How to Steal the Future
A relentless, twist-packed race through a shifting maze where a boy has just 67 minutes to find his missing sister and a secret that could unlock the future. Speculative sci-fi with a heart, from the author of Escape Room.
- Best for9–12
- FormatIllustrated
- Length208 pp
- Read aloud~2 hr55 min
Affiliate links — buy through these retailers and we earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
Tone
- Exciting
- Suspenseful
- Thought provoking
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Twelve-year-old Drew Blake has one shot and one clock: 67 minutes to reach the centre of a heavily guarded, ever-changing maze. At its heart lies the Avenir, a technology that can unlock the future itself. But Drew doesn't care about the Avenir. His sister Evie went in before him and never came out, and he will do anything to find her. As the walls rearrange, other children appear with their own agendas, and every challenge Drew faces starts to echo strange, half-buried moments from his own life. What begins as a rescue mission becomes something stranger and far more personal. Christopher Edge threads real questions, what would you do if you knew the future, and who should get to control it, through a breathless, high-tension adventure. With nods to the Minotaur's labyrinth, Hansel and Gretel and Alice, and answers held back until the final pages, this is speculative fiction that makes you think as hard as it makes you turn the page.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
Best for confident readers of 9-12 who like fast, high-stakes sci-fi. It reads independently from around 9, works as a shared read from 8, and its ideas about the future give it enough substance to satisfy older readers too.
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 8–11
- Independent · 9–12
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
Low
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Reading together
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
1 / 5 · Wide awake
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Sci fi fans
- Reluctant readers
- Twist endings
- Fast paced
Avoid if
- Wants gentle story
- Wants cosy bedtime
Particularly good for children who are…
- Interested in science
- Reluctant reader
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The clock never stops. Drew has just over an hour to cross a maze that rewrites itself, dodging rivals and impossible challenges to find his sister, and every trap keeps you guessing. The twist about what the maze really is lands right at the end and makes you want to start again.
- Surviving danger
- Going on a quest
- Proving yourself
- Trickery and cleverness
Why parents love it
It grips reluctant readers with its ticking-clock pace, then quietly poses big ideas about AI, choice and the future that spark proper conversation. Edge is a reliably clever writer, and the layered ending rewards a second read once you know where it's going.
- Conversation starter
- Great writing
- Quick to read
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
