By Sophie McKenzie, published by Simon & Schuster.

After the events of The Medusa Project: The set-up (Review HERE), cocky Nico, spoiled girl Dylan, geeky boy Ed and sport Ketty have been put together as the Medusa Project team- used by the government to get to the bottom of crimes in London. Their first assignment is to stop an unknown hacker who is at large- and the government suspects Foster; the wealthy manager of Fostergames industries. Ketty, the Medusa-implanted teenager who can see into the future, discovers that her brother Lex is involved in the scheme in the most dangerous of ways. He’s selling a story about Foster onto the press and has no idea that Foster will kill him for it.

The stakes are rising as Ketty and her team discover that Foster is more than ready to set off a bomb to get what he wants. Can Ketty control her powers and use them to save the day, and control her feelings for Nico, whilst trying to protect her older brother?

After reading The Medusa Project: The set-up, I couldn’t wait to read the sequel. I was expecting a similar plot involving the antagonists from the installment before… but this plot was way different, with all new terrifying bad guys. Although considerably shorter than the first book, The Hostage packed a real punch and had a riveting crime conspiracy in its meager 220 pages. Although a little predictable at times, it was a really fun read. there was a lot of action and suspense executed perfectly by the author. Also, I enjoyed the teenage love embedded into the story- Ketty dating Nico, and Ed being visibly upset and maybe a little jealous too. I think the love could’ve been used to make a really cool plot twist, however- like maybe Nico could’ve interrupted a plan because of problems with Ketty and Ed, and change the events of the story massively or something. However, it was still great.

I wasn’t expecting Ketty to do the narration of this book- I thought the series would be narrated by Nico throughout- but it gave a real insight into how Ketty was feeling about Ed and Nico. It also helped the story, seeing as the hostage was Ketty’s brother. I really got to know her character more, and understood her visions more because of that. I really loved her bond with her brother and how she would even stay with him when he had a bomb ready to go off in five minutes strapped to his chest. I think I got to know Dylan and Ed a lot better, too, as Ketty had very different relationships with them compared to Nico’s. In fact, I came to dislike Dylan as she seemed like a bit of a bully towards Ketty. But at the end, she got more likeable. As for Ed- I felt so sympathetic for him throughout. Although he didn’t speak about Ketty’s new relationship with Nico, I could tell he was heartbroken… and yet he still went out of his way to help her. It was so sweet.

In all, The Hostage was a really thrilling read, with an original plot. It’s aimed at readers around 10-11, but I still really enjoyed it and will read the third in the series soon. I wish it could have been a bit longer though, but apart from that, definitely recommended!