The Doomsday Club

About this book

Jack, Conan, Yash and Jerry are in detention together, although they’re not friends. When they see a monstrous beast emerge from a portal outside their school, they decide to investigate. 

The beast disappears into the garden of the creepy old man next door, and soon the boys are hatching a plan to confront it. But they find something even more sinister in that house – something ancient that puts them all in mortal danger. Can the boys put aside their differences and work together to save the world? 

Filled with humour as well as scary action scenes, this is a debut that readers will race through. It is set in Dublin, with characters from the Táin, Ireland’s mythological epic, and some use of the Irish language, but is accessible to all. 

Kevin Moran is a teacher, and he depicts the friendship dynamics between these four 12-year-old boys extremely well. He explores the pressure to be the ‘cool, tough’ one, and having to hide that you’re smart, as well as the sadness of not being accepted as you are. 

But this all takes a back seat to the monster-defeating action. With short chapters and real (often funny) dialogue, this is a fun read.