A Class Apart

Class Heroes

Young Adult - Horror
201 Pages
Reviewed on 12/16/2011
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

Author Biography

I began writing the first Class Heroes book on my laptop in February 2011, but these stories have probably been continually playing in my head since I was aged five or six, when I would act them out with toys and with my friends. I then branched out into using pencils, colouring pens and paper, moving on to writing pads and then my first computer.

So, as you’ve probably gathered, I have always enjoyed making up stories and the superhero genre has been one of my favourites.

The CV-type stuff is that I went to Sheffield Hallam University in the UK to study English. I then trained and briefly worked as a journalist in Salford. After that, I moved into publishing – which was great. An interesting and fun industry to be in and fascinating to see how books are put together and sold.

After that I started doing technical writing, which led me to start my own business with my friend and colleague Andrew Butters. My love of writing, generally, led me back to writing fiction. Our company, Elucidox Ltd, publishes the Class Heroes books.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Joana James for Readers' Favorite

"A Class Apart" follows the events occurring after a tragic bus crash in which several students are hurt or dead. After waking up in the hospital, two of the students find themselves suddenly gifted with strange powers, enabling them to do powerful things. The teens struggle to control their powers whilst fighting against an outside force that seems to have taken over the hospital where they are trying to get better. Things peak when the Chief Officer in charge of keeping the accident victims safe suddenly seems to have become brainwashed and starts working against the very people he is supposed to be protecting.

I found this book very interesting. It is a clever mix of mystery and fantasy and the writer does an excellent job of bringing these qualities out. At first it seems as if there is a fight of good versus evil, but the twists in the book soon make you realize that what we may consider evil is not always evil. Though this book seems to have been written for young adults, any reader can enjoy its fast paced action. The vivid descriptions of the writer literally transport you into the world of the 36-floor hospital and you can easily see yourself enjoying it in front of a movie screen. The end left me begging for the next book in the series, with just the right number of questions left unanswered. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one in the series.

Sandra Thompson

A Class Apart by Steve Henning is about British twins, James and Samantha, whose lives change forever after a terrorist attack on their school bus. Sam and James wake up in hospital and gradually discover they have extraordinary abilities. Meanwhile, strange events being unfolding at the hospital and the twins need to quickly come to grips with their new powers, to save themselves and everyone around them.

This book was exciting and stimulating. I really enjoyed the beginning scenes on the school bus, where we learn about the mouth breathers, the bullies, and the high school social hierarchy. Then, just when I was bonding with the school kids and settling in for a book full of teenage angst and relationships, a bomb exploded and it was a whirlwind ride from there.

If you enjoy fast-paced action books, with a supernatural element and a mystery, then this is a book for you. I was enthralled as I tried to figure everything out and follow the characters development into super-beings. Despite their amazing powers, the characters seem like real people, with solid back stories, and real life problems.

The book also felt very original to me. I liked that it was unpredictable and the characters discovered things long before I worked them out for myself. At one point I got a bit restless with most of the story being set in the hospital, and I lost track of all of the police officers and what they were doing. But it didn’t hamper my ability to enjoy the story and the pages kept turning themselves. I felt very satisfied when the loose ends were all tied up thoroughly at the end of the book (except for those leading to the sequel of course).

I also liked the multimedia aspect of the book. The Class Apart website has links to book trailers and news reports from the 24/7 Interactive News service which is featured in the book.

In summary, A Class Apart is a fun, enjoyable read, suitable for teenagers and adults alike.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.