Mr Ripley's New Great Children's/ YA Books Published May 2014 - UK Post

Cameron McAllister  - The Tin Snail - Published by Jonathan Cape (8 May 2014) - See review: HERE

This is the story of a brave little car that helped to win a war.

In the 1940s world of elegant, luxury automobiles, the Tin Snail is no beauty. But it's facing a tough challenge:

to carry a farmer and his wife,

a flagon of wine

and a tray of eggs

across a bumpy field in a sleepy French village

- without spilling a drop or cracking a shell.

And then an even bigger challenge comes along - staying hidden from an officer of the occupying Nazi army, who is bent on stealing the design for the enemy!

Loosely inspired by real events, with ingredients from the best children's favourites (a dash of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, a pinch of HUGO, and a sprinkling of DAD'S ARMY) this debut novel from successful screenwriter Cameron McAllister is set to be a classic hit and a fun, big-hearted read for the whole family this summer.

Steve Feasey - Mutant City - Published by Bloomsbury Children's (8 May 2014) See review: HERE

Fifty years ago, the world was almost destroyed by a chemical war. Now the world is divided: the mutants and the pure, the broken and the privileged, the damaged and the perfect.

Thirteen years ago, a covert government experimental facility was shut down and its residents killed. The secrets it held died with them. But five extraordinary kids survived.

Today four teenagers are about to discover that their mutant blood brings with it special powers. Rush and three brothers and sisters he can't remember. Two rival factions are chasing them. One by one, they face the enemy. Together, they might just stay alive . . .

Gregg Olsen - Run (Vengeance Novels) - Published by Hot Key Books (1 May 2014)

What if you discovered that everything you thought you knew about yourself was a lie? Rylee is fifteen. She comes home from school one afternoon to find the most shocking thing possible - her father dead, with a knife through his heart, and a key clutched in his hand. Her mother's purse is on the counter, but she appears to be long gone. A message in blood is written on the floor...RUN. With her brother in tow, Rylee begins a dark journey, one that will uncover horrific and chilling crimes and lead her to an unexpected and gruesome discovery about her real father and what - or who - is behind his insatiable desire to kill. By the journey's end Rylee's childhood is a long way behind her...RUN is the first title in the new Vengeance series, following Rylee as she begins to piece together the story of her life and to avenge unpunished crimes - starting with her own. This is DEXTER with a feisty female protagonist unlike any other in contemporary young adult fiction.

Chris D'Lacey - Ufiles #1: A Dark Inheritance - Published by  Scholastic Press (27 May 2014)

When Michael Malone discovers his supernatural ability to alter reality, he is recruited by an organization dedicated to investigating strange and paranormal phenomena. He joins in hopes of finding his father, who mysteriously vanished three years earlier. Michael's first task is to solve the mystery of a dog he rescued from a precarious clifftop -- a mystery that leads him to a strange and sickly classmate and a young girl who was killed in a devastating accident. Stakes are high as Michael learns to harness his newfound ability and uncover the deadly truth about his father's disappearance. A bold and thrilling tale of alternate realities, paranormal mystery, and extraordinary adventure.

Book Review: Steve Feasey - Mutant City - Published by Bloomsbury

Book Synopsis:

Fifty years ago, the world was almost destroyed by a chemical war. Now the world is divided: the mutants and the pure, the broken and the privileged, the damaged and the perfect.

Thirteen years ago, a covert government experimental facility was shut down and its residents killed. The secrets it held died with them. But five extraordinary kids survived.

Today four teenagers are about to discover that their mutant blood brings with it special powers. Rush and three brothers and sisters he can't remember. Two rival factions are chasing them. One by one, they face the enemy. Together, they might just stay alive . . .

Book Review:  
We are not walking down the traditional route of vampires and ghosts here. There is no lurking werewolf or Zombie or any of the old tried and tested scary beasts, so to speak. In this book, Steve leads the reader down the pure fantasy horror path which is brimming full of pure imagination. It escapes the bounds of the horror genre with a great plot and a new deadly functioning monster to deal with, the Mutants. This is the type of book that I love to sink my teeth into - I'm always looking for more.

I've been a very big fan since the first book in the Changeling series, but this is, in my opinion, a new start which is really special. I read this book so quickly that I wasn't sure where the time went. I was gulping down the story like a thirsty man stuck in the Sahara Desert.  

Great dollops of action have been dropped into a fantasy world of devastation after a chemical war that has taken place. Fifty years on, the world is now a very different place. It is a dark and bleak vision of experimental government projects that will change the world for ever. 

Four teenage characters find their mutant blood, with special powers, that lead to a journey that will captivate the reader and give many hours of reading pleasure. This is an amazing idea that I really connected with. It was very interesting following the characters through a journey of a new world. A world that poses moral issues that will definitely get you thinking - a great combination for fans of Michael Grant and Darren Shan. 

This is the best read in the teenage horror genre that I have read for some time. It will make you hair turn green. It has got everything that I look for in a story and more. It's very cool and one that boys will love and girls will come to love. In my humble opinion, this is a really well delivered story set in a fantastically dark and futuristic world with imagination and creativity at the height of the genre. This is amazing stuff; I am really looking forward to the next instalment.

If the cover hasn't already sold it to you, then hopefully my review will. Buy it, borrow it, read it,  share it....  ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH?  ARE YOU PURE? ARE YOU MUTANT?

Also if you would like to check out the first chapter visit this page here: http://www.wattpad.com/44908820-mutant-city-the-farm

Book Details: 

• Paperback: 368 Pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's (8 May 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140884303X

Steve Feasey - Changeling Zombie Dawn Blog Tour - Favourite Horror Book and Movie

                                           
It's the final curtain call for one of the best new horror series to be published for some time. It's been great following Trey and his adventures and in the final book we are in for a cracking read. So thanks to Steve for rushing this post over to me,I know how busy you are. I'm glad to see your still stealing books from family members,do they steal yours?


At events, I often get asked what are my favourite horror book and movie. I pretend to umm and ahh whilst knowing exactly which film had the greatest impact on me, and which book turned me onto horror from the usual feast of sci-fi and fantasy that I’d devoured as a youngster up until that point.

Alien is my favourite horror film. And it’s old – 1979! “But that’s ancient!” I hear you say. But in this instance, it’s a case of an oldie being a goody. In a time when there was no CGI to summon up an on-screen monster with, the monsters in horror movies of this time were all too often, well…lame. How many times was a great premise destroyed by bad make-up and costumes, leaving the audience unfulfilled and cheated? Far too many. If the guy in the latex suit looks like a guy in a latex suit, something is wrong. Alien was different. For starters, the monster was unique – no reconstituted horror tropes here, oh no. Not only unique, but you get THREE monsters for the price of one. Facehugger is the first incarnation of the Alien: the thing that adheres to John Hurt’s face and implants something into his stomach. When the Facehugger drops off, all seems well, but there’s much worse to come. The next embodiment of our monster is the most shocking, and provides the film with its most memorable moment, as Chestburster erupts from the still-living body of the unfortunate space traveller and whizzes off across the room, the audience squirms in its seats. The last incarnation of the monster is also brilliantly imagined, and the fact that it is only seen in glimpses (terrifying glimpses, yes) lends to the tension and fear that the film evokes in me, even now (and I’ve seen it countless times). I love the originality of Alien, and it still outranks almost every other horror movie for me.

My favourite horror book is not the best horror book I’ve ever read (and perhaps I’m stretching things a bit to describe it as my favourite), but it is the one I think had the most impact on me at a young age. I read it at the age of about twelve or thirteen, and it was the first ‘proper’ horror book I ever picked up. Carrie by Stephen King is about as far away from Alien as you could get. Set in an American high school, the book is written in an epistolary style, using diary entries, newspaper articles and interviews to explain how whole parts of the town and many of its inhabitants are eventually destroyed by the shy and bullied Carrie White, who uses her newly discovered telekinetic powers to wreak havoc on those that have made her life so miserable. I picked this book from my sister’s bedside cabinet, drawn to it by the gruesome cover of a girl with blood running down her face. I stole it and read it in secret in my room, and it scared the wits out of me. I have never been as scared as when I read that book in my room over the next two nights, and I realised that I quite liked the sensation. I was hooked and I’ve always enjoyed horror since. Although I read across a huge range of genres, I still dip in and out of horror when I need a ‘fear fix’.

So that’s it. My fave horror movie and book, and the reasons I love them so much. If you haven’t checked them out, do so. 

Next port of call is Friday at My Favourite Books so check it out.
And for more information on Steve and his books pop over to http://www.stevefeasey.com/

Steve Feasey Changeling

In this last week I have probably read the best debut books to be released in 2009 so far. That has made it a special week for me. So I'd like say to thank you to Michelle Harrison and Steve Feasey, for writing two such great stories.

Review

Steve has many big acts to follow in this genre of writing. But I think he's produced a great debut book. With a fresh imaginative story encompassing Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, Djins, Sorcerers and a Serial Shopper! It is an action packed mission; lots of fire power with good pace which leaves it set for the next book. This book should appeal to Darren Shan and Dean Vincent Carter fans and indeed give them a run for their money - so watch out. I have to say that I read this book in one sitting; from cover to cover and with great pleasure. This book gets five out of five, well done Steve!!



About the author.

He was born and raised on a council-estate in Hertfordshire, England. At the time he hated living there.He Say's in retrospect, I think that it gave me a good grounding in life that I may not have experienced if I had had a more privileged upbringing. There is something to be said about growing up in a tough environment.

Synopsis

Trey thought he was an ordinary teenager. Then he meets a mysterious stranger, Lucien Charron - luminously pale, oddly powerful, with eyes that seem flecked with fire and skin that blisters in sunlight. Somehow Trey finds himself in a luxury London penthouse, like a Bond villain's lair. It's the heart of a sinister empire, built on the powers of the netherworld - werewolves, vampires, sorcerers, and djinns. And Trey himself has a power that's roaring to break free. Is he a boy or is he a beast?



Changeling is published by Macmillan Children's Books out Jan 2 2009