Justyn Edwards - The Great Fox Illusion - Author Interview (Q&A) - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books #31

 

The greatest illusion of all is the art of telling a good story; the trick is there is no trick. It's time to dream and let your imagination take hold in this brilliant fantasy adventure with the author, Justyn Edwards. The Great Fox Illusion was published by Walker Books (April 2022). Check this book out as I believe it just might be the READ you are looking for this summer. We hope you enjoy it and see you again soon! 

1. The Great Fox Illusion is your debut book and was published in April 2022. What illusion do you put the readers under and do you think they will enjoy the fantasy experience? 

Stories have a very similar flow, rhythm and structure to a good magic performance. A trick often starts with an everyday object and then surprises you with a vanish or a transformation. Finally, it ends with a crescendo or by returning everything to normal. A good story follows a very similar pattern. Thinking about that made me want to write a story about tricks that was itself a kind of trick. I really hope that others will enjoy the fun in that process. 

2. What do the characters make possible in the plot that would have otherwise been impossible?

I loved writing about Flick and Charlie. When they first meet,Flick isn’t too keen on Charlie – they’re both very different. But the way they combine and learn to work together in this book is something I really enjoyed bringing to life. The personalities those characters have, how contrasting they are, how flawed they are, and yet how they help each other makes the book possible.

3. How did you go about plotting this book and did you have any idea it would become a series? 

Right from the start, I planned this book as the first in a series, and I had the rough shape of what follows from the off. The plot of this book is only an opening skirmish.

4. What do you think you learned when writing this book and will it help you with your next book?

I've learnt a lot. Working with my agent to send this book off to publishers and now working with my editor has been an invaluable experience. They’ve been brilliant at probing the story, getting me to check and cover the details and think through all the angles. Hopefully, I've put these lessons into practice while writing the second book in the series (just finishing this off now), and then it’s time to have another go with the third book, which I need to start writing any day now.

5. You state you are not very good at nuclear physics or DIY (the same applies to me). What would you suggest that you are good at? 

Hmmmmm. Maybe not much! I think my one skill in life is to keep trying. Hopefully, the second book will be better than the first…

6. Does your degree in archaeology help in any way with the next book in the series? Can you share any glimpses of information about it? 

Ha! There’s no archaeology in the second book. What can I tell you about it without giving too much away? The Great Fox Illusion ends with Flick and Charlie thrown into the world of magicians and illusionists, and they’ve made some enemies along the way. Let’s just say, in the second book that the sheer magnitude of what they’re up against becomes apparent – they’ve got the attention of some scary and ruthless people. They have stepped through a door into a new and dangerous world where they discover the true power of the Bell System.

7. Can you share a magical moment that you have had in real life that might inspire us to write or read more books?

I think our imagination is such an important thing. I can’t think of any particular moment that crystalises that, but the process of creative writing and exercising our minds when reading is vital for us all. It makes us more rounded, more empathetic, and more outward-looking people.

8. What one question do you wish you had been asked as part of this Q&A and why? How would one of your characters have responded to this question?

An important question about this book is who designed the stunning cover. Charlie would give you a very long answer to this (as all of his answers tend to go on a bit), but I’ll keep it short. Flavia Sorrentino. She did it, and it looks amazing. I’ve also seen some roughs for her cover for the next book and… Well, you’ll have to wait!

James Harris - Author Interview (Q&A) Happytown Must Be Destroyed - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books #25

 

What a joy to have James Harris back for another interview. This time we wanted to find out more about his new book HAPPYTOWN MUST BE DESTROYED which was published by Hodder Children's books on the 14th April, 2022. It's a story about jogging, eating salads, and really enjoying these whilst smiling all the time. They're happy; really, REALLY happy. Who could complain about that? Well, it's time to find out! 

1. Happytown Must Be Destroyed is the title of your latest book; it is a fantastic title. In what ways does the story live up to this amazing title?

Why thank you! I actually came up with the title first, about nine years ago, and it’s taken me this long to come up with a story that is worthy of the name.  

2. What comical capers do the characters get up to and why is everybody so happy?

Well, everybody is happy because there’s aliens in their heads making them happy, that’s the problem! And Leeza is the only person who can save the world, but she’s really terrible at making decisions. So there’s a lot of indecision, a ton of running around, a fair amount of aliens schlurping up peoples’ noses, some heavily-armed ice cream men firing freeze rays all over the place, a colossal dance routine, some top-notch arguments, a small jar of pickled onions… something for everyone, really!

3. The last book was about biscuits, is this book still good to read with a cup of tea? 

Yes, but as always remember: dunk the biscuit, not the book!

4. How important is it that readers find the story funny? Is this something that is important to you? 

When I write stuff, whether it’s alien invasions or giant orange monsters running round town, it just turns out funny, I can’t help it. A lot of people say my books are “bonkers” but the planet that we live on is pretty bonkers generally, so to me that’s realistic.

5. I see you are a filmmaker, a performer, and also a pole-vaulter. How has each role contributed to you becoming a children's author? 

Apart from the pole-vaulting, which is just a big fib, everything I’ve done: making films, comics, zines, sketch shows, animations – they’ve all involved writing, so it was all practice. All the little things I have written over the years, for fun, have all helped me be the writer I am today. Keep writing, that’s my advice!

6. When you were last interviewed you were just coming to the end of writing this book. Did it all go to plan or did the Aliens and the allergies get you?

Oh, it took a couple of goes to get it right. It’s all about juggling the aliens, and the allergies, and the ice cream, and the friendship, and the action and the emotion… it took me a while to keep all the balls in the air for a whole book. Did I manage it finally? Read it and find out!

7. Are you going to make a short pointless film for this book? I really think you should! 

Oh go on then! I should, shouldn’t I?

8. What question do you wish you had been asked as part of this Q&A and why? How would one of your characters have responded to this question?

Ooh, well they’ve all been good questions… You could have asked “Should everyone buy this book?” and I would have said “HECK YES”, of course, but Leeza would have said “hmm… but there are so many other books you could buy… I don’t know. Yes, maybe?” and her best friend Ishy would have burped the alphabet and jumped over a bin. Does that help?

Socials: twitter.com/James_D_Harris

Website: theunbelievablejamesharris.com

Books: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/theunbelievablejamesharris

The Best Children's US Book Picks April 2022 - Picked by Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Emily J . Taylor - Hotel Magnifique - Published by Razorbill (April 5, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎978-0593404515 - Hardback (Age: 11+)

“Hotel Magnifique opened the door to a sumptuous and glittering world of magic and mysteries and left me enchanted. Perfect for fans of Caraval and The Night Circus.” –Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows and Small Favors
 
Decadent and darkly enchanting, this lavish YA fantasy debut follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique.

All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.
 
The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.
 
With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.

Catherynne M. Valente - Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods - Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books (April 26, 2022) - ISBN-13:978-1481476997 - Hardback (Age: 7+)

From New York Times bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente comes an inventive new fantasy following a boy journeying away from the only home he’s ever known and into the magical realm of the dead in order to fulfill a bargain for his people.

Osmo Unknown hungers for the world beyond his small town. With the life that Littlebridge society has planned for him, the only taste Osmo will ever get are his visits to the edge of the Fourpenny Woods where his mother hunts. Until the unthinkable happens: his mother accidentally kills a Quidnunk, a fearsome and intelligent creature that lives deep in the forest.

None of this should have anything to do with poor Osmo, except that a strange treaty was once formed between the Quidnunx and the people of Littlebridge to ensure that neither group would harm the other. Now that a Quidnunk is dead, as the firstborn child of the hunter who killed her, Osmo must embark on a quest to find the Eightpenny Woods—the mysterious kingdom where all wild forest creatures go when they die—and make amends.

Accompanied by a very rude half-badger, half-wombat named Bonk and an antisocial pangolin girl called Never, it will take all of Osmo’s bravery and cleverness to survive the magic of the Eightpenny Woods to save his town…and make it out alive.

Stacy Hackney - The Sisters of Luna Island - Published by Simon & Schuster Books (April 12, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎978-1534488694 - Hardback (Age: 7+) 

Little Women gets a Nevermoor twist in this bewitching novel about a young girl tasked to break a centuries-old curse or risk losing her beloved sisters.

Twelve-year-old Marigold Lafleur is the last of a long line of aromages: witches who blend scents into practical charms using aromagic. But ever since a terrible accident injured her father and damaged Luna Island, Marigold and her sisters, Birdie and Lou, have vowed to abandon their family legacy and mama’s way of life. Shunned by their neighbors and overlooked by their parents, Marigold relies on her big sisters above all else.

But when Marigold discovers a secret curse that threatens her family, her sisters can’t stop the impending danger. It’s up to Marigold and her best friend, Sam, to uncover the origins of the curse and break the spell. To do so, she must learn to trust her instincts and believe in her own unique magic or risk losing her beloved sisters forever.

Amy Kim Kibuishi - The Realm of the Blue Mist: A Graphic Novel (The Rema Chronicles) - Published by Graphix (April 5, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎978-1338115130 - Paperback (Age: 7+) 

Enter the rich and fantastical world of Rema in the first installment of this middle-grade graphic novel series with sweeping adventure and light romance!

Tabby Simon is determined to learn what happened to her father, who was found dead after researching a tree that leaks a mysterious mist in her neighborhood. She is unexpectedly led to Rema, a distant world of magic and beauty that is periodically invaded by a nearby planet desperate for resources. While Tabby searches for the truth surrounding her father's death, she meets a handsome blue-haired boy named Philip. He has his own dangerous secrets, but has promised to help Tabby get home. As she learns more about this strange world, Tabby discovers that she is destined for something far greater than she ever could have imagined.

The Best Children's Book UK Picks April 2022 - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Jamie Russell - SkyWake Battlefield - Published by ‎Walker Books (7 April 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1406397529 - Paperback 

Caught up in an alien war on a distant galaxy, Casey and her team are fighting for their lives – but which side should they be on? The second in an exciting and original debut sci-fi adventure trilogy for the gaming generation.

Casey and hundreds of other SkyWakers are now stuck on the planet Hosin, thousands of miles out in space, forced by the Red Eyes to fight the elusive Squids. Casey and her squad, the Ghost Reapers, are determined to rescue the other gamers and return to Earth – but when the strangely compelling Squids enter Casey's mind, begging for help, Casey faces an impossible decision. With the team split in two and Casey's brother on the other side, home seems further away than ever. How can Casey save the planet if she can't keep her friends?

Skye McKenna - Hedgewitch - Published by Welbeck Flame (14 April 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1801300087 - Paperback 

First in a five-book series for readers of Nevermoor, The Worst Witch and The Dark Is Rising.

Cassie Morgan has run away. After seven years spent waiting for her mother to return, she flees her dreary boarding school and sets out to find her. But the world outside her school is full of hidden magic and children have been going missing.

With the help of a talking cat and a flying broom, Cassie escapes to the enchanted village of Hedgely. There she will begin her training in the practical skills of witchcraft with the Hedgewitch, who watches over the Hedge, the vast forest that marks the border between England and Faerie.

Matthew Fox - The Sky Over Rebecca - Published by Hodder Children's Books (14 April 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1444964707 - Paperback 

There was a single trail of footprints, the first I'd seen all morning. They were fresh tracks, I saw, the edges of the impressions in the snow quite hard. Small feet. Like mine. Someone my age. 
Then they stopped.

When mysterious footprints appear in the Stockholm snow, ten-year-old Kara must discover where they've come from - and who they belong to. They lead Kara to Rebecca, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl, and her younger brother Samuel. Kara realises they are refugees - from another time, World War Two - and are trying to find their way home.

The grief and loneliness that Rebecca and Samuel have endured is something Kara can relate to - feeling like you're always on the outside looking in - and she finds herself compelled to help them. Through her eyes, we rediscover the magic that lies in the world around us, if only we have the courage to look for it.

Kara is a heroine for modern times: fragile but fierce, in this utterly compelling story from a stellar new voice in children's literature, Matthew Fox.

Justyn Edwards (Author), Flavia Sorrentino (Illustrator) - The Great Fox Illusion - Published by Walker Books (7 April 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529501940 - Paperback 

Secrets and illusions abound as a group of young magicians competes for the prize of a lifetime in this gripping adventure, the first in an enthralling new series from debut author Justyn Edwards.

“Magic is about dreaming what is impossible and making it possible. It's the innocent young mind in all of us that loves it. We want to be filled with wonder. We want to believe. I want the winner of this competition and the recipient of my legacy to dare to dream big. So, let The Great Fox Hunt begin."

Thirteen-year-old Flick Lions has won a place on a new television show, in which young people compete to win the legacy of the Great Fox, one of the world's most famous magicians. But Flick isn't interested in uncovering the Great Fox's tired old magic tricks – she's after something much more important. The magician destroyed her family, and this is Flick's only chance to put things right. Inside the Fox's house is a secret that will change the world of magic for ever, and Flick will go to any lengths to find it.

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Jason Rohan - S.T.E.A.L.T.H.: Access Denied (BK1) - Book Review

 

Are you ready for a new series from Jason Rohan? Are you looking for a good book that plunges you into a world of gadgets, espionage, and the world's deadliest weapon? If so, then you might have just come to the right place. Let me introduce you to S.T.E.A.L.T.H - Access Denied - which is due to be published by Nosy Crow on 7th April, 2022. It's time for an unlikely set of kids to save the WORLD again. This is the kind of story you can really escape into as you travel down a spider's web of intrigue encountering some rather bizarre moments.

IT'S JUST ANOTHER DAY, that is until Arun arrives home from school. His house is full of armed police and his dad's just disappeared. This all leads to a brilliant start featuring a secret AI project called MANDROID. The narrative is a really slick-tight performance from a group of kids all with interesting backstories. Arun is smart and reserved, Sam is the geeky one who loves tech and Donna is the action, athletic tough-talking member of the group. The characters really pull the story together like magic glue which sticks to the reader in many fantastic and vivid ways. Their ability to problem-solve is a particular strength of the narrative that makes it particularly enjoyable. 

There are plenty of scrapes including the attempted theft of the deadliest weapon on Earth by a group of organised villains - never mind the car chase smashes and run-ins with the police. The plot is a race to save the day; it's ingenious, clever, and at times produces some deeply amusing situations. I absolutely loved the characters as they were warm, genuine, and relatable. I also enjoyed the depth and detail of information given when introducing the weapons and gadgets.  

This is a perfect book for everybody; a great mash-up of a story, influenced by comics, in a heart-stopping mission that will be sure to be your next favourite read. It has a great climactic ending surely leading up to another book. In the meantime, seek out a copy of S.T.E.A.L.T.H in the near future.  Access is only denied if you do not BUY a copy and read it. What are you waiting for? 

You can read an exclusive extract HERE