Bone Jack - Sara Crowe

Bone Jack by Sara Crowe

 

Review by M

 

Bone Jack is wonderful storytelling: an engaging plot, lifelike characters and absorbingly atmospheric settings and language. I had Saturday morning breakfast in bed so that I could finish it.

Ash is fifteen and has outrun all the other local boys to become the ‘stag’ in the upcoming stage chase, where he must race across the hills and return uncaptured by the ‘hound boys’ who will chase him. There are lots of local myths and folklore about the stag chase, and when Ash starts to ‘see’ dark things out on the hills and in the woods, he feels threatened and can’t decide what he should do.

This debut is a compelling and atmospheric read about a teen boy who takes on something bigger and darker than just being the ‘stag’ in the local Stag Chase. Bone Jack shows great care for the living land that we inhabit and pass through.

Likeable and complex characters, thrilling suspense, chilling scenes and thoughtfully intriguing subplots boost this novel. Alongside the main plot, different kinds of absent (but loving) fatherhood; conflicting loyalties between friendships and foot-and-mouth ravaged farmlands; and post-traumatic stress disorder, are all easily woven through the novel.

Genrewise, Bone Jack is light fantasy or perhaps magical realism, where the story takes place in a real, recognisable world but the characters can’t figure out if they’re ‘seeing things’ or not. If you’ve read Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls, it’s a similar mix to that novel (but the stories are not alike at all).

The publisher’s age guidance for this novel is 12+. I suspect slightly younger readers, who’re emotionally mature enough to deal with questions about the taking of life, may enjoy this novel too.

As a debut, Bone Jack has set the bar high for Sara Crowe’s second novel.

 

Publication details: Andersen Press, April 2014, London, paperback.

This copy: review copy from the publisher

 

The Bunker Diary - Kevin Brooks

The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks

Review by M

 

The Bunker Diary has been nominated and longlisted for the Carnegie medal 2014.

 

It’s Monday 30 January, 10 am.  Linus, a sixteen year old boy finds himself captive. He’s all alone in a rectangular building with six empty bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a clock and a lift. You, are reading his diary. As the days and the diary progress, so the story develops, deepens, darkens, regresses and unravels.     round and round and round

The Bunker Diary is a gripping, single-sitting existential thriller with plenty of meta-fictional elements and I loved it. The writing style flows easily and concisely and I developed only a limited attachment to the characters (there are quite a few). For various reasons, in The Bunker Diary’s case, this is not a criticism. Also, Linus, is not at all fond of Bird nor Anja (and this is very curious). Stylistically, the writing (and the novel’s printed text) change in clarity, pace and style in line with the story.

The plot’s surface subject matter – violent kidnapping and living with others in confined and frightening imprisonment – is unpleasant and the novel is fraught with psychological and physical violence that many (especially younger) readers may find shockingly disturbing. But older readers are likely to engage with the novel in many ways and importantly for me, the plot was secondary to the form.

Storywise, and by myself, I found the ending a bit flat. Certainly, there are unanswered questions but is this an unsatisfying cop out or part of the novel’s point? For me, the clues are in the novel’s form. In a discussion group, the ending, and the novel as a whole, may well prompt questions that take the novel someplace else.

 

If this novel appeals to you, then you may also enjoy Nick Lake's Hostage Three which also deals with psychologies in captivity, bankers and metafiction.

Based on my reading, The Bunker Diary was a very refreshing and provocative read. Highly recommended for mature teens and older. It is also a perfect example of a novel that I would never have read had it not been in the running for an award.

 

See below for my detailed thoughts - contains spoilers!!!!!!!

 

Publication details: Penguin, 2013, London, paperback

This copy: review copy from the publisher

 

 

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

 

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

 

 

My further thoughts and questions:

 

I didn’t fully believe the story because it was not a nice story and I didn’t want to believe it.  I got more enjoyment from the clues in the novel’s form. These are the questions that played through my mind while I was reading the book – and still do:

 

·         Um...did that actually happen? Or did he make it up? Was any of it real?

·         Was it a drug-induced diary or the writings of someone who’s losing their mind? Was it therapy? Was Linus writing a novel?

·         Children’s fiction and dogs! Why, oh why the Doberman??!!!

·         Who were all those characters? I’m glad I didn’t get overly attached to them because that would have been a problem.

·         Who was He? Was He ever there in the first place?

·         What happened with his mum?

·         Did anybody die or did anybody survive?

·         Or, was the story simply a diary about a kidnapping event? I definitely prefer my interpretation.

 

 

 

END OF SPOILERS!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Hostage Three - Nick Lake

Hostage Three by Nick Lake

Review by M

Hostage Three has been nominated and longlisted for the Carnegie 2014 medal.

 

Pirate or banker? Can you tell the difference?

The opening scene is of a teenage girl, Hostage Three, who is being held hostage by pirates at gunpoint. I thought the novel would just be a bloody crime thriller for young adults (which is fine if you like that sort of thing), but it isn’t. It’s a thrilling and thought-provoking read that takes the reader right into the mucky heart of contemporary global economics and the psychologies of unequal relationships.

Like In Darkness, the chapters alternate to tell the stories of two characters whose lives are interwoven. The relationship between rich hostage Amy and poor Somali pirate Farouz provides the pivotal tension for the novel’s plot and its themes. But, unlike In Darkness, the whole novel is told from just one character’s perspective - Amy. This singular perspective probably broadens the novel’s appeal and accessibility but it also loses the distinct voices that carry In Darkness.

 

The novel’s last section, which is really an extended ending, was a disappointment. While I’m a fan of this sort of meta-fiction (playing with your audience and highlighting the ‘craft of fiction’) it didn’t really work for me and the story left me in disbelief. But for teen readers who haven’t come across this sort of thing in fiction, it will be a talking point.

I’d recommend this novel as a quick, thrilling and thought-provoking read and it exceeded my initial expectations tremendously. It reminded me considerably of Ann Patchett’s adult novel, Bel Canto. While Hostage Three doesn’t have the literary punch of In Darkness, Nick Lake has firmly cemented himself as a YA author who grapples successfully with big and controversially complex international (and psychological) issues. I am likely to buy his books without hesitation.  

 

Publication details: Bloomsbury, Jan 2013, London, hardback

This copy: received for review from the publisher

The Midnight Dress - Karen Foxlee

The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee

 

Review by M

 

 

Rose and her dad spend their lives moving from caravan park to caravan park in Australia. This time, they’ve ended up in a very small coastal town in Queensland (possibly where the rainforest meets the reef). This time, Rose has to go to school and ends up in a class with Pearl, who is the kind of girl she likes the least. All of the girls are planning dresses for a festival parade and Rose, who has no money or no interest in this, gets caught up in things she never expected. And then something happens to the girl in the midnight dress.

The Midnight Dress is a very textured novel and the writing mostly matches its evocative setting. The UK cover promises this and the chapter headings develop it too. Like the midnight dress, the story is stitched patchwork piece by patchwork piece. I loved that about it.

The back cover promises magical realism but I felt that the story’s insinuations and intrigue slightly overshadowed the magic. At first, I enjoyed the story but then it went down cold paths that I didn’t think matched the overall warm tone of the story. I’m left disappointed by the ending.

 

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

This copy: review copy from the publishers

Charm and Strange - Stephanie Kuehn

Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

This novel has been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie 2014 medal.

 

Charm and Strange: a curious UK hardback cover and a delightful title loaded with flavourful promise. I didn’t read the blurb too closely so I only had a vague idea of what this was going to be about and I’m pleased about that. If you look closely at the cover, you might spot a moon and a tennis ball. They are relevant and maybe significant. This novel is both charm and strange, and I kind of liked it.

Charm and strange. They’re flavours of quark. Those itsy bitsy quantum pieces from which we’re made. There’s plenty of fun and games to have with that but there’s also a dark and menacing implication if you think about entanglements and decay. This novel does exactly all that. It’s not a nice story and there’s very little fun in the actual plot. But, there’s a developed tension and the reader is unwittingly invited to unravel a mystery. That’s the fun bit. Gamewise, there’s a strong sporting element to the novel’s main character.

Win is at an elite boarding school. He is an athletic but anti-social teenage boy, with few (if any) friends. Drew is a rich tennis champion child with a mean streak. They’re really the same person and the novel shifts from Win’s present (matter) to Drew’s past (anti-matter). Is one of them strange? Is the other one charm? Or are they both? And what is eating away inside of them? Why has Drew become Win?

Charm and Strange sets a very dark and menacing tone. Drew is not the sweetest kid you’ll ever meet and what he does is very violent. Often, I’ve left a novel because the character is just too horrible for me. But this novel and its main character are also shrouded in mystery. You know that there’s even more to it (and him) than just that. Put a few of the pieces together and you’re going, “no, not that”, and “please, not that either”. From a fictional perspective, I was pleased that the mystery was not a plot cop-out.

Thematically, Charm and Strange is a big toughie: suicide, violence, mental health, self-harming, bullying, abuse and death. However, the tone of the novel is not gritty and there are plenty of gaps for the reader to fill themselves. Importantly for me, and without giving anything away, the final outlook is not bleak. If you’re ready to handle the darkest of some of these themes, Charm and Strange is an entrancing, thoughtful and (dare I say it!) enjoyable read.

A couple of drawbacks for me, if we’re thinking Carnegie criteria: a slightly overcrowded plot and I can’t decide if it all needed to be there or not (especially Anna). Sometimes Drew/Win’s voice didn’t sound like I expected him to sound – but that might be me (or his very posh American private school).

 

Publication details: 2013, Electric Monkey, UK, hardback

This copy: received from the publisher for review

Friday Brown - M's review

Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield

My expectations for this novel were high but I was also anticipating that they would be dashed. They weren’t. My expectations were exceeded as Friday Brown threw out a few surprises, intakes of breath and a raised eyebrow or two. Friday Brown left me bereft. Not empty; but as if I’d lost something special. There aren’t that many novels that leave me like that. I want it back please.



Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield

Set in Australia, the novel is about a teen called Friday Brown. Her mother thought calling her Friday would protect her from the family curse which goes that all the Brown women die from drowning on a Saturday. When Friday’s mother dies, she takes off and starts all over again, the one thing that she has been doing all her life. Just this time, she’s doing it on her own and she’s in search of her dad whom she’s never met. And then, a train station incident changes everything and the novel took me places I’d never expected and at times I was a little afraid to follow – but I’m so glad I did. Had she known, I’m sure Friday would have changed things....I wish she had.

One of the standouts of this novel for me was the characters. There are quite a few of them: Friday, Silence, Arden, Darcy, Carrie, Bree, AiAi, Joe, Malik and Wish.

Other than Friday, you don’t get to know too much about their pasts other than that they were troubled. At the same time, you really get to know them in the way that you might get to know someone in real life (you know how you often don’t actually interview someone when you meet them).  For me, Silence and Arden really are the most interesting characters of all, partly because there’s so much left unsaid about them and you just know that there is so much to say. Silence is a terribly endearing character. Arden, well, what can I say! Bree is interesting, living a double life. That is curious. Wish. I feel like he was a bit of a superfluous character. However, I suspect that other readers, especially teen readers, may feel that he is a very important character.

Friday Brown is a very contemporary psychological thriller and a novel that deals with big and unsettling topics: like mental and sexual toying, mutism, homelessness, death, abuse and worse. But it is not gritty. As Arden (one of the characters in the novel) does with her ‘children’, Friday Brown reels you in with its warm, beguiling charm, spinning you like a yoyo. Up and down, up and down....leaving you dangling...and up again....and down – and then it cuts the string.

One of my favourite novels this year,  I have a feeling Friday Brown could be one of those novels that in ten years time I’m still pulling its name out of the bag when someone  asks for a recommendation. Good for young teens right through to adults.

Silence is silver and then I wished upon a star.

 

PS. The author, Vikki Wakefield, set out to explore very different themes to those that I identified. Reading is so interpretive and its iteration continues to reproduce something different.

 

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

This copy: uncorrected proof received from the publishers for review

Friday Brown was originally published in 2012 by Text Publishing, Australia.

 

The Night She Disappeared - M's review

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

 

 



The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

The Night She Disappeared is a teen crime thriller. It is about the disappearance of Kayla Cutler (17) who disappears while making a pizza delivery. The story is told from a variety of perspectives and the novel feels a bit like you’re being presented with different bits of evidence so you can be the detective. Different chapters are told through people who knew Kayla, police reports, transcripts, notes and so on. I liked this.

While the main story is about Kayla’s case, a strong sub-plot is about how Drew and Gabie cope with the immediate aftermath, especially as they’re responsible for Kayla delivering pizza that particular night. Another sub-plot (and theme) is about how police – and others – deal with a missing persons enquiry.  I quite liked aspects of the novel although like many teen novels, there is a romantic undercurrent that I thought distracted from the main plot, and given the circumstances, it almost seemed out of place. On the whole, much of the novel portrays girls (rather than boys) as likely and potential victims (there is only one paragraph that questions aspects of this), and I think this could be alarming for some readers.

This is a very quick easy read.

I’m not familiar with crime fiction, neither adult nor teen (and tend to shy away from violent crime narratives). Little M reads (and loves) some thrillers – like Sophie McKenzie’s Girl, Missing series. We’ve both read and enjoyed Martyn Bedford’s Flip and Annabel Pitcher’s Ketchup Clouds which are thrillers with some crime elements in both novels.

Publication details: 2013, Walker, London, paperback

This copy: received from the publisher for review purposes

 

The Tragedy Paper - M's review

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth Laban

I loved the premise of this novel: an English teacher sets his final year students a project: a Tragedy Paper. But for some students, this takes on a much more sinister meaning.   The first page reads “Enter here to be and find a friend.” Immediately, the novel is filled with the same wondrous coming-of-age atmosphere as Dead Poet’s Society, a 1989 film which I loved - and I think The Tragedy Paper manages to sustain it (see trailer at end of post too).

It’s also a thrilling but thoughtful read: a combination that I like.

An atmosphere of trepidation filled suspense is created from the beginning with Duncan being worried about the treasure he will find in his new senior boarding school room, which room he will get, tackling his English tragedy paper and hoping that nobody will bring up what happened last year.  Added to these worries, there’s a girl.

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth Laban

Duncan ends up in a room whose previous resident was an albino called Tim (whose surname is a tragic irony). The narration moves between Duncan and Tim’s points of view and therefore moves back and forth in time too. The Tragedy Paper is a pageturner that is difficult to put down. It uses a similar suspense-building structure to Annabel Pitcher’s Ketchup Clouds. You know something not-so-great has happened. Slowly you begin to learn which characters may have been involved and you start putting together clues about what’s happened. There’s a love triangle of sorts too. And lessons to be learned.

While thrilling and enjoyable overall, for me the novel was a bit anti-climatic. Sometimes, I felt like it tried a little bit too hard.

The novel obviously explores the themes of tragedy (in both a literal and literary sense), but there is also friendship and romance. A highlight for me was that the plot beautifully captures and questions the ways social hierarchies can be created and sustained through cloak-and-dagger traditions.

Publication details: January 2013, Doubleday, London, hardback

This copy: received for review from the publisher


PS. I've included the Random House The Tragedy Paper trailer: I loved it and seeing as I watched it before I read the book, it formed an important part of my reading experience.

Ketchup Clouds - Joint Review

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

 

Ketchup Clouds is a thriller about a fifteen year old girl who has a secret to tell. She says she’s a murderer and uses the name Zoe to write to a man who is on Death Row for murdering his wife. She knows that if she tells her story to him in letters (it is an epistolary novel) it won’t actually get out into the public (not like photos taken on a phone).

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

Ketchup Clouds interweaves three people’s stories through Zoe’s voice: Zoe’s, Stuart’s and Dot’s. Zoe’s story is the main plot which is a thoughtful story about ‘boyfriends’ (saying much more than this will give too much away). A sub-plot is Stuart’s story about passions of crime and also raises issues around death penalties and prison conditions. But Zoe’s writing to Stuart also has what we thought were creepier undertones which slowly reveal themselves as the story progresses. A further sub-plot is (sort of ) Dot’s story which explores some similar themes of parenting and responsibilities that were also evident in My Sister Lives On the Mantelpiece. Through these three interweaved tales, Ketchup Clouds explores moral questions about right and wrong, and how much blame can you really lay on someone – and for how long? Do two wrongs make a right?

Little M liked the way that suspense drove the novel: the whole way along the novel you want to know who Zoe murdered and how/why. Lots of little clues are given along the way and it’s one of those novels where you ask another reader: “Did you figure this bit out?” or “Did you think this?” and so on.

 Although a thriller, Ketchup Clouds is also a sad novel –because it is about death and/or things that have happened and cannot be undone: and we cared about the characters (some more than others). However, you may be surprised at what aspects of the plots sadden you the most.

Ketchup Clouds reminded me a little of Flip by Martyn Bedford and it is definitely a novel that is ripe for discussions. For example, Little M and I ended up talking about the death penalty and whether or not we agree with it. In the novel, Zoe comments at length about the death penalty and conditions on Death Row.  

Little M preferred Ketchup Clouds to My Sister Lives On the Mantelpiece. I preferred Mantelpiece. However, tomato sauce sachets now remind both of us of Annabel Pitcher's Ketchup Clouds!

This novel is aimed at an older audience than My Sister Lives On the Mantelpiece. Teenage themes and issues that the novel raises include romantic teen relationships, smartphone abuse and alcohol. Little M would recommend this to readers in Year 9 or above because the characters in the novel are that age. I’d probably agree. The plot interests will likely appeal most to older teens. Some readers might find a couple of the romantic scenes a bit cringey while others lap them up.

 

Publication details: Indigo, 27 December 2012, London, hardback

 This copy: uncorrected proof received from the publisher


This review counts towards the British Books Challenge 2013.

 

This Is not Forgiveness - M's review

This Is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees

This Is Not Forgiveness is one of those books that caught my eye a few months back just after it was published. The romance angle on the blurb and in the trailer made me dither. But then I was sent a copy for review. And I was surprised.

First off, This Is Not Forgiveness is not a romance in the usual sense. I was also expecting a lot of fast-paced political activism. But, This Is Not Forgiveness is actually not-nice-nor-sugary-sweet stirred with a lot of vodka and sex - and something unpleasant lurking beneath the surface too. It has all the ingredients for a very good psychological thriller.

The story opens with an urn full of ashes and the novel provides a testament to how this death happened. The novel is presented from the perspectives of the three main characters – Jamie, Rob and Caro - although the ending sheds further light on the eyes of the novel’s telling. Jamie develops a strong attraction for Caro but thinks she’ll never go for him. Rob, his brother, is back from the war in Afghanistan and he is struggling to cope with what some describe as post-traumatic-stress. Caro’s been expelled from school for having an affair with a teacher and her latest inspiration comes from the militant Red Faktion Army. This Is Not Forgiveness is an account of how their three lives became intermingled in a series of manipulations and deceits.

Amidst the grit, the plot is full of tensions and the suspense building is simply foreboding. All along I was thinking, ‘Please, don’t let it end like that. Or like that. Or like that.’ The character portrayals and development are also substantial and I’ve had a lengthy conversation with another adult about the characters in this novel and the kinds of judgements that we made about them. Certainly, my judgements of the characters changed as the story twisted and turned.

Stating the obvious, but different readers will take different things from this novel. For some, it just won’t be their thing and they won’t read it. For others, it might be something about teenage relationships, or grappling with ways to change the world. For some, they might see it is as a representation of the banality of contemporary teenagehood. For me it was these things but mostly I read it as a biting commentary on how we think about armies and more particularly the Afghan war.

The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers and Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, although speculative fictions, also have central teen girl characters who are seriously exploring the different forms of political action and the consequences of violent interventions. All three novels are violent and hardhitting but This Is Not Forgiveness is by far the grittier. I’d even say it was grittier than Noughts & Crosses – but not as harsh.

Who’d I recommend it for? Older teens or adults. The characters are mostly eighteen or older. Jamie might be seventeen – he’s under-age for the pubs – and Rob is in his early twenties. But they’re all well over the age for legitimate sex – and they’re not about to hold back. Like I said, the story mix includes lots of vodka and sex.

  

Publication details:

Bloomsbury, 2012, London, paperback

This copy: received for review from the publisher

 

 

Review - Silenced

Silenced by Simon Packham

Silenced by Simon Packham

Chris is in Year Eleven and his best friend’s just been killed in a car crash. Chris is so distraught by the news that he becomes unable to speak -literally! He has become mute. Silenced. Everyone is trying to get him to speak again – his parents, the psychiatrist, people at school, Ariel, and Will.

At first, Chris being mute is a bit funny.  But then you realise that the car crash or events surrounding it could be important – and maybe Chris knows something about it? Or not? He’s not saying and you’ll probably find yourself shouting “tell us, tell us” at him. From here on, Silenced becomes a bit of a thriller.

But Silenced is also very much about dealing with grief, and losing and making friends. The thing that stands out for me is that it looks at how to be a friend.  What exactly is a good friend?

Was Chris a good friend – he starts to ask himself this? Could suave Will Hunt be a new friend? Ariel? Well her off-grid, green Honesty life makes her a very interesting possibility – and she knows things that Chris doesn’t! And was Declan as fabulous as everyone’s making him out to be?

Silenced is a bit like Martyn Bedford’s Flip in some ways (maybe because it’s a teen boy character considering issues of death) but Silenced is a lighter, quicker and easier read.

This is a very readable book and most teens would probably enjoy it. I’d recommend it. Some ten years olds might be happy with it too but it does deal with themes of death, crime and suicide – although not in a dark or violent way. 

Publication details:

Piccadilly Press, 2012, London, paperback

This copy: received from the publisher



Review - Flip

Flip by Martyn Bedford

Flip by Martyn Bedford

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be somebody else? Are you really happy in your own skin? And if you're not in your own skin....well, where are you? That’s what Flip is all about.

It’s also about Alex. No, Philip.  Actually, it’s Flip. Hmm? Confused?  Yes. So is he.  They. So I’ll just call him Alex.

This award-winning novel kept me on my toes. At first, I thought it’s a comedy. A contemporary comedy.  But, hey, waking up in somebody else’s body.  Uh no, that’s got to be some kind of science fiction – or even fantasy!  But comedy it is as Alex struggles to become Philip who is the complete opposite to him. Philip is good-looking, sporty and has girls drooling all over him. Alex – not so much.  So you see the problem. Not to mention taking a shower in someone else’s body.

As Alex battles with this new body, this new identity, this new life, his mind delves deeper and deeper into his existence. Who Am I? – in both the literal and figurative sense.  Then, thanks to the internet, the novel darkens and typical elements of a thriller emerge. There are some really, really scary bits: I bet a shiver runs down your spine more than once. And at quite a few points, I thought, how on earth is this going to end?  Pretty much what Alex must have been asking himself too.

Flip is a great teen read (and lots of adults will like it too), worthy of all the book award nominations received and won. It is probably more suitable for older teens because of the subject matter and situations in the novel.  But some mature 11 or 12 year olds may be comfortable reading it. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly light start though.  This is a deep and satisfyingly challenging read that raises (and to some extent explores) very controversial questions about life, death, and the choices we make about them.

And how about that cover! Do you know how many people looked at me curiously and said, "You've got the book upside down"?  

Publication details:

Walker Books, 2011, London, paperback

This copy: borrowed from our local public library

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.

Little M's Review - Girl, Missing

Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie

Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie

Girl, Missing is about a fourteen year old girl called Lauren.  She is an adopted daughter who wants to know more about her past. She looks in some diaries that belong to her ‘mum’ and finds something to do with her past in America. And after reading the diaries, she cannot stop thinking about her ‘real’ family. So she wants to go to America (with her friend Jam) to find her adoption place because she’s been looking for ages because of her school project.  And she goes on the internet and finds this missing children website and…….

I enjoyed it an awful lot.  It showed how much some children who are adopted want to know who their biological family is. I enjoyed this book because the story went somewhere halfway across the world and she’s only fourteen. It doesn’t seem possible that a fourteen year old can do that. I felt proud of Lauren. How could she persuade her mum into taking them to America? I’d never be able to do that (I wish!). I cried in some emotional parts of the book.

My favourite character was Madison because she accepts someone as how she is. I can’t say more because it will give away too much.

I would recommend this book to people who are new to teen books because it is not too teeny (kissing and things – there’s a bit but not so you’d go eulghh). This book is almost like an investigation, a mystery (there is kidnapping but hardly any violence). I think this is suitable for Year 7 onwards.

I can’t wait to read the next book in the series – Sister, Missing.

Publication details:

Simon and Schuster, 2006, London,  paperback

Copy: my own

Review - Insignia

Insignia by SJ Kincaid

Insignia by SJ Kincaid

Fast forward to World War III. Alliances have formed between regions and corporations rather than national state governments. Fighting in this war takes place mainly in outer space and is fought remotely by Combatants with chips in the back of their heads. Enter Tom Raines.

Tom Raines doesn’t think he’s good at much – except games.  So it comes as a bit of a shock when he’s asked to join the military. Only promising young people are recruited by the military to become Combatants for the Intrasolar Forces in World War III. These trainee combatants live and train at the Pentagonal Spire. And Tom thinks this could be his route to becoming somebody.

Much like any school story, there is a broad cast of characters and the plot in Insignia is littered with gamers, golden boys and girls, traitors, spies, geeky programmers, duplicitous beauties, torturous military staff, a whole lot of avatars and some deepdown ordinary folk too. If you like strong characters, there are quite a few in here, both boys and girls. I found myself really rooting for many of them. Wyatt is one. And Medusa.  And even Elliot. I shan’t tell you why because that would give too much away!  Read the book yourself and see who you root for…..

For me, an underlying theme of the book is body image.  The overall message on this front is that looks shouldn’t really count. When looks are taken out of the picture, this story shows that they don’t count. But, it also shows how many of the characters battle with their own thoughts about body image. Can looking ‘good’ really make you somebody? And be warned….things aren’t all that they seem! All kinds of boundaries are crossed.

Insignia will appeal to any reader who enjoys the tussles of boarding school life and the mind games involved in working out who your friends really are. There’s plenty of that in there especially when dangerous and perplexing computer challenges are set. There is also plenty of page-turning action and puzzles to keep you guessing. The ending is electrifying, and you will want to read the next book. Insignia is the first book in a planned trilogy.

I think this book will appeal to both boys and girls and is easily suitable for readers aged 11 plus. I can think of a good few adults who will like it too.

Hot Key Ring for Insignia

Instead of age ratings or warnings, Hot Key Books put a 'Hot Key Ring' on the back cover of their books. This aims to show readers what sort of things are in the book. I think I'd agree with their ring for Insignia. 

Publication details:

Hot Key Books, August 2012, London

This copy: uncorrected proof copy from Hot Key Books.

Codename Quicksilver - Little M's Review, Gadgets & Book Giveaways

Codename Quicksilver by Allan Jones, a new spy series.
We have Little M's review, an author guest post on spy gadgets and a giveaway (closes 20 July 2012 at 3pm):  
 3 lucky winners will each win a set of 2 Codename Quicksilver books!

****
Little M's Review: Codename Quicksilver 1 & 2



Codename Quicksilver: In the Zone

Codename Quicksilver: In the Zone is about a boy named Zac who lives in a children’s home in London. Zac is a pretty normal kid, apart from the fact that he has no parents. One day he witnesses a murder; the murder of a friend of his at the children’s home. His name was Spizz.

Zac wants to find out what happened to Spizz, but is his curiosity going to get him killed? When walking back to his children’s home a girl named Rina kidnaps him and says it is for his own safety. She claims she is a spy for MI5 but does Zac believe her?  She says she’s been framed as a traitor to MI5 and that if she can get back a memory stick with some vital information she will be able to go back into MI5...

I liked the look of this book but then I wasn’t so keen on it.  But once I started the book I said, “I’m not coming away, I love this book.” So that is how much I now love this book (an awful lot). When I finished this book, I got the second book and started to read it straight away (we got given the 1^st and 2^nd in the series).

I love spy books and this book was right up my street. I’m not quite sure why I love spy books so much. It might be the fact that each member gets given cool gadgets or it might be because I love the action in them too.

I would recommend this book to people who watch MI High which is a TV program on CBBC.  I would also recommend it to people who love spy books or spy films e.g. James Bond or Johnny English.  Age category -  I don’t really know. 

In this book there is a tiny bit death at the beginning, action, adventure, gadgets and, of course, spy fiction.

The second book, Codename Quicksilver: The Tyrant King….I can’t say what it’s about because it gives away the end of the first book but in one of the paragraphs it made me think of pancakes (I’m not quite sure why): “A host of competing scents wafted on the breeze. The tang of fresh fish, and ripe fruit from the open market stalls. The smell of hot tyre rubber on tarmac, and food being cooked in the seafront restaurants and cafes” (p.98). Then I had the craving for pancakes so I went and made some……

I absolutely loved this book too.

Publication details:

Orion Children’s Books, 2012, London, paperback

Our copies: received for review from the publisher

******

And here's Allan Jones, telling us all about the gadgets in Codename Quicksilver series:

"The teenaged secret agents of Project 17 who appear in the new spy series Codename Quicksilver get sent out on some pretty tricky missions. They are asked to track down and confront the kind of people that us ordinary folk would do anything to avoid. Bad people. Dangerous people. Murderous people. They have to locate and defeat people with guns and bombs, and sometimes people with far more dangerous weapons – lethal devices that can kill thousands of people at the press of a red button or the click of a mouse.

Being super-fit and highly-skilled in martial arts such as Brazilian jiu jitsu, win chung and crav maga are vital, but there are times when even the most determined and expert spy needs a little something extra to call on in moments of particular peril.

The scientists who work in the Research and Development branch of the specialist and elite MI5 department known as Project 17 have come up with some handy gadgets to help their agents out when all else has failed. Some are defensive, some are offensive – but they have all been specifically designed to be portable and easy to operate in the field, whether that field happens to be the roof of a high-rise building in a big city, the roof of a speeding train, the middle of the ocean or a tunnel leading to a terrorist mastermind’s secret headquarters dug out under a mountain.

The scientists (‘white-coats’) at Project 17 give their creations official names such as the SGD706/EO3. But who’s going to remember that in a moment of crisis? “Hand me the SGD706/EO3, please?” I don’t think so. The young field agents have given the gadgets nicknames that are far easier to remember. Tags such as Snakescope, Whizzer, Flash, Chewing-gum and Fluze.

Gum

The Zipper. This is a smallish grey metal box, about 20cm x 15cm x 8cm. It’s lightweight and fits easily into a backpack. It has heavy-duty clamps at one end that can be used to attach the Zipper onto almost any fixed object – the lip of a rooftop, the frame of a window – a metal gantry. Two flexible and micro-thin steel cables come out of the other end. A webbing strap can be attached to the cables to act as a harness – because the Zipper is a quick way of getting up and down vertical surfaces. It works on a powerful xenon fluoride battery and can winch two people at a time up or down a ten-metre drop. Handy for making a quick exit if you’re in trouble.

Flash

Then there’s the Whizzer – a black ball about the size of a table tennis ball. The Whizzer is made from two halves that lock together. It is armed by twisting the two halves. Then you need to throw it really quickly, because ten seconds after it has been armed, it splits apart and emits a blast of thick white smoke as well as some really loud cracks and bangs and electronic screeching noises that will blind, deafen and disorientate anyone within five metres of it. A handy thing to have in your pocket in a tight spot.

Hotscope

Then there’s the Hotscope and the Kiss and the Ret-Det – not to mention probably the most important device of all: the standard issue Project 17 Mob. But if you want to know what these gadgets can do for an agent in the field, you’re going to have to read the books.

What kind of gadget would you like to invent? What would it be used for?"

http://www.codenamequicksilver.com/

UK Book Giveaways! Giveaways

Orion Children's Books are offering 3 lucky readers the first two books in the Codename Quicksilver series, In the Zone and The Tyrant King.

 To enter, simply leave a comment.

Entries close on Friday 20 July 2012 at 12pm.

3 winners will be chosen by random and announced on this blog on Sunday 22 July 2012. Please check back to see if you have won (in case we can't contact you).

This giveaway is UK only. If you are younger than 13, please get a parent's permission to enter - or ask them to enter for you. The books will be sent direct from Orion Children's Books.

Good Luck!