Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Children's and Young Adult Book Picks - March 2018 - UK Post Two

Rob Lloyd Jones - Jake Atlas and the Hunt for the Feathered God (Jake Atlas 2) - Published by Walker Books (1 Mar. 2018) - ISBN-13: 978-1406377712

Jake Atlas and his family are on the run, hunted by international police while chasing the mysterious People of the Snake to stop them from hiding the secret history of humankind. But when the family's friend, Sami, is poisoned, the People of the Snake force the Atlases to work for them in exchange for a cure. Their mission: to locate a legendary lost city and the tomb of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl in the jungles of Honduras - home to bandits, big cats, tarantulas and crocodiles. But the family's greatest enemy is themselves, as their squabbles threaten to get them into even deeper trouble. In order to reach the tomb, the family must survive ancient traps, jump out of a crashing plane, escape a jaguar's lair, climb a cliff of skulls, jump over a huge waterfall and escape from a trap of swinging blades!

Dave Rudden - The Endless King (Knights of the Borrowed Dark Book 3) - Published by Puffin (22 Mar. 2018) - ISBN-13: 978-0141356624

 

The final book in the award-winning Knights of the Borrowed Dark trilogy, perfect for fans of Skulduggery Pleasant.

'You have no idea what real war is . . . but I'm afraid you're going to find out.'

There's nothing like an apocalypse to kick off the school year.

Denizen Hardwick has travelled to Daybreak, the ancestral home of the Order of the Borrowed Dark, to continue his training as a knight. But lessons have barely begun before an unexpected arrival appears with news that throws the fortress into uproar.

The Endless King has fallen, his dark realm rising in a brutal civil war. When the conflict strikes closer to home, Denizen and his friends face their greatest challenge yet. For if Daybreak falls, so does the world . . 

S.E. Durrant (Author),‎ Rob Biddulph (Illustrator) - Running On Empty - Published by Nosy Crow Ltd (1 Mar. 2018) - ISBN-13: 978-0857637406

AJ's grandfather has always been the one to keep his unusual family together, so when he dies things start to unravel at the edges. AJ is worried about his parents but they don t really seem to notice. In order to deal with his grief and to keep his anxiety at bay, AJ does what he and his grandfather did best: running. Round and round the Olympic Park, aiming for the cross country trials, running to escape, AJ only seems to be heading ever closer to disaster. Running On Empty is a beautiful book about false starts and emotional journeys, with hope as the ultimate finishing line. From the author of Little Bits of Sky. Cover illustration by Rob Biddulph.

Tomi Adeyemi  - Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha) - Published by Macmillan Children's Books (8 Mar. 2018) - ISBN-13: 978-1509871353 - (Young Adult)

Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut Children of Blood and Bone.

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us. 
Now we rise. 

Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoning forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden. 

Zélie is one such person. Now she has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. 

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy.

Mr Ripley's Book Review: Wild Boy and the Black Terror - By Rob LLoyd Jones

Welcome to another roller coaster ride following Wild Boy and Clarissa. In this book the case is known as the Black Terror. It is a Sherlock-esq detective novel set in London, but it has a slight twist. Wild boy is not your conventional hero-type character. He is classed as a circus freak due to his hairy appearance, but he soon finds himself running from the circus and his past. Clarissa, his sidekick and troublemaker from the circus, teams up with Wild boy once again, as they dodge the danger and mayhem that they soon find themselves facing once more.

This story is a delight to read - deliciously dark and very compelling. The duo hurtle into danger. They visit the darkest corners of Victorian London from the vilest slums to the grandest of palaces. Transported into a fantastically imagined plot, a poisoner stalks LONDON leaving his victims mad with TERROR and then dead.

Wild boy and Clarissa are the city's last hope in finding the killer as well as the cure for the BLACK TERROR. The darkness slowly creeps into the readers' bones - a merry dance ensues with the possibilities: Who is the killer?  Many options keep the reader guessing right to the very end of the book. The strong element of intrigue and mystery lives in every pore of the page. It certainly keeps the reader on their little tentative toes.

The crisp narrative of this book is equally as good as the first book, so if you enjoyed the first encounter then you will not be disappointed by this one. It firmly places this series as one of my favourites. The book looks and feels great - the period touches by Owen Davey really enhance the look of the book whilst the effective use of typography and colour really burst off the page. These are all great touches and really build up to the start of a very worthy story.

The book had some very surreal moments to fuel the imagination to the darkest levels. The story hurtles forward at a hundred miles an hour. A frenzy of fast-paced action and humour entertains the reader in every chapter. One of my favourite sections of the book involved the task of breaking and stealing a precious stone in Oberstein's showroom. However, as I don't want to reveal the outcome, I will say no more other than it had me gripped . . . . fantasy gold.

The ending did not let this book down- all of the loose ends were tied together and created a thrilling ending. I would definitely recommend this book and series to anyone and everyone. It is an epic triumph - hopefully more adventures and books will come in the future.

Published by Walker Books - July 2014

Book Review: Rob LLoyd Jones - Wild Boy

Roll Up....... Roll Up....... Come this way folks to see the savage spectacle of Wild Boy in all of its freaky glory. Pay the man, Ladies and Gentlemen, then take your seats and get ready for the show of your life. 

A boy with extraordinary powers of observation and detection. A boy accused of murder; a boy on the run and hungry for the truth. London, Greenwich (October 1841) is the time and setting for this brilliantly written tale of mystery and intrigue, which is based around an unlikely victim - Wild Boy. A boy covered in hair (raised as a monster) who is alone and bullied, but finally finds himself condemned to life in a travelling freak show.

However, he is also forced to turn his skills of logic, observation and clear thinking into a way of saving himself from a crime of murder he did not commit. He has to work it all out, just like Sherlock Holmes would have done. It's a detective book, but at the heart of the story adventure is really at it's soul. 

Wildboy is particularly well written - he is a very likeable character, who is fresh, complex and interesting to read, not like your typical hero. He has to battle his roller-coaster emotions along the way trying to keep them in check, whilst seeking justice, and trying to save his own skin and that of his unlikely new found friend, Clarissa. This is certainly not an easy task at all. The book is deliciously dark in places and full of some particularly mysterious characters, who all have a great part to play. As part of the classic "who has done it?" scenario, they keep you guessing on your padded feet right up until the very end of the adventure. 

Blessed with many spooky and chilling events that you will really love, this book has originality and a great deal of thought throughout it. 

This is a brilliant story by the debut author, Rob Lloyd Jones. I have to say that I was particularly surprised by the quality of the writing from start to finish. Rob's daydreams on the way to work have really turned up trumps, in my humble opinion. It has a great feel to this book - an easy going and imaginative story, but as you are drawn towards the end of the book the whole story intensifies. The pace and action really make for a particularly engaging ending, which I really loved. 

This is an epic debut start, which I'm really pleased to tell you all about. Why not go out and find a copy to read during April. Hopefully you will love it as much as I did. 

Published By Walker Books - 4 April 2013 - ISBN: 978-1406341386