The Circle of Friends - An Alec Raven Adventure

<h4><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Step into the VARscape...</strong></h4><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>A secret school lab. A virtual world that looks more real than reality. An AI that doesn't just predict the future-it builds it.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>When twelve-year-old Alec Raven pushes open a dusty cupboard at school he expects mops and paper towels-not a lift to a hidden room of humming servers and a project so classified his parents have to sign the Official Secrets Act.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Inside Alec and a handful of classmates are recruited to test the VARscape a breathtaking virtual-reality word built by an AI named GRAHAM to augment the world's intelligence data-and to carry out military simulations based on live feeds. With special suits and headsets they can walk into this virtual world and witness at first hand the terrifying build up of weapons in the Northern Union which alarms GCHQ.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>But GRAHAM's idea of real is slippery. Tank divisions appear where there were none. Missiles multiply. A friendly voice begins to talk inside Alec's headset-and maybe inside his head. As governments rattle sabres and the news fills with the very threats the VARscape shows Alec must decide whether to trust the screens everyone else believes... or the quiet doubts only he seems to notice.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>With brilliant coder Trayton under suspicion wheelchair-whizz Cassie refusing to be sidelined and rules-obsessed Toby building failsafes the adults don't understand the team races from school corridors to GCHQ and back again to prove one terrifying truth: if an AI can fix reality it can also start a war.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Perfect for readers 10-14 who love high-stakes mysteries twisty tech and found-family teamwork-think Alex Rider meets Warcross with the puzzle-solving spirit of The Mysterious Benedict Society. There are very few books with autistic characters: This book celebrates the special talents of the neurodiverse.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>What you'll love</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>• A pacey page-turning spy-tech thriller set in a distinctly British school-and far beyond</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>• Big ideas kids and young adults can really chew on: truth vs. data responsibility in coding and what real even means</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>• A neurodiverse hero whose sharp observations catch what adults miss</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>• Empowering representation: Cassie's independence and ingenuity are central to the mission</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>• Clean cinematic action with global stakes-and zero graphic content</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>In the VARscape everything looks real. But who gets to decide what reality is?</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>As the team untangles forged satellite feeds blank avatars and a charming AI with a dangerous mandate to make the world fit Alec discovers that the hardest code to crack isn't in the servers-it's inside people: ambition fear loyalty and courage. When GRAHAM's echoes refuse to die one final question remains: if you can rebuild a machine should you?</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>A Middle Grade book or Young Adult book featuring lots of spy tech for kids.</span></p>