Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Monday, 11 January 2016

Favourite Book Picks: Kids/Teens - January 2016 - US Published (Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books)

Dianne K. Salerni - The Morrigan's Curse (Eighth Day) - Published by HarperCollins (January 26, 2016)

Adventure, action, and magic collide in the latest installment of the series that School Library Journal called "fast paced and exciting." In the third book of the series that VOYA recommends "for fans of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter," the war over the Eighth Day continues—and there's more at stake than ever before.

The battle between Kin and Transitioners that's been brewing for centuries has finally come to a head. The sinister Kin have captured Evangeline's younger sister, Addie, a descendant of Merlin whose presence will allow them to reverse the Eighth Day Spell and free themselves. Addie doesn't realize the full consequences of her cooperation. She's been helping the Kin because they value the strength of her magic—something Evangeline never did. The feeling of power coursing through her veins is impossible to resist.

Meanwhile, Riley, Evangeline, and Jax craft a plan to rescue Addie from her captors. But the Kin's unstoppable magic, and a rebellious Addie, force Riley to reconsider whether saving Addie is worth sacrificing everyone who lives in the seven-day week. Jax won't let Evangeline's sister be used as a pawn, so he risks it all in a secret mission of his own. With the Morrigan pushing both sides of the war toward annihilation, Addie must decide where her loyalties lie, while Jax, Riley, and Evangeline confront the possibility of losing Addie to save the world.

Patrick Samphire - Secrets of the Dragon - Published by Henry Holt and Co. (January 12, 2016)

Mars in 1816 is a world of high Society, deadly danger, and strange clockwork machines. Pterodactyls glide through the sky, automatic servants hand out sandwiches at elegant garden parties, and in the north, the great dragon tombs hide marvels of Ancient Martian technology.

Twelve-year-old Edward Sullivan has always dreamed of becoming a spy like the ones he reads of in his favorite magazine, Thrilling Martian Tales. Instead, he spends his days keeping his eccentric family from complete disaster ... that is, until the villainous archeologist, Sir Titus Dane, kidnaps Edward's parents as part of a scheme to loot an undiscovered dragon tomb.

Edward and his sisters set out on a perilous pursuit across the Martian wilderness. Together they must evade Sir Titus's minions, battle mechanical nasties, and escape deadly Martian hunting machines. If they can't, they will never uncover the secrets of the dragon tomb and rescue Edward's family.

Ryan Dalton - The Year Light - Published by Jolly Fish Press (January 19, 2016)

When 15-year-old twins Malcolm and Valentine Gilbert moved to a new town, they never imagined that the old house across the street could bring them so much trouble. Inside the old house, a secret machine with the power to pierce time has reawakened. Meanwhile, lightning storms are breaking out all over town. They’re getting worse every week, and seem to enjoy striking kids who just want to pass science class and mind their own business. When Malcolm and Valentine discover a connection between the house and the storms, their situation goes from mysterious to crazy-stupid dangerous. Someone is controlling the great machine, and their purpose is nearly complete. In a race against time, the twins must uncover the chilling plan, the mastermind behind it, and the force that’s driving the deadly storms. They’ll hunt a powerful enemy that threatens their town’s existence, and the only clues are written in the sky.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR: RYAN DALTON either wears a cape and fights crime abroad, or he writes about it from his red captain’s chair at home. Perhaps he’s a superhero that’s trained with the world’s finest heroes, or he’s a lifelong geek who sings well and makes a decent dish of spaghetti. It’s also plausible that he’s been plotting to take over the world since he was ten, or that he’s since been writing novels to stir the heart and spark the imagination.

Patrick Carman - Voyagers: Omega Rising (Book 3) - Random House Books for Young Readers (January 5, 2016) Website:VOYAGERS HQ

Earth is in danger! The only things that can save our planet are six essential elements scattered throughout the galaxy. And it is up to the Voyagers—a team of four kids and an alien—to gather them all and return to Earth.

It isn’t just the Voyagers out in space—they’ve got company in the form of Team Omega. Omegas have their own reasons for wanting the elements—and they’ll do anything to win. The third planet, Aqua-Gen, has unbelievable new challenges in store. Sea monsters, pirates . . . Both teams better know how to swim.

Friday, 8 January 2016

Interview with Christopher Edge - The Many Worlds of Albie Bright - Nosy Crow

Here we have the first interview of the new year, which is with Christopher Edge. His latest book "The Many Worlds of Albie Bright" is a brilliant read and one that I would thoroughly recommended. The book will be published by Nosy Crow on the 14th January. The book review will be posted next week, so keep your eyes peeled for that. I hope that you all enjoy the Q&A. Many thanks to Christopher for taking the time out to answer the questions.

So here it is.......

In a nutshell, what is The Many Worlds of Albie Bright all about?

It's about a boy called Albie Bright who's in Year 6. His mum and dad are scientists and usually have the answers to any question Albie asks. But when Albie's mum dies of cancer and Albie asks his dad if his mum's really in heaven, his dad starts to tell him about quantum physics instead. His dad explains that some scientists believe that this universe - the world we all live in - is only one of an infinite number of parallel universes - and every time our universe is confronted by a choice - for example, to turn left or turn right - it splits into new universes where each possibility actually happens. Albie's dad tells him that according to quantum physics there's a parallel universe out there where Albie's mum never got cancer and is still alive. Instead of the comfort intended, Albie hears hope in these words. If quantum physics says that his mum is still alive in some parallel universe, then maybe quantum physics can help him to find her. Reading about Schrodinger's Cat in one of his dad's books, Albie finds a cardboard box, his mum's laptop and a rotting banana, and sends himself to parallel worlds in search of his mum.

How much of the character of Albie Bright is in you?

I think every character I write has a part of me in them - and increasingly I think I seem to be turning into the characters I write. From my own childhood, I recognise the way that Albie wants to make everything right, even against seemingly impossible odds. I'd like to think that I share Albie's determination and his sense of hope. However I think that Albie's probably more of an expert about science than I was at his age - I only got a grade D in my GCSE Physics exam!

How much research did you do in preparation for writing this book?

As you might guess from my answer to the previous question - lots! I wasn't any kind of science whiz at school, but as an adult I've become fascinated by the wonders of the universe as expertly explained by scientists such as Brian Cox, Jim Al-Khalili, Michio Kaku and Brian Greene. The American physicist Richard Feynman once said, "If you think you understand quantum physics, you don't understand quantum physics", but thanks to a huge pile of books in my office by these and other expert authors, I've been able to pretend that I understand a little more than I did before I started writing The Many Worlds of Albie Bright. It was important to me that all the science mentioned in the book was real and accurately described, so I had the manuscript checked by a friend who's a Professor of Particle Physics and also works at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Luckily he said it passed the test!

What was your favourite subject at school? Did it have any influence on this book or any other books that you have written?

More than any school subject, I think the biggest influence on this and the other novels I've written is the time I spent in my local library when I was growing up. From discovering favourite authors such as Susan Cooper, Roald Dahl and John Wyndham, to the excitement of being let loose on the adult shelves when I'd exhausted the children's section, every book I read there helped to shape me as a writer. The Many Worlds of Albie Bright is a very different book to Twelve Minutes to Midnight and the other Penelope Tredwell novels, which in their turn seemed to fox attempts to pigeonhole them - one of my favourite reviews described these as a historical-alternate history-mystery-horror-paranormal series - and I think this genre-jumping trait in my writing is a reflection of all the different types of books I first found and fell in love with in the library. And if you look closely you might also be able to spot a reference or two to one of my favourite childhood books in the pages of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright.

How do you develop your plots and characters?

For me character and plot go hand in hand, sometimes one leads the way but the other is always following close behind. With The Many Worlds of Albie Bright I had the character of Albie and the central concept of the plot from the very start and I knew exactly how the book would end, but then it was a matter of working out the different stages of Albie's journey in search of his mum. It was a bit of a Russian Doll of a novel to plot, with different parts of the book foreshadowing and echoing others as Albie travels to different parallel worlds. When I finished writing the first draft of the book I found that its structure actually reflected the five stages of grief that psychiatrists describe people as going through when they lose somebody they love, and this element became strengthened in terms of Albie's characterization in the second draft. I used to outline my novels in ridiculous amounts of detail, but now I just need to have a strong sense of the through thread before I start writing. With The Many Worlds of Albie Bright getting Albie's voice right was the key and once I had this in place the rest of the book took off from there.

If you found a machine that let you travel to a parallel universe, what moment in time would you like to have changed in that universe and why?

Once you start thinking about the implications of the existence of parallel worlds, life can become quite dizzying. If in this universe you step out into traffic and just avoid being hit by a bus, then the chances are you've just ended up as pavement pizza in another parallel world. Everything that can happen does happen somewhere. Maybe fiction is just the broadcasts that make it through from different parallel words. So if I could travel to another parallel universe, maybe I'll pick the one where I've just won the Booker Prize!

Is there a key message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I'd hate for The Many Worlds of Albie Bright to be seen as a didactic novel. It's more about asking big questions than sending out messages. Even though Albie asks his dad, 'Do you believe in heaven?' I'm not trying to set science up against religion or vice versa, I'm more interested in how stories can help us make sense of the world, with all its wonder and possibilities as well as its inevitable pain. Maybe someone who reads the novel might have lost a parent just like Albie or had to face up to a situation that they wished they could change. Hopefully The Many Worlds of Albie Bright will help them to realise that they're not alone and give them hope and strength for the future.

Are you currently involved in any writing projects?

At the moment I'm writing a new novel which should hopefully be published in 2017. This is another stand-alone novel and has some semi-autobiographical elements, so for a change this hasn't involved mindbending amounts of research into topics such as quantum physics and the late-Victorian literary scene as my last few books have! I've also got another couple of projects taking shape in the back of my brain but it's a little too early to talk about these at the moment. Watch this space!

Thursday, 7 January 2016

M. G. Leonard - Beetle Boy (The Battle of the Beetles) Book Review

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Chicken House Ltd (3 Mar. 2016)
ISBN-10: 1910002704
Age: 9+

Darkus is miserable. His dad has disappeared, and now he is living next door to the most disgusting neighbours ever. A giant beetle called Baxter comes to his rescue. But can the two solve the mystery of his dad's disappearance, especially when links emerge to cruel Lucretia Cutter and her penchant for beetle jewellery? A coffee-mug mountain, home to a million insects, could provide the answer.

Darkus and Baxter are brave enough to find it.

The diversity of beetles is very wide; they are found in all major habitats and this one can be picked up from all good bookshops from March 2016. I know this is an early book review, but when a book is this good it's so hard to keep quiet about it. It is such a flapping great read that it left me feeling flighty just even thinking about it. This book is already destined to be one of the greatest middle grade children's reads of this year.

You may have seen the book cover before, as it was a recent winner of "Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books" annual book cover wars for 2015/2016, and has been fantastically illustrated by Julia Sardia. The finished copy has been lovingly embellished inside with small black and white illustrations which adds a really nice touch to the story inside. The paper edges are very eye catching with images of small beetles; no expense has been spared as this is very rarely used in production. I would like to congratulate Chicken House on a great production of the overall book; it makes it a book to pick up and cherish.

Beetle Boy is the first book in the trilogy written by M.G. Leonard, who works in London as the senior digital producer for the National Theatre. Her fondness for coleoptera has transpired into a fantastic family read that will have you feeding on the nectar of some great fantasy moments. From the first page you are richly transported into a Dahl-esque adventure that will have you addicted with every

page that you turn.

The story is deeply heartfelt, but has a clear mystery to solve involving a cornucopia of bugs. With a cast full of lovable and relatable characters, who are all up against the evil Lucretia Cutter (mad scientist/bug exterminator), the plot will have you hooked. Her eccentric character and gross shenanigans are all entertaining and delicious thrilling to read.

You start out on a brilliant adventure with the characters, but in a heartbeat you find yourself visiting Furniture Forest hiding behind a wardrobe with Darkus and the gang. Then the next minute you are scuttling to Beetle Mountain in search of Humphrey and Pickering spying on their mad thieving scheming plans. It's all delivered in a Disney-like cinematic world, which will be loved by all ages and genders.

The narrative explores aspects such as family and friendship by following the children's bold and gross plans. No stone is left unturned and no beetles are harmed when faced with the wings of one's imagination. You will laugh and cry as you are strapped in this rollercoaster of an adventure. The science-fiction twist will have you buzzing with delight right until the last page is turned and will leave you wanting more. This is one of the best debut reads that I have read in a very long time. Imagination with wings, fantastic.

Tuesday, 5 January 2016

Children's/Teenage UK Book Picks For January 2016 - Post Two

Max Brallier and Douglas Holgate - The Last Kids on Earth - Published by Egmont (7 Jan. 2016)

Forty-two days ago I was an ordinary kid, living an uneventful life. But now it’s TOTAL MONSTER ZOMBIE CHAOS and I’m battling beasts on a daily basis. Crazy, right? But I know exactly how to make it through the zombie apocalypse.

Jack Sullivan’s ULTIMATE FEATS OF APOCALYPTIC SUCCESS:

· Locate Quint Baker, best friend and inventor

· Find and rescue June Del Toro, the coolest girl I know

· Defeat Blarg, the biggest, baddest monster in town

· Become a zombie-fighting, monster-bashing tornado of cool!

Wish me luck – cos I’m gonna need a bunch of it.

R. J. Anderson - A Pocket Full of Murder (Uncommon Magic 1) - Published by Orchard Books (14 Jan. 2016)

A magical murder mystery set in a fantastical city fuelled by spell power. I saveth Breck is brave, loyal, and zealous in the pursuit of justice, especially after her father is wrongfully arrested. Quiz, the eccentric eye patch-wearing street boy who befriends her, swears he can't resist a good mystery. Together they set out to solve the magical murder of one of Tarreton's most influential citizens and save Isaveth's beloved papa from execution. But as the list of suspects grows, finding the culprit becomes more of a challenge than the two young detectives anticipated.

Jon Mayhew - The Venom of the Scorpion (Monster Odyssey 4) - Published by Bloomsbury Children's (14 Jan. 2016)

A new and dangerous mission awaits in the fantastic Monster Odyssey series, in which our hero Dakkar must defeat a clan of evil brothers intent on ruling the world, while battling terrifying monsters. Inspired by Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Dakkar is a young Captain Nemo and these books are the most thrilling of adventures.

After being framed for murder, Dakkar must escape from prison and follow the only clue he has - a scorpion-handled dagger - in order to clear his name. Knowing this must be work of an evil Oginski brother, Dakkar soon finds himself in Algiers facing the deadliest crawling monster ever!

But even if Dakkar can defeat this beast, he will face the ultimate betrayal - his enemy has been closer than he thought, all along. Will there be anyone left who Dakkar can trust?

Maria Turtschaninoff -The Red Abbey Chronicles: Maresi - Published by Pushkin Children's Books (14 Jan. 2016)

Maresi came to the Red Abbey when she was thirteen, in the Hunger Winter. Before then, she had only heard rumours of its existence in secret folk tales. In a world where girls aren't allowed to learn or do as they please, an island inhabited solely by women sounded like a fantasy. But now Maresi is here, and she knows it is real. She is safe.

Then one day Jai tangled fair hair, clothes stiff with dirt, scars on her back arrives on a ship. She has fled to the island to escape terrible danger and unimaginable cruelty. And the men who hurt her will stop at nothing to find her.

Now the women and girls of the Red Abbey must use all their powers and ancient knowledge to combat the forces that wish to destroy them. And Maresi, haunted by her own nightmares, must confront her very deepest, darkest fears.

Monday, 4 January 2016

Ross Welford - Time Travelling with a Hamster - Book Review (HarperCollins Children's)

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books (31 Dec. 2015)
ISBN-10: 000815631X
Age: 10+

Laugh, cry and wonder at this race-against-time story of a boy who travels back to 1984 to prevent a go-kart accident, and save his father’s life…

“My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty nine and again four years later when he was twelve.

The first time had nothing to do with me. The second time definitely did, but I would never even have been there if it hadn’t been for his ‘time machine’…”

When Al Chaudhury discovers his late dad’s time machine, he finds that going back to the 1980s requires daring and imagination. It also requires lies, theft, burglary, and setting his school on fire. All without losing his pet hamster, Alan Shearer…

If you're like me and sometimes judge a book by it's cover, even though I know that you really shouldn't, then you could be forgiven for thinking that this book might be a little bit childish and that it might alienate some readers. Perhaps it's the combination of the book cover and the title that indicates this. I do believe that the bold blue cover is very good; it has been illustrated by the talented artist Tom Clohosy Cole, but I do wonder whether it would attract many 10+ year olds. However, once you get beyond this notion and start to read it you'll soon start to explore a plot which feels very much more grown up. It does not patronise the reader in anyway as it's fantastically written and is aimed at all readers that love a great story.

This is a cracking book, by a debut writer, to welcome in the new year with. The story will lift your spirits and raise your fantasy fists high into the air. It's a fantastically original story involving time travel which is used as a cog to drive the character on a emotional dodgem car ride of an adventure.

What if you could meet your dad as a kid and save his life?

When Al gets a letter on his birthday from his father, his life changes forever. The discovery of the time machine drives the plot as he attempts to go back to the 1980s. The story explores a full range of emotions from great hilarity to equally poignant and sad elements that will move you. One such point included the reuniting of Al with Grandpa Byron who mistakingly thinks that he is Pye.

Al Chaudhury's mission is to prevent a go-karting accident in 1984 in order to save his father's life. The added complication is that he needs to achieve this without losing his pet hamster - otherwise known as Alan Shearer! I thought this was a well chosen name as Alan is one of my personal heroes, but not as a hamster!

During a number of points in the story I was in stitches. The writing is very clever and sophisticated through the range of approaches used to share the main characters thoughts and feelings. This really helped the reader to understand Al and the bond between him and his family.

Towards the end of the story, I began to feel that some of the ideas were slightly unnecessary. They seemed to slow down the plot and could leave some readers feeling quite confused and a little disorientated. Nevertheless this was a brilliant read; it is totally original and captivating. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any reader. It will transport you to and from the 1980s in the blink of an eye!

Happy New Year to you all!

Friday, 1 January 2016

Children's/Teenage UK Book Picks For January 2016 - Post One

Gareth P. Jones - Death or Ice Cream? - Published by Hot Key Books (7 Jan. 2016)

Larkin Mills: The Birthplace of Death! Larkin Mills is no ordinary town. It's a place of contradictions and enigma, of secrets and mysteries. A place with an exquisite ice cream parlour, and an awful lot of death. An extraordinary mystery in Larkin Mills is beginning to take shape. First we meet the apparently healthy Albert Dance, although he's always been called a sickly child, and he's been booked into Larkin Mills' Hospital for Specially Ill Children. Then there's his neighbour Ivor, who observes strange goings-on, and begins his own investigations into why his uncle disappeared all those years ago. Next we meet Young Olive, who is given a battered accordion by her father, and unwittingly strikes a dreadful deal with an instrument repair man. Make sure you keep an eye on Mr Morricone, the town ice-cream seller, who has queues snaking around the block for his legendary ice cream flavours Summer Fruits Suicide and The Christmas Massacre. And Mr Milkwell, the undertaker, who has some very dodgy secrets locked up in his hearse. Because if you can piece together what all these strange folks have to do with one another ...

Ann M. Martin - How to Look for a Lost Dog - Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (1 Jan. 2016)

11-year-old Rose is autistic and struggles to understand her classmates. But when her father gives her a stray dog, which she names Rain, the dog becomes her best friend, her anchor in a confusing world. So when Rain goes missing during a storm, Rose refuses to stop looking for her...A touching story from the beloved author of The Babysitters Club.

Helen Dennis - River of Ink:1 Genesis - Published by Hodder Children's Books (14 Jan. 2016)

What if a teenage boy washed up on the banks of the River Thames, soaked to the skin and unable to explain who he is? What if the only clue to the boy's identity is a sketch he made of a strange symbol?

Who would help him? Who would hunt him?

Who is River Boy?

When a mystery teenage boy emerges from the River Thames drenched, distressed and unable to remember anything about himself, he becomes the focus of worldwide media speculation. Unable to communicate, the River Boy is given paper and a pencil and begins to scribble. Soon a symbol emerges, but the boy has no idea why he has drawn it even thought it's the only clue to the mystery of his identity...

As the boy begins to build a new life under a new name, the hunt for his real identity begins.

A hunt which will lead him on a dangerous QUEST that he has only one year to complete ...

Gavriel Savit - Anna and the Swallow Man - Bodley Head (28 Jan. 2016)

Anna and the Swallow Man is a stunning, literary, and wholly original debut novel that tells a new WW2 story.

Kraków, 1939, is no place to grow up. There are a million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. And Anna Lania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father and suddenly, she’s alone.

Then she meets the Swallow Man. He is a mystery, strange and tall. And like Anna's missing father, he has a gift for languages: Polish, Russian, German, Yiddish, even Bird. When he summons a bright, beautiful swallow down to his hand to stop her from crying, Anna is entranced.

Over the course of their travels together, Anna and the Swallow Man will dodge bombs, tame soldiers, and even, despite their better judgement, make a friend. But in a world gone mad, everything can prove dangerous . . .

Sunday, 20 December 2015

Favourite Middle Grade Children's Book Reads 2015 Age 9+ Post Two

This is my second post sharing my top 10 favourite Middle Grade Reads this year. It was really hard to shorten the list; this is a very strong age group in 2015. Please check out the first post. Have a really good Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Caleb Krisp - Anyone But Ivy Pocket - Published by Bloomsbury Children's (9 April 2015)

Ivy Pocket is a twelve-year-old maid of no importance, with a very lofty opinion of herself. Dumped in Paris by the Countess Carbunkle, who would rather run away to South America than continue in Ivy's companionship, our young heroine (of sorts) finds herself with no money and no home to go to ... until she is summoned to the bedside of the dying Duchess of Trinity.

For the princely sum of £500 (enough to buy a carriage, and possibly a monkey), Ivy agrees to courier the Duchess's most precious possession - the Clock Diamond - to England, and to put it around the neck of the revolting Matilda Butterfield on her twelfth birthday. It's not long before Ivy finds herself at the heart of a conspiracy involving mischief, mayhem and murder.

Illustrated in humorous gothic detail by John Kelly, Anyone But Ivy Pocket is just the beginning of one girl's deadly comic journey to discover who she really is ...

Brian Selznick - The Marvels - Published by Scholastic Press (15 Sept. 2015)
In The Marvels, Selznick crafts another remarkable artistic and bookmaking achievement that weaves together two seemingly unrelated stories-one in words, the other in pictures-with spellbinding synergy. The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations. The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle's puzzling house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries. Filled with mystery, vibrant characters, surprise twists, and heart-rending beauty, and featuring Selznick's most arresting art to date, The Marvels is a moving tribute to the power of story.

Garth Jennings - The Deadly 7 - Published by Macmillan Children's Books (15 Jan. 2015)

Who needs friends when you've got MONSTERS?

Everything was happening so fast and it was all so . . . mad. It was as if someone had taken reality, made it into a jigsaw, thrown the jigsaw on to the floor and then said, "Now, hurry up and put it all together!" as they danced all over the jigsaw pieces in a clown suit, blowing a trumpet.

When Nelson's beloved big sister goes missing on a school trip, Nelson is devastated - he's not that good at making friends and his sister is the only person he can talk to. His parents join the search party and leave Nelson in the care of his mad uncle Pogo. Uncle Pogo is the caretaker of St Paul's Cathedral and it is here that Nelson stumbles across a machine, invented by Christopher Wren and buried for hundreds of years. Designed to extract the 7 deadly sins, the machine had a fault - once extracted, the sins became living, breathing monsters who would then follow the sinner around for eternity (unless they ate him first, in the case of the particularly sinful). Nelson accidentally extracts 7 deadly monsters from his own little soul. Ugly, cantankerous, smelly and often the cause of much embarrassment, Nelson's monsters are the last thing he needed in his life, but at least they're fairly harmless (he's a pretty good kid, on the whole). When he learns of their individual powers he realises the monsters can be put to good use, and together Nelson and the Deadly 7 set out on a quest across the globe to find and rescue his big sister. Somewhere along the way, Nelson realises that he finally has friends, even if they are smelly, lazy friends who like smashing stuff up.

Danny Wallace - Hamish and the WorldStoppers - Published by Simon & Schuster Children's (12 Mar. 2015)

What would YOU do... if the whole world just stopped?
Yes the WHOLE WORLD.
Birds in the air. Planes in the sky. And every single person on the planet - except you!
Because that's what keeps happening to ten-year-old Hamish Ellerby.
And it's being caused by The WorldStoppers and their terrifying friends The Terribles! They have a PLAN! They want to take our world for their own . . . Oh, and they hate children. Especially if you're a child who knows about them. Hang on - You know now, don't you? Oh dear.
Can Hamish save us from The WorldStoppers? Only time will tell!

Chris Riddell - Goth Girl and the Wuthering Fright - Published by Macmillan Children's Books (24 Sept. 2015)

People are flocking to Ghastly-Gorm Hall from far and wide to compete in Lord Goth's Literary Dog Show. The esteemed judges are in place and the contestants are all ready to win. Sir Walter Splott is preparing his Lanarkshire Lurcher, Plain Austen is preening her Hampshire Hound and Homily Dickinson and her Yankee Poodle are raring to go. But there's something strange going on at Ghastly-Gorm - mysterious footprints, howls in the night and some suspiciously chewed shoes. Can Ada, the Attic Club and their new friends the Vicarage sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) work out what's going on before the next full moon?

Goth Girl and The Wuthering Fright is the third beautifully illustrated book in the Goth Girl series by Chris Riddell, sequel to Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse and Goth Girl and the Fete Worse Than Death.

Wednesday, 16 December 2015

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Top Favourite Middle Grade Book Reads 2015 (Part One)

I've had so much pleasure reading books for this age group this year. In fact, I've found it really difficult to leave out so many good books, but I've done my best to pick a selection of books. These are, in my eyes, the best 10 books that shone with fantasy magic and fairy dust during 2015. These are the first five of my favourite reads, can you guess which other books will be in the second post? Have a great festive time everybody!

Rob Stevens - Would the Real Stanley Carrot Please Stand Up? Published by Andersen Press (5 Feb. 2015)
Stanley ‘Carrot’ Harris is ginger, tubby and definitely not cool. And he has a secret: he’s adopted, and this makes him feel like he’s never quite fitted in.
On his thirteenth birthday, he receives the one thing he’s been waiting his whole life for: a card from his long-lost birth mother, asking to meet up. But Stanley isn’t sure: what if he’s a big disappointment to her? So he hatches a plan – and he’s going to need a stand-in Stanley, someone who is handsome, sporty and God’s Gift to Mothers.
What Stanley doesn’t realise is he’s about to have the most confusing time of his life . . . just who is the real Stanley Carrot?

Ross MacKenzie - The Nowhere Emporium - Published by Kelpies (2 Mar. 2015)
When the mysterious Nowhere Emporium arrives in Glasgow, orphan Daniel Holmes stumbles upon it quite by accident. Before long, the 'shop from nowhere' -- and its owner, Mr Silver -- draw Daniel into a breathtaking world of magic and enchantment. Recruited as Mr Silver's apprentice, Daniel learns the secrets of the Emporium's vast labyrinth of passageways and rooms -- rooms that contain wonders beyond anything Daniel has ever imagined. But when Mr Silver disappears, and a shadow from the past threatens everything, the Emporium and all its wonders begin to crumble. Can Daniel save his home, and his new friends, before the Nowhere Emporium is destroyed forever?

Jacob Grey - The Crow Talker ( Ferals, Book 1) HarperCollins Children's Books (26 Mar. 2015)

In a city ravaged by crime and corruption, 13-year-old orphan Caw’s only friends are the murder of crows he has lived with since his parents flung him from their house aged only five… Caw lives in a treehouse in an abandoned city park, surviving on scraps of food and only communicating with his three crows. But a jailbreak at the prison forces him into contact with other humans – particularly a girl called Lydia, who is attacked by the escaped prisoners and is saved by Caw. Caw realises that these escaped prisoners have more in common with him than he’d like… they too are FERALS – humans able to communicate with and control an animal species. And they want to bring their evil Feral master, The Spinning Man, back from the Land of the Dead. Only by joining forces with other good Ferals hiding throughout the city can Caw stand a chance of defeating them.

Nicholas Gannon - The Doldrums Bk1- Published by HarperCollins Children's Books (8 Oct. 2015)

Archer B. Helmsley longs for adventure. But how can he have an adventure when he can’t even leave his house?

Archer B. Helmsley has grown up in a house full of oddities and treasures collected by his grandparents, the famous explorers. Archer longs for grand adventures but ever since his grandparents went missing on an iceberg, his mother barely lets him leave the house. So, along with his best friends, Adélaïde L. Belmont and Oliver Grub, Archer forms a plan to get out of the house and set off on a grand adventure with crocodiles and parachutes and danger. It's a good plan. Well, it's not bad, anyway. But nothing goes quite as they expected…

Allan Boroughs - Bloodstone (Legend of Ironheart) - Published by Macmillan Children's Books (1 Jan.2015)
Apprenticed to notorious tech-hunter Verity Brown, India Bentley has spent the last year travelling the globe, finding and selling long-lost technology and doing her best to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, trouble has a habit of finding her. Accused of an assassination attempt and thrown in jail, India is rescued by scientist-adventurer Professor Moon: a man obsessed with finding the Bloodstone; key to a source of unlimited energy hidden in the lost city of Atlantis. Now Moon wants India and Verity to join his quest.

Pursued by gangsters, lumbered with a stowaway and haunted by the ghosts of her past, India must risk everything to uncover Atlantis's secrets. But the truth comes at a price.