Piu DasGupta - Secrets of the Snakestone - Book Review - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

What do we have here: A mysterious locket? A Missing Father? A Dangerous secret society? Well, you can expect all of these when you pick up the debut book by Piu DasGupta. The Secrets of the Snakestone is due to be published by Nosy Crow on the 14th of March 2024. It's a sinister and captivating debut that whisks readers away on a dramatic adventure through the winding streets and mysterious sewers of Paris. The narrative is so captivating that you'll find yourself eagerly turning each page, much like a sewer rat on the hunt for its next meal! You'll be gobbling up the elements of magic, mystery and danger in a world that is as alluring as it is perilous.

The protagonist, Zélie, is a compelling character who is thrust into a world of intrigue and enchantment when she is given a golden locket that once housed the powerful Snakestone. As she sets out to find the stone and her missing father, she becomes entangled in a perilous race against a treacherous secret society. The narrative is bold and adventurous with twists and turns. It takes readers on a journey filled with riddles to a captivating circus and through a labyrinthine of tunnels that lie beneath the bustling city of Paris.

If this is not already enough to entice you then the connection, through the author's Indian culture and heritage, with the Jungles of Calcutta and a family crime at the center of the mystery will surely compel you to read this bundle of narrative joy. It has all the flavours of curry and a wonderous amount of lively and colourful characters that will leave every reader with a taste for a gothic and dark adventure. 

Piu DasGupta's storytelling is nothing short of brilliant, as it pulls readers into a world where danger and wonder coexist. "Secrets of the Snakestone" is a fantastic and immersive book that will keep you spellbound from the first page to the last. With its blend of mystery, magic and culture, this book is a perfect fit for anyone seeking an enthralling and immersive read. 

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Children's Book Picks July 2023

 

Chris Wormell - The Lucky Bottle - Published by David Fickling Books (6 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1788451895 - Paperback - Age: 8+

Ten-year-old Jack is stranded on a desert island. He's been very lucky: he's survived a terrible storm and the mysterious island he has found himself on has a kindly if unusual inhabitant, fresh water and plenty of food. But Jack needs to find his way home, and as he uncovers incredible hidden treasures on the little island, he starts to formulate a plan.

A plan that will involve witchcraft, terrifying sea monsters and pirates! But if Jack's going to succeed he will need to be very very lucky.

Jon Klassen - THE SKULL - Published by Walker Books (11 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529509571 - Hardback - Age: 6

In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both? Steeped in shadows and threaded with subtle wit – with rich, monochromatic artwork and an illuminating author’s note – The Skull is as empowering as it is mysterious and foreboding.

Matthew Fox - The Lovely Dark - Published by Hodder Children's Books (6 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1444964745 - Paperback - Age: 8+

Beautifully moving and breathtakingly original, this is a story of bravery and second chances, for readers aged 9+.

When 12-year-old Eleanor Newton dies in an accident, she finds herself journeying down a mysterious river that takes her to The Underworld. She apprehensively embarks on her "afterlife" at Eventide House, a boarding school of sorts for children who have died.

The Underworld is captivating: always sunny and warm but also fractured. Strange things have been happening to Ellie since she arrived: she knows something isn't right, and she doesn't want to be there. She desperately wants to get back to the world of The Living to meet her new baby brother, even if it means being a ghost.

Can Ellie find a way out of the Underworld? And who - or what - will she be if she does? 

The Lovely Dark is another breathtakingly original story from Matthew Fox, author of The Sky Over Rebecca. Set in the modern world, it features themes of life after a pandemic, mental health and grief, all handled with real lightness of touch.

Hiba Noor Khan - Safiyyah's War - Published by Andersen Press (6 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1839133138 - Paperback - Age: 8+

War comes to the streets of Paris and Safiyyah’s life changes forever. 

Her best friend’s family has fled, and the bombing makes her afraid to leave the mosque where she lives. But when her father is arrested by the Nazis for his secret Resistance work, it falls to Safiyyah to run the dangerous errands around the city. 
It’s not long before hundreds of persecuted Jews seek sanctuary at the mosque. Can Safiyyah find the courage to enter the treacherous catacombs under Paris and lead the Jews to safety?

Ann Sei Lin - Rebel Fire (Rebel Skies Trilogy) - Published by  Walker Book (6 July 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1406399608 - Paperback - Age: 13+ 

The second in a pacy and lyrical fantasy adventure trilogy set in a world of flying ships, sky cities and rebel uprisings. 

Kurara and her shipmates have escaped the grasp of the princess, whose wish to control and command them as her own human shikigami would be a fate worse than death. Travelling through the forests and across the seas of Mikoshima, they finally the Grand Stream, where their old airship – and old enemies – await.

Both parties seek the greatest shikigami of all: Suzaku, a paper phoenix. But will it be saved – or destroyed?

Sarah Todd Taylor - Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire! A Spoonful of Spying - BOOK REVIEW - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Are we ready for a sweet adventure? Then it's time to be whisked away by the second book featuring Alice Éclair Spy Extraordinaire. A Spoonful of Spying will be thrown into the mixing bowl (early January 2023) by Nosy Crow Books. 

The story has moved on from the first adventure where we were on board France's most glamorous train, The Sapphire Express. In book 2, the setting is the exciting and wonderful Paris World Fair. It's a new world full of invention, discovery, and arts. This really drives the narrative to a fabulous, fantastical world of mystery, and espionage that the amateur sleuth will love to read and be immersed in. 

Alice Éclair leads an exciting double life - a baker by day and a spy by night! From fashion to aviation we rush into a whirlwind of baked goods to a waltz down Paris surrounded by enemy spies. Alice needs to choose her friends wisely as some of the inventors she encounters are in terrible danger.  As we plunge into the book (and the river Seine!) we are treated to an immersive story that is really uplifting to read whilst keeping the readers on their sugar-coated toes. 

This is a rapid read which is spiked with danger; Alice must save her friends and foil the enemy's plot to save the ever-changing world. It's part of a brilliant series in an ever-expanding popular genre. Real events and great character-driven plots fuel this story. It's a really comfy armchair read for anyone and everyone. Does anyone fancy some cake? 

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

 

Kiersten White - Wretched Waterpark (The Sinister Summer Series) - Published by ‎ Delacorte Press (June 7, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593379042 - Hardback - Age: 7+

A brand-new middle-grade mystery series that's spooky, creepy, and filled with gothic twists! Meet the Sinister-Winterbottom twins, who solve mysteries at increasingly bizarre summer vacation destinations in the hopes of being reunited with their parents—or at the very least finally finding a good churro.

Meet the Sinister-Winterbottoms: brave Theo, her timid twin, Alexander, and their older sister, Wil. They’re stuck for the summer with their Aunt Saffronia, who doesn’t know how often children need to eat and can’t use a smartphone, and whose feet never quite seem to touch the floor when she glides—er—walks. 

When Aunt Saffronia suggests a week pass to the Fathoms of Fun Waterpark, they hastily agree. But the park is even stranger than Aunt Saffronia. The waterslides look like gray gargoyle tongues. The employees wear creepy black dresses and deliver ominous messages. An impossible figure is at the top of the slide tower, people are disappearing, and suspicious goo is seeping into the wave pool. 

Something mysterious is happening at Fathoms of Fun, and it’s up to the twins to get to the bottom of it. The mystery, that is. NOT the wave pool. Definitely NOT the wave pool. But are Theo and Alexander out of their depth?

Lora Senf - The Clackity - Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers (June 28, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1665902670 - Hardback - Age: 9+
Reminiscent of Doll Bones, this deliciously eerie middle-grade novel tells the story of a girl who must enter a world of ghosts, witches, and monsters to play a game with deadly consequences and rescue her aunt.

Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor—the seventh-most haunted town in America—with her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert. Des doesn’t have many rules except one: Stay out of the abandoned slaughterhouse at the edge of town. But when her aunt disappears into the building, Evie goes searching for her.

There she meets The Clackity, a creature who lives in the shadows and seams of the slaughterhouse. The Clackity makes a deal with Evie to help get Des back in exchange for the ghost of John Jeffrey Pope, a serial killer who stalked Blight Harbor a hundred years earlier. Evie must embark on a journey into a strange otherworld filled with hungry witches, penny-eyed ghosts, and a memory-thief, all while being pursued by a dead man whose only goal is to add Evie to his collection of lost souls.

Judith Eagle (Author), Jo Rioux (Illustrator) - The Pear Affair  - Published by Walker Books US (June 14, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1536217032 - Hardback - Age: 9+

Nell is determined to find her beloved missing au pair in this vibrant adventure set in, and underneath, Paris.
Penelope Magnificent spends as little time as possible with her awful parents—a grocery-mogul father and a fashion-obsessed mother who loves expensive purses more than she does her daughter. But when they mention an important trip to Paris, Nell begs to come along. Paris holds something very dear to her: her old au pair Perrine—Pear—who lives there. Pear used to write to Nell every week, promising to come to her rescue, but recently the letters stopped. With the help of a savvy bellboy named Xavier, Nell sets out from her parents’ ultra-fancy Parisian hotel to find her beloved Pear. But Pear’s old neighbors and coworkers are strangely tight-lipped. And as Nell’s search for the truth takes her and Xavier to some of the darkest, most mysterious parts of the city, a sinister plot comes to light involving the destruction of a cherished—and delicious—part of Parisian life. Food, fashion, and intrigue abound in this delightful caper from the author of The Secret Starling.

Kelly Devos - Go Hunt Me - Published by Razorbill (June 14, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593204856 - Hardback - Age: 12+ 

For Dracula lovers and fans of Diana Urban’s All Your Twisted Secrets, this spine-tingling thriller follows seven horror buffs as their dream trip to a remote Romanian castle turns into a nightmare when they begin to be killed one by one.

Alex Rush is ready for the trip of a lifetime.
 
She and her friends have made some creepily awesome films together throughout high school, so with only a few months left before they go their separate ways for college, they’re determined to make the best one yet: an epic short film that reimagines the story of Dracula, filmed on location at a remote castle in Romania.
 
But when they get there, it’s not quite the majestic setting they planned for. Menacing weapons line the walls, the twisted halls are easy to get lost in, and with no connection to the outside world, the group is unexpectedly off the grid. After just a few hours spent under its roof, Alex and her friends have no trouble imagining how this dark, terrifying castle inspired one of the most enduring horror novels of all time.
 
Only soon they no longer have to use their imaginations to understand the location’s terrifying history—just as they get the film's first shot rolling, one of Alex’s friends disappears, and she’s nearly certain she saw a cloaked stranger lurking in the shadows. As more members of the group begin to meet an untimely demise, Alex is desperate to stop the bloodshed, even if it means facing a monster she never thought would be let loose.

Jo Clarke - Libby and the Parisian Puzzle (The Travelling School Mysteries 1) - Book Review - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Author: Jo Clarke

Book Title: Libby and the Parisian Puzzle

Series: The Travel School Mysteries (Bk1)

Illustrated: Becka Moor

Publisher: Firefly Press (3 Mar. 2022)

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎978-1913102708 - Paperback 

Key Words: Mystery, Crime, Paris, Young Adults

The world of fun and mystery starts here with one of my favourite books of March 2022. Just imagine you could go to a school that changed its geographical location every month. Well, if you attended Mousedale's Travelling School this would be your reality. New York (overlooking the Statue of Liberty) followed by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. What an educational adventure and it is where we find Libby following in her adventurous footsteps. 

This is a classic detective mystery with a case to solve and a great location to go with it. It's a plot that starts with a mystery but it soon becomes a complicated puzzle to be solved by our unwilling protagonist and her newfound friend. The plot is well-written with some fantastic images that come to life in a whirlwind of action and some great references to the city of Paris. You'll certainly enjoy the illustration delights by Becka Moor that bring the story alive.

I very much enjoyed the slice of quirkiness from the character's perspective. Whilst I was hoping for a few more red herrings, the story nevertheless really sets up the series nicely for a few more adventures to create a fantastic series. 

This is a really great family fun adventure for everybody to read. It's a fast-paced narrative including a jewel robbery, hot chocolate drinking, and a fantastic friendship all set within the amazing backdrop of Paris. Get ready for a journey so grab a copy of the book, sit back and enjoy the ride - see you on the other side. 

Emma Carroll - Sky Chasers - Book Review - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books (Chicken House)

A encounter with a boy dangling from the sky changes pickpocket Magpie's life forever. Like her, the boy dreams of flying over the rooftops of Paris. His family, the Montgolfiers, are desperate to be first to discover the secret of flight. Together with Pierre, Magpie is soon caught up in a world of inflatable bloomers, spies and a trio of unruly animals in a race to be the first to fly a hot air balloon - in front of the King and Queen of France.

Orphan Magpie can’t believe her eyes when she sees a boy swept off his feet by a kite … or something that twists and dances in the wind. She goes to his rescue only to find herself dangling in the sky. The world looks so different from on high and suddenly Magpie knows what she wants – to be the first to fly in a balloon above the King and Queen of France ...

Welcome, 2018. What literary delights will it have in store for you? My last post highlighted Chicken House Books and the handful of wonderful titles that have been produced by the golden chicken for the start of this year. Emma Carroll's 'Sky Chaser' is an example of one of these books. Hatching into magical existence, it will appeal to the middle-grade fantasy audience or lovers of historically inspired fiction.

This book is based on the winning idea submitted by Neal Jackson as part of the annual The Big Idea Competition. The story takes flight through the expert hands of Emma Carroll, a fantastic author of some really brilliant books in my opinion. The fantastic book cover has been produced by David Litchfield, whom I recently highlighted as my favourite illustrator of 2017. 

The story is based on the true story of the first hot air balloon flight over Paris in the eighteenth century. Most of the facts are in keeping with historical records of this time. The story swoops and seamlessly blends into a fantasy world that fits with this time period. It is well-researched and fantastically balanced with the background story. The setting, some of the characters and the time period are also factual and make for a hidden educational journey.

Emma Carroll has a lovely way of blending the narrative to fit the occasion. She wrote the story from the perspective of the French, which I really appreciated and felt that it made the story so much better. You will encounter many colourful characters through this family adventure full of scrapes and bumps as well as the occasional animal scrape, which will make you laugh. It is a story fuelled by friendship, hopes and everlasting dreams.

It is a great race against time in this all-out action adventure. It will transport readers back in time to when balloon flights were a mystical idea that held so many people captivated. I would truly recommend this book - an easy read in just one sitting. It really is a breath of fresh air that will have you soaring through the fantasy thermals of history and beyond. A great start to the new year.

SaveSave
SaveSave

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Lydia Syson Q&A ( Liberty's Fire) Publication Day

I'm really pleased to be sharing with you the following Q&A with Lydia Syson, the author of three historical YA novels. Her new novel Liberty's Fire is being published today by Hot Key Books. 


Tell us a little bit about Liberty's Fire?

Imagine Les Mis, nearly forty years on. When the people of Paris rose to claim their rights in 1871, they were full of hope for the future – hope that was horrifically dashed. Liberty’s Fire is about four young people caught up a revolution that became a civil war, and the story takes place in palaces and opera houses, soup kitchens and cemeteries, on rooftops and in cellars, amid blossom and barricades. The book is full of music, photography, politics and passion.


How much of the book is realistic?

ALL of it! Quite seriously. Unbelievable as it sounds, there’s nothing that happens in Liberty’s Fire that either didn’t or couldn’t have happened in Paris in 1871, to the very best of my knowledge. It’s always a bit of a problem for writers of historical fiction – which I’ve written about before (http://www.lydiasyson.com/unbelievable/) - you’re drawn to the most extraordinary, incredible stories, and then people wonder if they could really be true.

Is travel an important aspect in your books?

Yes and no. I’d say a sense of place is hugely important, but I’ve not always been able to travel to achieve that. I’d already been to Spain quite a few times when I wrote A World Between Us, set during the Spanish Civil War, so to begin with I used a mixture of memory, maps, Google Earth, other people’s memoirs and then in fact we did a family housewap in the Basque country just before I was doing my final revisions and we all went to Guernica and Bilbau – though it was another year before I made it to the cave hospital. (http://www.lydiasyson.com/the-cave-hospital-at-last/) 

That Burning Summer was easy because we spend a lot of time on Romney Marsh and it’s the kind of place that gets under your skin. But for Liberty’s Fire I owe everything to an Arts Council grant – I really couldn’t have written the book without it – which allowed me both time to research and visit and revisit Paris, and that was crucial to getting all kinds of things right, from geography to atmosphere to point of view. As you might have guessed from the book, I’m a great believer in public funding for the arts.

Has your PhD influenced your writing style?

I think it’s influenced my research style more than my writing. It made me confident about using archives and academic papers and journals and following trails in footnotes, and taught me the value of tracing things back to their original source. But I can’t really do a before and after test because though I used to write stories all the time at school, I made the terrible mistake of stopping when I left. It took me decades to get the courage to write fiction again, which is why my best piece of advice to young writers is terribly simple: don’t stop!

Has your PhD influenced your writing style?

I think it’s influenced my research style more than my writing. It made me confident about using archives and academic papers and journals and following trails in footnotes, and taught me the value of tracing things back to their original source. But I can’t really do a before and after test because though I used to write stories all the time at school, I made the terrible mistake of stopping when I left. It took me decades to get the courage to write fiction again, which is why my best piece of advice to young writers is terribly simple: don’t stop!


What helps you to be creative?
Sometimes I think it’s pressure, and sometimes the opposite. I do respond to deadlines – probably because I used to be a radio producer, and if you were a second out you either ‘crashed the pips’ or ‘fell off the air’. But it’s also fantastic to be allowed space and time to write – see Arts Council Grant above! – and not to have to juggle too many different kinds of work at once. The support of my family, near and far, helps a lot. Other things that I find helpful in a refreshing kind of way include being outside regularly - running and gardening and wild camping – and other art forms, like theatre and exhibitions, which give me ideas and help me make connections.


Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

I’m definitely more interested in meeting dead famous people than living ones, and right now it would probably be the legendary Communarde Louise Michel, also known as the Red Virgin of Montmartre. She’s not well known in this country but in France there are schools and streets and even a metro station named after her, a mark of the fact that ideas that might seem revolutionary to one generation can get taken for granted in another. I’d love to know what she thought of the state of the world now.

Author website: http://www.lydiasyson.com/ book published by Hot Key Books 7th May 2015. My book Review is HERE

Lydia Syson - Liberty's Fire - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Review

Book Synopsis: Paris, 1871. Four young people will rewrite their destinies. Paris is in revolt. After months of siege at the hands of the Prussians, a wind of change is blowing through the city, bringing with it murmurs of a new revolution. Alone and poverty-stricken, sixteen-year-old Zéphyrine is quickly lured in by the ideals of the city's radical new government, and she finds herself swept away by its promises of freedom, hope, equality and rights for women. But she is about to be seduced for a second time, following a fateful encounter with a young violinist. Anatole's passion for his music is soon swiftly matched only by his passion for this fierce and magnificent girl. He comes to believe in Zéphyrine's new politics - but his friends are not so sure. Opera singer Marie and photographer Jules have desires of their own, and the harsh reality of life under the Commune is not quite as enticing for them as it seems to be for Anatole and Zéphyrine. And when the violent reality of revolution comes crashing down at their feet, can they face the danger together - or will they be forced to choose where their hearts really lie?

Book Review: If you've ever walked the back streets of Paris, you'll know what I mean when I say about the sense of wonder and history that you feel. It's such an amazing place to visit; a cultural metropolis and one that I absolutely love. However, after reading this book (Paris 1871 setting) this brought my timeless memories crashing down on me.  

I was immediately transported back to the world, and time, when the Paris Commune was the radical municipal government elected to run the French capital (March 1871). This is a forgotten period in history which is brought to life through the magical words and detail used by Lydia. It's beautifully written and, in my opinion, both well researched and thought out. You can really feel the passion the author has for this period - the politics, the equality and rights for women. 

As you follow the four young characters along this compelling plot, it will leave you breathing and living both the sadness and happiness at this time. It depicts the seventy two days of madness, when Paris burned for a week and thousands of Communards were slaughtered on the streets of the city.  This is such a powerful telling of historical events that occurred that I really felt I was living them through the eyes of the characters. 

I felt both the romantic and naive side of the four main characters. They washed over me like blossom petals falling down from a tree on a warm summer's day. I felt every heartbeat through this winding tale of destiny - tragedy, violence and drama. It really made me think about current day life and freedom. This is a book that would be great to take on a trip to Paris as it will certainly open your eyes and connect you to this wonderful city. 

This book is a historical gem. It is a story that I would not normally read, but I'm really glad that I did! It would have been great to have incorporated some period photographs of the time perhaps, especially from the perspective of the lens of Jules. In my opinion, this would have just been the icing on the cake to what is already an amazing story.  

This book was tense, moving and written deeply from the heart. It is a great teenage/adult read that I think more people should be reading and talking about. As you follow the characters, you'll fall in love with the time, the place and them. Hope for a happy ending though as it may not come. Be inspired and read it....   

Paperback: 368 Pages - Publisher: Hot Key Books (7 May 2015) ISBN-13: 978-1471403675

Mr Ripley's Adult Book Review: Enter Wildthyme by Paul Magrs

I'd like to think that this book came from The Great Book Exchange in Darlington, but to be honest it was Oxfam in York. They are not worlds apart really, unlike the galactic voyages that take part in this little adventure. One of the main characters in the book has been around for some time, but this is the first full length appearance for them in this trans-temporal adventure. Iris Wildthyme might be familiar to some, as a character from Paul's first book, as well as appearing in the Dr Who escapades but to me, she will always be a special character in fantasy. She's the  feisty granny that you would have loved to have been related to. The gin and tonic drinking time traveller with a mysterious past.

The first part of the book is set in a dusty secondhand bookshop in Darlington. Add in to the mix a celestial red, route master double decker bus and the scene is set for a normal life, but how wrong you would be.  Undeniably, Paul has the most amazing world building skills at his finger tips in this book - the story writing is very cleverly executed. Immediately, the reader is thrown into the action with a whole host of crazy and well imagined characters.  There is Iris, as well as her sidekick (a stuffed panda) originally known as Panda who is about 10 inches high and cooks a very mean breakfast. As well as a talking vending machine called Barbra, an evil poet called Marvelle and many more crazy folk.

I've never had so much fun reading an adult novel before; this was a perfect read for me. It's so crazy and surreal that it was an absolute joy to read. The story is about an object; a glass jar filled with mysterious contents which soon form the focus of a chase. It takes then to the outlandish world of Hyspero, the throne room of the Scarlet Empress and the very brink of the strange pocket dimension called . . . . . The Obverse.

This story is an adventure of good and evil - it is a book to read with a very large gin and tonic. It's fast paced; in a blink of an eye the story moves from the mundane life in Darlington to Montmartre in Paris where an alien invasion is witnessed. Never mind being catapulted to the Hammersmith Odeon to a glam rock concert in the 1970's.  It really is a breathtaking read; a roller coaster ride of mayhem and madness.

This book is very cleverly written and highly imaginative - it is full of zany off-the-wall moments. I connected with this story through the music references as well as the ideas behind the events. I found myself deeply immersed in this adventure; it is a read that I will savour until the next instalment. Five star entertainment - looking forward to the next book very soon ....