Two identities, two lives - will double personas solve his problems?

4.5 stars

Lessore is one of my newest favourite YA authors, loved all his novels so far, his voice and style, his sense of humour. This for me isn't as strong as the others but still an excellent main character and read.

Fred is ignored at school - at best. Bullied at worst. His mum is depressed following the death of their much-loved grandma, his youngest brother desperate for attention, and middle brother angry. With their dad about to go away for work for several weeks, 14-year-old Fred is prepared to step up and help out.

But he's also needing to vent his own frustrations... and he does this in his online persona Existor. Talented gamer with a witty one-liner ever-ready, it's like he's another person. A better person, one who's respected.

When Fred realises that other kids at school look up to Existor, even those bullying him, he decides to use his privileged position to get some payback and possibly help his real-life self gain some popularity and friends.

It's a valuable look at the difference between real-life living and what we create for ourselves online, and how the two really aren't the same thing. Seeing Fred's family struggling is heart-breaking, how they are all trying to cope and get by. Watching Fred do his best, though still young, but missing so much, with his own worries, feels pretty real.

There are some lovely characters here, Fred's library friends are particularly sweet, and the banter is fun. There's one character who surprised me, though I didn't find I believed the 'twist' there. Still, what do I know, I'm a 44 year old Mum and bookworm.

A great example of the 'getting yourself in it deeper' category, the storytelling lies and 'finding your true self' genre. All gets wrapped up quite neatly, but there's a good story with excellent intentions and setting at its heart.

For ages 11 and above.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

Once again Nathanael shines a light on issues facing teenagers, particularly bullying. I enjoy the way he writes using the more youthful lingo. The thing I have particularly liked about his books though, is the mix of humour with the serious. This story is a bit lacking in that humour, I did find it a bit harder to read because of that. Fred’s life just seemed to be bad all round. I did love the portrayal of the school librarian - shout out librarians!