M.G Harris - Joshua Files:BK 4 Dark Parallel - Book Review

                                

• Pages 388
• Published by Scholastic 
• Date 7 April 2011
• Age 11+
• ISBN 9781407111032

One boy. One deadly prophecy. One heart-stopping adventure. This is how the world will end: on 22 December, an electromagnetic pulse will blast through the atmosphere. Technology will fail. Civilization will fall apart. The key to survival lies in a secret Mayan book, protected by Josh and an ancient society. But someone has altered time. To put it back on track, Josh must unravel history itself and face the dangers of a dark, parallel reality. 


We are now on the fourth of Joshua's amazing adventures, with this epic time travel escapade being my favourite, so far. All of the stories feel very fresh, as different worlds and adventures are explored in each book. Whilst there is a little bit of story recapping in each new story (from the previous book) it is just enough to pull the story together. Therefore, if you happen to wander into this book before having read any of the others, you will still have a clear understanding of where the story is and what has happened beforehand.


This is another great action adventure which is oozing with Mayan culture. The book incorporates some amazing places, which Josh and Ixchel visit whilst time travelling from place to place, in order to save the world from the scrupulous villains of the Sect of Huracan. The Snake Kingdom is a particularly amazing historical and mythical place, it is written with such colourful and vivid imagery, that it will leave you breathless. I would have loved to have stayed longer and encountered this place over many more pages but instead, for me, this felt like a very brief encounter.


I really loved the turbulent history between Josh and Ixchel, who is such a great feisty and strong female character. She manages to hide her emotions and true feelings incredibly well. In fact, I found myself wanting to scream at them both,  as I wanted them to tell each other how they felt. However, this tension continually bubbled throughout the book and kept me frustrated until it was finally resolved.


In short, this is another great adrenalin rush of action that will leave every reader wanting more.  A joyous and compelling teenage read like no other. The pace of adventure will leave you feeling mildly exhilarated whilst gasping for breath. The question is, what will happen next to Josh and his friends?  

Will Hill - Department 19 EXPOSED (The Truth Is Out There....)

NEWS: SECRET GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT EXPOSED

A Downing Street spokesman was today forced to admit to the existence of a secret department within the British government. Rumours about Department 19 have been in circulation for many years, but previous governments have consistently denied its existence. Publication of a “tell all” book today by HarperCollins, which exposes the inner workings of the highly classified department, led to the government’s admission. The book, believed to have been written by a former employee of the organisation, under the pseudonym Will Hill, is called simply Department 19.

According to the author, Department 19’s brief is to investigate supernatural occurrences. Staffed in part by former Special Forces operatives, they are equipped with hi tech weaponry including ultraviolet light pistols, pneumatic guns and advanced explosives. The government spokesman would not confirm the particulars of the work that these special operatives are currently engaged in, but there are suggestions that an unexplained explosion off the north east coast last week can be traced back to Department 19.

Asked whether the Department 19 operatives were trained to track and capture or destroy supernatural beings, including vampires, the spokesman said “I could not possibly comment”.

For more information on www.department19exists.com

G.N Hargreaves - Douglas - Picture Book Choice March 2011

FROM THE HOME OF THE MR. MEN
COMES A BRAND NEW BRITISH HERO

DOUGLAS – A DOG IN A BILLION

Giles Hargreaves follows in his famous father's footsteps
as his first creation is published today

London 28^th March 2011 – Today Giles Hargreaves, son of Roger Hargreaves – the creator and illustrator of the Mr. Men, releases his first children’s book, Douglas.

Douglas is a story about a dog. Not just any old, run-of-the-mill, everyday, ordinary dog, but an extraordinary dog. A dog in a billion. A dog called Douglas.

Douglas doesn’t go for walkies, he would sooner go for a spin in his shiny red sports car. And that is not all. Among his many talents, this sophisticated fellow toots on the tuba, goes skiing and plays a fiendish game of chess. Douglas can do anything. What a dog!

But there is one thing Douglas can’t do. One thing he desperately wants to do, but can’t, no matter how hard he tries. Douglas cannot wag his tail, poor chap. And this makes him feel glum. Very glum indeed.

Can a little bird called Basil help Douglas make his dream come true?

David Riley, Managing Director of Egmont Publishing Group said, “We are delighted to be working with Giles Hargreaves to help bring Douglas to the attention of the world: his trials, tribulations and achievements should be celebrated. It’s been forty years since the launch of Britain’s best-loved children’s book series The Mr. Men, and now the Hargreaves family brings us another classic British character.”

Douglas is published in traditional picture book format on the 28^th March at £5.99. 

It features beautiful full-page illustrations and quirky vignettes, plus a sheet of utterly adorable stickers so you can take Douglas with you wherever you go!

Kirsty McKay - UNDEAD -Mr Ripley's Most Wanted Book

                                                                                                             

Being new at school bites. But at least it doesn't kill you. Mostly.

Bobby thinks she might well be on the School Trip from Hell. Too bad she's a noob, too bad her classmates don't rate her weirdo accent and too bad that Scotland is having the worst blizzard since the Ice Age. Looks like she's going to be on this school bus for a quite a while; could things get much worse?

Yep. They could.

Inexplicably, her classmates start dying...and then they come back to life again...and what's more, they're very, very hungry.

With nowhere to run and no contact with the outside world, Bobby is thrown together with a raggle-taggle group of survivors at a roadside café. There's indie kid drop-out Smitty, the class beauty queen Alice, dweeby Pete and two near useless adults: a half-conscious bus driver and a volatile petrol station attendant.

The frenemies struggle to stay alive - through explosions, deadly battles and a breakneck chase through the snowbound wilderness. Somehow they have to make it to safety - and get some answers - no matter what the cost. Can they survive the Undead? And each other? 

Undead released September 2011, published by Chicken House.

C T Furlong - Killer Genes (Arctic 6,book 2) - Book Review

                                      

• Pages - 208
• Published - Inside Pocket
• Date - 1 Feb 2011
• Age - 8+

The US President is fighting for his life! Mysterious lights, an inexplicable illness and a deadly plague plunge the ARCTIC6 into another exciting adventure. When the friends stumble across a research facility hidden deep in the Suffolk countryside, they discover an insane plot in which the lives of millions are at stake. As they work to unravel the secrets of the facility, a deadly countdown is ticking. Can they prevent a global disaster? Do they have time to save the lives that hang in the balance? Will they even have time to save themselves??


This is the second installment in this series of books. In this edition, we find Iago, his cousins (Cam, Tara and Renny) and his younger sister Aretha, wrapped up in another gripping adventure. In my opinion, this book has a more substantial and gripping storyline than the first. The author has really established the tone through a direct approach to the telling of the story, which I thought was a really good feature. I felt that I was reading a classic adventure, even perhaps in the vain of the Famous Five books, but with a modern twist. Bringing it right up to date, it incorporates both modern style issues and modern day technology. 


I loved the idea that different elements of the story were told through the blog entries of two characters. This created an interesting and different perspective to the ongoing story, which again, I felt worked really well. 


The children (all established friends) find themselves having to work together once more, when something strange happens whilst camping in the woods. Miles from home, and in fact miles from anywhere, their adventure starts when they stumble on a strange light . . . . . . 


Renny, the techno buff, is a particularly well written character that I feel a lot of young people will relate to. He will encourage young readers to follow this adventure right to the very end. 


This is a really easy book to read - full of action and heart stopping moments, it carries you towards the very explosive end. It's a cool read for young people that can be read as a stand alone book or as part of the series. 


The next book in the series is Killer Star - I am definitely looking forward to reading this.

Cliff McNish - Hunting Ground - Book Review

                             

• Pages - 314
• Publisher - Orion Children's
• Date - 5 May 2011
• Age 13+

When Elliott and his brother, Ben, move into the old and crumbling Glebe House they don't expect to find themselves sharing it with ghosts. But soon sinister events are unfolding. An old diary reveals glimpses of the mansion's past - and of a terrible tragedy. A mysterious woman talks to the dead. And evil lurks in the East Wing - a hideous labyrinth of passageways devised by a truly twisted mind. Can Elliott and his family escape the clutches of Glebe House? Or will they be trapped in the maze of corridors, forever hunted by the dead?

I'm going to count to one hundred, I'm coming after you.........

I'm going to count to one hundred and I'm going to find you....

I'm going to count to one hundred and hunt you down..... 

Let the hunt commence......

In the long distant past, I have read a number of books by this author but unfortunately, I have not really had much to say about them. However, this book, although well written like all the other books really connected with me. The plot is written in the style of an old-fashioned ghost tale. The more you read, the more the author inflicts a dark and chilling sinister world that will leave you chilled to the bone.


The book is delivered in a direct and no nonsense approach. It's very intense - I felt myself being sucked into the vortex of the twisted past of Glebe House and its former owner, Vincent Cullayn. Vincent, is like no other conventional ghost. He is drawn to this world by his desire for the hunt and the final kill of his victims. He feeds off their fear as this enables him to take on a more solid-like appearance. He receives help from a young ghost called Eve, who is particularly scary, as she entices Ben and Elliott into the East Wing - a maze of corridors, scary paintings and a great aura of the past.


I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the author tied up the different elements of the story, and yet continued to lead you further into the twisted realms of the plot. Another aspect that worked really well for me, were the diary extracts, which were revealed in small sharp bursts from the perspective of Theo, who leads you through the mystery of the story. He also brings both the past and the present together.


Perhaps the only small gripe that I have, about the book, is the ending. I felt that this did not fit the complex story as it was too straight forward. Nevertheless, I found the book to be a very enjoyable and captivating read. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you like to be scared to death ..... Beware, you have been warned.

Marcus Sedgwick - The Raven Mysteries (A Frothy Gothic Series)

This is one gothically funny series of books which will have you laughing out loud, or at the very least, making strange 'ark-like' bird noises. 


The story is narrated by Edgar, a Raven, who is the Guardian of Otherhand Castle. A place full of odd ball characters that will have you following in pure amazement. 


These are a great series of books to read to your children. Both young and old will enjoy the crazy antics of Valevine, Minty, Solstice and Cudweed. Each character will have your hair standing on end by the end of each book - they really are that crazy. 


Five books (so far) have been published, with a sixth book due to be published in October 2011. These are great reads to brighten up your day - each book is decked out with superb illustrations by Pete Williamson. A name I wasn't too familiar with but one that I will now certainly be watching out for in the future.


                                    
B.K 1 - Flood and Fang 
Meet the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. Edgar is alarmed when he sees a nasty looking black tail slinking under the castle walls. But his warnings to the inhabitants of the castle go unheeded: Lord Valevine Otherhand is too busy trying to invent the unthinkable and discover the unknowable; his wife, Minty, is too absorbed in her latest obsession - baking; and ten-year-old Cudweed is running riot with his infernal pet monkey. Only Solstice, the black-haired, poetry-writing Otherhand daughter, seems to pay any attention. As the lower storeys of the castle begin mysteriously to flood, and kitchen maids continue to go missing, the family come ever closer to the owner of the black tail...


B.K 2 Ghost and Gadgets
Join the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. The rumblings and wailings from the Lost South Wing can no longer be ignored, as one by one, members of the castle are being found frozen, 'scared to death'. With mother, Minty, obsessing over her latest fad - sewing - and father, Valevine, busy experimenting with a machine to discover the Lost Otherhand treasure, it's up to aspiring ghost-hunters Solstice and Cudweed to solve the mystery. But as usual, things don't go quite as planned... It's just as well Edgar is there to save the day!


B.k 3 Lunatics and Luck
oin the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. Solstice and Cudweed are appalled to find their father has appointed a new school master. But things get even worse when the grumpy, viciously mean teacher actually arrives. The Otherhand children are sure there's something more to him than meets the eye - the trouble is, who will believe them? No one it seems. Except, perhaps, Edgar.


B.K 4 Vampires and Volts
Join the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. It's Halloween and the Otherhands are enjoying the Annual Pumpkin Hunt. And there are preparations to be made for the Great Halloween Ball. Minty is all a-fluster. Solstice is busy spraying fake cobwebs everywhere. Valevine is in charge of disorganising everyone's carefully laid plans, and Cudweed seems hungrier than ever and oddly preoccupied with 'fresh brains'. In fact when Silas, Valevine's long lost brother, turns up with Samantha, the Otherhands would be well-advised to check out their guests. It's not long before wily Edgar works out that there's a preponderance of vampires and not all of them have false teeth... 


B.K 5 Magic and Mayhem
Join the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. A trip to the circus has far-reaching consequences for the Otherhands when Fellah goes missing. Before long the Castle is plagued by a duck, a suspect fortune teller, and several cartloads of lethal cabbages. The family is preoccupied: Valevine is busy inventing a cabbage-counting machine; Minty is waiting to hear the secrets of the universe; and Solstice has discovered that Cudweed is concealing three hundred and forty-two rabbits in his bedroom. When chaos strikes and thieves infiltrate the Castle, it falls to Edgar to extract his family from a very fluffy predicament.


www.ravenmysteries.co.uk
http://www.marcussedgwick.com
http://www.petewilliamson.co.uk

Book Choice For April 2011 - (Books Published In The U.S)

                            
Martyn Bedford - Flip - Published by Wendy Lamb Books - 5 April 2011

One December night, 14-year-old Alex goes to  bed. He wakes up to  find himself in the wrong bedroom, in an unfamiliar house, in a different part of the country, and it's the middle of June. Six months have disappeared overnight. The family at the breakfast table are total strangers.
And when he looks in the mirror, another boy's face stares back at him.  A boy named Flip. Unless Alex finds out what's happened and how to get back to his own life,  he may be trapped forever inside a body that belongs to someone else. 
Questions of identity, the will to survive, and what you're willing to sacrifice to be alive make this extraordinary book impossible to put down.

                                   

Alison Goodman - Eona Bk2 - Published by Viking - April 29 2011

Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon's army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona's power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the selfstyled "Emperor" Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power - and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans. . . .

                               

Tray Drago - The Undertakers:Rise of the Corpses - Published by Source Books - 1 April 2011

On a sunny Wednesday morning in October, a day that would mark the end of one life and the beginning of another, I found out my grouchy next door neighbor was the walking dead. When you turn around expecting to see something familiar, and instead see something else altogether, it takes a little while for your brain to catch up with your eyes. I call it the 'Holy Crap Factor.'"
Forced to flee his home and family, twelve-year-old Will Ritter falls in with the Undertakers-a rag-tag army of teenage resistance fighters who've banded together to battle the Corpses.
                                         

Mr Ripleys Younger Fiction Book Choice For March 2011 - Janet Foxley - Muncle Trogg

                            

Giants live on top of Mount Grumble, hidden from humans below. But not all of them are giant-like.Muncle Trogg is so small that he’s laughed at by the others for being human-sized. Fed up, he decides to take a look at the Smallings that he’s meant to look like. But what he discovers is very surprising!

Winner of The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition 2010.

An affectionate and charming upside down fairytale, this is the magical story of the residents of Misty Mountain and the tiny giant who saves the day.

Exciting and laugh-out-loud funny, and filled with joyful illustrations.

First in a series of adventures starring Muncle, Emily and Snarg, the dragon.

Perfect for readers aged 7+

For anyone who loved Cressida Cowell’s, How to Train Your Dragon.

Small Extract to get your dragon's teeth into........'

‘Ma!’ shrieked Muncle.  ‘Gritt’s upside-downing me.’ 

        The only light in the Troggs’ underground home came from Ma’s fire.  Now it threw the shadow of a larger-than-life Gritt on to the rocky wall, with a much-too-small Muncle dangling helplessly from his hand.

        ‘Ma!’ Muncle yelled again.  His shadow swung wildly to and fro. 

        This sort of thing made him feel smaller than ever.  At twelve he should have been able to stand up for himself.  But at the moment he couldn’t stand up at all.  Gritt had him firmly by the ankles.  It wouldn’t have been so bad if Gritt had been his older brother, but Gritt was four years younger.

        ‘Ma!’  He was going to be sick if he stayed upside down much longer.  It was a good thing Pa wasn’t home yet.  Pa always took Gritt’s side.  Gritt was the sort of son a giant could be proud of.

The Federation of Children’s Book Groups launches its Twitter Book Forum for adults.

The Federation of Children’s Book Groups is delighted to announce that it will be starting a children’s book forum for adults over social networking site Twitter. The aim of the forum is for librarians, teachers, bloggers and anyone else interested in children’s books the chance to talk about new releases, favourites and anything else of interest surrounding children’s books.

Off the back of the success of both World Book Day and World Book Night, which saw Twitter being used to share experiences, advice and generally to talk about books, this forum will provide book lovers with an interactive social book group.

The Federation has always been forward thinking in the ways it encourages people to read. By running this forum it is hoped that fans of children’s books will have a way to share opinions, new books and to talk about children’s books and their love for them.

The forum will run every fortnight on a Sunday evening between 8pm and 9pm and will be hosted by the Federation @FCBGChair. Using the hashtag #fcbgbkgrp chat will be directed by the participants but at certain times of the year a theme will be suggested. For instance during the month of May it is National Share A Story Month so the theme may be the best books to share with your child. In November to celebrate National Non Fiction Day we will also theme it towards non fiction books.

The opportunities this provides are endless and with nothing similar already happening on Twitter for children’s books this provides book lovers the opportunity to interact with each other in a shared interest around children’s books.

The launch date for the first forum is 20th March 2011 and every other Sunday from then.

For further information about the Twitter Book Forum, please contact Adam Lancaster. 

Philip Reeve - Scrivener's Moon (Mortal Engines) Book Two ( Choice For April 2011)

                                         


Philip Reeve - Scrivener's Moon (Mortal Engines) - Published by Scholastic - 7 April 2011
In a future land once known as Britain, nomad tribes are preparing to fight a terrifying enemy - the first-ever mobile city. Before London can launch itself, young engineer Fever Crumb must journey to the wastelands of the North. She seeks the ancient birthplace of the Scriven mutants. In the chaotic weeks before battle begins, Fever finds a mysterious black pyramid. The extraordinary secrets it contains will change her world forever. The seventh awe-inspiring adventure in the World of Mortal Engines series by a superb writer at the height of his powers.


For a completely-unbiased-review by Sarah Reeve  check out this post.