Goodbye Stranger - Rebecca Stead

Goodbye Stranger - Rebecca Stead

Goodbye Stranger - Rebecca Stead

Goodbye Stranger has Rebecca’s Steads trademark wonky charm and many layered mysteries but there’s also a sharper and faintly more sinister edge that is reminiscent of Annabel’s Pitcher’s Ketchup Clouds.

Goodbye Stranger is a story about growing up, growing apart and having to sometimes say goodbye to things and people that held a very special place in your heart.  But, thankfully, it’s also all about saying hello to new things even if navigating your way around them is sometimes a confounding mystery, as many of the characters discover.

The Midnight Dress - Karen Foxlee

The Midnight Dress by  Karen Foxlee

Guest Review by Alice (15)

Rose Lovell and her dad arrive in yet another town, she knows it will be the same as always, they will stay a while, her dad will get drunk and they will move on, it's happened before and it will happen again, won't it? But this time it's different, Rose makes friends with Pearl Kelly, the 'town sweetheart' who convinces the closed-book Rose to take part in the town's harvest parade. Rose goes to Eddie the town dressmaker whose life is riddled with secrets, tales, and according to the townspeople, witchcraft. Together they create a dress woven and stitched from memories, stories and magic. On the night of the parade the girl with the midnight dress goes missing, and nothing will be the same, ever again.

On top of having a beautiful plot line this book is one of the most spectacularly written books I have read in a long time. Rose is a bit of a goth, loves all things black and most of all the rainforest she discovers after hearing  Eddie's stories. When she meets Pearl she starts to come out of her shell. The way the character Rose is written made me fall in love with her and also feel a little bit of empathy for her, she had never really had any friends before Pearl and her dad doesn't really care about her. The book is written in a way that at the beginning of each chapter you find out a little bit more of the end and that helped me to understand the story more as the plot twisted on.

Anyone over the age of 11 could easily get as absorbed by this book as I did!

This book is brilliant for anyone who loves a good bit of friendship and mystery in a book. If you do then this book is most definitely for you!

Publication details: 2013, Hot Key Books, London, paperback

This copy: review copy from the publisher

We Were Liars - E Lockhart

We Were Liars by E Lockhart

Review by M

There’s been a lot of pre-publication hype around this novel and it deserves it. We Were Liars is a small book (just over 200 pages) and it’s a quick and thoroughly entertaining read.

We Were Liars is narrated by Cadence, the eldest teen granddaughter of the Sinclair family. An old New England family, they spend their summers on their private island. And then Cadence has an accident.

From the get go, we know that this is unreliable narration. The writing is stylised and interweaves all sorts of clues and red herrings to create a tragic modern day fairytale.

I highly recommend it and think there’s every chance of awards, commercial and cult success. Book groups will love it too.

Liar, liar, liar, liar.

 

PS. There’s a strong language content warning on the book. The f expletive appears a few times.

 

Hot Key Books is hosting a We Were Liars live read on Saturday, 17 May 2014 on Twitter. Starts 1pm UK time. #liarsliveread

 

Publication details: Hot Key Books, May 2014, London, paperback

This copy: received from the publisher for the live read

She Is Not Invisible - Marcus Sedgwick

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

 

Review by M

 

The cover, feel and shape of this book makes it aesthetically one of my favourites this year. I’d be tempted to buy it just for that.....

She Is Not Invisible is about sixteen year old Laureth who takes her seven year old brother to New York in search of her author father whom she suspects has gone missing. Her situation is fraught with potential mishaps that are substantially multiplied when you realise that there is something unusual about Laureth and there’s something unusual about Benjamin, her brother, too. Actually, the whole scenario is compellingly unusual, and it’s also funny and it’s warm.

The basic plot is a mystery but Sedgwick weaves in a number of mysteries and games of his own which will delight many readers – especially the last page! Clues of all sorts are placed throughout the pages and I liked that.

Essentially, the novel is about the different ways we see things and how we act upon our perceptions. The novel also explores the subject of coincidences and so it’s not surprising when coincidences pop up in the novel (whether they’re sometimes used as plot devices or not could make for an interesting debate; I was a little unsatisfied and things came together too easily for me).

The novel is a quick read and on the whole, it’s a lot of fun and easy. Although published by a teen/young adult imprint, younger readers may also enjoy the challenge of some of the concepts raised (but I found some of the details on the theoretical aspects of coincidence and synchronicity a bit dull – even though it’s actually quite interesting!).

Like Sedgwick’s Midwinterblood, She Is Not Invisible is a story that wants you to play and examine things within and beyond the novel.

If you enjoy this novel, I think you will love reading novels by Rebecca Stead, like When You Reach Me or Liar & Spy.

 

 

 

PS. I haven't acted on the last page yet - I'm saving it!

PPS. I have a thing with a number too: 32
PPPS. Richard Parker sure gets around in literature. So much for shipwrecked!

  

Publication details: Indigo, 2013, London, hardback

This copy: review copy from the publishers

 

All the Truth That's in Me - Julie Berry

All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry

Review by M

 

All the Truth That’s in Me has been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2014.

All the Truth That’s in Me had me from the first page. I loved it very much. That has as much to do with the story as it does with the writing.

Judith went missing when she was a young teenager. She returns a few years later, mute, to her community in Roswell Station. Nobody knows where she has been or why and she can’t tell them. Set back when the United States of America was still in its formative years and western ways of life were quite different from today’s, there is no loving welcome for her and she is treated with suspicion as a cursed outcast by her community. While this is bad enough, Judith has no time for wallowing in self pity and is treacherously defiant about the loss of the love of her whole life.  All the Truth That’s in Me reads like a eulogising ode: To Lucas, from Judith.

At face value, this is an unrequited love story, smouldering and intense. It’s mournful and yearning, in the way of odes, elegies and praise poetry. But, through its praising and its questioning, Judith’s narrative is also suspenseful and the whole story turns on a couple of whodunit questions.

 

A girl has been murdered and Homelander invaders threaten. Rumours taken as truth for answers abound.  As the story progresses, many readers will fill in the story’s gaps correctly. For me, these came as light relief from what was otherwise a very intense and absorbing read.

All the Truth That’s in Me is a short novel (perhaps even novella?) and the reading experience is similar to last year’s Carnegie shortlisted, The Weight of Water. While The Weight of Water was written as poetry and was a light-but-substantial read,  All the Truth That’s in Me is not a poem and it is darkly, deeply intense.

The overwhelming feeling that this novel is a poetic ode or eulogy, to Lucas, is further enhanced by this ‘verselike-diary entry’ structure. Again, this also gives it the quality of a testament, which narratively it is, in more ways than one.  The chapter structure feels like verses from the Bible and is thematically very fitting as Judith’s community is deeply and often rigidly religious. With references to Greek myths, I also can’t stop thinking of Keat’s Ode on a Grecian Urn. I love it when a novel sends me off on a search.

This is a little book but it is quite as long as it should be. I dare any of you not to fall head over heels for Lucas (and that’s something I may never have said on this blog before!?). Judith’s ode does its work and I loved it. It was enormously satisfying. Far and away, All the Truth That’s in Me has been one of the most captivating books I’ve read all year.

This novel has adult themes suited to the ages of its characters who, at times, are about eighteen and twenty-something. But, these issues are treated in a way that makes this novel easily suitable for secondary school shadowing groups. Visions of things that might not have happened in the story may fill the mind of the reader in much the same way that they did the judging minds of Roswell Station’s community.

 

This novel may also prompt some readers to find out more about Joan of Arc.

Publication details: 2013, Templar, Surrey, hardback

This copy: review copy from the publisher

 

North of Nowhere - Liz Kessler

North of Nowhere by Liz Kessler

Review by Chutney* (12)

North of Nowhere has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2014.

 

Publisher’s summary:

The sleepy seaside village of Porthaven hides a mystery....

Mia’s grandad has vanished and nobody knows why. When Mia and her mum go to support her grandma, Mia makes friends with local girl, Dee. But why does Dee seem to go out of reach? Why does she claim to be facing violent storms when Mia sees only sunny skies? And can Mia solve the mystery and find her grandad before time and tide wash away his future?

North of Nowhere was inspired by the real village of Hallsands, South Devon, that collapsed into the sea one stormy night in January 2017.

 

 

 

********

 

Our reviewer, Chutney (age 12), used North of Nowhere to complete a school reading report. Here are her responses:

Genre: mystery, adventure

I chose to read this book because I found the cover interesting and attractive. The storyline caught my attention and it is the most recent book I have received. The story was situated in Porthaven, a fishing village where Mia tried to find the grandad.

I would give Mia an award for her determination to solve the mystery of her grandad’s disappearance. I learnt from the story that with bravery and hope you can conquer anything. I would like to invite Peter over to my house. I would invite him because there are many questions I would like to know the answers to.

There is nothing that I would change about the book because the storyline was interesting, the pace was perfect for me, I enjoy the idea of time travelling and the story captured my mind throughout.

 

Publication details: Orion Children’s Books, 2013, London, hardback
This copy: review copy from the publishers

 

*Chutney is a nickname!

 

 

 

 

 

 

That Burning Summer - Lydia Syson

That Burning Summer by Lydia Syson

 

M's review

Once again, Lydia Syson's teen fiction marries the thought-provoking nitty gritties of wartime with a tone that is celebratory in its joie de vivre. That Burning Summer is a quick and enjoyable read that complements her debut novel, A World Between Us.

That Burning Summer shares some similarities with Syson’s first novel, A World Between Us: war, moral conflicts and courage, deceptions, first love and an underlying playful humour that adds a light touch to otherwise heavy subject matter. But there are significant differences too.

That Burning Summer is set in England and weaves Poland in, and whereas A World Between Us looked at principled reasons for engaging in war battle, That Burning Summer grapples with reasons for not fighting. And of course, refusing to fight in the war was a punishable offence......

This time, the action is set on English home ground down in Romney Marsh, Kent in the summer of 1940, the year of the Battle of Britain. At this point, most of the children in that area of England have been evacuated but Peggy (16) and Ernest (11 nearly 12) have not. They’re living in and helping out on a farm with their mother and their aunt’s family. Their father is away...well, somewhere?

The novel is organised around the different rules and advice the government set out in a leaflet on what to do when Britain is invaded:

• How do you spot an invader and what should you do in that situation?
• And if it’s by parachute?
• And they’re foreign, with a name like Hendryk?

It is interesting to see how this propaganda leaflet affects the behaviour of the novel’s different characters, especially young Ernest who is most perturbed and alarmed by this document.

The novel is filled with tension as you wonder what individual characters will do when they’re faced with potential and life-threatening deceptions or revealing secrets. And where is the children’s father? Is Hendryk as innocent as he claims? What will happen in the end? Like a mystery thriller, the plot is interspersed with clues as to the answers.

For me, the most compelling narrative is Ernest’s story: his fixation with doing the right thing at his age is endearing. The heroine, Peggy, is a headstrong and wilful character. Ernest is too, but in his own much quieter and reflective way. June their cousin, is an interesting character and brings to mind the portrayal of Trixie in the Call the Midwife television series. And pilot Hendryk's story and dilemma is truly heartbreaking.

Two of my favourite scenes include a funny one (borderline farcical when something slowly appears round a corner) and a passionately truthful one (everything some of you already knew about dancing very closely!). The developing romance was my least favourite part of the story because I thought Peggy would have been more afraid and confused about what to do. But, I suppose especially in times of war, there's no accounting for what people might do....

Younger readers especially will likely appreciate Ernest’s confusions and actions, and enjoy the historical explanations that are woven through the novel. Older readers are likely to sympathise with Peggy. Syson also creates a really strong sense of place – I could see Romney Marsh in my mind even though I’ve never been there.

 

Although there is a thrilling romantic thread in this novel, rather than an historical war romance I would describe That Burning Summer as an historical war mystery/thriller which, in terms of interests and age, may appeal to a broader readership than A World Between Us.

Publication details: Hot Key Books, 3 October 2013, London, paperback

This copy: received for review from the publisher

The Rig - Joe Ducie

The Rig by Joe Ducie

 

Review by Little M

Joe Ducie won the Hot Key Young Writers Prize for 2012 with his novel The Rig. I think this is a brilliant winner.

The Rig is about a prison where no one can escape from it, maybe not even Will Drake. Will Drake is a 15 year old boy who was sent to prison for stealing. He has been kept in many prisons, however, not one of them have successfully been able to contain him for more than a few weeks or a month. So now he has been put on the Rig. The Rig is an old oil rig which was changed into a rehabilitation centre for youths. It is based in the middle of the ocean with shark infested waters around it. Will is determined to escape and no one can keep him locked up.

Overall, I really liked this novel because the plot details are different to some of the books I normally read. I also really enjoyed the mystery aspect to it. I really liked the novel up until a certain sci-fi element came into it and I thought it didn't really need it.

This novel contains action, sci-fi and a lot of mystery! The Hot-Key Key Ring for this says 1/4th action, 1/4th friendship, 1/4th prison break and 1/4th mystery. I agree with all of them.

I think this novel will appeal to both boys and girls. It worked for me, and anyway I have a boy as the main character for once, not a Katniss or a Tris!

Publication details: Hot-Key Books, London, 2013, paperback

This copy: received for review from the publisher

Rendezvous in Russia - Lauren St John

Rendezvous in Russia by Lauren St John

Review by Little M

Rendezvous in Russia is Lauren St John’s current novel in the Laura Marlin mystery series. It is the fourth novel in the series.

Skye performs a dramatic stunt in their hometown, Cornwall. Due to this, the three of them find themselves stuck in yet another mystery. This time Laura Marlin, her best friend Tariq, and her three-legged husky, Skye, are on The Aristocratic Thief film set in Russia. With The Straight A’s criminal gang on the roam in Russia, Laura, Tariq and Skye are never safe.

Lauren St John’s Laura Marlin mystery novels are brilliant. They are one of my favourite detective series even though they are getting a bit young for me but I still really enjoy them. This one was very well put together and I love how the author makes you think someone is the villain when it is actually the person who you would least expect it to be.

I adore Laura’s dog Skye. He is a marvellous three-legged husky who is always the hero of the novel. He may be three-legged but he is priceless to Laura.

I can’t wait for another Laura Marlin mystery. I hope there is one.
 

Here is my review for the third Laura Marlin mystery, Kentucky Thriller.

 

Publication details: Orion Children’s Books, August 2013, London, hardback

This copy: received for review from the publisher

PS. This book was printed by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc. I find this funny because the character Laura Marlin lives in St Ives, Cornwall!

Liar & Spy - M's review

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

Liar & Spy is like a stand-alone twenty-first century and urban version of The Secret Seven but written in a stylised John Greenish voice for tweens with the warm depth of David Almond or Patrick Ness. This novel is everything that it looks like on the cover – and a whole lot more.

The central storyline belongs to Georges, a boy who’s moved into a block of New York apartments and becomes involved in an intriguing Spy Club. But it cleverly and pleasingly draws together multiple mysteries and threads from other characters’ lives too.

I enjoyed a connection with most of the characters: Georges is immediately and wholly endearing, his dad should learn to cook, his mom is wise and hardworking, Candy is delicious (‘though is she a bit too clever for her age?), Safer’s mom is cool, Bob English Who Draws wants new spelling rules and so on and so on. Safer – well, you’ll have to make up your own mind about him. If I was a fan-fictionista, I’d look forward to many more tales of either The Spy Club or the Blue Team...dot...dot...dot (this’ll make much more sense if you’ve read the book!).

The writing is good and smooth. The scenes are interesting and clever. The characters are warming. There are funny bits. It’s the kind of book readers will go back and read again – to savour some of the delights (umami!) or re-check for clues they missed. Tissues may be required for some readers (probably those of the adult sort). If you find that the first few chapters seem a bit slow and leave you wanting something more, like suspense or anticipation, press on because the whole becomes beautiful. Georges’ mother would probably say it has things in common with a Seurat masterpiece. I highly recommend it.

Fans of either Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven series, A Monster Calls (Patrick Ness), My Name is Mina (David Almond), The Treasure House (Linda Newbury) or pointillism in art will probably find some aspect of charming delight in Liar & Spy. And if you’re 8, 9, 10, 11 or maybe even 12, and you enjoy this novel, you may well go on to enjoy John Green’s novels when you’re a teen.

Pssst...don’t leave until after the credits, you never know what will happen.

Credits: 

Publication details: 2012, Andersen Press, London, hardback

This copy: hardback signed copy (yes!) won from the publishers

 

After the credits:

• Liar & Spy is useful reading for anyone trying to decide on what name to give their baby (Pigeon, Safer, Candy, Georges anyone?).
• Do tweens like birds a lot? I keep seeing them in middle grade novels lately.
• The character, Safer, is ok by me - but I'd have been very cross with him.
• I would like to have been homeschooled by Safer’s mom.
• The fortune cookies in this novel are great.
• I’m going to try and identify the umami taste whenever I eat: delicious.
• When I was about 9, my uncle signed my autograph book as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I thought he was strange. (U.N.C.L.E is referred to in this novel)

Reviewed by M

When You Reach Me - M's review

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I wish this novel had been written when I was about ten. I’d have loved it. I loved it now but I’d have loved it so much more back then. It has everything in it – endearing characters, comedy, friendship, mystery, shock, surprises, twists and turns and an intriguing title. It's probably one of my favourite children's books I've read in a long time. Think clever and endearing Time Traveler's Wife for children....

When You Reach Me is set in New York in 1979. It starts off with Miranda having kept a box of notes from ‘you’ and we find out that her single mom (with the perfect boyfriend except for his one-shorter-than-the-other leg) is practising for a TV show competition. For a while, this seems to be the main focus of the story but then something awful happens to Miranda’s friend Sal and we realise that this novel is even more of a mystery than it seemed. Just like Miranda, we’re in the dark about so much but we both know that April 27, 1979 is the key date to everything.

Basically, Miranda keeps finding notes from ‘you’, a friend has to be saved (oh but who is it?!), Miranda’s friendships are becoming complicated and even falling apart, and some things are getting lost. All your questions will be gloriously answered by the end but, when you reach the end, don’t be surprised if you’re still trying to figure out some of the scientifically mind-bending possibilities...or if you keep looking overly curiously at mailboxes...or if you suddenly have the urge to visit New York (Rebecca Stead makes it sound somewhere like the best place for home). Genre-wise, this is a mix of contemporary realism, mystery and science-fiction. This novel is full of wonderment, suspense, surprise and tenderness.

Highly, highly recommended.

A little note: I haven’t read it, but I think Rebecca Stead thinks this novel will appeal to fans of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time as When You Reach Me makes many references to it.

 

Publication details: Andersen Press, 2011, London, paperback (first published in USA, 2009)

This copy: ours

The Last Minute - M's review

The Last Minute by Eleanor Updale

 

The Last Minute traces the 59 seconds before an explosion rips through Heathwick High Street. It's quite a different read.

The Last Minute by Eleanor Updale

 

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Through fifty-nine chapters, the details of each second build up a rich picture of what was happening on the High Street that morning. A cast of characters, community activity and life stories are developed. On this morning, there are emergency gasworks and a traffic jam that are creating havoc for dog walkers, cheating politicians, coffee drinkers, party planners and new drivers. There’s also a funeral about to take place and a Year 8 school trip that’s running a tad late.

There are also people observing one another on the street and it is through their thoughts, some authorial clues and perhaps some of your own guesses that the reader starts to really develop their own bit of cluedo detective work. The novel is quite good at exploring how we make assumptions and pass judgements about other people’s actions and lives – many of them incorrect and even rude.

The Last Minute is a pageturning mystery. Of course, you want to know what caused the explosion and who did and didn’t die in it. However, not much can happen in just one second and as the high street starts to fill up, some detail repeats itself across the chapters: some of this is needed to remind you of what is happening but some of it is superfluous. Personally, I found it a bit drawn out and would have preferred it to be a bit shorter.

However, there is excellent supporting material for the fifty-nine chapters: an epilogue and prologue, before and after maps of the high street, some lists of the dead, and media footage. A website with other materials is also available. Altogether, this could make for a great bit of speculating and investigative work for readers who are so inclined. I can imagine a class having great fun with it.

Because of all the interlinked characters and activities that make up the busy plot, The Last Minute reminded me a bit of Matt Dickinson’s Mortal Chaos which explores events that occur as a result of the butterfly effect (the idea that a little change can set off other changes). However, there is no graphic gore in The Last Minute and I think younger readers will enjoy it too.

Despite the seriousness of the topic (a deadly explosion), The Last Minute is a very light read and places more emphasis on issues that might arise in investigative detective and reporting work. There are quite a few funny bits in it too: think farts, dog poo and ripping trousers.

 

Publication details: January 2013, David Fickling Books, Oxford, hardback

This copy: received for review consideration from the publisher   

Missing Me - Little M's Review

Missing Me by Sophie McKenzie

I wanted to read this book because I’ve read the other two books in the Missing trilogy and I just wanted to know what happens next in the story. Missing Me is a follow on from Girl, Missing and Sister, Missing. The first two stories are from Lauren, the older sister’s, perspective. Missing Me is from Madison’s perspective when she is a teenager.

Missing Me by Sophie McKenzie

Missing Me is about Madison who is the youngest of three sisters. She finds out that her biological father is an anonymous sperm donor. She meets up with her biological father and he takes her to a party. At the party, she meets a girl called Esme and a boy called Wolf. The three of them get together on another day and Madison discovered some information that could help with something illegal that’s being done by someone. Then she starts to get more information and tries to stop the illegal activities.

I really enjoyed this book. This book was exciting, full of suspense and a thriller. I really enjoyed it because I love how Sophie MacKenzie writes. She doesn’t just drag anything out too long. I enjoyed it more than Sister, Missing but the first book, Girl, Missing, is still my favourite.

You can understand the storylines from the first two books by the recap in the beginning of Missing Me but it doesn’t give you some little details and you miss out because the first two books are good. You need to read all of the books in order to understand the story really well.

I would recommend this book to readers who like Sophie McKenzie’s books that are for younger teens (like The Medusa Project). I also think people who like Lauren St John’s Laura Marlin series and people who like adventure and mysteries will like this book.

If we did ratings on this blog, I would give it a 4 ½ out of 5 because it is in my top ten favourite books this year.

Publication details:

Simon and Schuster, September 2012, London, hardback

This copy: received for review from the publishers

*****

You can read my review of Girl, Missing here.

Kentucky Thriller - Little M's Review

Kentucky Thriller by Lauren St John

 

Kentucky Thriller is the third book in the Laura Marlin mystery series. This book is about the horse racing in Kentucky, America. When Laura and Tariq find an abandoned race horse in a trailer their detective minds start to think. The owner of the horse, Golden Rush, is very pleased to have him back and says that they can come and stay at his farm in America.

Kentucky Thriller by Lauren St John

One night at the farm Laura wakes up in the middle of the night. She saw Golden Rush be unloaded. And then a few hours later another truck comes with a horse that looks just like Golden Rush. Then she suspects there has been a swap. Is anyone going to believe her?

Whilst in America, Laura suspects Golden Rush is going to be stolen again, but how?  And is Noble Warrior going to win the Kentucky race? Are the Straight A’s, a criminal gang, going to be involved? (The Straight A’s have been in the other two books.)

I absolutely loved this book because I love Lauren St John’s books, I love horses and I love detective books. So this book was pretty much perfect for me.

I have read all the Laura Marlin Mysteries and I really enjoyed them all. But I still think the first book and the second are the best. There are only 3 so far in the series but I think Lauren is up to something (writing a 4^th one).

I would recommend this book to anyone who has read any of Lauren St John’s Laura Marlin Mysteries or any of The White Giraffe series. I think most people who liked Enid Blyton's The Famous Five and Secret Seven when they were younger will enjoy this book.

This book is a mystery, horsey and 100% Lauren St John.

Publication details:

Orion, 2012, London, hardback

This copy: received for review from the publishers

Group review - Emil and the Detectives

Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner

Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner

Emil and the Detectives was read as part of our world of stories summer. The book started off with Little M. Then it was put on a boat and train with Daddy Cool (he opted not for Berlin – anyone who reads Emil will understand!), and then Grandad Africa jumped on a few planes to pick it up too.

Emil’s popularity among these three may have to do with the story but it might also have something to do with the numbers of pages. At 153 pages, it’s a slim and inviting read that can be read quickly by some and easily carried to all sorts of places by those who choose to take a little longer.

But writing a group review is difficult! Writing a group review across three generations in a noisy family is near impossible – my goodness!  This ‘review’ is probably more an experiment in reading group discussion than in a book review. Outcome: extended discussion…….on all sorts of things!!! Talk about fiction expanding your minds….

Now to Emil….sort of.

Emil and the Detectives was first published in 1959 in German. It is about a boy named Emil and a group of boys who help him get back his seven pounds which has been stolen on the train to Berlin. Emil was travelling alone for the first time. Note, Emil is a boy who likes to help and please his single mother but he does get into mischief with his friends.

Grandad Africa felt that there was more involvement by adults in the story too and that Emil and the Detectives is also about behaviour and how children and adults should respond in certain circumstances. Grandad Africa wondered whether Emil is suitable in 2012 because of the behaviour of children in the novel. But Little M completely disagreed and questioned if you follow that logic then what about other fiction Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series then? This is fiction!

A very passionate discussion about the role of fiction, the behaviour of children then and now, the possible confusions resulting from a translation, characteristation, and the type of language that is used in the novel (whether it reflects that of street children or public school educated children) ensued. 

Some other thoughts about Emil and the Detectives:

Daddy Cool and Little M had a little debate about gender roles in the novel. Daddy Cool thought the roles were gender segregated. This didn’t stand out as something noteworthy for Little M.

All three readers were confused by the reference to sterling currency when the novel was/is set in Berlin. Does anyone know why this is???

Daddy Cool liked the ending and the old school language. Again, the language in the novel didn’t affect Little M’s reading of it. She also didn’t know what old school language meant anyway!

Daddy Cool thought Emil and the Detectives was a good, easy read and the second half is better than the first. Little M agreed. Daddy Cool said, “It was fun a book and it made me feel happy.”

Little M really liked the book because she “loved the adventure and the kids tracking someone down.” She really liked the extras at the end of the book and she did the quiz. The adults didn’t do the quiz.

Grandad Africa thought that it is a great read for young boys because of the escapades of the group of children but added a cautionary note about taking the law into your own hands. Little M is emphatic that girls like escapades and would like this one too!! Another debate ensued…..

PS. Nanny Bee is rushing to read Emil and the Detectives to find out what all the fuss is about!

PPS. M has only read the first few chapters so far but especially likes the way that the author, Erich Kastner, speaks directly to the readers to explain things in the novel that they might not know. Like why seven pounds is so important to Emil and his mother. Or what you might expect in a third class train carriage. There are illustrations with detailed captions too – these are great; a bit like you’re being given clues that nobody else in the novel knows about.

Publication details:

Vintage, August 2012, London, paperback

This copy: received from the publishers for review.

To win a copy of Emil and the Detectives or any of the other titles in the new Vintage Children's Classics series, enter here.

We stole..... a chat with Ally Carter (and threw in a review & a giveaway)

Today, it's all about Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter.
We have Little M's review, an interview with Ally Carter and a giveaway!!!

Little M's Review - Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

I thought this book was extremely interesting because I've never read a book like this before where a 'thief' is asked to retrieve something. I really liked the baseline of this story. Kat has been asked to steal the Cleopatra Emerald so it can be given back to the rightful owners. In Uncommon Criminals there are all sorts of things going on, e.g. mystery, adventure, tracking down who Constance Miller is, a teeny-weeny-weeny bit of romance but I'm not going to say when or what because it will ruin the book.

I would read another book by Ally Carter because I really, really liked this book so I think I might like some of her others.  The book could get a little confusing at times if you haven't read the first one - Heist Society - because Uncommon Criminals talks about things that might have been in Heist Society.

I'd recommend this for Year 7 (ages 11/12) and upwards.

Publication details: Orchard, 2012, London, paperback
This copy: received for review from the publisher

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And here's Ally Carter herself!

M: Have you ever pulled a con (of any sort)?

Ally: Well, I still think that I’m totally conning my way into writing books for a living and any day now people are going to figure out I’m a fraud.  A farce.  An imposter!  So yes.  I con my readers every day.

M: Have you travelled to any of the places that your character, Kat, has visited?

Ally: I don’t get to travel everywhere that Kat goes (I wish!), but I have been all over the UK and to Italy and most of the places she has visited in the United States.  Someday very soon I hope to go to Monte Carlo which, as you know, is where a good deal of UNCOMMON CRIMINALS takes place.

M: Do you like art?

Ally: I do, though I must admit to having only a very rudimentary knowledge of it.  One of my big regrets is that I didn’t at least take a class or two on the subject when I was at university.  It would have certainly come in handy this last year or two, that’s for certain!

M: Which fictional characters (other than your own) would you invite to an arty party?

Ally: Oh, the Darcys, of course!  And perhaps the entire cast of DOWNTON ABBEY.

M: Do you have any pets?

Ally: No, I don’t.  I’m afraid I travel far too much and that wouldn’t be fair to them.

M: What student organisations did you join at high school?

Ally: I was very active in a lot of things—almost every thing.  I attended a relatively small school, so almost all the students had to take place in a variety of organizations just to have enough people to keep them going.  I did speech and drama, student government, and was very involved in an organization that we have in the States to teach young people about agriculture.

M: You’ve previously won an Amelia Bloomer Book Award which honours children’s books with a feminist theme. Do you think your books send out any strong messages for teen girls today?

Ally: I certainly hope so!  I really pride myself in writing about strong girls, FOR smart girls.  That doesn’t mean never making mistakes.  It doesn’t mean not wearing pink or wondering if a boy likes you.  What it does mean is standing up for yourself and what you think is right, and trying to be someone who makes a positive difference in the world.

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Thank you very much, Ally. I'm sure you're not conning anyone!

UK Giveaway! Giveaway! Giveaway
(15 July 2012: The winner of this giveaway is: Reading 'n' Reviewing)

The publishers, Orchard Books, have offered a copy of Ally Carter's Uncommon Criminals to one of our lovely readers!

To be in with a chance, simply leave a comment below.

The competition closes on Friday 13 July 2012 at 3pm (spooky!!).
Winners will be chosen by random and announced on Sunday 15 July 2012. Please check back here to see if you have won (in case we are unable to contact you).

This competition is UK only. Anyone under 13 years, please get your parent's permission to enter as we will need to contact the winner for their postal address. Or get someone older to enter for you!

Good luck!

Review - Velvet

Velvet by Mary Hooper

Velvet by Mary Hooper

Velvet is set in London during the winter of 1900. Sixteen year old Velvet is an orphan who works in a hot and sweaty laundry. Just as she is about to be fired, her luck changes. When Madame Savoya, a respected London medium (someone who can speak with the spirits of the dead) takes her under her wing, Velvet thinks that life has never been so good. But is there something darker going on? And will the secrets from her past threaten her future?

This novel flirts….with a bit of history, a lot of romance, a bit of London glamour, a dollop of the spirits stirred with  mystery and crime, and a wee bit of fun too. While you might expect a novel about ‘speaking with spirits’ to be dark, Velvet is actually a light and frothy read – a bit like a mug of hot chocolate with lots of cream and marshmallows. It would probably also go down well with a slab of milk (not dark) chocolate. And the paperback cover feels a bit….velvety.

The novel does provide an introductory sense of what life in London might have been like in 1900 – without getting bogged down in too much detail.  Also, some interesting issues of the day about hot water, Christmas traditions, child workers, marriage, telephones, and baby farms are lightly considered. Yes, baby farms!

But there is also quite a lot of descriptive detail about clothing, séances and sittings with mediums. Velvet and her best friend Lizzie also spend plenty of time considering which of the handsome boys they should be ‘walking out with’! If you like a lot of these things in a story, you will probably enjoy Velvet. There are also twists and turns in the plot but it will depend on what kind of reader you are as to whether or not these hold you in suspense. For me, I wish the plot and characters had been a bit more unpredictable.

Velvet would possibly be suitable for readers aged about 11+ but the subject matter (especially the romance) would also interest older readers.

Publication details:

Bloomsbury, July 2012, London, paperback edition

This copy: received for review from the publisher