Fast Forward: A Dangerous Secret

by Ian Bone

HAMISH'S LIFE SHOULD be perfect now that he’s at Capra Video High School, studying his great passion in movies. But he finds himself with few friends, and not much to do besides watch movies at home. Then he finds a mysterious note in his locker. “You have been chosen to fight evil!” it says. Huh? That’s the kind of thing that happens in the movies, right? It doesn’t happen to Hamish . . . or does it?

Soon Hamish has entered the world of the Vidz, where there’s no script to follow, no director to tell you what to do, and no spooky music to tell you when something scary is about to happen. It’s up to Hamish to decide how this movie is going to end, and he’d better fight those bad guys, because if they win, Hamish’s whole life at Capra Video High will change.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published November 9, 2004

About the author

I am an author of books for young readers and young adults. I am Australian, and my books are published in Australia, the USA, the UK, Germany, Korea, Brazil and Finland.

My novel, The Song of an Innocent Bystander is being adapted into a major feature film. My children's book series, Philomena Wonderpen, has been bought by an International media company to be adapted for television.

I teach writing and I work as a video producer and e-learning developer in my spare time!

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with a student who is a struggling reader. He had to read a sci-fi/fantasy book for his English class, but that genre is totally out of his comfort zone. Usually he reads Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate. This was a huge stretch for him, but even though he was very trepidatious about trying it, he was a good sport. When we finished the book, he actually rated it 3 out of 4 stars! I was so proud of him for trying something new and having an open mind about it once he got into it.

The basic premise of the story is that a kid named Hamish receives a special disk that transports him into a fantasy world movie. He has to save the kingdom by fighting the evil sorcerer.

Some British terms that can be difficult for struggling readers.