This inaugural stay at Crater Lake is going to be a fight for survival between a bunch of mismatched teens and a swarm of unexpected enemies. Amidst all the alien hunting and strange goings-on are strong messages of friendship and teamwork. Lance and his mates all possess their own ‘super-powers’ - whether they be a tech-wizard or have superhuman climbing abilities - and the defeating of the aliens will depend on all of them bringing their talents to the party. As the gang slowly reforms and grudges are overcome and disagreements are resolved, Lance learns that it is OK to have new friends and that he can always rely on his old, true friends to be there when he needs them - such an important message for those children moving onto high school. This book is about friendship, secrets and bonding. We recommend it to 9+ readers. Although it seems scary, it is mixed in with lots of humour and you have to read it!

It is Christmas time and several months have passed since Lance and his friends returned from the nightmare school residential at Crater Lake. Having survived the big-ass wasp like creatures, the once tightly-knit group of friends have gone their separate ways and are settling into life at new high schools. Old friends have been replaced by new ones and personalities are rapidly changing as Lance and his old gang adapt to their new school surroundings where they are all just trying to fit in.

This was a griping read, I extended reading for pleasure time in class so I could get through an extra chapter. Dark, brilliantly written, super cool but not cheesy and chilling. Better than book 1? 🤔 yes, I think it just might be! Definitely read Crater Lake first as it gives a better grounding for the events in this book. Karim, our new boy, I loved that guy so much. He brought some much needed lightness into the book with his jokes, his hair and how he loves that a tad too much to the point that we find out why people in his house aren’t contaminated, his comments on what is happening, and more. It is his first alien invasion and while he was scared for a lot of parts he also kept cool and did his very best to defeat the aliens along with his friends. Next to aliens we also have friendships and making up. Because after Crater Lake things just broke apart for our group. Maks got a girlfriend, Ade and Kat weren’t being so nice to each other, Chets is still not OK with Karim (though we do find out that has a different reason than normal). I am happy to say that it fitted with the story. We needed all these teens to save the world. These kids knew what happened in Crater Lake and they are up for the challenge again. Author Guy Bass introduces SCRAP, about one robot who tried to protect the humans on his planet against an army of robots. Now the humans need his... Things seem like they're going to be OK but then there's a huge explosion at the University in town and suddenly his mum is acting weird and odd stuff is happening.

All of them then had to get off the bus and walk all the way to the gate. It seemed a bit odd that they were not greeted by any Crater Lake staff and that they had to wait half an hour to meet Digger, the manager of Crater Lake. There was something creepy about this place!

Not a bad sequel! I don't know if it's just my mood but I enjoyed the first book more. This was still good though and funny, many great moments! Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap... On their way to Crater Lake, they came to a sudden halt followed by a crunch. The coach had hit someone. Then a guy came up to the side of the bus and “SPLAT” his bright red bloody hand thumped against the side of the window. He shouted “DON’T GO TO CRATER LAKE!” The children couldn’t understand what was wrong with it. The ending was one big rollercoaster of WOW WOW WOW. There is so much happening and the teens are showing all their strength and smarts. Their plan was super dangerous but also fantastic and I was rooting for them so so much. The villain was a surprise to me, I had several suspects but that one was definitely not on my list. Haha, maybe if I had re-read the other book before reading this one that person would have been on the list, but as of now, no.