Peter Jay Black - Urban Outlaws: Blackout - Book Review - (Bloomsbury)

Book Synopsis: Power is out. Security is down. Computers hacked. The world's most destructive computer virus is out of control and the pressure is on for the Urban Outlaws to destroy it. Jack knows that it's not just the world's secrets that could end up in the wrong hands. The secret location of their bunker is at the fingertips of many and the identities of the Urban Outlaws are up for grabs. But capturing the virus feels like an almost impossible mission until they meet Hector. The Urban Outlaws know they need his help, but they have made some dangerous enemies. They could take a risk and win - or lose everything ...

Book Review: We are zipping straight into the next mission BLACKOUT with the URBAN OUTLAWS: Jack, Charlie, Slink, Obi and Wren. If you have read the first book in this series, then you might remember these bunch of quick-thinking, super-skilled kids who live to right societies wrongs from their secret bunker deep beneath the city of London. This sequel retains all of the great magical ingredients from the first book: action, suspense, surprises, spills and cool gadgets as well as the occasional and exhilarating chase scene.

This story plays like a fast-paced movie vision. It will give you a thrilling and exhilarating read right down to the very last page. However, the plot in this book is more established; the previous story history is only briefly touched upon and, in my opinion, makes this encounter a cracking sequel. 

I really liked the introduction to the new character Hector, who is an extremely talented hacker. He bursts onto the scene with a great deal of cunning moves and gusto actions. An extra element of excitement is added to the plot, which may actually pose more questions and create an air of mystery. 

The story also has a side plot running through it, which is clever, well written and totally absorbing. This makes for good reading and gives another dimension to a kaleidoscope of an adventure that will keep the reader entertained. The other good aspect about this book is that it will appeal to both boys and girls, as the story is written on so many levels. The characters are all different with unique talents enabling children to be able to relate them. 

I'm really pleased to say that this is another sure fire winner. It will engage any reader who loves a great story that is told in a no nonsense way. One strong point to mention are the detailed descriptions, which are all wrapped up in the author's imagination and highlight what it is like to be a kid. The other good point is the humour - the laughs and the crazy friendships between all of the characters is a strength in this plot. It is something that many authors just don't get right, but Peter Jay Black does. 

The book has a modern day hi-tech feel about it, from the cool gadgets, computers and surveillance to capture everyones imagination. Everything is included to keep the reluctant reader hanging on for more and, for me, makes this series one of may favourites that is currently around. 

This book is published by Bloomsbury and is out on February 5th - look out for it, in all cool bookshops.

Mr Ripley's New Children's Fantasy Books Choices Published June 2014 - US Post Two

Heather Mackey - Dreamwood - Published Putnam Juvenile (June 12, 2014) Age 10+
Lucy Darrington has no choice but to run away from boarding school. Her father, an expert on the supernatural, has been away for too long while doing research in Saarthe, a remote territory in the Pacific Northwest populated by towering redwoods, timber barons, and the Lupine people. But upon arriving, she learns her father is missing: Rumor has it he’s gone in search of dreamwood, a rare tree with magical properties that just might hold the cure for the blight that’s ravaging the forests of Saarthe.

Determined to find her father (and possibly save Saarthe), Lucy and her vexingly stubborn friend Pete follow William Darrington’s trail to the deadly woods on Devil’s Thumb. As they encounter Lupine princesses, giant sea serpents, and all manner of terrifying creatures, Lucy hasn’t reckoned that the dreamwood itself might be the greatest threat of all.

John David Anderson - Minion - Published by Walden Pond Press (June 24, 2014) Age 8+

The world of superheroes he created in Sidekicked with an entirely new cast of characters in Minion, a funny and emotional companion to his first breakout tween novel—perfect for superhero fans who also love the work of bestselling authors Rick Riordan, Louis Sachar, and Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Michael Morn might be a villain, but he's really not a bad guy. When you live in New Liberty, known across the country as the City without a Super, there are only two kinds of people, after all: those who turn to crime and those who suffer. Michael and his adoptive father spend their days building boxes—special devices with mysterious abilities—which they sell to the mob at a price. They provide for each other, they look out for each other, and they'd never betray each other.

But then a Super comes to town, and Michael's world is thrown into disarray. The Comet could destroy everything Michael and his dad have built, the safe and secure life they've made for themselves. And now Michael and his father face a choice: to hold tight to their life or to let it unravel.

Z. Fraillon - Monstrum House - Published by Hardie Grant Egmont (June 1, 2014) Age 9+

A bind-up of four Monstrum House series titles

Jasper McPhee has been expelled from schools countless times. The Monstrum House School for Troubled Children is his last chance. It looks like a normal school. All the parents who send their kids there think it's a normal school. What everyone doesn't realize is that Monstrum House is actually a place that trains kids to be monster hunters. And the monsters aren't cute and cuddly. They lurk under beds and in the school basement; some scare kids, some eat kids, and some morph them into stone. It's no use telling your parents that the school is making you catch monsters. After being expelled from schools time and time again, who would believe you?

Claudia White - Key to Kashdune - Published by MP Publishing (June 10, 2014) Age 9+

Key to Kashdune picks up the year after Aesop’s Secret ends. An earthquake in the exotic countryside of Turkey has uncovered an ancient cave full of relics of the shape-shifting Athenite people, and two present-day Athenites, Dr. Harmony Melpot and her uncle Joe Wiltshire (previously Aesop the rabbit), are eager to discover its secrets. When they meet with disaster in the form of another frightening earthquake, Melinda convinces her family to go to her friend Joe’s rescue. In the process she discovers four mysterious journals that reveal the secret to traveling by the Earth’s music. Captivated by the melodies she hears, Melinda flies off as a kestrel to the fabled island of Kashdune, rumored to be a place where Athenites and humans live together in peace. Unfortunately, the Huttons’ old nemesis Professor Horace Stumpworthy has learned of the utopian island, and he attempts to use the ancient Athenite knowledge there to exact his revenge upon the Hutton family. The Huttons, Harmony, and Joe set off after Melinda, parting a veil of magical mist that hides Kashdune from the outside world. Jake is separated from the rest of the group, but the others successfully make their way to the hidden island.

Key to Kashdune--Spring 2014

Mr Ripley's New Children's Fantasy Books Choices Published June 2014 - US Post One

Leigh Bardugo - Ruin and Rising (Grisha Trilogy (Shadow and Bone) - Published by Henry Holt and Co. (June 17, 2014) - BOOK 3

The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Ruin and Rising is the thrilling final instalment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.

Michelle Krys - Hexed - Published by Delacorte Press (June 10, 2014)

It's Bring it On meets The Craft in this spellbinding witchy series debut.
A stolen book. A deadly plan. A destiny discovered. 

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won't stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn't want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie's world, she learns that her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn't get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that's seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she's a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie is about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

S. E Grove - The Glass Sentence - Published by Viking Juvenile (June 12, 2014) - HOT PICK 

She has only seen the world through maps. She had no idea they were so dangerous.
 
Boston, 1891. Sophia Tims comes from a family of explorers and cartologers who, for generations, have been traveling and mapping the New World—a world changed by the Great Disruption of 1799, when all the continents were flung into different time periods.  Eight years ago, her parents left her with her uncle Shadrack, the foremost cartologer in Boston, and went on an urgent mission. They never returned. Life with her brilliant, absent-minded, adored uncle has taught Sophia to take care of herself.

Then Shadrack is kidnapped. And Sophia, who has rarely been outside of Boston, is the only one who can search for him. Together with Theo, a refugee from the West, she travels over rough terrain and uncharted ocean, encounters pirates and traders, and relies on a combination of Shadrack’s maps, common sense, and her own slantwise powers of observation. But even as Sophia and Theo try to save Shadrack’s life, they are in danger of losing their own.

The Glass Sentence plunges readers into a time and place they will not want to leave, and introduces them to a heroine and hero they will take to their hearts. It is a remarkable debut.

Erika McGann - The Demon Notebook - Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (June 3, 2014) 

What will they do when their "harmless" curses suddenly start coming true?

Grace and her four best friends, Jenny, Rachel, Adie, and Una, are failed spell casters-and they have a notebook full of useless spells to prove it. But one night, when they use a Ouija board for the first time, they stumble upon real magical powers-and their notebook takes on a diabolical life of its own. The girls watch, helpless, as one by one, their spells start to work, moving relentlessly toward the worst one of all...Can Grace and her friends stem the wave of powerful magic before disaster strikes?