Mr Ripley's Book Review: Key to Kashdune by Claudia White - MP Publishing

This might be a pocket size book but inside is a super sized adventure for younger readers. One year on and Key to Kashdune is the next installment to Aesop's Secret featuring the Hutton family. Melinda is still able to transform into any animal that she can think of - sometimes with comical and crazy consequences. However once she discovers four mysterious journals, in a cave in Turkey, that reveal the secret to travelling to the Earth's music; the adventure soon sets off once again....

“This is too freaky,” Felix sighed. “First, because I didn’t think that I believed that stuff about music in the air and second, because why would the music that supposedly identifies Paris be recorded in hieroglyphs found in journals written thousands of years ago in Turkey?”

The story is very imaginative, infact it floats off the page like a big dream as you suddenly find yourself fly off in the form of a kestrel to the fabled island of Kashdune. High above the clouds and, over the sparkling blue sea, the story establishes an adventure that no younger reader would be able to resist. Danger lurks around every corner through characters such as Professor Horace Stumpworthy. After learning about the Utopian Island, he soon attempts to use the ancient Athenite knowledge to exact his revenge upon the Hutton family. 

Augustina straightened up, a puzzled look on her face, “I didn’t mean change into other clothes…I was talking about changing into something like fur or even feathers…however you might be more comfortable.”

This is a thrilling little read with a big heart and lots of imagination. I really enjoyed reading this book as it transported me back to my 'carefree' childhood. I really think that Claudia has written a great story that allows the reader to explore the plot easily and comfortably. Elements of mythology, mystery and mayhem whip up a super story to ensure that we all love and enjoy it. 

“Augustina reads minds,” Melinda added while attempting handstands on the grass. “But she doesn’t do it all the time. She said that most people’s thoughts aren’t that interesting. All Athenites are supposed to be able to do it.”  Having failed at another handstand, Melinda lay crumpled on the grass. “Did you know that she can disappear too?”

This is a great entertaining read which has a hidden melody to lift you into the fantasy cloud for the duration of the story. A heartwarming, funny and charming family quest that will take you on a journey that you won't want to end. When it finally does, you'll definitely want to read the next installment very soon. This is Mr Ripley's Younger Read recommendation for all children but especially girls.

Published by MP Publishing (10 Jun 2014)

Mr Ripley's Book Review: Eoin Colfer - W.A.R.P BK 2 - The Hangman's Revolution

"The old maxim that every action has a reaction is true, but when you start messing with time travel, that reaction could take place in a whole different universe." —Professor Charles Smart 

This is the next instalment in the fantastic series 'W.A.R.P'  and what a sequel this book is. With an eye dropping cover, this is surely going to be snapped up by readers. I was incredibly pleased to receive this book in my mail box. It read incredibly well; I was not disappointed in any way. Well, only when it finally ended.

I warped with full speed into the story; my mental agility soon reached overload. From the very first page, the reader is flung straight into the action following young FBI agent Chevie bags-of-attitude Savano. Trapped in a nightmare future, she needs to return to 19th century London to change the course of history. Can she do it? Well, that you will have to find out.  Along the way she receives support and help from her 19th century friend Riley (boy magician) and the Victorian gangster Otto Malarkey (current leader of The Battering Ram's). All in all, these add up to a charming little gang of cutthroats, serial killers and petty theft merchants that you are ever likely to read about and follow.

Chevie becomes involved in a mission to save the world. The only problem with this is that she has to battle a group of crazy villains known as the Boxite Empire. These villains have brought the military technology of the future to the 19th century and want to use it to take over the world.  The storyline is full of explosive action. Rampaging all over Victorian London, tanks blow up historical buildings and important monuments. Never mind the couple of machine gun wielding warrior-nuns, known as the Thundercats, that  give the story a thumping great punch in the guts. It sounds very surreal, but it all adds up to a fantastic read.

I really loved the interaction of the characters: the ying and yang,  the villains and heroes, male and female partnerships. All of these elements bring about crashing twists and turns that will leave you on a knife edge. This book feels like an older read; looking back to the first book 'The Reluctant Assassin' this is told through the perspective of young characters and doesn't indulge in the same intellectual use of language. The humour is side splitting; it is almost slapstick in parts. You laugh once, you laugh twice and you'll easily laugh a third time as Eoin Colfer runs riot with the plot. The creative genius of this author is what only most of us can dream about writing.

This book is one of the best reads of this year. It might be crazy, but it is a joy to read. The reader's smile will grow stronger from start to finish. Although there is also a dark and bloody side to the story. Some scenes have so much energy and spirit that they will stay with you for some time, perhaps even into the next century!

This is a brilliantly written adventure - it is highly creative and a feast of fun. Houdini meets The Matrix with a Dickensian twist. Mr Ripley's Recommend read for June 2014.

"I knew a guy once who liked  to argue about time travel. He liked to line things up, consequences and so forth. This moron thought winning the argument made him right. The wormhole doesn't care about words. What happens, happens.  —Professor Charles Smart 

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.

Guest Post by Lisa Glass - Blue - Published by Quercus Children’s Books

Writing and surfing: basically the same thing.

Writing, I decided one night, after consuming two Stellas, is a lot like surfing. Nonsense, you might say, writing is nothing like surfing, but you would be wrong. In fact, I would go even further and say that writing is like pro-surfing.

For a start, your friends will be watching your career with great scepticism. Being a pro-surfer, just like being a writer, seems to many people a ludicrous dream. The first time you state your intention of making a living in either of these fields, you will be discouraged and possibly even laughed at. And with good reason: it is very hard to make money out of surfing or writing; lots of people enjoy doing these things, but as a hobby rather than a career, and just who the hell do you think you are? There might be some opportunities to teach these things (surf coach, creative writing tutor) if you’re good enough or know the right people, but the available jobs are few and far between and competition for them is fierce. 

If you do happen to get sponsored/a book deal you will find that there are many critics in the world. Lots of them will be lovely and make excellent points, which you will take on board, but others will make cutting (often hilarious) remarks about your surfing/writing technique, call you all sorts of unpleasant names and beseech you to stop, for the sake of their eyes, which will be bleeding.

You will attend events where the order of business is to promote your brand and sometimes you will be asked to sign books/posters and on a good day you’ll make new friends who will enrich your life and you might even be offered complimentary wine.

In the back of my book, I thank my family for ‘helping me to the surface so many times when I was drowning in the impact zone of modern publishing’. The impact zone in surfing is where the waves break and it can be almost impossible to push through those turbulent waters to the calm of the line-up, which is where surfers wait to catch waves. For a time you have to put up with wave after wave breaking on your head and pushing you backwards, which is sort of how it feels to receive agent and publisher rejections. But, eventually, you’ll either give up and retreat back to shore or reach the line-up where you might just surf the most amazing wave of your life. Or, uh, something.

Lisa Glass is the author of Blue, a YA surf romance published by Quercus Children’s Books, 5 June 2014. 

Twitter: @TheSeaSection 

How To Claim - Surf Sufficient from www.KORDUROY.tv on Vimeo.

Guest Post by Sarah Sky - Code Red Lipstick - Published by Scholastic

JESSICA Cole’s an average teenager, except when she’s modelling and helping out her private investigator dad on surveillance jobs.

When the former MI6 spy vanishes mysteriously, the 14-year-old takes matters into her own hands.

Following her dad’s trail to Paris, her investigation leads her to AKSC, the beauty headquarters of former supermodel, Allegra Knight, and a conspiracy involving an MI6 double agent.

Jessica needs her wits about her - as well as lots of gadgets to give her the upper hand against dangerous adversaries.

But what gadgets do spies really use? I’d asked a “security expert” friend for advice while researching Code Red Lipstick.  Without skipping a beat, he replied: "If you can imagine it, so can MI6 and every other security service. In fact they're probably already using it."

In fact, nothing is too implausible in the real world from lipstick guns designed by the KGB at the height of the Cold War to tiny, insect-sized spy drones already being developed by the US army.

What about a “Cheetah” robot that could outrun the fastest man on Earth? Check. It’s under development in America and will be able to sprint, zigzag and be precise enough to stop on a dime.

How about enabling a spy or a soldier to run at Olympic speeds and go for days without food or sleep? 

Again, that's taken care of if new research into gene manipulation is successful in the US. Injured operatives and soldiers could eventually be able to grow back limbs blown apart by bombs.

The truth is that governments across the world are conducting jaw-dropping research, which sounds like science fiction but could mean the difference between life and death in espionage, as well as wars.

Even the Ministry of Defence's own think-tank, the Development Concepts and Doctrine Centre, predicts that by 2045, advances in medical technology could create a class of genetically superior humans – similar to characters like Wolverine from X Men.

It believes that brain implants may be developed that 'either augment or enhance vision, language, auditory and memory capabilities'.  With all this in mind, I've twice ventured to a West London annual security conference - heavily vetted, never widely advertised and visited by 'spooks' - as research for my Jessica Cole: Model Spy series, being launched by Scholastic. I've experimented with the latest tactical ladders used in hostage situations and the high-tech grapnels used to scale submarines as well as encrypted mobile phones and facial recognition technology, which can spot even the partly obscured face of a target in a crowd. 

I've been taught how to use the hidden gadgets in high-tech armoured car to disable or even destroy a vehicle in pursuit. I'd be long gone before a villain in one of my books managed to catch up.

I’ve learnt that surveillance robots and mini-helicopters are a vital tool on covert missions and that electro-magnetic pulses will kill an engine instantly if a target attempts to escape by car or speed boat.

What has my research taught me? That the gadgets Jessica uses can never be too far-fetched or unrealistic.

The teenager could quite easily wear taser trainers, designed by MI6, and have a powder compact that enables her to see through walls. After all, she wouldn't be a very good spy, if she wasn't well-equipped and ready for the equally well-equipped baddies she encounters.  I'll be back at the conference again next year, looking out for the latest mind-blowing gadgets.  But it’s the top secret ones which will never be on display that interest me most. Fact, as they say, will always be stranger than fiction.

* Code Red Lipstick by Sarah Sky is published by Scholastic on 5 June 2014

www.sarahsky.co.uk

Twitter @sarahsky23

Guest Publication Day Post: Matt Brown - Compton Valance: The Most Powerful Boy In The Universe

I like to welcome Matt Brown to Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books. Thank you for taking the time to write this insightful blog post. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you and your book a Happy Publication Day... 

How It Feels To See Your Book On A Shelf

When I first tried my hand at writing and getting a book published, the signs were not good.  Bad, even.  The first story I wrote and sent to agents came back with letters that began with “we are sorry to say” and “at the moment we have a large number of works on file” and “how dare you send me this putrid effluent you hideous waste of a pair of trousers” (I may have been reading between the lines here.) That was in 2004, so it has taken ten years to finally get to the day that I sometimes thought would never come. Drumroll please.  Today is PUBLICATION DAY! 

Compton Valance: The Most Powerful Boy In The Universe is a story about two ordinary boys who accidentally create a time machine.  Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated with the idea of time travel and the kind of possibilities that would stretch out before you if you had a time machine.  I loved books about time travel like Tom’s Midnight garden and Stig of the Dump.  I loved TV shows about time travel like Dr Who and Sapphire and Steel.  And I loved Back To The Future more than just about anything else in the whole world.  After spending three quarters of my life thinking about where and when I would visit if I could travel through time it seemed only fitting that my first book be about that very notion. 

So, how does it feel to finally have a book in the shops?  It feels AWESOME!  Like a gold badger surfing a twenty-foot high wave whilst he’s high-fiving a hedgehog.  Only better!  My days at the moment are spent doing one of three things.  

• Signing books in bookshops with wonderful, enthusiastic booksellers.
• Chatting in schools about where I would go to if I had a time machine.
• Frantically checking my author rating on Amazon. 

Now I just need to write the next book so I can keep doing this forever.  Or perhaps I just need to create my own time machine.  Hmmmmm, now there’s a thought.

Book Synopsis: When Compton Valance and his best friend Bryan Nylon discover the world's first TIME MACHINE (aka a mouldy, thirteen-week-old-cheese-and-pickled-egg sandwich), they become the most powerful boys in the universe. But how will Compton and Bryan decide to use their incredible new time-travelling powers? Will they use them for good? Will they use them for evil? Or will they just focus their efforts on perfecting a formula for the world's first pair of custard trousers? Things are about to get totally scrambled for Compton Valance.

Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (1 Jun 2014) 

Mr Ripley's New Children and Teen Book Book Picks - June 2014 - UK Post

Nigel McDowell - The Black North - Published by Hot Key Books - (5 Jun 2014)

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.

Amy Plum - After the End - Published by HarperTeen (5 Jun 2014) 

Juneau grew up fearing the outside world. The elders told her that beyond the borders of their land in the Alaskan wilderness, nuclear war had destroyed everything. But when Juneau returns from a hunting trip one day and discovers her people have been abducted, she sets off to find them. And leaving the boundaries for the very first time, she learns the horrifying truth: World War III never happened. Nothing was destroyed. Everything she'd ever been taught was a lie.
As Juneau comes to terms with an unfathomable deception, she is forced to survive in a completely foreign world, using only the skills and abilities she developed in the wild. But while she's struggling to rescue her friends and family, someone else is after her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about her secret past.

Curtis Jobling - Haunt - Published by Simon & Schuster Children's Books (5 Jun 2014)
When Will finds himself in hospital, but unable to make anyone see or hear him, he realises that he never made it home from his first kiss with the school hottie. Knocked off his bike in a road traffic accident, Will is now officially dead - and a ghost. But somehow his best mate, Dougie, can still see him, and, what is more, increasingly Will seems bound to Dougie, going only where Dougie goes. Once they've exhausted all the comic possibilities of being invisible, they set about unravelling the mystery of Will's predicament. Is it something to do with that kiss, or the driver of the car that killed him and didn't stop? Maybe they will find an answer by investigating the rumour that there is an unhappy spirit haunting the ruins in the school grounds, and if so, why? What they discover is a long-buried mystery, which stretches its fingers right into the present…

Tim O'Rourke -  Flashes - Published by Chicken House (5 Jun 2014)
Charley has visions: flashes of things she can't explain. A girl in trouble. The sound of trains in her head. She feels certain they are clues to a crime. But no one will believe her. Until she meets Tom, a young policeman on his first case: an accidental death on railway tracks, not far from where Charley lives. Their attraction is instant, but can they discover what has happened? Accident, suicide or murder: and will it happen again?

Mr Ripley's Horror Book Picks Published In June 2014 - UK Post

Will Hill - Department 19: Zero Hour - Published by HarperCollins Children's Books (5 Jun 2014)

Department 19 still stands against the darkness. But for how much longer? Book four in the explosive series from bestselling author, Will Hill.

As Dracula continues his rise, the men and women of Department 19 wait for good news. But hope is in short supply – the country is beginning to fall apart as the public comes to terms with the horror in their midst; a cure for vampirism remains years, even decades away; and their supposed ally Valentin Rusmanov has not been heard from in weeks.

Jamie Carpenter and his friends are working hard to keep the forces of evil at bay, but it is beginning to feel like a lost cause…Until familiar faces from the past bring news that could turn the tide. News that takes Matt Browning to America on a desperate search for a miracle, and sends Jamie and Larissa Kinley into the darkest corners of eastern Europe, where something old and impossibly powerful waits for them.

Something that could stop Dracula for good.

But the clock is ticking.

Night is falling. And Zero Hour is almost here…

James Dawson - Say Her Name - Published by Hot Key Books (5 Jun 2014)

Roberta 'Bobbie' Rowe is not the kind of person who believes in ghosts. A Halloween dare at her ridiculously spooky boarding school is no big deal, especially when her best friend Naya and cute local boy Caine agree to join in too. They are ordered to summon the legendary ghost of 'Bloody Mary': say her name five times in front of a candlelit mirror, and she shall appear...But, surprise surprise, nothing happens. Or does it? Next morning, Bobbie finds a message on her bathroom mirror...five days...but what does it mean? And who left it there? Things get increasingly weird and more terrifying for Bobbie and Naya, until it becomes all too clear that Bloody Mary was indeed called from the afterlife that night, and she is definitely not a friendly ghost. Bobbie, Naya and Caine are now in a race against time before their five days are up and Mary comes for them, as she has come for countless others before...

Jon Mayhew - Monster Odyssey: The Wrath of the Lizard Lord (Monster Odyssey 2) -  Published by Bloomsbury Children's (5 Jun 2014)

Prince Dakkar and his mentor Count Oginski discover a plot by arch-enemy Cryptos to kill Napoleon. Arriving on their revolutionary submersible to intercept Cryptos, they glimpse a terrifying monster that seems to escape back into the bowels of the Earth. It leads them to discover an amazing underground world, and a plan more nefarious than they could ever have believed - even from Cryptos.

The stage is set for an epic showdown complete with a giant reptilian cavalry and the Battle of Waterloo, in another breathlessly paced and endlessly inventive adventure for fans of Percy Jackson.

Emerald Fennell - Shiverton Hall: The Creeper - Published by Bloomsbury Children's (5 Jun 2014)

Don't look behind you. Resist with all your power. He'll go away, perhaps, as long as you don't look.
Arthur Bannister is back for another term at Shiverton Hall, where eerie events are unfolding. First, a burned stranger shows up in the middle of the night uttering dire warnings. Then a young boy disappears, leaving behind only an ancient book as a clue. And then there's that dreadful feeling Arthur has that he's being watched . . .

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?