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

 

Varsha Bajaj - Thirst - Published by Nancy Paulsen Books (July 19, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593354391 - Hardback - Age: 9+ 

The riveting story of a heroic girl who fights for her belief that water should be for everyone.
Minni lives in the poorest part of Mumbai, where access to water is limited to a few hours a day and the communal taps have long lines. Lately, though, even that access is threatened by severe water shortages and thieves who are stealing this precious commodity—an act that Minni accidentally witnesses one night. Meanwhile, in the high-rise building where she just started to work, she discovers that water streams out of every faucet and there’s even a rooftop swimming pool. What Minni also discovers there is one of the water mafia bosses. Now she must decide whether to expose him and risk her job and maybe her life. How did something as simple as access to water get so complicated?

Darcy Marks - Grounded for All Eternity - Published by Aladdin (July 26, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1534483361 - Hardback - Age: 7+

A group of kids from hell come to Earth on one of the craziest nights of the year—Halloween—in this snarky, witty middle-grade adventure about teamwork, friendship, shattering expectations, and understanding the world (or otherworld) around us.

Mal and his friends are just your regular average kids from hell. The suburbs that is, not the fiery pit part. But when Hell’s Bells ring out—signaling that a soul has escaped from one of the eternal circles, Mal and his friends can’t help but take the opportunity for a little adventure. 

Before they know it, they’ve somehow slipped through the veil and found themselves in the middle of Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween night. And what’s even worse, they’ve managed to bring the escaped soul with them! As the essence of one of history’s greatest manipulators gains power by shifting the balance on Earth, Mal and his squad-mates—along with some new friends that they meet along the way—work desperately to trap the escapee, save the people of Earth from the forces of evil, and find the portal back to their own dimension. 

If they can’t manage it before their parents realize they’re gone, they’ll be grounded for eternity. And eternity in hell is a very, very long time.

Anthony Bartley (Author), Ian Bristow (Illustrator) - Freakshow Summer - Published by Kinkajou Press (July 12, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1951122362 - Paperback - Age: 9+ 

In 1930s America a young teen struggles to find his calling among his carnival family of human curiosities while outsiders try to destroy everything he loves. 

Among the freaks and misfits of Oliver Neil’s Marvelous Carnival, thirteen-year-old Manny Dobra longs to find his place. Orphaned as a baby he’s been raised by the bearded woman, the alligator man, and the Leprechaun Family. Manny is a skilled artist, but he lives in the shadow of his deceased father’s own talent. A new summer of promise is soon spoiled by the arrival of Ron the bully and the Oldies – the Order of the Lions’ Den – hellbent on wiping out all carnivals. Manny realizes that what he finds lovely and ordinary is considered grotesque and abominable to the outside world. With the help of his friends Nickel, Margot, and Penny, Manny begins to traverse the tricky road of life, finding his footing in a world of human curiosities, both the beautiful and the ugly.

Stuart Wilson - How to Make a Monster (Prometheus High) - Published by - Puffin (AU) (July 29, 2022) ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761042256 - Paperback - Age: 11+  

A hugely inventive, action-packed, fun and quirky – and occasionally dark – adventure for fans of Skulduggery Pleasant, Nevermoor or Frankenstein. A rusting ocean liner. Thirty students learning to resurrect the dead. A murderous monster on the loose . . . Just a typical day at Prometheus High. Athena Strange's first semester at Prometheus High starts with a bang. But when her lessons in reanimation, robotics and skulkers move too slowly and she has trouble making friends, Athena decides to take matters into her own hands. On a ship where science and magic collide, and the monster under your bed is probably very real . . . will Athena be able to hold her head above water?

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Thomas Olde Heuvelt Interview - The HEX Blog Tour - Day One - Hodder & Stoughton

It has been said that HEX is a book that answers the question "Where does evil come from?" If you love a good horror novel and a clever narrative then this is surely the book for you. Please find below the questions that Thomas has answered about the release of his novel as part of his first UK blog stop. Hex is published by Hodder & Stoughton on the 28th April 2016.

How would you describe your book HEX, to potential future readers?
HEX is a creepy book about a modern day town, haunted day and night by a 17th century witch whose eyes are sewn shut. The town is quarantined by its elders to prevent her curse from exploding. Frustrated with being kept in lock down, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting, but in doing so, send the town spiraling into... well, into very dark times, to frame it nicely. Also, I'd say that with HEX, I set off to write the scariest book I could imagine. I took elements from classical horror and tried to turn them around in a modern, twisted way. The witch's haunting is very rock 'n roll. She's always there. She walks the streets day and night. She enters your home. She stands next to your bed for nights in a row. The town is bugged with cameras and there's this control centre that tries to hide her from sight all the time. But besides the supernatural power, it's a book mostly about human evil.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? 
First and foremost, I'd like to make them shudder. Or shiver. Or make them sleep with the lights on because they were too scared Katherine would pop up next to there beds. When the book came out in Holland and Belgium, I literally got hundreds of messages from readers who had to leave the lights on, or still had nightmares. Imagine the silly grin on my face as I was reading them. I am so looking forward to seeing if it has the same effect abroad... So yeah, my first goal with this book is to entertain you. Of course there's probably a lot in the book that will make you think, or reconsider your view on what's good and evil and where you stand yourself on that spectrum, and it's okay if you pick up on that. But after the nightmares. 

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? 
I guess that my short fiction always turns out weird and humorous, and my novels are always very dark. I don't know why that is. I've tried to write short horror fiction, but it usually turns into a novel. Whereas I love the magical-realism that I use in my short fiction. Stories like The Boy Who Cast No Shadow and The Ink Readers of Doi Saket are very close to my heart. You can find them all online for free. And somehow, it got me a Hugo Award, for a story called The Day the World Turned Upside Down. That was kind of ironic, as I hardly ever read science fiction.

Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your book? 
Warner Bros. is currently developing a TV series based on the book, and I really don't care all that much who they will cast (of course, that will probably change once they made it public; I'd be like 'hey, he or she doesn't look like that character!') I never have famous actors in mind as I write about my characters, and I'd surely never say they look like a particular actor, as some writers do. Don't you just hate 
that? From then on, you'll always see that actor instead of what you imagined yourself, including all your opinions about that actor. It's even worse when the writer start screwing around with it: "She looked like a fat version of Victoria Beckam." Or: "She was an African-American Julia Roberts." I mean... really? Get back to writing school! 

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you? 
I used to be like Stephen King and let the story take me wherever it would go. But after about three novels I found that it was not me. I like to take more control. I discovered that you can put a lot more meaning to a story or a book if you sit down to think about it. Or in my case, not sit down, as that's the worst stimulation for my creativity (especially when there's a cumputer and Wifi at hand). So I go out and take a hike in the woods, or go for a swim, or joke about my story ideas with a few creative friends - joking usually gives the best ideas. 

What made you decide to sit down and actually start something? 
When I'm extremely thrilled about the idea. In other words, when we've joked enough about it that I went through the stages of not taking it serious anymore, and then taking it even more serious because it got so good. You kind of feel at that stage that you're ready to start the actual writing. 

Can you pass on any tips regarding the writing process to other budding writers? 
Go online. You'll find zillions of tips by zillions of writers and they'll all tell you something else. So what do you do? Just go out and write the best book you can that you would want to read. 

Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process? 
Obviously. There are many books displayed at the bookstore that make you go, yuck, and then you don't pick it up and it's such a shame, because maybe there was some real beauty inside. But good publishers know how to make good covers. I am totally, head-over-heels in love with the HEX cover Hodder & Stoughton put on the book, made by Leo Nickolls. I think it's spectacular. Also, I love green.

 As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? 
At age three, I wanted to become Mommy. At ages four to six, I wanted to become a pirate. At seven, an interior designer. At eight, an airline pilot. I had a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings about plane crashes. At nine, Jeremy Jackson. At ten, an airline pilot again. At sixteen, a rock guitarist. At seventeen, pirate again. At eighteen, I more or less accidentally became a writer when my debut novel came out.

Is there anything else that you would like to tell us?
Definitely, now you provide me with the opportunity. Did you ever try a Banana Fower Salad? If not, go and try it. It's the best possible food on this planet. It's magical. It's from Thailand. Here's a video of me making one: www.youtube.com/watch?v=U05PifAlyHI. It's in Dutch, though, so probably not a good idea to follow the recipe if you want to get it right. At least it will give you a chance to hear me speak in my silly language.

Book Review: Nigel McDowell - The Black North - Published by Hot Key Books

Book Review: After reading Nigel's debut novel last year, TALL TALES FROM PITCH END, I was very interested to see what the author would dream up next. I was not really expecting this latest story, to be honest, but what a fantastic read. Like the first novel, the author in my opinion delivers a unique insight into a fantasy world that captivates the reader on so many levels. This is an atmospheric dark tale that will sweep you off your feet in many different ways.

This is a fast paced, mystical adventure that is very surreal but, also at times, rather confusing as some of the characters that you thought were dead magically reappear! This might have been a trick of my own imagination, but nevertheless, this made for an explosive epic battle. 

One strength of the story was the author's overly wild imagination which is deployed to fantastic effect; lots of detailed backstory and a plot that hooked me from the very beginning.

The characters are absolutely brilliant. Many of them should have a stand-alone book written just for them. Bizarre creatures have been depicted within this book, such as the Briar-Witches, that really will scare the pants of you. I particularly liked the 'Master of the Big House' and his stone statue sister; they lifted the story for me. On a number of occasions, I found myself giggling in a mad and demonic sort of way. 

Nigel paints a picture of a complex world that is crumbling into nothingness; a powerful force of evil that the human race need to fight. All of which is told with some elements of folklore and dark magic but within a fairytale style. This blend reads like one big nightmare. Told from the point of Oona, a female heroine who is stubborn and strong - she is a match for anyone as she lead us through this fantastic tale. This is a story for every reader with a vivacious appetite for the unimaginable and the terrifying. It was a huge hit with me and one that I would thoroughly recommend. 

Book Synopsis:

The Divided Isle, once a place of peace and tranquillity, has been ravaged by war. Twins Oona and Morris live with their grandmother in a stone cottage in the quiet southern county of Drumbroken, but the threat of the Invaders of the Black North - the ravaged northern part of the island - is coming ever closer. When Morris, fighting against the Invaders, is kidnapped by one of the evil Briar Witches, Oona must journey to the unknown realms of the Black North in search of her brother. She is accompanied only by Merrigutt, a jackdaw with mysterious transformative powers, and a treasured secret possession: a small stone in the shape of a plum, but a stone that reveals truths and nightmares, and which the Invaders and their ruler, the King of the North, seek more than anything. Oona must keep the stone safe at all costs, and find her brother, before the King of the North extends his evil hold over the whole island and destroys it forever.

Mr Ripley's Children's Book Recommendation - Animal Spirits Series: Wild Born/Hunted - By Brandon Mull & Maggie Stiefvater

                         

WILD BORN - Book One by Brandon Mull - Out Now
Four children separated by vast distances all undergo the same ritual, watched by cloaked strangers. Four flashes of light erupt, and from them emerge the unmistakable shapes of incredible beasts - a wolf, a leopard, a panda, a falcon. Suddenly the paths of these children - and the world - have been changed for ever. Enter the world of Erdas, where every child who comes of age must discover if they have a spirit animal, a rare bond between human and beast that bestows great powers to both.

 A dark force has risen from distant and long-forgotten lands, and has begun an onslaught that will ravage the world. Now the fate of Erdas has fallen on the shoulders of four young strangers ... 

Book Two: Hunted is by Maggie Stiefvater - Published 1st Jan 2014 - Check out the cool game and more: http://spiritanimals.scholastic.com/

Book Review: Lovecraft Middle School - Professor Gargoyle/ The Slither Sister By Charles Gilman

From the publisher who brought you one of my favourite books back in 2011 - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Has now sent me two books in a great new series that I can shout my head of, to anyone who will listen. Thanks to Matthew for sending them over to me. I really appreciate it without people like yourself, my blog would not be the same. 

I know a lot of my followers love reading books that have, shall we say a darker nature in genre. A good old fashion horror book that will lift your spirits to a place of ones imagination and this does that with spades. 

So in true fashion I like to tell you about the "Lovecraft Middle School" series of books that hit the shelves last September with the follow up "The Slither Sisters" book two which is out hopefully 15th January, they should be in all good book stores from then. If not track them down online as book two will be out for you to buy as well. You can't miss them either each book has a fantastic holographic cover which will catch your eye immediately and very cool to boot. 

We have a little sprinkling of R. L Stine magic about these books that sends shivers down your spine.  Anyone 9 and over will sink their teeth into them page by page lapping up the daemons and the story line to the max. Robert Arthur and the School ghost and bully fight the forces of evil. Crawford Tilinghast and his army of mutant creatures are the forces of evil that have been dreamt up from the far realms of the authors mind. It all takes place around Lovecraft Middle School a crazy place with even crazier pupils and teachers. 

I love the secret attic that's depicted in the book and some of the outrageous monsters, the star of the show for me is a two head rat. One heads called Pip and the other's called Squeak. I find that funny to be honest, I'm still chuckling now.

These are great books to enjoy in one sitting , they will captivate and hook reluctant boy readers for sure. I think they are really cool as well.  I read both books one after the other, I really wanted another one. The good thing is the third book entitled Teacher's Pest is due out in May.  So Matt if you read this, please send me it soon.  I hope you all enjoy them, if I have tempted you to read them. Thanks for reading this post, see you again soon!

Also I have posted the book trailer and synopsis in the previous post. Here

Tales from Lovecraft Middle School: Professor Gargoyle & The Slither Sisters by Charles Gilman - Book Trailer & Synopsis

                                            

Book Review to follow in the next day or so, it won't all fit on one post.

Book One - Professor Gargoyle - Strange things are happening at Lovecraft Middle School. Rats are leaping from lockers. Students are disappearing. The school library is a maze of secret corridors. And the science teacher is acting very peculiar. In fact, he just might be a monster in disguise. Twelve-year-old Robert Arthur knew that seventh grade was going to be weird, but this is ridiculous!

The Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series sets the stage for the adventures to come. The cover features a state-of-the-art “morphing” photo portrait—so you can personally witness the professor transforming into a monster. You won't believe your eyes!

Book Two - The Slither Sisters Looks can be deceiving! Sarah and Sylvia Price may resemble ordinary middle school students, but they’re actually hideous monsters in disguise. Even worse, they’re campaigning for student council, with a secret plan for abducting the entire seventh grade! The only ones brave enough to stop them are twelve-year-old Robert Arthur and his best friends: the school bully, the school ghost, and a very hungry two-headed rat.

The Slither Sisters picks up right where Professor Gargoyle ended—with more action, more adventure, and more outrageous monsters! This time around, Robert and the gang confront a winged harpy, an insanely long serpent, and (most frightening of all) their first school dance. Middle school has never been so terrifying!

Garth Nix & Sean Williams - Trouble Twisters - Book Review

                                    

• Pages - 326
• Publisher - Egmont UK
• Date - 6 June 2011
• Age 10+
• ISBN: H/B 978 1 4052 5857 9
• ISBN: P/B 978 1 4052 5856 6

Twin siblings Jack and Jaide discover they are pivotal to a secret supernatural organisation that protects the earth from marauding Evil! Portland might seem like a quiet coastal town, and their grandmother is perhaps no dottier than anyone else's, but it soon becomes apparent that the strange things going on around them are anything BUT ordinary. It's all very well discovering that you suddenly have magical powers, but when you don't know exactly what they are, or how to use them, then facing impending peril doesn't seem like a very good idea at all...


It's not that long ago that I mentioned the lack of good books being published within the fantasy genre. However, a couple of weeks after this post, this particular book popped up in my mail box. Imagine how happy I was to see this book - it made my week.


This is the first book to be published in a series of five books. It's an amazing collaboration between two of the finest authors that Australia has to offer. Two amazingly talented authors, who have written so many great books in the fantasy realm, and sold millions of copies around the globe. This book is a dream come true for some of us. 


From the very start, the reader is marched down the fantasy garden path, but with a mysterious edge that captivates the imagination. The story moves from normal to totally bizarre within just a matter of minutes. Twins Jake and Jaide see their house suddenly explode, their dad disappear and themselves being shipped off to crazy Grandma X, of whom neither have met before! 


This was a great start for me and I found that the story just got better and better. It is a great amalgamation of ideas from both authors. It is packed full of petrifying moments, magic, talking cats and many memorable moments. One of my favourite scenes included a mass of possessed rats trying to drive a bulldozer! This to me, highlighted one of many pure fantasy magic moments, that should be read and appreciated many times over.


This is a must read for all fantasy book lovers. It will take you away from reality and place you into a bubble that is fuelled with imagination. This is a great read that will appeal to both boys and girls as it incorporates many strong role models throughout the story. Great stuff and more to come in this thrilling new series.





If you're interested to find out and understand how the collaborative writing process works between two major authors. Then take a look at the youtube video below, as the two authors discuss how the story took its shape and the writing process in more detail.

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Cliff McNish - Hunting Ground - Book Review

                             

• Pages - 314
• Publisher - Orion Children's
• Date - 5 May 2011
• Age 13+

When Elliott and his brother, Ben, move into the old and crumbling Glebe House they don't expect to find themselves sharing it with ghosts. But soon sinister events are unfolding. An old diary reveals glimpses of the mansion's past - and of a terrible tragedy. A mysterious woman talks to the dead. And evil lurks in the East Wing - a hideous labyrinth of passageways devised by a truly twisted mind. Can Elliott and his family escape the clutches of Glebe House? Or will they be trapped in the maze of corridors, forever hunted by the dead?

I'm going to count to one hundred, I'm coming after you.........

I'm going to count to one hundred and I'm going to find you....

I'm going to count to one hundred and hunt you down..... 

Let the hunt commence......

In the long distant past, I have read a number of books by this author but unfortunately, I have not really had much to say about them. However, this book, although well written like all the other books really connected with me. The plot is written in the style of an old-fashioned ghost tale. The more you read, the more the author inflicts a dark and chilling sinister world that will leave you chilled to the bone.


The book is delivered in a direct and no nonsense approach. It's very intense - I felt myself being sucked into the vortex of the twisted past of Glebe House and its former owner, Vincent Cullayn. Vincent, is like no other conventional ghost. He is drawn to this world by his desire for the hunt and the final kill of his victims. He feeds off their fear as this enables him to take on a more solid-like appearance. He receives help from a young ghost called Eve, who is particularly scary, as she entices Ben and Elliott into the East Wing - a maze of corridors, scary paintings and a great aura of the past.


I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the author tied up the different elements of the story, and yet continued to lead you further into the twisted realms of the plot. Another aspect that worked really well for me, were the diary extracts, which were revealed in small sharp bursts from the perspective of Theo, who leads you through the mystery of the story. He also brings both the past and the present together.


Perhaps the only small gripe that I have, about the book, is the ending. I felt that this did not fit the complex story as it was too straight forward. Nevertheless, I found the book to be a very enjoyable and captivating read. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you like to be scared to death ..... Beware, you have been warned.

Stephanie Parker - The Green KIng - Book Review

Back in September, I got an email regarding this book. It was the kind of email that I love to receive - it informed me of a new book that was being released and asked whether I might like the chance to read it. After reading the synopsis and the details, I jumped at the chance to be able to read and review it. Hence the, somewhat, hasty email reply that was sent.

The book was promptly sent (but unfortunately during a busy period in my life) and I must confess, it got lost in a large stack of books. However, recently the stack of books took a huge tumbling and on picking them up,  I stumbled upon the vivid green cover. I was again, suitably intrigued to read it and I'm so glad that I did.

When her parents move from London to a country town on the edge of a massive wood, Charlotte is sad to be leaving her city friends behind. Yet she's entranced by the spectral image of a green man who seems to metamorphose before her very eyes. . . Slowly but surely, Charlotte finds herself being inexorably drawn into a magical world of dark and light, good and evil; a world where something mysterious, something wonderful and something terrible is happening in the woods. Together with her shadowy neighbour - a boy who has spent his life exploring the woods - and another who was inexplicably lost there as a child for a week, the three unearth a terrible secret that threatens to destroy not only the woods but also potentially our whole world; and in exposing the mystery they discover their destinies.

The book is written in a highly descriptive way; slowly drawing you into the imaginative world of the story.  The author has a great way of describing the natural surroundings through each character. They describe to the reader what they can each see and feel, whilst still continuing to hurtle through this mysterious adventure.

I was both hooked and excited to follow Charlotte and her new friends on this dark and chilling tale of good overcoming evil. I really did enjoy the power of such a good story but told in a more traditional style. The more I read, the more I was submerged in the plot. The author unleashes some fantastically creative ideas, which are layered throughout with quirky characters. The magical element of the story is very subtle but adds depth, whilst still keeping a tight focus on reality. Which is incredible as the story is developed over three different worlds.

When I was eventually forced to put this book down, in order to go to work, I found it very hard. But the great thing about this book was that I was able to lock it inside my head until I got the chance again to finish reading it - a testament to the power of good writing.

Just be aware that this book does have some slightly strange word entries. A couple of times I had to read sentences more than once in order to try and deliberate as to whether the word choices were intentional - still not sure! But in a way I actually loved the book more for this.

I would have loved to have had the opportunity to read this book as a young person, as it powers up the imagination on all fronts! But what I really want to know is, is there going to be a sequel?

Thanks to Kevin at Grimoire Books for sending out this book.