The Times / Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2014 Short-List

THIS YEARS SHORTLIST: 

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE by LISA DRAKEFORD
When a girl unexpectedly gives birth on the bathroom floor at her best friend’s party, the fall-out is intense and affects everybody ...  A gritty teen read with redemption and tenderness amid the difficulty and confusion.

THE SOUND OF WHALES by KERR THOMSON
People trafficking, diamond smuggling and the redemptive power of nature form the basis for this ethereal and moving tale set on a remote Scottish isle; a beautifully woven story for middle-grade readers.

THE TERRITORY by SARAH GOVETT
Floods have ravaged the world and only the brightest kids can earn a place on dry land by passing a rigorous exam. But while rich kids can buy their way to a life of comfort, most ordinary kids have to tough it out to stay alive ... A thrilling and thought-provoking dystopian novel.

DEARLY WILD by VICTORIA WOOLFE
Harry’s mum is dead and the only comfort he can find is in caring for a damaged deer he discovered in the woods. Beautiful, gentle and evocative, this story about the power of wild animals, set against the coldness of young grief, reads like a truly modern-day Kes.

THE RUNNER by JAMES LOFTHOUSE
Liam is the witness to a brutal murder. More than this, he knows one of the two perpetrators. Placed into hiding, Liam is still not safe and is forced on the run in order to survive. Thrilling at every turn, this is a gripping real-life drama that will have teens on the edge of their seats.

Good luck all, the winner will be announced on Saturday 5th April 2014.

Best New Children's/Teen Books Published In March 2014 - UK

Roy Gill - Werewolf Parallel - Published by Kelpiesteen - 20, March 2014
'His arms kept stretching, as if they were somehow getting longer. His fingers clenched in, then spread out again like claws. The shape of his head was changing impossibly too, the ears becoming pointed and growing upward, his jaw pushing and thrusting out...The wolf threw back its head and howled.' Cameron's life of shifting between the humanian and daemonic worlds is under threat and the magic that once protected him and his friends is failing. His best friends Morgan, a werewolf with an attitude, and Eve, ex-prisoner of a vicious weaver demon, discover that they aren't the only ones in danger: the very existence of their worlds is at stake. Two sinister figures want to destroy the Parallel -- the void in between worlds populated by a dark mixture of the humanian and daemonic -- and everyone in it. What will Cameron sacrifice to defeat the demons and save the Parallel?

Sophia McDougall - Mars Evacuees - Published by Egmont - 27, March 2014 - (Review to come this week)

The fact that someone had decided I’d be safer on Mars, where you could still only SORT OF breathe the air and SORT OF not get sunburned to death, was a sign that the war with the aliens was not going fantastically well.

When Alice Dare finds out that she's being evacuated to Mars to join the youth defence force, she isn't sure what to expect. But it sure wasn't being shot at, chased by invisible aliens, befriending a robot goldfish – and then having to save the galaxy!

Sally Green - Half Bad - Published by Penguin - 3, March 2014 - Review Here

A breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

Darren Shan - Zom-B Mission - Published by Simon & Schuster Children's - March 27, 2014 

What has happened to the world since the dead took over? Where have the humans gone to hide? Who do the living most have to fear? B Smith is heading for unknown territory...Leading a group of humans through London and out into zombie-infested suburbs sounds like suicide - but not for the undead! Even so, the horrors of the journey will be beyond anything B has yet seen ...'Do not underestimate the dangers of this mission. Other zombies will not ignore you when they catch the scent of fresh brains. You will almost surely be called upon to fight. The city and countryside are full of angry, bitter people who are trying to execute as many of the undead as they can. They will not distinguish between a revitalised and a revived. Most do not know there is a difference. And most would not care.'

Guest Post: Peter Jay Black - Urban Outlaws - Published by Bloomsbury

Peter Jay Black....

I’ve spent my entire life daydreaming when I should’ve been doing more important things like, oh, I don’t know. . . learning to cook? Every meal I try to prepare gets exterminated in some glorious fashion or another. I even managed to set fire to an oven grill once, just because I didn’t realise the slab of fish had a foam/plastic thing under it. Apparently, you’re supposed to peel that off. Who knew?

So, as you can probably tell, I get distracted, A LOT. I’m often thinking and daydreaming about all sorts of crazy things.

I’ve dreamt about being able to fly – the places I’d visit, the way I’d feel swooping between buildings and over landscapes.

I’ve imagined being a ninja, sneaking up on nasty people and knocking them out with a swift chop to the neck.

I’ve also imagined inventing a time machine and what I’d do with it. In fact, if I did have a time machine, I think I’d probably travel back to the 21^st of October, 1983 (I was seven). I’d hang around outside my old house until six o’clock in the evening and then I’d storm into the dining room and slap the fork out of my seven-year-old self’s hand, just before I had taken the first bite of the dumplings on my plate. You see, I didn’t know it at the time, but my mum had made those dumplings out of a packet that had been two years out of date. TWO YEARS. I was so sick that it took another twenty years before I could look at dumplings without turning pale.

Anyway, you get my point - I’m a daydreamer. Always have been. Always will be. And, the way that I’ve used that is to write it down. To create secret bunkers, gadgets, to live in a world that’s a lot more fun than this one.

In my late twenties, I decided I wanted to be a writer. Now, because of all the daydreaming, I hadn’t done too well in school, and must have been asleep during English lessons. All of them. So, I taught myself basic grammar, worked on the craft, and eight years later I have a five book deal. Easy, right?

I wish it was.

After a lot of hard work, thousands of hours exploring our wonderful language, millions of muttered swear words, and billions of nuked brain cells later, I had a finished novel. I, of course, thought it was a masterpiece. I sent it to an editor, got torn to shreds, learnt from my mistakes, moved on. . .

Next was book number two. I wrote, rewrote, edited, rewrote again. . . You get my point? Finally ready, I slung the novel out to a few agents and one in particular was VERY keen. She suggested revisions, I worked hard and in two weeks I sent it back with high hopes.

I never heard from her again.

Man, the disappointment.

But, I didn’t give up.

That’s the theme here: Never give up. A cliché, yes. I don’t care – it’s true.

After that, I remember talking to a friend of mine and saying, ‘I want to write about five kids, who are independent, outsmart adults and have a lot of fun. . .’ Basically, something to fight back with. Something to pour every ounce of what I’d learnt into. Something that I hoped I could share with as many people as possible.

"And so, the Urban Outlaws were born: Five cool, clever kids, who are trying to do what they think is right."

Thankyou very much Peter for such a great insight into writing Urban Outlaws. This book is being published by Bloomsbury Children's on the 13th March 2014 - so make sure that you all grab a copy.

Twitter: @PeterJayBlack

Sally Green - Half Bad - Blog Tour Dates - March 2014

Half Bad – Blog Tour Dates: March 2014

Part One, Chapter Reveals

Sally Green

24^th February: Part One – the trick                           

www.wondrousreads.com

25^th February: Part One – the cage                          

www.daisychainbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk

26^th February: Part One – press ups                        

www.readaraptor.co.uk

27^th February: Part One – ironing                             

www.themidnightreaders.blogspot.co.uk

28^th February: Part One – the trick doesn’t work

www.bookzone4boys.blogspot.co.uk

1^st March: Interview with Sally Green                    

www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com

2^nd March: Signed copy giveaway                   

www.realmoffiction.blogspot.co.uk

Twitter: @Sa11eGreen 

www.halfbadworld.com

Half Bad by Sally Green is a breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

Also check out my book review: http://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/2014/02/book-review-sally-green-half-bad.html

Book Review: Sally Green - Half Bad - Published by Penguin 2014

One of the biggest books to make last years Bologna Book Fair was Sally Green's Half Bad. It received worldwide praise and some amazing comments from the publishing world. From this point onwards, the book has now been released in 42 languages worldwide and film rights have recently been sold to Fox.

A global launch for this book will take place on the 3rd March. This supernatural thriller has been much anticipated by readers everywhere. The question must be . . . .  is this hype justified? Well it isn't another Twilight or Hunger Games which I'm really pleased to be able to report as I'm always looking for originality. Personally, I think that this has original qualities by the bucketful. I was not expecting this book to turn out the way it did - I was expecting magic and, perhaps, an unrealistic fantasy world. However I found neither of these elements within this book.

What I did find was an emotion-fuelled story that will touch every heart to the core. Set in a modern day world inhabited by Witches (both Black and White) who are divided by hatred and the fear of each other. The white witches are the ruling force - this council seeks out protection for it's own kind. However this brings social consequences, which create emotional turmoil, developing in to an interesting element of the story that I was keen to explore.

Half Bad is a parallel universe occupied by witches. This fantastical side to the book is so subtle that it almost creeps into the book. I really loved this aspect and felt that, in my opinion,  it was very cleverly created. There is light and dark, good and evil and then the main character of the book, Nathan.  He lives in no-man's land, on the blurred boundary between black and white magic. Illegitimate and exiled. Wanted by no one, but hunted by everyone.

This book is a real thinker; it's not all about magical spells within an over the top fantasy world. Instead it's a journey of self discovery in a world of loneliness. Where the main character doesn't 'fit' in and is regarded as a social outcast. The plot encompasses a brutal world of fear and the worst elements of mankind. It is a very dark and gripping YA/adult cross-over which will entertain both emotionally and psychologically. It's interesting, intriguing and, to me, felt totally original. The blend of genres makes you think from the first page to the last. A great debut start with a powerful new voice in town.

I'd love to hear what you all think of this one......

Also check out our exclusive interview with Sally Green.  http://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/2014/03/interview-with-sally-green-half-bad.html

Alex McCall - Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens - Book Trailer - Kelpies - Published Today

Why did the chicken cross the road? TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!! The city of Aberdeen is being terrorised by giant robot chickens who want to peck out every last sign of human resistance. The streets are empty, the adults have vanished - and those left behind are fighting for survival. Jesse and his friends are desperate to save their families and stop the feathered fiends. They hatch a master plan ...but can a gang of kids REALLY defeat an army of angry robot chickens? A hilarious, weird and wonderful adventure from a cracking new author.

New Children's/Teen Books Published In March 2014 - UK Post Two

Bethany Wiggins - Cured - Published by Bloomsbury Children's  - 13, March 2014

Fiona Tarsis is a legend. Her world was ravaged by a lethal virus, her family separated. Her friends were turned into ferocious beasts by an even deadlier vaccine. Mindless monsters now raid the streets. But Fiona has survived.

Jacqui Bloom needs Fiona's help. Two years ago, Jacqui's brother, Dean, left the safety of his home to guide Fiona's mother to a safe haven. He never returned. Jacqui has been hiding away in the family house, disguised as a boy, and hoping Dean will come back. But she can no longer live like this. She has to find him.

Even with the two men Fiona loves most by their side, leading Jacqui into the desert will be risky. Raiders are everywhere - they will do anything to prevent the beast-cure her group are carrying from being spread - and knowing who to trust is near impossible. Lone traveller Kevin is sexy and self-assured, and has caught Jacqui's attention, but he is hiding his past. Is he also hiding the truth about what he really wants from them?

Ellen Renner - Tribute - Published by Hot Key Books - 6, March 2014 

What if your greatest enemy was yourself? Zara is a mage, one of the elite in a world where magic is power, and the non-magic majority live as slaves. When her Tribute child (slave) best friend is killed for the crime of literacy, Zara seeks revenge by spying for the rebel Knowledge Seekers. She finds her bravery and magical skill tested to the limit when a young Maker, Aidan, is taken hostage in a bid for supposed peace. Surprised by first love, she promises to help him. But before Zara can keep her promise, her secret is discovered. Hunted by her own, she seeks refuge with the Knowledge Seekers. But when you can kill with a thought, can you ever be trusted?

Lari Don - Mind Blind - Published by Kelpies Teen - 20, March 2014 

'I killed a girl today, just after the school bell. I keep trying to tell myself I didn't really kill her. But she's dead. And it's my fault.' 14-year-old Ciaran Bane is a highly trained fighter and gifted cat burglar with a special talent: he knows what his victim is thinking. He works in a mafia-style family of gangsters, thieves and thugs who share his mind-reading talent. But Ciaran's skill comes with a crippling side effect, one that makes him disposable - even to his own family. Then he meets Lucy, whose older sister has been kidnapped, and they form an unlikely team. But on their perilous search across London and up to Edinburgh, on the run from MI5 and Ciaran's dangerous family, can they ever trust each other? And where can they hide if they aren't even safe in their own minds? Award-winning author Lari Don skilfully weaves a fast-paced world of secrets, power and supernatural abilities in her first book for young teens.

Victoria Scott - Fire and Flood - Published by Chicken House - 6, March 2014

Tella's brother is dying. He's got cancer, and Tella is helpless to save him. Or so she thought. When an invitation arrives for Tella to compete in the Brimstone Bleed, a deadly competition that will lead her through treacherous jungle and scorching desert, she doesn't think twice. Because the prize is a cure to any illness. But Tella will be facing more than just the elements.

Guest Post: Howard Sargent - The Forgotten War - Book Guild Publishing 2014

It would have been around 1972 when I was six or seven that, whilst visiting my auntie’s house I first spotted a book that intrigued me. It was called “Watership Down and had a picture of a rabbit on the cover. I “borrowed” it and spent the ensuing years reading and re-reading it so much the cover fell off. Then, about three years later my father, fed up with seeing this book constantly in my hand bought me a much larger book to replace it. Inevitably it was called “The Lord of the Rings” and I ended up reading and re-reading it until its cover too finally fell off. They were probably the two most formative books of my childhood so that when my sister, back in July 2011 challenged me to write something for her their influence was never far away. I tend to believe that, as individuals, we are influenced by everything we see or hear, consciously or otherwise but I would have to acknowledge other debts to the films “Dragonslayer” and the 1971 version of “Macbeth”. 

Both are rather flawed films but the former has the best pre (and maybe post) CGI dragon I have seen an cinema whilst the latter has bags of brooding atmosphere and castle courtyards full of mud and farm animals, all images I had in mind as I was writing. Finally I have to acknowledge a debt to the PC game “Dragon Age; Origins”, a great game in itself it gave the player the opportunity to start with one of several different types of backgrounds before entering the main quest line. It was this that gave me the idea of how to start my own attempt at a novel. What if, I thought, instead of having a single protagonist I had about three or four? If I were to create a world from scratch it would afford great opportunities to create something a little more multi layered than the conventional fantasy world. 

As for the over-arching concept I remembered watching sometime in the eighties a news report on the civil war in Mozambique. It was a war sponsored by apartheid South Africa, a war waged to destabilise a neighbour, one not driven by ideology or revolution, just a nasty little war barely regarded by most of the western world. So that gave me the title at least. Initially it was written as three separate stories with a fourth added later because there was one scene I wanted to include that would not have fitted in elsewhere. It was not until the book was actually finished that I went back and combined these stories and split them into chapters, it was not until about chapter 15 in the final book that I started writing it as one continuous novel. I tried to write at least a thousand words a day it taking me 3-4 weeks to complete a section of 30-40,000 words that I then emailed off to my sister. When I was stuck, I would leave it for a day or too, eventually the way forward would come to me, usually at 2 or 3 in the morning after a typically restless night. 

My record for a day was 10,000 words, a key chapter and one I wrote without letting up pretty much from dawn till dusk. And now it is finally in print. I have no great ambitions as a writer and genuinely would be happier if just 20 people read the book and enjoyed it rather than 20,000 read it with 19,990 hating it. It was fun to do and very fulfilling, which is probably the most important thing of all.   

Published by Book Guild Publishing to order your copy here: link http://www.bookguild.co.uk/the-forgotten-war-pr-1422.html

Also find him on Twitter: @howardjsargent 

New Children's/Teen Books Published In March 2014 - UK Post One

                           

Philip Webb - Where the Rock Splits the Sky - Published by Chicken House - 25 March 2014
The moon has been split, and the Visitors have Earth in their alien grip. But the captive planet? That's not her problem. Megan just wants to track down her missing dad...

The world stopped turning long before Megan was born. Ever since the Visitors split the moon and stilled the Earth, permanent sunset is all anyone has known. But now, riding her trusty steed Cisco, joined by her posse, Kelly and Luis, Megan is on the run from her Texas hometown, journeying across the vast, dystopic American West to hunt down her father. To find him, she must face the Zone, a notorious landscape where the laws of nature do not apply. The desert can play deadly tricks on the mind, and the quest will push Megan past her limits. But to solve the mystery of not just her missing father but of the paralyzed planet itself, she must survive it--and an alien showdown.
                                   

Peter Jay Black - Urban Outlaws - Published by Bloomsbury - 13 March 2014 - 
Book Review http://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/2014/02/book-review-peter-jay-black-urban.html
In a bunker hidden deep beneath London live five extraordinary kids: meet world-famous hacker Jack, gadget geek Charlie, free runner Slink, comms chief Obi and decoy diva Wren. They're not just friends; they're URBAN OUTLAWS. They outsmart London's crime gangs and hand out their dirty money through Random Acts of Kindness (R.A.K.s).

Their latest mission - hacking the bank account of criminal mastermind Del Sarto - has landed them in serious trouble. Del Sarto is going head-to-head with MI5 for control of Proteus, an advanced quantum computer able to crack any code and steal top-secret documents in nanoseconds. It's down to the URBAN OUTLAWS to use their guile, guts and skill to destroy Proteus, avert world domination . . . and stay alive
                                   

   
David Baldacci - The Finisher - Published by Macmillan Children's - 4 March 2014
In The Finisher, a 14-year-old girl named Vega Jane lives in a village called Wormwood where the citizens have been told that the forest surrounding them is full of monsters. When Vega's mentor disappears, leaving behind a secret message, she begins to realize that Wormwood is a village built on dangerous lies.
                                       

Matt Haig - Echo Boy - Published by Bodley Head - 25 March 2014 
Audrey's father taught her that to stay human in the modern world, she had to build a moat around herself; a moat of books and music, philosophy and dreams. A moat that makes Audrey different from the echoes: sophisticated, emotionless machines, built to resemble humans and to work for human masters. Daniel is an echo - but he's not like the others. He feels a connection with Audrey; a feeling Daniel knows he was never designed to have, and cannot explain. And when Audrey is placed in terrible danger, he's determined to save her. The Echo Boy is a powerful story about love, loss and what makes us truly human.

EVENT: UK'S FIRST ADULT LITERATURE CONVENTION - LONDON JULY 2014

                       

Big names announced for UK’s first Young Adult Literature Convention

Waterstones Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman and the London Film and Comic Convention are pleased to announce an initial list of authors who will be appearing at the UK’s first ever Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC). Among them are bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant author and self-confessed movie buff Derek Landy, double Carnegie Medal winning Patrick Ness, and Red House Book Award winner Sophie Mackenzie. Also on the bill is previous Booktrust Online Writer in Residence Matt Haig, 24 year old debut Natasha Ngan, publisher-turned-author Ruth Warburton and bestselling horror writer Darren Shan. Completing the list announced today is Being a Boy author James Dawson, and of course Malorie Blackman herself. Further names, as well as days and times of authors’ appearances will be announced in due course.

YALC will form a highlight of Malorie Blackman’s campaign as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate. It will take place at the London Film and Comic Con (LFCC), at Earl’s Court, London on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July 2014. YALC will bring together all the UK’s YA publishers to provide a host of author events in a dedicated Book Zone, with talks, workshops, signings, a book sales area and publisher stands promoting new and upcoming titles. Blackman will act as a curator for the two-day convention, uniting authors and publishers throughout the UK community. 2014’s YALC event will be the first time a large scale public convention around YA books has taken place in the UK, and its setting among the fans of cultish film and TV will set books at the heart of entertainment for teens and young people.

The full list of names announced today:

·         Malorie Blackman

·         James Dawson

·         Matt Haig

·         Derek Landy

·         Sophie McKenzie

·         Patrick Ness

·         Natasha Ngan

·         Darren Shan

·         Ruth Warburton

More names will be announced as they are confirmed. For more information about the London Film and Comic Con, visit their website here: http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/ and follow @YALC_UK on Twitter for all the YALC news!

BIG BOOK COVER REVEAL - SOPHIA McDOUGALL - MARS EVACUEES

Check out the post that supports this reveal on Sophia's blog Here

Book Cover Synopsis: The fact that someone had decided I’d be safer on Mars, where you could still only SORT OF breathe the air and SORT OF not get sunburned to death, was a sign that the war with the aliens was not going fantastically well.

I’d been worried that I was about to be told that my mother’s spacefighter had been shot down, so when I found out that I was being evacuated to Mars, I was pretty calm.

And, despite everything that happened to me and my friends afterwards, I’d do it all again.  Because until you have been shot at, pursued by terrifying aliens, taught maths by a laser-shooting robot goldfish and tried to save the galaxy, I don’t think you can say that you’ve really lived.

SophiaMcDougall: http://sophiamcdougall.com/blog/

Twitter: @McDougallSophia 

Andy Potts Book Cover Illustrator - Website http://andy-potts.com/
Twitter: @AndyPottsTweet 

Published by Egmont (27 Mar 2014) - All images are subject to copyright...