much the cover art of a title appeals. Checking through the latest Net Galley reads, this cover jumped out at me and when I clocked it was written by Guy Bass, I knew I wanted to read it. I am, as yet unfamiliar with the author’s Stitch Head series, but the Skeleton Keys books, illustrated by Pete Williamson, must rate amongst my very favourites aimed at lower KS2 readers.

Full of surreal humour, wordplay and with great characters, they were an enormous hit with my classes when I taught Year 5, and also some of my more confident readers when I moved down to Year 3. Here is the first in a brand-new series – one aimed at a slightly older audience but one written with the same love of puns and one with a wonderful trio of characters at its heart, who I defy anyone reading this not to root for in this brilliant middle grade sci-fi adventure.

Our story is set in a future where humans have left planet Earth to seek out a new existence for themselves on a range of habitable planets, one of which is Somewhere 513. All is not as it was planned to be, however, as the robots sent to prepare the way have grown fond of their new home and have decided to keep it to themselves, rather than hand it over to their human masters, a decision which has led to a war in which only one robot has sided with the humans – K1-NG, better known as King. Having battled against his own kind, King is left betrayed by the people who he has saved and as a result vows never to help them again – something that shouldn’t be too hard as they have all escaped.

At least that is what King believes.

10 years later, a scruffy robot is living a solitary existence on the Pile – an area of abandoned junk – where he has taken care and pride to construct himself a home in which to see out his days. Watching the other run-down robots around him, this machine reflects on how desperate he is to belong to his surroundings but his thoughts are interrupted by the sudden appearance of two figures, their faces hidden beneath their clothes, who he tells to get lost. Ignoring this instruction, the two visitors confirm to one another that the robot is the one they have been searching for, and he realises that they are human children – something that should be impossible.

The girls introduce themselves as Paige and younger sister Gnat, and tell the disbelieving robot that they have been sent to find him by their mother. While Gnat is convinced that they have discovered King, Paige refuses to believe the shabby machine in front of them can be the great robot and when King won’t reveal his name to them, Gnat calls him Scrap. Soon after the girls’ arrival, their conversation is disturbed by the sudden appearance of two Hunters – robots that have been sent to find the girls and Scrap decides not to give their presence away and pretends he hasn’t seen them. After an altercation with the Hunters, the girls flee with Gnat refusing to leave Scrap behind. With Paige still refusing to believe that Scrap could possibly be King and Scrap unwilling to help the girls, what will happen as they find themselves reluctantly working together on a mission to save the last humans on Somewhere 513?

Paige, Gnat and Scrap make a fantastic team. Gnat, who is several years younger than Paige, and far less worldly wise, instantly believes that Scrap and King are one and the same, while Paige judges the robot solely on the appearance of both him and the Pile where she and Gnat find him. Suddenly finding herself in charge of her sister, Paige focuses entirely on the mission on which their mother has sent them, leaving Gnat little time to act as the little girl she is. When Scrap enters their lives, he has spent 10 years hiding from his fellow robots, in the belief that there are no humans left, and he is suddenly placed in the position where his peers will not accept him because of what he has done and he does not want anything to do with the girls but his conscience won’t allow him to abandon them to the Hunters, making this a very exciting and thought-provoking adventure.

The story is fast-paced and action-packed, with a great amount of jeopardy for Paige, Gnat and Scrap as they find themselves at the mercy of various enemies and somehow manage to escape time and time again only to find themselves in further hot water. Balancing the very dramatic parts of the text (and believe me there are some very dramatic parts) are the wonderful illustrations of Alessia Trunfio, which will make this hugely appealing to young readers, and the humour of Guy Bass which manifests itself in some fabulous puns and wordplay which will be very well received by any adult readers who pick this up.

Perfect for confident readers in Year 4 upwards, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and am so pleased that this is the start of a new trilogy although I suspect there may be a little bit of a wait for next instalment as I couldn’t find a publishing date for it. Until then, my enormous thanks go to publisher Little Tiger Press and to Net Galley for my virtual advance read. Scrap publishes 12th October.

This is a truly delightful book that will provide huge reading entertainment to many young readers. (I would say 7 to 10 yrs, give or take,) The idea of robots taking over the world (or in this case a new planet intended for human colonisation) is not a new one. However the topic of AI possibly ‘going rogue’ is a very topical one and is here presented to children in a most engaging and accessible way. The writing bursts with wonderful exuberance of language-play and invention, and the story is a nice blend of humour and excitement, with engaging main characters and suitably dastardly villains. Both the cover and internal illustrations by Alessia Trunfio are outstanding and add enormously to the book’s appeal. This will be as big hit with many kids who are sure to be enthusiastic for more.

The beautiful illustrations throughout from Alessia Trunfio really set the scene for this non-stop adventure starring Scrap, a loyal robot, and the only humans left on the planet, two young sisters called Paige and Gnat who are struggling to survive against the odds. While this may sound serious, there are lots of moments of humour - Gunner in particular is very funny with all her little phrases that are just slightly wrong e.g. a “shaving grace” and “hazard a guest”! Scrap is a wonderfully grumpy character who can’t quite hide his warm heart and the two girls are perfectly feisty and determined. It’s the first in a trilogy and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next,