Noel Streatfeild has that happy, skillful knack of turning her characters into real people – something which only really good novelists can do. A first-rate book

Noel Streatfeild’s position in the children’s book world is unique. She is endlessly inventive, full of verve and real understanding of the surfaces of childhood. Her stories are rich in documentary interest and entertainment, escapism of a most satisfying sort

An accomplished story-teller, she weaves anecdotes, character sketches, political history together without losing her thread or the reader's momentum

What a marvellous writer...and what a Kenya it was

It’s a treat to read such a satisfying, complex work

As with Haig’s other crossover novels The Radleys and The Humans, this combines a cracking plot with profound philosophical questions about what it is to be human. Fearless and beautifully written, it confirms Haig as one of our best new writers of speculative fiction

Matt Haig uses words like a tin-opener. We are the tin

Haig brings to life a terrifying and claustrophobic dystopian future. The future we are shown in Echo Boy is dark and disturbing, but there is hope. Hope that whatever terrors await, you can't put out "the irrepressible light" inside a person

Poignant and thought-provoking

Will appeal as much to adults as teenagers . . . Enough action, adventure and tension with a slight dusting of romance to keep anyone enthralled . . . Matt Haig has penned a number of hugely popular adult and young children's novels and if Echo Boy is anything to go by, he's on the way to steal the YA market too . . . It's his unique depth of writing that makes Matt Haig's work such compelling reading

Matt Haig's first young adult novel is a thrilling science-fiction roller-coaster ride. The combination of romance and dystopia may be a familiar concept for young adult fiction, but Haig gives it his own distinctive spin, bringing freshness and a huge amount of imagination to this well-trodden territory . . . Echo Boy will keep young readers on the edge of their seats - but will also leave them with questions and philosophical problems to ponder

A fun read with an intriguing setting

An infinitely rewarding novel . . . The futuristic world is imagined in such detail it begins to live before one’s eyes

YA sci-fi fans will love this one . . . Definitely a book I’m going to be recommending

This is strong, relentless stuff. Matt Haig's universe is impressively consistent in every detail. We inescapably inhabit this world. The plot is chillingly taut