Why can't learning vocabulary for 11+ / SATs be fun? This remarkable novel not only makes learning vocabulary fun; it also shows students how to spot and analyse the very trickiest literary techniques - ranging from metaphors, to personification, to oxymorons, to rhetorical question, to name just a few.

O Definitions of tricky words, in context, on each and every page. Suitable for CEM, GL and ISEB 11+, as well as SATs. O Commentary on key literary techniques as they appear in the novel - for instance metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, personification, and many, many more - to help students not only identify these techniques, but to discuss them with confidence in the exam.

Nikhil Fisher wakes up to find his whole life has disappeared. All his belongings are gone and his parents have been kidnapped. Someone's trying their hardest to take everything from him, so it's a good thing he has a secret life to fall back on. When he isn't at school, Nik is a con-artist and a master thief. But when Nik receives his father's hand in the post, and the kidnappers finally reveal themselves, Nik fears he could be in over his head. They call themselves SCYTHE - the Society of Cybercrime, Terrorism, Hit-men and Extortion. They know all about Nik's secret hobby and if he wants to see his parents again, he'd better do what they say. All too soon, Nik finds himself struggling to prevent a plot that could plunge the world into war. And the fourteen-year-old Londoner has only one advantage. SCYTHE have made the same mistake everybody does. They've underestimated him. Joseph Faircloth has a First Class English degree from UCL, and is a qualified teacher who works day in, day out with students working towards their SATs/11+ exams.