The first novel to receive an Oscar! (Five Stars)

"What makes a book a children’s book, what makes a book an adult's book, what makes a book a magical one that can be read by both children and adults and loved by both simultaneously? Goodness knows but this book, I am certain falls into the latter category. In full disclosure I am not thirteen, and in further speaking my truth - I am not sure I ever grew up - but I loved this read.

In serious answer to the above questions I believe it lies in truth. Emotional truth. Art is, after all, putting someone else in your shoes and forcing them to walk a mile - so that at the end of the journey - you realise we all go through the same emotional challenges, that after all (again) we are all more alike than we are different. To bring us all together. If that isn’t the point of Art I’d like to know what the feck it is. As Shane in this story might put it more colourfully. Not that he discusses art at all but I’d like to blame my bad language on somebody else.

I am not keen on giving away narrative plot points in reviews… so I won’t. It’s a cracking story that moves at a great pace, it’s funny which is rare, and emotionally engaging against any grumpy cynicism I usually project against such work. It starts with a smile and ends with a hug and an emotional rollercoaster (as the old cliche goes) in between. I for one refuse to go on a rollercoaster or any spinning things at fairgrounds, for fear of projectile vomiting. But I would happily go on this ride again, and will come back to it many times I would imagine. I certainly want a sequel, in fact I demand it. And I want the film he makes in the fifth form on YouTube extremely soon. Get on it Matt!! Roll credits." 🙌📽️🎞️🍿

Marc Peirson - 13th July, 2026

A thrilling ride through the 1980s (Five Stars)

Coming Attractions is a glorious, gorgeous ‘coming of age’ novel set in a small town, somewhere in England, in the 1980s. Will Sheridan is 13, and he’s never been kissed. Indeed, he has no idea how kissing works…until an ill-judged experiment with a ‘Girl’s World’ styling head goes horribly wrong. He’s not one of the popular kids at school, he has a mother who’s sinking into alcoholism, and a dad who’s never at home, and seems to be having an affair. However, he does have an escape route to a more magical world. Because Will is a cinephile. Obsessed with the world of movies, he’s built his own cinema in his bedroom, where he shows Super 8 reels to his sister and her latest boyfriend – though it has to be said, they only attend out of charity.

But you can’t keep a nerdish 13-year-old down, and when Will gets given a working movie camera, plus a cartridge of Ektachrome film as a belated birthday present, he resolves to make his cinematic masterpiece, ‘Dawn of the Vampire’. Or rather, ‘Dawn of the Vampie’ (as his Olivetti typewriter is missing an ‘r’). It’s the beginning of an epic journey, as Will actually has to go outside and talk to people. In doing so, he uncovers all kinds of secret passions, plus a suspected murder, before realising: actually, there’s more to life than just movies.

I read Coming Attractions in a single sitting, then got very annoyed because I had nothing else to look forward to. It’s an incredibly enjoyable, breathless, breezy comedic tale of a boy on the brink of adulthood, navigating his way through swirling hormones and social embarrassment. The 1980s details are keenly observed. We get digital watches! A thrilling ride on a Sinclair C5. And the descriptions of the food – especially the reconstituted turkey products – made me feel ill. There are some fabulous comic set pieces, but then to my surprise, the descriptions of Will’s parents’ crumbling marriage actually made me cry.

But what lifts Coming Attractions over other comic novels is the deep appreciation of classic cinema. Any time Will sees a film, or remembers one in the story, it gets its own chapter – as he describes the effect a particular movie had on him. So we get chapters on Dracula, The Omen, Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz – the circumstances in which he saw these films, the reactions of other family members. It’s a lovely device, and it means, in a sense, we are watching a film with the central character, and we get to think about what film does to us – and how certain films bring us all together, whilst others divide us into our individual tribes.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves film, anyone who’s ever been 13, anyone who remembers the 1980s, or who just wants to laugh till a bit of Findus Crispy Pancake comes out of their nose. It is, according to the author’s biog, Matt Wakefield’s first novel. And I hope it’s the first of many, because this world really needs beautiful, funny, big-hearted books like this.

David Keenan - 24th September 2026

A touchingly nostalgic read that will transport you back in both time and mind (Five Stars)

"On the surface this book might appear whimsical and nostalgic, but there's actually a real depth to it that transports you back, not only in time, but also to an often forgotten and important phase of emotional development, when anything new and interesting that came into our lives was amplified through the lens of teenage hyper focus. Somehow, it manages to achieve this without ever getting too heavy, as the chapters are well paced and cleverly punctuated with comic relief throughout, that will have you constantly tittering. The sweet spot for readership will obviously be for those in their late 40's or 50's that experienced the era in their youth, but I suspect the book is accessible to all in the same way that the 'Secret Diary of Adrian Mole' crossed generational divides. For a first novel, this shows immense promise, so I can't recommend it highly enough!"

Matt R - 24th April 2026

A gem of a book (Five Stars)

"This is a gem of a book. Brilliantly crafted short sentences keep this equally short story cracking along to its deeply satisfying conclusion. The author's background in continuing drama ensures that each chapter ends with a juicy hook, and I raced through the book in no time at all. This is funny, moving and nostalgic and I strongly recommend it."  

David - 17th June 2026

Funny, poignant and with a big wedge of nostalgia (Five Stars) 

"Anyone whose formative years were in the 1980s will recognise the landscape Matt Wakefield so skillfully brings to life in 'Coming Attractions'. The big hair, the big shoulders, the not so big Sinclair C5 - I found myself wincing a little at the memories it evoked. Did I really have hair like that? (These days that question is more a case of 'Did I really have hair?'). Matt is adept at recalling the decade without judging any of the details, there's no pointing and laughing. The memories are warm and welcoming, not harsh.

At the heart of the story is Will, a character ill prepared for the onset of adolescence and all the horrors and casual cruelty it brings - but it is also the portrait of someone who feels they are on the outside of the family looking in: that sense of alienation that is part of the journey of finding out where you belong, and making your peace with the destination however different that place might be from what you might want for yourself. Matt's observations read at times like reports from the war zone, but it is all written with great good humour. You'll giggle, you'll remember and perhaps even mourn the end of your teenage years - but most of all, you'll dig out your 'Now That's What I call the 80s!' CD compilation."

A Cornish - 14th July 2026

Coming Attractions is a nostalgic record of the life we have lost as the generation of us who lived in an analogue world die away. 

"In these vignettes that thread through a coming of age narrative I was delighted by familiar references to the TV, film, music and adventure of what seems the more innocent time of my own youth. And yet, it is not rose-tinted. This is also the land of the purposeless housewife surviving on cheap wine and Valium, and the promise of a better future that we now all know never came.  Nevertheless, the comedy and the cultural asides keep coming, along with an out of control Sinclair C5. A masterful tale by a seasoned television writer."

 Ian M - 11th July 2026

A charming, nostalgic teenage rites of passage (Five Stars)

"This is a charming and hugely enjoyable read as Will navigates from the simplicity of childhood, with its straightforward certainties like the heroes and villains of his beloved movies, into the murkier and more nuanced adult world. There's plenty of '80s period detail that anyone of a certain age will relish, as well as references to classic films, and what the magic of the silver screen (or Super 8 projected on to a bedroom wall) means to us all."  

Andrew V - 20th April 2026

 Nostalgic, funny & very entertaining (Five Stars)

"Nostalgic, funny and very entertaining… for people of the right age this book has echoes of Gregory’s Girl & Grange Hill - but is more sarcastic, sharply observed & genuinely moving. Matt Wakefield’s writing evokes an analogue world which is both endearing & familiar yet layered with anxiety & humour. It’s sparingly written with acute teenage angst, yet manages to evoke bigger themes & emotions with authenticity & warmth. Thoroughly recommended."

Amazon customer - 17th May 2026