tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100761694695629842024-03-18T19:58:28.975+00:00The Book ZoneBookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.comBlogger908125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-38040954550099074022018-03-18T10:59:00.000+00:002018-03-18T11:03:45.706+00:00Game Over for The Book Zone<br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is the post that once upon a time I thought I would never write. It is also the post that I have put off writing for far too long.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I started The Book Zone (For Boys) back in October 2009, and for the following five or so years I loved every moment of my blogging journey. I read many fantastic books that might not have otherwise found their way to my bookshelf and I met some wonderful authors, publishers and fellow bloggers. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">However, a few years ago things had to slow down a bit, and the number of posts I was writing each month had to decrease. Work pressures increased bit by bit, and as I have mentioned in a previous post, we could not afford to replace our school librarian when she retired, and so I took it on as one of my Assistant Headteacher responsibilities to make sure it stayed open and running. I hope you will be glad to hear that nearly three years on the school library is still thriving and full of students before school and at every break time. I am still pushing brilliant new books into the hands of avid and reluctant readers on a daily basis, and this is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, somewhere along the way blogging became less of a release from the daily grind and more of a chore, and the eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted that I have not written a blog post since October 2016. There are many reasons for this, some of which are personal and not for publication here. I have also been (almost) completely absent from Twitter since then (only two tweets in 2017!). However, part of me refused to accept that maybe it was time to bring The Book Zone to an end and so I never wrote this post, always believing that I would somehow find the time and the passion to start blogging again. I have now finally accepted this. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I would like to thank all of the publishers and authors who have given me so much support with The Book Zone since it launched. It has been a genuine pleasure to meet so many of you and to geek out about the books you write and publish. At this moment in time, this is the only part of blogging that I know I will miss (even if at the last few events I went to I have felt like a dinosaur compared with the new wave of fantastic young bloggers and vloggers that are doing such a great job of promoting books for children and teens). Thank you too for all of the books you have sent me over the years - I am just sorry that I could not read and review every one that cane though my letterbox. Thank you also to all of the readers of this blog, both young and old. Your emails and messages of support have always been very gratefully received, and if even a small number of young readers have discovered a love for reading through my recommendations then all of the time and effort has been worthwhile. Please also accept my apologies for bringing The Book Zone to a close - I know from your emails that many of you have found this a useful resource for finding books for boys to read.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So what now for me? I would like to say "never say never" as far as The Book Zone is concerned. Who knows? I may win the lottery and be gifted with the time to start loving writing about books again! In the meantime though, I am currently balancing my work responsibilities with a rekindled love for photography. Back in September I started studying a Level 3 (A Level equivalent) course in Photography as a weekly evening class at the local college and I am loving every minute of it. Until starting this course, most of my photography was travel or street art based, but I am now very excited about developing my skills at studio and location portrait photography and I have just purchased my first set of studio strobes from eBay. if you are interested I have two Instagram accounts (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/djdazzler/" target="_blank">@djdazzler</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetflux/" target="_blank">@planetflux</a>) and you can also find me on <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153342009@N02/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>. Be gentle though, these are still early days :-)</span><br />
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<br />BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com499tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-37815642000190388392016-10-31T08:30:00.000+00:002016-11-10T13:06:53.943+00:00Competition: WIN The Demon Road Trilogy by Derek Landy<div style="clear: both;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>This competition has now closed and the winner has been notified. Thank you to all who entered.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Happy Hallowe'en!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I wrote yesterday about how much I enjoyed Derek Landy's, dark and bloody <i>Demon Road</i> trilogy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now you have the chance to win the trilogy, simply by filling in your details in the form below. Thanks to the generosity of HerperCollins I have a set of the three books to give away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The first name drawn at random after the closing date will win a set of books. The deadline for entries is 7pm GMT Friday 4th November. This competition is open to UK residents only.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Contest open to UK residents only.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Neither the publisher or I will be held responsible for items lost in the mail.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I hold the right to end a contest before its original deadline without any prior notice.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I will contact winning entrants for their postal address </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">following the close of the competition. Winners have 48 hours to reply. Failure to do so in this time will result in another winner being randomly selected.</span></span><br />
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com225tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-13429753734820141282016-10-30T21:43:00.001+00:002016-10-30T21:43:12.246+00:00Review: The Demon Road Trilogy by Derek Landy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>For anyone who ever thought their parents were monsters Amber Lamont is a normal sixteen-year-old. Smart but insecure, she spends most of her time online, where she can avoid her beautiful, aloof parents and their weird friends.<br />
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But when a shocking encounter reveals a horrifying secret, Amber is forced to go on the run. Killer cars, vampires, undead serial killers and red-skinned, horned demons Amber hurtles from one threat to the next, revealing the terror woven into the very fabric of her life. As her parents close in behind her, Amber’s only chance rests with her fellow travellers, who are not at all what they appear to be<br />
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Witty, action-packed and heart-stoppingly thrilling, Demon Road will take you on an epic road-trip across the supernatural landscape of America.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Long time readers of The Book Zone will know that I was a huge fan of Derek Landy's <i>Skulduggery Pleasant</i> books. When I was offered a proof of Demon Road, the first book in his new trilogy, I obviously shouted yes please, and dropped everything to read it when it came through my letterbox. And then calamity struck - I just couldn't get into it, and put it down after a few chapters and picked up something else to read, always meaning to give it another go. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That 'other go' never materialised though, until at the tail end of August I was approached by the fab people at HarperCollins, letting me know that <i>American Monsters</i>, the third book in the trilogy was soon to be released and enquiring as to whether I would be interested in a set of the three books to binge read. I decided to accept the challenge and when they arrived I restarted <i>Demon Road</i> from the beginning... and this time I loved it! So much so that I leaped straight into the sequel, <i>Desolation</i>, with barely a pause for breath, and then moved on to <i>American Monsters</i>.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I genuinely do not know what was wrong with me when I first attempted <i>Demon Road</i>, as it has everything I loved about the Skulduggery Pleasant books: awesome characters; great action scenes; Landy's trademark of fabulous,witty dialogue; really nasty villains. And on top of that <i>Demon Road</i>, and its sequels, are true splatterfests - between them they have some of the bloodiest and goriest scenes ever to be printed under the YA banner. I don't know how Landy gets away with it; perhaps it is because there is the thread of wry humour that is woven through almost everything he writes?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you're looking for a dark and bloody Hallowe'en read then you should really give this trilogy a go. Unlike the <i>Skulduggery </i>series of nine books (plus two other stories and now even more in the pipeline), you're not signing yourself up for the long haul - this is just a trilogy and the third book has a great ending, that brings the trilogy to a hugely satisfying end, but also does leave Derek the opportunity to return to the world and its characters in the future if he so chooses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And if you have not yet discovered these books then come back tomorrow for a chance to win the complete trilogy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com240tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-41681480272805945392016-09-18T19:04:00.000+01:002016-09-18T19:04:04.414+01:00Review: Cogheart by Peter Bunzl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Lily's life is in mortal peril. Her father is missing and now silver-eyed men stalk her through the shadows. What could they want from her?<br /><br />With her friends - Robert, the clockmaker's son, and Malkin, her mechanical fox - Lily is plunged into a murky and menacing world. Too soon Lily realizes that those she holds dear may be the very ones to break her heart...<br /><br />Murder, mayhem and mystery meet in this gripping Victorian adventure.</i></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three was the magic number for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0">Bob Dorough</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVfe6rdHRKI">Blind Melon</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8">De La Soul</a>, and it's also the magic number for some of my reviews on The Book Zone. Here are three reasons why I loved <i>Cogheart </i>by Peter Bunzl:</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. It's steampunk</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have often questioned the lack of space-set science fiction published for kids, but here's another question for you: why are there not more steampunk books written for children? In my opinion, the genre is perfect for a middle grade audience, with the opportunities it gives for exciting, imaginative adventure stories full of derring do, set in either an almost real or wildly alternative Victorian era. Perhaps Peter Bunzl's debut, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cogheart</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, will be the book that changes this as it is easily one of the best I have read in the genre, for kids or adults and at times I was reminded of Joan Aiken's wonderful <i>Wolves Chronicles</i> books, but with the added fantastical steampunk elements.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. The pace</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This story takes a little while to get going but this gradual build up is worth it as sets the scene for a plot that is fast-paced and full of unrelenting action and adventure for the heroine and her friends. Steampunk books for younger readers, sometimes more that science fiction, require this kind of set-up at the beginning as the world is so similar to our own Victorian era, and the steampunk elements need to be introduced in a way that isn't jarring or confusing. Peter Bunzl manages this with ease.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. The characters</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be it Lily and her new friend Robert, or Malkin the mechanical fox, or even Roach and Mould, the particularly nasty and thuggish villains of the piece, Cogheart is chock full of cracking characters. Lily is brave but sometimes this comes with a degree of recklessness, whilst Robert's bravery is not quite so outwardly obvious as he is more cautious in his nature, but the courage is there when it needs to be. Malkin is irritable and proud, but also fiercely loyal and great to have around when everything's hitting the fan. And Roach and Mould have just the right level of pantomime about them to have young readers on the edge of their seats, and also wanting to boo their every appearance in the story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Cogheart </i>is a very well plotted action adventure story that is one of my favourite reads of the year so far. I believe there is a sequel out next year, and I for one cannot wait to read it. <i>Cogheart </i>has a satisfying conclusion but does leave the reader with enough questions to have them wanting more. My thanks go to the fab people at Usborne for sending me a copy to read.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com122tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-38000910084551111432016-09-11T16:53:00.000+01:002016-09-11T16:57:39.641+01:00Review: The Da Vinci Code (abridged edition) by Dan Brown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>History professor Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call while on business in France: the curator of the Louvre in Paris has been brutally murdered inside the museum. Alongside the body, police have found a series of baffling codes and need Langdon's help to decipher them.<br /><br />When Langdon and a French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, begin to sort through the bizarre riddles, they find a trail that leads to the works of the famous artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci. As the clues unfold, Langdon and Neveu must decipher the code and quickly assemble the pieces of the puzzle before a stunning historical truth is lost forever . . .</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I know it can be a controversial thing to say in some literary circles, but I am not ashamed to admit I am a fan of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books, especially <i>Angles and Demons</i> and <i>The Da Vinci Code</i>. I have loved stories about quests for lost historical and archaeological items ever since I saw <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i> at the cinema as a child, and if they have a dose of conspiracy thrown in then you've snagged my attention right away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Of course, I'm not blind to the fact that Brown is not a particularly great writer, but I do believe that at his best he is a damn fine storyteller. I was therefore intrigued and also a little confused when I read some time ago that there were plans to release an abridged version of <i>The Da Vinci Code</i>, specifically aimed at young adults: intrigued as to how an abridged version might compare with the original and confused as to why this was being done. Having now read a copy of the abridged version, I am sorry to say that I am still no less confused, although as it is a few years since I last read The Da Vinci Code I was still able to enjoy it without too much comparison with the original.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So, what have they edited out to make the book suitable for the young adult market? Basically, the expletives, some of the bloodier violence, the detailed description of the flashback scene where Sophie Neveu witnesses her grandfather in flagrante during a ritual, and some of Robert's lengthier explanations regarding ancient sex rites and similar. From this one might therefore deduce that swearing, violence and sex are taboo subjects for teen literature in the 21st Century, which makes me wonder if the editors of this abridged version have actually read any modern YA books themselves?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Other than that, the characters and the story are still the same, which again raises the question as to why an abridged version is needed? OK, I completely understand the need to take out some of the sexual references and violence, but outside of this it's a little patronising to presume that an adult book needs simplifying for the teen market. My experience over the years has shown that boys who are confident readers will often make the leap from junior fiction or middle grade straight to adult fiction, with only the occasional foray into young adult books. I have lost count of the number of Year 8s that I have seen reading adult books by Andy McNab, Chris Ryan, Stephen King and yes, Dan Brown himself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With this in mind, I also felt that I needed to judge whether this edition might be suitable for middle grade readers as I was reading it. Would it be suitable for them? The answer is yes, as I believe it has been 'sanitised' enough for confident readers of age 11+, but any adult who works with kids of this age knows that they much prefer books that feature characters of their own age, or a little older. It increases their enjoyment of a story if they can relate to the characters, or aspire to be like them. That is much harder with adult characters, and I am hard pushed to think of any other modern book for teen readers that has no teen characters at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Whether it is the original version, or this new abridged version, <i>The Da Vinci Code</i> is still a thoroughly entertaining and exciting mystery quest thriller and I can't help but recommend it. Librarians, teachers and parents may feel more comfortable putting this into the hands of teens readers, in the knowledge that it has had certain passages, etc. edited out. My copy is going to go into the school library, and I will be watching keenly as to its popularity with my young readers. My thanks go to the fab people at Penguin for sending me a copy to review.</span><br />
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com117tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-63352837150287504612016-06-27T08:30:00.000+01:002016-06-27T08:30:06.808+01:00Review: Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /><i>Denizen Hardwick doesn't believe in magic - until he's ambushed by a monster created from shadows and sees it destroyed by a word made of sunlight.<br />
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Now Denizen is about to discover that there's a world beyond the one he knows. A world of living darkness where an unseen enemy awaits.<br />
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Fortunately for humanity, between us and the shadows stand the Knights of the Borrowed Dark.<br />
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Unfortunately for Denizen, he's one of them . . .</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Reading the above blurb you might think that you have seen all of this before. And in some ways you'd be right. <i>Knights of the Borrowed Dark</i> is chock full of the tropes that we have come to know so well in middle grade fiction since Harry Potter burst onto the scene:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">orphaned protagonist? Check</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">said orphan has a pretty miserable life? Check</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">sudden appearance of a previously unknown relative? Check</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">relative is part of a secret society that protects the world from dark magic? Check</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The list goes on and on, but the incredible thing is that debut writer Dave Rudden weaves them into his story with such mastery that you could be forgiven for thinking that he was breaking completely new ground. This is a seriously good debut novel, from the first line of its über-creepy prologue, right the way through to its kick-ass ending.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Aside from his obvious ability to write a damn enjoyable story, the quality of Dave Rudden's descriptive writing is the best I have read from a debut writer for years. <i>Knights of the Borrowed Dark</i> is a masterclass in writing for a middle grade audience, or any audience for that matter. Open up the book at pretty much any page and a quick scan will reward you with one of the many vivid descriptions that add detail to his world-building, and further richness and atmosphere to the exciting narrative. And these descriptions are invariably brief and impactful, and never at the cost of pace. I'd love to include a few of these in my review, but my copy is an uncorrected proof so I'm not permitted to do so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Knights of the Borrowed Dark</i> is written for the 9+ audience, but there is a darkness to the story that may be a little too much for some. The violence within is of the fantasy kind, but may put off some parents. The nature of the villains and the way that monsters come out of the dark, may affect children of a delicate disposition or who are prone to nightmares. The villains of the piece, known as The Clockwork Three, could have come </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">straight out of the world of the Cenobites of the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hellraiser </i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">movies, especially the lightbulb-eating woman in white. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">However, the story also shows that through courage and friendship, light can and will overcome the darkness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I've not written may reviews this year, and as I mentioned in a previous post, I have been experiencing something of a reading slump as far as children's books are concerned so I have not read as many this year as I might have in the past. However, of the ones that I <i>have</i> read, this is most definitely one of the best and already a strong contender for my book of the year. It has everything that I personally want in a fantasy action adventure story, and it is the kind of book that, had it been published when I was a child, I would have read over and over and over again. My thanks go to the wonderful people at Penguin Random House for sending me a copy.</span></div>
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<br />BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-46712340083601079762016-06-23T10:00:00.000+01:002016-06-23T10:00:29.350+01:00Review: The Crooked Sixpence by Jennifer Bell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>When their grandmother Sylvie is rushed to hospital, Ivy Sparrow and her annoying big brother Seb cannot imagine what adventure lies in store. Returning to Sylvie’s house, they find it has been ransacked by unknown intruders – before a mysterious feather scratches an ominous message onto the kitchen wall. A very strange policeman turns up on the scene, determined to apprehend them . . . with a toilet brush. Ivy and Seb make their escape – only to find themselves in a completely uncommon world, where ordinary objects have amazing powers. The forces of evil are closing in fast, and Ivy and Seb must get to the bottom of a family secret . . . before it’s too late.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I mentioned in the review that I posted yesterday that recently I have been experiencing a reading slump. I have so many children's books in my TBR pile that look wonderful, but every time I have come to select one to read I have just felt meh! and picked up an adult or non-fiction book instead. The last time this happened (a good few years ago) it took the brilliant <i>Small Change For Stuart </i>by Lissa Evans to pull me out of my malaise, and this time it was this wonderful debut novel by Jennifer Bell, followed in quick succession by Gabrielle Kent's second <a href="http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/review-alfie-bloom-and-talisman-thief.html" target="_blank">Alfie Bloom book</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Long time readers of The Book Zone will know that I am a sucker for any children's or Young Adult story that reimagines London in some way or other. Sarah Silverwood's <i>The Nowhere Chronicles</i>, China Mieville's <i>Un Lun Dun</i> and Tom Becker's <i>Darkside </i>series are all books in this vein that I have loved, but I loved The Crooked Sixpence even more. It's as if Jennifer Bell has been able to scoop up all the most magical ingredients of these other books, blend them together and then bake them into a cake that is even better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I have also mentioned several times in the past that Neil Gaiman's <i>Neverwhere </i>is one of my all-time favourite books, and <i>The Crooked Sixpence</i> is most definitely Gaiman-esque. In a similar way to what Gaiman did in <i>Neverwhere</i>, Bell takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary, and in the process has created a truly imaginative (and more than a little bonkers) alternative London society, hidden away from us mere mortals but also living in tandem with our own. And I can't believe that the Lundinor of <i>The Crooked Sixpence</i> is not in some small way inspired by <i>Neverwhere</i>'s Floating Market.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>The Crooked Sixpence</i> is the first book in <i>The Uncommoners</i> series, with this particular term referring people who keep the secrets of uncommon objects for all off us commoners. Uncommon objects are everyday objects (toilet brushes, lemons squeezers, paperclips... the list is endless) that hold magical properties as a result of containing parts of the souls of the human dead. Thus we have lemon squeezers that give out light, colanders that filter air and paperclips that work as habdcuffs. Jennifer Bell's imagination is up there with the very best of current children's writers, and she must have had enormous fun coming up with all the different alternative properties of these everyday household items.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ivy and Seb, the brother and sister protagonists have a very typical relationship, whereby sometimes they get on and sometimes they bicker and disagree, but ultimately will do anything to protect each other from harm. Ivy is most definitely the star of this first book, with Seb being much more of a secondary character; she is brave and resourceful, and has joined Abi Elphinstone's Moll as one of my favourite female characters of recent years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The Crooked Sixpence</i> has something for everyone: action, adventure, magic, a villainous secret society, a crazy alternative world full of weird and wonderful items, and an ages old mystery that is just begging to be solved by Ivy, Seb and their new uncommoner friends. This is a book that I preordered months ago, as there is been a lot of buzz and excitement about it among middle grade bloggers and book sellers in the run up to its release. It is certainly one of my favourite books of 2016 so far, and should have appeal to readers of all ages. Definitely a must-buy to keep your 9+ kids occupied this summer! </span><br />
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com71tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-67543946609610833102016-06-22T11:00:00.000+01:002016-06-22T11:14:17.364+01:00Review: Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief by Gabrielle Kent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>When Alfie Bloom inherited a castle and a centuries-old magic, his dull and lonely life was changed forever. But Alfie's new life has come with dangers he never could have expected. When Ashford the butler is kidnapped in the middle of the night, the castle comes under threat from a terrifying enemy. Trapped inside with only his twin cousins and best friend Amy, it's up to Alfie to defend his inheritance and prevent a terrible fate from befalling the whole of England!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">*** Reader beware - this review is likely to contain spoilers for the first Alfie Bllom book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle </i>was one of my favourite books of 2015, and its sequel, <i>Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief</i> has been right up there on my list of most anticipated books of 2016. I described Gabrielle's first Alfie Bloom book as having 'perfect pace and and flow' and the author as a 'damn fine storyteller'. No pressure then, as far as the sequel is concerned!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Said sequel got preordered for my Kindle months ago, but due to the craziness of work I completely missed its release, and it was only as I was about to start reading another book that I just purchased that I saw it sitting there quietly, desperate to be read. All thoughts of reading that other book disappeared, as I dived back into the magical world of exciting adventure that Gabrielle Kent has created. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Despite now being settled at Hexbridge Castle, Alfie and his friends have still not managed to explore the whole of this mysterious building, which still holds many secrets from them. As does Ashford, the enigmatic butler that came with the Castle when the Bloom's moved it. Readers of the first book will know that there is an air of mystery surrounding this character, and we were left wanting to know much more about him. In this second book, our wants in this particular area are met fully - Ashford's past and present actions are central to the plot of <i>The Talisman Thief</i>, and we see his character developed much more fully.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Last time it was dragons that Alfie found himself up against, and this time it is elves. And these are certainly not elves of the cute and friendly variety - they are far more akin to Tolkien's arrogant and warrior-like elves that we see in <i>The Hobbit</i>. They have been wronged and they want retribution, and their targets are set firmly on Ashford, Alfie and anyone else who gets in their way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When I wrote my review of <i>Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle </i>I took some pride in that fact that I had spotted one particular plot twist that had not yet been resolved. Gabrielle Kent sent me a message (of which I will say no more, for fear of creating spoilers), but I have felt more than a little smug since. Well they say that pride comes before a fall, and I feel that I have fallen big time. The plot of <i>The Talisman Thief</i> has some MASSIVE twists that hit me right between the eyes and had my jaw dropping to the ground. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief</i> is a superb sequel, and I am sure it will be making an appearance in my favourite books of 2016. I have been in something of a reading slump recently as far as children's books are concerned, and have found myself reading far more adult and non-fiction books that I would have in recent years. However, like a phoenix from the ashes, I have been lifted out of this by two books: this wonderful magical adventure story, and Jennifer Bell's wonderful debut, <i>The Crooked Sixpence</i>. Hopefully I can now stay in this mood and catch up on my ultra-wobbly middle grade TBR pile.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com92tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-10227661494575664632016-06-04T08:37:00.000+01:002016-06-04T08:37:03.579+01:00Guest Post: Beaky Malone Blog Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vzbG7jI0u5PGwffeUkj-77fgT77aBuVGWEAZeAXnZ4ePKvJgwecDEen7D4TjECNf2Q5A5HuRyWzYlOKJiEXNaNb3tLmq2eta00xnBtJ79oR0dewCl_V-Wkm8pmTInSU40TxMwC7KboA/s1600/barry_hutchison+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vzbG7jI0u5PGwffeUkj-77fgT77aBuVGWEAZeAXnZ4ePKvJgwecDEen7D4TjECNf2Q5A5HuRyWzYlOKJiEXNaNb3tLmq2eta00xnBtJ79oR0dewCl_V-Wkm8pmTInSU40TxMwC7KboA/s320/barry_hutchison+photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Barry Hutchison has to be one of my favourite middle grade authors - I've loved everything that I have read of his, starting of course with the fabulous Invisible Fiends series. His new book, Beaky Malone World's Greatest Liar, was published a couple of days ago and is no exception to this - it is laugh out loud funny from beginning to end. I am really chuffed that Barry wanted to stop off at The Book Zone on his Beaky Malone blog tour, to tell us how he got into writing funny stories:</span><div>
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<b>FUNNY STUFF, GOOD. PUNCHING ME IN THE HEAD, BAD </b></div>
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I wasn’t a funny kid. I was the quiet one in class, reasonably studious without being brilliant, and usually found quietly reading a comic in the corner when all my work was done for the day. There was nothing notable about me whatsoever, other than my height. I was abnormally tall for my age, and by the time I’d hit 8 years old, I towered several inches above the rest of my class.</div>
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This didn’t go unnoticed by the kids in the years above, and soon I was the target for bullies three or four years older than I was. One kid in particular – I can’t remember his name, so let’s call him Bashy McBashface – spent weeks tormenting me, before finally catching me alone one day as I walked home from school.</div>
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I can remember his sneering spotty face, his bunched fists, his home-cut crop of ginger hair and his very obvious intent to pummel my head and torso into the pavement. He had another kid with him – his cousin, if I remember rightly, who had two silvery snot-trails as a permanent fixture on his top lip – who alternated between egging Bashy on, and keeping an eye out for trouble.</div>
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I was terrified. Too terrified to even raise my fists. Bashy McBashface was HUGE, and had a reputation for being the best fighter in school. I, on the other hand, was a tall, skinny kid who had a reputation for reading The Beano, and for once coming first in the school sports skipping race. It was less Rumble in the Jungle and more Certain Death in That Bit Behind the Shops.</div>
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Bashy’s fist drew back. My mouth opened. Words tumbled out all on their own.</div>
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Bashy stopped. He cocked his head to the side like a dog. He frowned.</div>
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Then, to my amazement, he threw back his head and laughed.</div>
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My mouth started moving again, and this time I listened to the words. They were jokes. No, not jokes, observational comedy about our school, the teachers, the other pupils. I even started to crack wise about the current situation, telling Bashy to pass on to my parents that I’d gone to a better place, and leaving instructions as to who to will my ZX Spectrum and Star Wars figures to.</div>
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I had no idea where it was coming from, but I was glad it was coming from somewhere. I made Bashy laugh so much that he completely forgot about pounding my face into a two-dimensional oval (much to his cousin’s disappointment). It turned out I had a latent superpower: I could make people laugh.</div>
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The next few years passed in a blur of jokes, impressions, pratfalls and other routines. I became “the funny guy” because, as it turns out, the funny guy is far less likely to get his head kicked in than all those other, non-funny guys.</div>
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It was only right, then, that when I’d embark on a professional writing career two decades later, the obvious choice of genre would be… um… horror. My Invisible Fiends series (which was first reviewed right here on this very blog) was a violent and occasionally downright disturbing scare-fest designed to have kids and adults alike too scared to turn the light off at bedtime.</div>
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It wasn’t until I started reading the reviews, though (and we all read the reviews, even if we pretend we don’t) that I discovered it was funny, too. Most of the reviews commented on the humour, even though I hadn’t really been aware I’d put any in there.</div>
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From there, it made sense to try writing funny books, and I’ve never looked back. I now get to spend my days making myself laugh (always an attractive quality) as I write everything from books to TV animation – and even The Beano.</div>
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I’d love to say the reason I write funny stuff is because I want to keep the national smiling, but if I was forced through a Beaky Malone-style Truth Telling Machine, I’d have to own up to the fact that the real reason I write comedy is because I’m worried that, if I don’t, everyone’s going to catch me on my own behind the shops one day, and give me a long-overdue kicking.</div>
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So, er, read Beaky Malone: World’s Greatest Liar! It’s hilarious, has brilliant illustrations by the amazing Katie Abey and might – just might – stop you punching me in the head.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5t5uc38amCOJ7UICOSCeq4uddtfJ7YQOWF2l33ujKrN1XstemTdixpA6d0XDpM7aa2pZBBYpGwPX5hJcXuT0lg54FzorUEIBuO3l1Q-gkZjlSMqgRKQiK8HEGnxQMfJMt_XxvzX5ZjM8/s1600/Beaky+Malone+%25E2%2580%2593+World%2527s+Greatest+Liar+-+Jacket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5t5uc38amCOJ7UICOSCeq4uddtfJ7YQOWF2l33ujKrN1XstemTdixpA6d0XDpM7aa2pZBBYpGwPX5hJcXuT0lg54FzorUEIBuO3l1Q-gkZjlSMqgRKQiK8HEGnxQMfJMt_XxvzX5ZjM8/s320/Beaky+Malone+%25E2%2580%2593+World%2527s+Greatest+Liar+-+Jacket.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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Huge thanks to Barry for writing that for us. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Worlds-Greatest-Liar-Beaky-Malone/dp/1847156738/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463646282&sr=1-1&keywords=beaky+malone" target="_blank">Beaky Malone, World's Greatest Liar</a></i> was released in the UK on 2nd June.</div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com111tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-80632225755119058902016-05-14T10:37:00.000+01:002016-05-14T10:38:00.941+01:00Guest Post: Iron Fist Blog Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvTIMhHmRVaOfTGSZj5CyC7gSXDbX6SQqKUxE8DNg8wgK7c6AjqqGl3FyIZfNPsgQMSElHu-9J4WajHM5FNGApUuSGxOKkm8wUD_HqwpW9j53C1x48TMZ4FTba5PMQGw6VNb-caaRAN0/s1600/Iron+Fist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvTIMhHmRVaOfTGSZj5CyC7gSXDbX6SQqKUxE8DNg8wgK7c6AjqqGl3FyIZfNPsgQMSElHu-9J4WajHM5FNGApUuSGxOKkm8wUD_HqwpW9j53C1x48TMZ4FTba5PMQGw6VNb-caaRAN0/s400/Iron+Fist.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is always a cause for some personal celebration when Andy Briggs releases a new book. I loved his Tarzan series and I can't wait to read <i>Iron Fist</i>, the first book in his new <i>The Inventory</i> series, especially given its brilliant summary:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>The Rules: if you find a secret inventory of utterly deadly battle tech. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>1) Do not try it.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i> 2) Do not tell anyone. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>3) Do NOT let thieves in behind you. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>What’s more secret than top-secret? The Inventory. Home to the deadliest inventions the world isn’t ready for. Invisible camouflage. HoverBoots. Indestructible metals. Plus a giant creature of chaos: war robot Iron Fist. No one has ever broken past the state-of-the-art AI security system. (Seriously, most bad guys have no idea this stuff is even there.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Problem 1: the security robot wasn’t ready for a gang of kids wandering in. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Problem 2: they’ve ONLY brought the ruthless Shadow Helix gang in behind them. Seriously dumb, but it’s a bit late for ‘sorry’. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Say hello to trouble: the Iron Fist is in the wrong hands!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Today I am overjoyed to be welcoming Andy to The Book Zone, as he gives us an introduction to his main character, Dev:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">ENTER THE INVENTORY WITH DEV PARKER <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Call him Dev, not
Devon, which is his full name. He <i>hates</i>
that. The only time he hears his full name is when he is in trouble – which is
often. That’s not because he’s a trouble causer, he’s just easily bored. All
those lessons in school, he already knows that stuff. Or he thinks he does, but
has probably forgotten. How can he learn
anything interesting in school when he lives in an underground complex that
houses the most advanced and incredible inventions ever made?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He lives with his
uncle, Charles Parker, who is the Inventory’s curator. Their relationship is
not exactly fun. Uncle Parker is cool mannered and not very talkative especially
when Dev keeps asking about his parents. He doesn’t remember them and his uncle
never has the time to talk about them. In fact, Dev doesn't know if they’re
dead, missing or simply not interested in him. Not that he dwells on it too
much. He’s gone beyond worrying about them – why bother when he can strap on a
pair of HoverBoots and fly around the Inventory… even if he’s not allowed to
touch any of the exhibits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Breaking those rules
drives his Uncle completely bonkers. To enforce his point, Charles Parker has
the help of Eema – an artificial intelligent giant metal sphere with an emoji
face and a chirpy personality. She is a battle robot, so is armed to the teeth!
Despite that, Dev is more than happy to pit his wits against her as he sneaks
into forbidden areas of the Inventory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dev’s dreams are to
leave all of this behind him. There is a big wide world out there, and living
underground – even surrounded by amazing stuff – can be boring, especially if
you’re not allowed to touch any of it. It’s not as if he has friends. His
Uncle’s strict secrecy orders means Dev has never had the opportunity to
befriend anybody. Which, as he grows older, becomes more irritating. He’s
constantly trying to avoid being picked on by the school thug, Mason, and is
tongue-tied when he has the chance to talk to Lot, a girl with an infectious
smile that he desperately hopes he’s not developing a crush on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One final thing to
tell you about Dev is that he has a, well some call it an ability, others call
it a phenomenon and to others it’s a disability or neurological condition,
called synaesthesia. He sees numbers and letters as colours and sounds because
his brain scrambles how he senses such things. It’s a strange, and real,
affliction. Some sufferers could easily tell you that yellow plus green equals
six; the problem for you and I is that it <i>really
does</i>. Dev’s condition is a lot more advanced, and something he has turned
to his advantage in a very peculiar way…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, go down to the
Inventory yourself and meet Dev in his first adventure: IRON FIST. The further
he delves into the world’s greatest secret the more answers he will discover
about himself, his parents, his condition and… he might just make a few friends
along the way...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.andybriggs.co.uk/"><span lang="EN-GB">www.andybriggs.co.uk</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">@abriggswriter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-7295006716368191572016-05-08T08:30:00.000+01:002016-05-08T08:30:14.707+01:00Guest Post: Devil's Blood Blog Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-tCsWrsBkLNEHdEwglahEVMNp6aNw2MEx8RuByfM6Vz0TZnDZ-RDqyUfvV8Of9_QlK0kFVWQEWUnIjh0dk0mhySpyS0cWHD-0nDjhl2N2v-qX8EnTW0Dax_YdAHkCOpvmNjTPosgR7k/s1600/Black+Arts+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-tCsWrsBkLNEHdEwglahEVMNp6aNw2MEx8RuByfM6Vz0TZnDZ-RDqyUfvV8Of9_QlK0kFVWQEWUnIjh0dk0mhySpyS0cWHD-0nDjhl2N2v-qX8EnTW0Dax_YdAHkCOpvmNjTPosgR7k/s320/Black+Arts+cover.jpg" width="209" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-UkFdy_N34VUbMAv7u3wS5oP5vWILJw75SCKAdpS6xW9O-Prj1WavgZnvBIVxN80sKcLk8mIrPLK-R-XwsLUSjTk5REept75Z-AKdSUZvQS_PaECFEnST1xaE6UX3DbU-NxQR7LjtgsY/s1600/Devils+Blood+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-UkFdy_N34VUbMAv7u3wS5oP5vWILJw75SCKAdpS6xW9O-Prj1WavgZnvBIVxN80sKcLk8mIrPLK-R-XwsLUSjTk5REept75Z-AKdSUZvQS_PaECFEnST1xaE6UX3DbU-NxQR7LjtgsY/s320/Devils+Blood+cover.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Four years ago I wrote a review of </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Black Arts</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by debut YA writers Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil. </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Black Arts</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> was billed as the first of </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Books of Pandemonium</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, but then book 2 never materialised. Truth be told, I had given up hope of ever seeing it, but then, out of the blue a couple of months ago I spotted the authors tweeting about their new book. </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Devil's Blood</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> was published a few days ago, and it was well worth the wait and I am delighted to welcome Prentice and Weil to The Book Zone today as part of the </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Black Arts</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Devil's Blood</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> blog tour, to tell us about the Devils of London.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Prentice & Weil on The Devils of London</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our devils were born out of desperation and despair. In two years we’d written three drafts of our book <i>Black Arts</i>. Although it had its good bits, the story was still ungainly, overlong and not flying at all. Following the savage and wise advice of our new editor Simon Mason we trashed the whole lot, keeping only a few chapters and characters. It was a mightily bleak spot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We walked and walked, talking through our fresh start. We had discovered that one of the problems about writing a book with both magic and time travel is that it gets a little complicated. Magic works in books when it seems natural and easy. The minute that you have to launch into convoluted explanations about method and mechanics, you tend to lose the reader’s interest. We went round and round in circles trying to simplify our system. But nothing worked – that is until we went for a fateful walk down the Regent’s Park Canal.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGB8o6wa_lXiIuGZVp_ZohAoSbxDQ6cqrCiMkOnaDoJFyXmDdOhxeO18GkAkuVQOZh2ekwIEEAswLoVt6sPxPo0Kf-9wFxQYbVd1z6TExtWNVtqjgdZcEvw_Q3LokKt4Q5itmK3-pjsBk/s1600/belzingburst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGB8o6wa_lXiIuGZVp_ZohAoSbxDQ6cqrCiMkOnaDoJFyXmDdOhxeO18GkAkuVQOZh2ekwIEEAswLoVt6sPxPo0Kf-9wFxQYbVd1z6TExtWNVtqjgdZcEvw_Q3LokKt4Q5itmK3-pjsBk/s400/belzingburst.jpg" width="347" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can remember the exact spot where everything changed. It was on the odd, graffiti-covered stretch between Broadway Market and Victoria Park. Jon and I were discussing Dr Dee – and how he had believed he was summoning devils and angels when he did magic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘What if we used that?’ A simple suggestion. We both looked at each other – and suddenly, just like that, we were flying again. The greatest joy of writing as a team is when an idea starts soaring and lifts you both up with it. The miles disappeared with our talking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘What if all magic was done with devils? You summon them and then they do what you want. That’s how magic works!’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘What if some devils got lost?’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘What if some devils got forgotten? What if London was full of them?’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘What if the devils left behind in hell want revenge?’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In that walk, the whole thing (more or less) fell into place. It’s hard not to believe that a devil of inspiration wasn’t buried somewhere beneath our feet, granting us a sweet moment of clarity. The walking definitely played a part, but so too does the city where you walk – and that is the essence of our idea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You must know some places that make you feel a certain way. Some of these are obvious: a ruined castle, a forest path, the secret corner in your gran’s greenhouse. But others are more hidden and subtle – but no less powerful. Cities are full of these places. Especially London, where the ancient city hides in plain sight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are buried devils everywhere. Alan Moore, Ian Sinclair and Peter Ackroyd have all written compellingly about the city’s psychogeography. But that really is a complicated word for a very simple thing. The paths that we take through life affect us. Your environment shapes you and your experience. All we’ve done is spice that common truth with a little pinch of Hellfire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The funny thing was that when we went hunting for lost devils we hardly had to look. Dig a little beneath the streets and their history and you can find them yourself. Black Dog really was a ghost that haunted Newgate Prison. The spirit that we call Lud has had many names over the years, and the London Stone, where Lud lives, can be visited today. It sits, at pavement level, embedded in the wall of a bank in the City. Smithfield has been drenched in blood for millennia: Druids held rituals there, Romans held executions, medieval Londoners made it their slaughterhouse (and in a few days time we’ll have a book launch there too. Let’s hope it’s not too bloody!) Wherever we looked we found details that made it seem like we were discovering a truth rather than making things up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course we took liberties, and I don’t expect you to believe that there is a giant leech sitting beneath Smithfield market. All the same, next time that you are out and about in the city where you live, close your eyes, take a deep breath and imagine all the lives that have passed along the street where you are walking now. Their treasure and their trash is buried beneath you, layer after layer after layer. When you open your eyes again, try not to feel dizzy, because you are looking straight down into the abyss.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Author’s Note: We have been exploring the devils of London in our tumblr: <a href="http://londondevils.tumblr.com/">http://londondevils.tumblr.com/</a>. Go there to find some more devils that we have dug up while tramping around the city. The pictures in the article are sketched using Alkahest-infused goggles.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-29101619186844870072016-04-26T17:30:00.003+01:002016-04-26T17:30:29.409+01:00Review: Boy X by Dan Smith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><i>Kidnapped and drugged, Ash wakes up on a remote tropical island. His mum - a genetic scientist - has been imprisoned and infected with a deadly virus. Where is he, and what's he doing there? He sets out to cross the jungle to find out and rescue his mother. Soon he realises he's quicker and sharper than before. But there's something else ...why are the animals watching him, and how can he use the jungle to his advantage?</i></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dan Smith writes great thrillers. I loved his <i>Big Game</i>, with its frantic pace and reluctant hero Oskari saving the US President from the bad guys in the wilds of Finland, and when his new book, <i>Boy X</i>, arrived through my door a while back it jumped straight to the top of my ultra-wobbly TBR pile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The main protagonist of <i>Boy X</i> is another young teen boy who suddenly finds himself way out of his depth in a fight for survival against highly trained villains who are armed to the teeth. However, poor Ash McCarthy does not have the local knowledge advantages that Oskari had in <i>Big Game</i>: at the beginning of the book he wakes in a strange laboratory with no knowledge of why or how he got there. Add a race against time due to the release of a super-deadly new virus and Ash experience the emergence of strange new abilities, and we have all the ingredients for a superb sci-fi thriller, with Dan Smith as the masterchef bringing them all together. If you have a hunger for fast-paced action stories then this is a meal that will both satisfy your appetite <i>and </i>leave you wanting more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dan Smith is also a master at keeping his readers gripped by drip-feeding essential information about the plot and the characters' back-stories. There are no big info dumps or sudden reveals that feel forced or make the reader feel cheated. Despite the sci-fi element and the crazy situation in which they find themselves, Ash and his equally out-of-her-depth new friend Isabel, are real enough for young readers to relate to and they complement each other perfectly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dan Smith brings his story to an explosive and satisfying conclusion, but the final chapter leaves the reader with a promise that Ash's story is far from over. This is fabulous as I am certainly hungry for more, and I know many other with feel the same way. My thanks go to the lovely people at Chicken House for sending me a copy of the book.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-89879078369288939872016-04-16T19:59:00.003+01:002016-04-16T19:59:50.252+01:00Review: Perijee & Me by Ross Montgomery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>When 11-year-old Caitlin discovers a shrimp-like alien creature on the shores of her island home, she takes responsibility for teaching it about the world. Mostly, this just involved stopping little Perijee from eating everything! Caitlin becomes increasingly close to her alien friend, treating him like a brother.<br /><br />There's only one problem - Perijee won't stop growing.<br /><br />Then the authorities try to hunt him down and through his fear, Perijee disappears and starts causing trouble. Caitlin must leave home and travel across the country to try and convince Perijee to stop destroying everything before it's too late.</i></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Perijee & Me</i> is Ross Montgomery's third book for young readers and yet again he has struck gold. His first two books, <i><a href="http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-alex-dog-and-unopenable-door-by.html" target="_blank">Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door</a></i> and <i><a href="http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.com/2014/10/review-tornado-chasers-by-ross.html" target="_blank">The Tornado Chasers</a></i>, are among me favourite children's books of recent years, and this third offering has now made it on to that list as well. All three books have something very special about them that I find hard to describe. I have the same feelings when I try to describe John Boyne's <i>The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brockett</i> and <i>Noah Barleywater Runs Away</i>. They are contemporary fairy tales, with fantastic character studies, humour, dark fringes, and magical fantasy elements (without the actual magic) and the kind of stories that I think the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen might be creating if they were alive and writing in the 21st Century.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Perijee & Me</i> is an enchanting story that will especially appeal to any reader, child or adult, who has ever felt lonely or who has felt that they have fallen short of the expectations of others. It is about Caitlin, a girl with no friends and 'absent' parents who stumbles across something special, in much the same way as Elliott does in E.T. In fact, there are elements of <i>Perijee & Me</i> that pay homage to Spielberg's masterpiece, as well as one of my all time favourite stories, Ted Hughes' <i>The Iron Man</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a particularly violent storm, Caitlin discovers a strange creature lying close-to-death on the beach, surrounded by thousands of festering prawns that have been washed ashore. Her attempts to protect her new friend Perijee from what we would know as exploitation are sadly unsuccessful, and there's this moment where, like in E.T. the authorities arrive on the scene, but that's where the similarities end. Perijee is no meek and fragile creature, and the armed men who storm Caitlin's house very quickly discover that they are woefully unprepared. Can Caitlin defy all the odds and save Perijee from the world, and possibly more importantly, save the world from Perijee?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope that <i>Perijee & Me</i> brings Ross Montgomery the wider recognition that he so deserves. Despite his debut being shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book of the Year Award back in 2013, he still falls under the radar of many people who buy books for children, whilst in my opinion he should be up there with likes of John Boyne and Frank Cottrell Boyce. I expect there will be a lot of readers who, on finishing <i>Perijee & Me</i>, will venture out to get their hands on his previous two books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My thanks go to the lovely people at Faber for sending me a copy of <i>Perijee & Me</i> to read.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-4018737785132902642016-04-13T09:00:00.000+01:002016-04-13T09:00:06.163+01:00Guest Post by Shane Hegarty (Author of the Darkmouth series)<span style="color: cyan; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I loved <i>Darkmouth </i>by Shane Hegarty and you can read my review from last April <a href="http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/review-darkmouth-by-shane-hegarty.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Well time flies, and last week saw the publication of <i>Chaos Descends</i>, the THIRD book in the series. I am really excited to welcome Shane to The Book Zone today, to tell us what inspired him to write <i>Darkmouth </i>and his thoughts of how he intends to continue developing the series in the future:</span><br />
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</span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKMnHZBXjr2R0193y3KVfLfN16I_pZYdAzmc7uF4kkDh7wF3SOklaVpGzJyFrzwdFGYrmzXVtgbGDggCmeBz6WrRClY4ZYgtX1cTXgQ7_N3oCBigW4ie1io6fHlDRCyhw02atzIKQjD4/s1600/darkmouth+chaos+descends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKMnHZBXjr2R0193y3KVfLfN16I_pZYdAzmc7uF4kkDh7wF3SOklaVpGzJyFrzwdFGYrmzXVtgbGDggCmeBz6WrRClY4ZYgtX1cTXgQ7_N3oCBigW4ie1io6fHlDRCyhw02atzIKQjD4/s320/darkmouth+chaos+descends.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">About four years ago now, I was sitting on a train – on the floor of the train </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">actually, head being knocked by knees, back being kicked by feet – and an idea hit me. What if there was a last town on earth which Legends of myth still invaded. And in that town was a family who had too keep the Legends out. And there was one kid who would have to take over, save the town and save the world.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But he wasn’t very good at it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That idea hit me so strongly I had to start writing straight away. Then someone’s knees hit me and that was the end of that for the train journey at least.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I went back to that story, developed the story of Finn the reluctant Legend Hunter, and his more adventurous friend Emmie. I fleshed out the town of Darkmouth, and the parallel world of the Legends.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I had no idea of anyone other than me would ever read it, though. All through it, I was trying to create a story not just that I wanted to write, but I would want to read. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I wanted a story with a not particularly competent hero, that mixed fantasy with the everyday reality, that wandered between two worlds and wouldn’t be afraid to head off on a tangent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I wanted a story with imagination, strange creatures, scares but – very importantly – jokes. And as an adult reader, there are very, very few books combining these things. But novels for younger readers, well that’s where the fun is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Writing it became a game of “what if?” What if a 12-year-old really had to fight Legends and then go to school straight after? What if monsters had been invading n otherwise normal small town for generations? What if you were one of these Legends – what would be like to be, say, a Minotaur or one of the heads on a Hydra?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The hope is that younger readers end up having as much fun reading it as I do writing it. But there’s the hope they’ll maybe recognise something of themselves in Finn, or Emmie or – if they want – any of the Legends. And they might recognise the grown-ups, and the town (which is a character in its own right). That the “what if” part of the idea means a mix the fantastic with the recognisable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There have been three books since that train journey, and I’m currently writing the fourth. The aim is to develop Finn and Emmie and the other characters, and to deepen the story, but without losing those things I loved about Darkmouth in the first place. I want to keep the fun, adventure, fantasy, realness, the scary parts and the funny bits. I want it to be fun to write, and to read.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And, most importantly, I now make sure to do it all from a nice quiet office where no-one knees me in the head.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">~~~</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Huge thanks to Shane for taking the time to write this for us. If you're kids love fun action adventure fantasy stories then the <i>Darkmouth </i>books are definitely must-reads.</span></span><br />
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-66739723630463359002016-03-01T09:47:00.000+00:002016-03-01T09:47:06.586+00:00Competition: WIN a pair of signed Abi Elphinstone books<div style="clear: both;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATtbckPNpMhbbzW0VqFTjmQselFp8x4Ivb4A4oYblESPqzI9kG7TG5T8QHdY_OGW9R3on7_fCK0rXRrJDmny14ijoud9-U8fBdU3rNZVJmufPs3Q66fPmI2-Up8rldPiLT2NS6HSGH7Q/s1600/the+shadow+keeper.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATtbckPNpMhbbzW0VqFTjmQselFp8x4Ivb4A4oYblESPqzI9kG7TG5T8QHdY_OGW9R3on7_fCK0rXRrJDmny14ijoud9-U8fBdU3rNZVJmufPs3Q66fPmI2-Up8rldPiLT2NS6HSGH7Q/s400/the+shadow+keeper.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Abi Elphinstone's <i>The Dreamsnatcher</i> was my 2015 Middle Grade Book of the Year. Last week saw the release of the sequel, <i>The Shadow Keeper</i>, and it is so good that it is already vying for a top spot in my 2016 list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now you have the chance to win signed copies of both books, simply by filling in your details in the form below. Thanks to the generosity of Simon and Schuster I have five pairs of Abi's books to give away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The first five names drawn at random after the closing date will each win a pair of books. The deadline for entries is 7pm GMT Monday 7th March. This competition is open to UK residents only.</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="550" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ghDPg6_P0Snix3ODdGLsYs48_q05HJpOewyPa5kVCsg/viewform?embedded=true" width="600">Loading...</iframe><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Contest open to UK residents only.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Neither the publisher or I will be held responsible for items lost in the mail.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I hold the right to end a contest before its original deadline without any prior notice.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I will contact winning entrants for their postal address </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">following the close of the competition. Winners have 48 hours to reply. Failure to do so in this time will result in another winner being randomly selected.</span></span><br />
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-38101730604131318422016-02-29T09:00:00.000+00:002016-02-29T09:00:15.109+00:00Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Dustwalk is Amani's home. The desert sand is in her bones. But she wants to escape. More than a want. A need.<br />
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Then a foreigner with no name turns up to save her life, and with him the chance to run. But to where? The desert plains are full of danger. Sand and blood are swirling, and the Sultan's enemies are on the rise.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Three was the magic number for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0">Bob Dorough</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVfe6rdHRKI">Blind Melon</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8">De La Soul</a>, and it's also the magic number for these new style Book Zone reviews, as part of my seemingly endless quest for brevity when reviewing. So, here are three reasons why I loved <i><a href="http://rebelofthesands.co.uk/" target="_blank">Rebel of the Sands</a></i> by <a href="http://alwynhamilton.com/" target="_blank">Alwyn Hamilton</a>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Many will know that these days I do not read a great deal of YA, and when I receive emails from publishers I very rarely request copies of YA books. However, many months ago I was tempted by this, and at that point I'm not sure I even knew the title or blurb, just that those lovely people at Faber were getting very excited about it. When the proof arrived (complete with personalised book cover!) it remained unread on my TBR pile whilst I continued to delight in all the middle grade books that were coming my way. However, I eventually succumbed to its pleas and decided to read <i>Rebel of the Sands</i>, the debut novel from Alwyn Hamilton. And I was hooked from beginning to end. I loved everything about this magical fantasy story, set in a wonderfully imagined desert location. I very rarely say this as I am not a fan of movie adaptations of books I have loved, but I really, really hope that someone great as acquired the film rights to this as I really think that it could be a huge summer family film hit, as per <i>Pirates of the Caribbean</i>. As someone who grew up loving the Ray Harryhausen <i>Sinbad </i>films, I was rather disappointed at the barely average <i>Prince of Persia</i> film, but <i>Rebel of the Sands</i> has something that film did not have - a cracking plot without any silliness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I don't often dip my toes into the waters of adult science fiction and fantasy as I just don't have the patience to wade through page after page of detailed world building. In just the first few chapters Alwyn Hamilton managed to impart everything I needed to know about the society in which main character Amani Al'Hiza lives and the world's mythology, but never at the cost of slowing down the pace. More details of the part wild west, part Arabian Nights world are drip fed as the story progresses, and we are never left in a position of questioning the specific whys and wherefores of the culture and its people for very long. This is a credit to both Alwyn Hamilton's story-telling abilities as well as the quality of the editing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>3. The main character</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's hard not to draw parallels with some modern day middle eastern and African societies, where women are oppressed and do not, in our western eyes, have the same rights or opportunities as men. Women in Amani's society are treated as little more then property, owned by their husbands, or in Amani's case, her uncle, to eventually be sold off into a loveless marriage. To speak out against this treatment or act in a way that is not deemed acceptable to the town's or country's patriarchs can very quickly lead to severe punishment and even death. Amani will do anything to get away from her family and the town of Deadshot, even if it means putting herself at the greatest of risks. She is courageous, independent and fiercely loyal to anyone she feels deserves her loyalty. There are few who can equal her skills with a sixshooter, which might come in useful as she has the dangerous habit of opening her mouth and delivering a snappy wisecrack when it would be far better for Amani, and those allied with her if she occasionally took the time to think before she speaks. However, we can forgive her this weakness as it makes the story that much more thrilling for us as readers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Rebel of the Sands</i> was published in the UK on 4th February and is currently one of my favourite books of the year so far. In fact, I have not enjoyed a YA magical fantasy book this much since Amy McCulloch's <i>The Oathbreaker's Shadow</i>, which became my Book of the Year back in 2013.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-45917818875116818672016-02-28T15:10:00.001+00:002016-02-28T15:10:06.056+00:00Review: Spy Quest: Polybius - The Urban Legend by Andy Briggs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjy5WH6PlhCJcunYuSBGAN1JuS_KyAyUzOXnEwfUfAE2W7vh38BN82Zd8bTE8MbuOr8LzBLwRpLWoR7-9hobNoczLDF_N6BMaWBtj_FX9PtWvt_TbwcevOkKcDm5BLVFsZZkgIzhuWVo/s1600/Polybius-The-Urban-Legend-Front-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjy5WH6PlhCJcunYuSBGAN1JuS_KyAyUzOXnEwfUfAE2W7vh38BN82Zd8bTE8MbuOr8LzBLwRpLWoR7-9hobNoczLDF_N6BMaWBtj_FX9PtWvt_TbwcevOkKcDm5BLVFsZZkgIzhuWVo/s320/Polybius-The-Urban-Legend-Front-Cover.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>In the dark amusement arcades of the 1980s, a new game is discreetly appearing - Polybius. It's addictive fun... but the machine mysteriously disappears as swiftly as it arrived. So too does the one kid who claimed the highest ever score... never to be heard from again... Over thirty years later, computer games have moved on - but the players are as keen as ever. SAM RAYNER is one such boy. His dreams of being a professional gamer, a virtual athlete on a million dollar contract -- dreams that are scoffed at by his twin sister, REBECCA. She secretly enjoys playing games, but would never openly admit that to her "geeky" brother -- that is until Sam wins an online competition, giving the entire family a free holiday at a luxury hotel. But it's not just a chance for his family to take a pampered break, it's a special games tournament and a chance for Sam to chase his dream. Or that's what he thinks - until he discovers a game has been mysteriously downloaded to his mobile phone. A game called Polybius - a name from the darkest reaches of urban legends.</i></span><br />
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Three was the magic number for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0">Bob Dorough</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVfe6rdHRKI">Blind Melon</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8">De La Soul</a>, and it's also the magic number for these new style Book Zone reviews, as part of my seemingly endless quest for brevity when reviewing. So, here are three reasons to read <i>Polybius - The Urban Legend</i> by <a href="http://www.andybriggs.co.uk/" target="_blank">Andy Briggs</a>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am always keen to promote anything new that may encourage a child to pick up a book and read it. Whilst working very well as a standalone book, <i>Polybius - The Urban Legend</i> is linked to a spy training game created by <a href="http://polybiusgames.com/" target="_blank">Polybius Games</a> that started life being offered though hotels around the world (including Center Parcs and Walt Disney World, Florida). The game was next provided to schools across Scotland, and is endorsed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority as a learning platform and a White Paper has since been written on the benefits of the game by one of the worlds leading experts in game based technology. The book itself, is a spin-off from this game, but readers can also download an app to their smartphones which allows them to experience and augmented reality feature. You can find out more about the game at <a href="http://www.spy-quest.com/">www.spy-quest.com</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Anyone who has read one of Andy Briggs's previous books will know how good he is at writing fast-paced action stories. The plot of <i>Polybius - The Urban Legend</i> is fast and furious, and and from the moment main character Sam Rayner is drawn into the mystery it doesn't let up until the very last chapter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The story's link to gaming is not just though the <i>Spy Quest</i> game. Sam Rayner is a gamer and dreams of making money out of his passion by turning professional. Sam wins an online competition which just may make this dream become reality, although there is a lot more to this prize than he initially realises. In a similar vein to stories like <i>The Last Starfighter</i> and Ernest Cline's <i>Armada</i>, the game is being used to find young people with certain skills and gifts so that they can be trained, in this case, as spies. Linking stories to gaming could be a great way of dragging gamer kids away from their consoles and in to the pages of a book. Older gamers may already be aware of the real life Polybius story - an urban legend that, again like Ernest Cline, Andy Briggs uses to establish his plot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Polybius - The Urban Legend</i> was originally only available online, but I believe that it has now been released throughout book stores in the Uk as well. My thanks go to the author for sending me a copy of the book.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-72037701181438015422016-02-26T08:30:00.000+00:002016-02-26T08:30:31.296+00:00The Shadow Keeper Blog Tour: Guest Post by Abi Elphinstone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today I am delighted to be welcoming the fabulous Abi Elphinstone to The Book Zone, as part of <i>The Shadow Keeper</i> blog tour. Abi's debut book, <i>The Dreamsnatcher</i>, was my favourite middle grade book of 2015, and its sequel, <i>The Shadow Keeper</i>, is even better! Abi is here today to tell us about some of the weird and wonderful items she has in her writing shed, but the wonderment doesn't stop there, as on Monday we will be giving you a chance to win a copy of <i>The Shadow Keeper</i>!</span><br />
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10 Strangest Objects In My Writing Shed<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgITQ89C8D70TumjTiJ-QrC9csUQoMKBNzMDdSzKOR4xvTJuZ_YkcJOio9ynhX2YC-NCaA_Bu7fe1ywnTGLjiZBmhV-kSlRE8jHGrQFAC8SWBcEObM9sz1mXyZb9VaWiiIZpBxW9bafU/s200/Writing+Shed+exterior.jpg" width="200" /> <img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9JsvkoAoJuZfIA6H9SeSMrcYdABIy2J8h5YWX_dOnWrJ2z7TKGrRk7zaob0P4eRULNoLAtNTMbomsTr7Typ0KBA2xoV9FieYKuJYVVnGQWIUiDLE2BdwYaLGBcziJSvpwebb15g84Z2o/s200/Writing+Shed+desk.jpg" width="200" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">One of my favourite things
about school visits is showing children the weird and wonderful objects I’ve
picked up on my travels. And with recent book research adventures involving living
with Kazakh Eagle Hunters in Mongolia (you can read about that </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.abielphinstone.com/abis-blog/4588060085/LIVING-WITH-THE-KAZAKH-EAGLE-HUNTERS-IN-MONGOLIA/10230971">here</a></span><span lang="EN-US">) and chasing the northern lights in the
Arctic, my writing shed is fast becoming a treasure trove of extraordinary items.
So, here you go for a run down on the Top 10 Strangest Objects In My Writing
Shed:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. An arrow fletched with buzzard feathers.</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Catapults are my weapon of choice but when the witch doctors stepped things up a gear in The Shadow Keeper I threw in some bows and arrows as well. In the run up to writing the book, I learnt to fire a long bow at Barbury Shooting School and afterwards I bought a flint-tipped arrow from an antique shop in Portobello Road, London.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. A human finger bone.</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> There is a particularly evil band of smugglers in The Shadow Keeper. Barbarous Grudge is the thug at the top and he is often seen chewing the finger bone of a government official who tried to stop him smuggling years ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. A gold tooth.</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Barbarous Grudge again for this one, I’m afraid. The legend goes that he fended off eight tax officials in a smuggling raid then stole their money to melt down the coins to cap eight of his teeth in gold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>4. A wolf fang decorated with silver.</b> I bought this in Mongolia when I was living with the Kazakh Eagle Hunters. There are wolves in The Shadow Keeper but perhaps not the sort you’d expect…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>5. A sheep’s ankle bone.</b> This was given to me by a family living in one of the most remote settlements I have come across, at the foot of the Altai Mountains in Mongolia. Mongolian children play games with the bones and when I come to writing my Eagle Huntress book, I’m going to include the ankle bone and the girl who gave it to me, a five-year-old cat wrestler called Angela.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>6. A shaman’s dagger.</b> My little brother bought this back for me after his time living with the Reindeer People in northern Mongolia. The handle is made from reindeer antler and it is one of the most magical and fierce things I’ve ever seen. It’ll be a part of my next series – an Arctic adventure – because I already know there will be an evil shaman wreaking havoc out on the ice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>7. A plastic moth encased in glass.</b> As odd as it sounds – and inspiration for the book I’m currently writing: a wild adventure amidst mountains, moors and lochs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>8. Animal Spirit cards. </b>In The Shadow Keeper, Moll has a very special bond with a wildcat called Gryff. Sometimes I take these spirit cards to school visits and readers can find out what their spirit animal might be. Mine is a fox, apparently: ‘has many allies in the woodland, a sure-footedness in the physical world, is always concerned about family members & travels far afield.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>9. A catapult carved by one of the last ‘true’ Romany gypsies, Pete Ingram.</b> He painted Roald Dahl’s wagon for the film premiere of Danny, The Champion of the World, and the catapult he gave me is made from ash with a beautiful horse head carved into the handle. It’s magnificent and I’m lucky my main character, Moll, hasn’t pinched it yet – because catapults are kind of her THING.</span></div>
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<b>A highland cow teddy.</b> Because why not (and because Siddy takes a fancy to one in Book 3).<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Huge thanks to Abi for taking the time to tall us about all these amazing things she has in her writing shed. <i>The Shadow Keeper</i> was published yesterday so make sure you go out and get your copy now. Although if you have not yet read <i>The Dreamsnatcher</i>, you really must do this first!</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com209tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-2657008408729349582016-02-23T21:06:00.000+00:002016-03-01T09:25:04.264+00:00Competition: WIN a copy of Superhero Street by Phil Earle<div style="clear: both;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This competition is now closed and the winners have been notified. Thank you to who all entered.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFytmsuqOUI7gtXxck2jXM7K-TaglILiTPiRTAkKV2gCa-fel7rWOAHIXSf-zS1aWO_f4IhkLPljrLy7FcbJlpTGmeP8EV50dITZTuCob6xhFDhKrHNEFtQjVC_5X8NsWwsY8AhtAgrk8/s1600/Superhero+Street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFytmsuqOUI7gtXxck2jXM7K-TaglILiTPiRTAkKV2gCa-fel7rWOAHIXSf-zS1aWO_f4IhkLPljrLy7FcbJlpTGmeP8EV50dITZTuCob6xhFDhKrHNEFtQjVC_5X8NsWwsY8AhtAgrk8/s320/Superhero+Street.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Phil Earle's <i>Demolition Dad</i> was one of my favourite books of 2015. This week sees the release of <i>Superhero Street</i>, the next book in his <i>Storey Street</i> series, and it's another corker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now you have the chance to win a copy of the book, simply by filling in your details in the form below. Thanks to the generosity of Hachette Children's Books I have three copies of <i>Superhero Street</i> to give away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The first three names drawn at random after the closing date will each win a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is 7pm GMT Monday 29th February. This competition is open to UK residents only.</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="600" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZXJfkwTIk61M5bEVdDeGZCSrG6aNnyloXmbmt4C9MwM/viewform?embedded=true" width="500">Loading...</iframe><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Contest open to UK residents only.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Neither the publisher or I will be held responsible for items lost in the mail.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I hold the right to end a contest before its original deadline without any prior notice.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I will contact winning entrants for their postal address </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">following the close of the competition. Winners have 48 hours to reply. Failure to do so in this time will result in another winner being randomly selected.</span></span><br />
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-43248188012592506892016-02-02T21:54:00.001+00:002016-02-02T21:54:43.336+00:00Review: Hamish and the Neverpeople by Danny Wallace, illustrated by Jamie Littler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nobody knows it yet, but the people of Earth are in big, big trouble.<br /><br />Like - HUGE trouble. Oh, come on, where's your imagination? Double what you're thinking!<br /><br />And it's all got to do with a shadowy figure, an enormous tower, some sinister monsters, huge clanking and thundering metal oddballs, and people who are just like you… but not like you at all.<br /><br />Luckily Hamish and the PDF are around to help save the day! Aren't they??</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three was the magic number for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0">Bob Dorough</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVfe6rdHRKI">Blind Melon</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8">De La Soul</a>, and it's also the magic number for these new style Book Zone reviews, as part of my seemingly endless quest for brevity when reviewing. So, here are three reasons why I totally love <i>Hamish and the Neverpeople</i> (and also the first outing for the titular main characters, <i>Hamish and the Worldstoppers</i>):</span><br /><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. Brilliant characters</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've always felt that one of the main ingredients that has led to the huge success of David Walliams's books is his ability to create brilliant, memorable characters. Take it from me, <a href="http://dannywallace.com/" target="_blank">Danny Wallace</a> also possesses this ability in spades. Hamish is one of those characters that young readers will relate to with ease - he's not particularly special, he's just an ordinary boy who fate has decided has a part in saving the earth. Twice. He misses his father sorely, and knows deep down that there must be more to his disappearance than others might suggest. And he has the best group of friends in the world... ever! The various members of the PDF (Pause Defence Force) each comes with their own specific skill-set and distinct personality, which was funny and entertaining enough in the first book, but add their 'Otherhalves' to the mix and you can turn the entertainment level up to 11! (What's an Otherhalf? You'll have to read the book to find out).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. It is pee-your-pants funny</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Get those incontinence pants ready! The <i>Hamish </i>books are so funny that there are bound to be a few little accidents along the way. A shame really - these books would be perfect for primary school teachers to read to whole classes during story time, but just imagine the mess! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Danny Wallace is labelled as a humorist on his wikipedia page, and that is exactly what you get in these books - joyous, uncontrived humour from beginning to end, with just the right level of silliness. He is also a master of the use of the so-called 'fourth wall' as a device for making his stories even funnier and he uses this to grab the reader from the off, and makes the reading a far more immersive experience for young readers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. Jamie Littler's illustrations</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is truly wonderful when an illustrator's artwork complements the written aspect of a story so perfectly. The most obvious recent example that springs to my mind is Sarah McIntyre's collaboration with Philip Reeve, and <a href="http://jamielittler.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jamie Littler</a>'s illustrations for the <i>Hamish </i>books firmly places him on this relatively exclusive list. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The covers for the two books are among my very favourite for books of this type published in recent years, and publishers Simon and Schuster even included a large, glossy, full colour press release with the book they sent me - if I can just remember in which safe place I filed the Worldstoppers press release I intend to get the two framed together as they will look great on the wall. The illustrations throughout the story are almost as fabulous as the cover, and I only say <i>almost</i> because they are in black and white. Wouldn't it be great if publishers could afford to add colour illustrations throughout their middle grade books? Seriously though, if I won the lottery I would certainly be knocking on Mr Littler's door, begging to buy some of his <i>Hamish </i>illustrations, or prints of them at the very least. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Hamish and the Neverpeople</i> is due to be published in the UK on 11th February, but if you or your child haven't already read <i>Hamish and the Worldstoppers</i> I would suggest you get yourself down to your nearest book store and buy a copy immediately. It really is worth you going out of your way for!</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-12222760343885196312016-01-30T20:07:00.000+00:002016-01-30T20:07:00.727+00:00Book Zone Box Set #3 - The Monster Odyssey Series by Jon Mayhew<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my Book Zone Box Set feature I put the spotlight on a series of books that I have read and enjoyed, and would highly recommend to any parent asking about suitable books for their child. The recent release of <i>The Venom of the Scorpion</i> made Jon Mayhew's <i>Monster Odyssey</i> series a deserving addition to the 'box set' shelf.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you're a long time reader of The Book Zone the you probably already know that I am a big fan of Jon Mayhew's writing, from Mortlock, his super creepy, Victorian-set mystery/horror story, right through to his Monster Odyssey series. If you're a new visitor then welcome and you need look no further than my reviews of the first two books in this series, <a href="http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/review-monster-odyssey-eye-of-neptune.html" target="_blank">The Eye of Neptune</a> and <a href="http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/review-wrath-of-lizard-lord-by-jon.html" target="_blank">The Wrath of the Lizard Lord</a>, to a) find out what they're all about and b) see why I enjoyed them so much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The Venom of the Scorpion</i> is the fourth, and I believe final book in this fab series, although I'm am still no wiser as to why Bloomsbury didn't give a 'Young Nemo' title to this series. Even though Prince Dakkar does not take this title at any point in these four adventures, we know pretty much from the start that he is destined to become the Captain Nemo of Jules Verne's classic <i>Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea</i>. Who else would be travelling around the world in a submarine called the Nautilus? We've had <i>Young Sherlock</i> and <i>Young Bond</i>, so why not <i>Young Nemo</i>? I would not be surprised if there are many fans of Verne's classic who do not know these are, to some degree, prequels.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like Andrew Lane's Young Sherlock series, great delight can be gained from these stories in spotting the development of the character traits that the well-known adult character possess. All the important elements of the adult Captain Nemo's personality evolve as the story progresses: arrogance; bravery; resourcefulness; a natural leader who inspires loyalty in those who follow him; his love of the ocean; and now, in <i>The Venom of the Scorpion</i>, his hatred of oppression and imperialism. For a middle grade reader, these four books are the perfect introduction to the more challenging <i>Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea</i> (although you may also want to drop the odd hint that it is okay to skim read some parts, specifically the numerous, lengthy descriptions of marine life that Verne includes in his story).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like Verne's original, these books are cracking adventure stories and they are perfect for any young lover of thrilling action/adventure stories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My thanks go to the fab people at Bloomsbury for keeping me provided with the <i>Monster Odyssey</i> books as they were published, most recently T<i>he Venom of the Scorpion</i> which brings this series to a more than satisfactory end (although, and it may be a little too much to hope for, still leaving things open for more adventures in the future).</span><br />
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<br />BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-48730940394282483052016-01-19T21:31:00.000+00:002016-01-19T21:31:05.864+00:00Review: River of Ink: Genesis by Helen Dennis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>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...<br /><br />As the boy begins to build a new life under a new name, the hunt for his real identity begins.</i></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br />A hunt which will lead him on a dangerous QUEST that he has only one year to complete ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three was the magic number for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0">Bob Dorough</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVfe6rdHRKI">Blind Melon</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8">De La Soul</a>, and it's also the magic number for these new style Book Zone reviews, as part of my seemingly endless quest for brevity when reviewing. So, here are three reasons to read <i>Genesis</i>, the first book in Helen Dennis's new <i>River of Ink</i> series.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. The quest</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love what I call quest stories, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I really loved Dan Brown's <i>Angels and Demons</i> and its sequel <i>The Da Vinci Code</i>. Books like this are my guilty pleasure, and since then I have been spoiled for choice in this area, with great series from the likes of Andy McDermott, Chris Kuzneski and Scott Mariani, but as I have often asked in the past - with so many books in this genre published for adults, where are these mystery-adventure-conspiracy-thrillers for younger readers? Thus, for this reader at least, <i>Genesis </i>by Helen Dennis is a very welcome addition to my bookshelf. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. The mystery</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Helen Dennis is no stranger to writing mystery quest books. I am quite a fan of her middle grade <i>Secret Breakers</i> series, and <i>Genesis </i>is even better. Written, I believe, for a slightly older audience (although certainly suitable for readers from age 10+), the much loved tropes that can be found in adult examples of the genre are all present and correct: a protagonist who has lost his memory, another character drawn into the mystery almost by accident, strange symbols that suggest more than a hint of alchemy, a secret and ruthless organisation bent on gaining sole possession of whatever lies at the heart of the mystery. Put all these together and there was no way I wasn't going to love this book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. Mental health issues</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jed, the main character, having suffered severe memory loss is central to to the plot of <i>Genesis</i>. However, it is not this that I am referring to in this case. In order to aid his healing and hide him away from the press, Jed is 'welcomed' in to the family of Kassia Devaux. Kassia's family life is less than conventional - her father died a numbers of years earlier in an accident and her mother's behaviour is symptomatic of someone suffering from a number of mental health conditions. She suffers from severe anxiety, OCD and possibly BPD, and much of this is manifested in her attitude towards Kassia and her deaf brother Dante. She is over-protective, obsessive about cleanliness around the house and has pretty much mapped out Kassia's future for her. It's important that young readers experience characters with such illnesses in the stories they read, and not just in contemporary 'real life' stories where mental illness of a character is central to the story. It's another example of what we mean when we cry for more diversity in books for children and young adults (as is Dante's disability).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>River of Ink: Genesis</i> was published in the UK last week, and my thanks go to those fab people at Hodder for sending me a copy. The sequel, <i>Zenith</i>, is due out in June so fortunately we only have six months to wait to find out what happens next</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-20486706633090555092016-01-18T08:30:00.000+00:002016-01-18T08:30:17.972+00:00Review: Beetle Boy by M.G. Leonard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Darkus is miserable. His dad has disappeared, and now he is living next door to the most disgusting neighbours ever.<br /><br />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 – if Darkus and Baxter are brave enough to find it …</i></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three was the magic number for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0">Bob Dorough</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVfe6rdHRKI">Blind Melon</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8">De La Soul</a>, and it's also the magic number for these new style Book Zone reviews, as part of my seemingly endless quest for brevity when reviewing. So, here are three reasons to love <i>Beetle Boy</i>, by M.G. Leonard.</span><br /><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. The Beetles</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Forget the Fab Four*, this is more the fab four hundred thousand, as M.G. Leonard's debut, <i>Beetle Boy</i>, is overflowing with brilliant, benevolent beetles. Not since the hugely entertaining <i>Joe's Apartment</i> have so many incredible insects been used as a force for good in a fight against dastardly villains. I think M.G. Leonard must have had great fun researching this book: there are all kinds of species of cool and crazy Coleoptera, each bringing their own talents to help Darkus Cuttle fight the evil Lucretia Cutter and her minions. It's great to see insects as the good guys in a story!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the reasons I love middle grade stories is the strong themes of friendship that many of them contain. Whether it's classics like <i>Swallows and Amazons</i> and <i>The Famous Five</i>, or more contemporary stories like the Harry Potter series and Robon Stevens' Wells & Wong Mysteries, friendship in stories is important for young readers. It helps kids understand that working with others towards a common goal is important, even if it isn't always easy, and how fun, happiness and strength can come from sharing with others. The friendships in Beetle Boy are both conventional (starting at a new school, Darkus makes friends with Virginia and Bertolt) and unconventional (boy makes friends with beetle).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. The villains</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everybody loves a 'good' villain, and <i>Beetle Boy</i> has no shortage of them. From the truly heinous and inhuman Lucretia Cuttle to Darkus's bizarre odd-couple neighbours, Pickering and Humphrey and their somewhat unsanitary living habits, the villains in this story have just the right level of over-the-top-ness to make them easy to dislike and entertaining, without ever entering pantomime territory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Beetle Boy</i> isn't released until the beginning of March, so make note of this now and either pre-order it or set a reminder on your smart phone, as this is already a hot contender for my 2016 Books of the Year list. My thanks go to the fab people at Chicken House for sending me a copy of this little beauty.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-36842208985927606242016-01-17T18:03:00.001+00:002016-01-17T18:20:12.910+00:00Review: The Scarlet Files: Cat Burglar by Tamsin Cooke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Schoolgirl by day, cat burglar by night. <br /><br />Scarlet McCall thinks she has it all figured out. She and her dad are on a mission to return stolen treasures to their rightful owners. But when they take an ancient Aztec bracelet, her world turns upside down. <br /><br />Dad goes missing, and mysterious powers erupt inside Scarlet. She's hunted by sinister people, who will stop at nothing to possess the bracelet. Searching for her dad, Scar must learn who to trust before it's all too late.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three was the magic number for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0">Bob Dorough</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVfe6rdHRKI">Blind Melon</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8">De La Soul</a>, and it's also the magic number for these new style Book Zone reviews, as part of my seemingly endless quest for brevity when reviewing. So, here are <b>three reasons to love <i>Cat Burglar</i></b>, the first book in <a href="http://tamsincooke.co.uk/" target="_blank">Tamsin Cooke's</a> <i>The Scarlet Files</i> series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. Main character Scarlet McCall</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have often written about the popular misconception that boys do not read books with female main characters, and how fallacies like this can become self-perpetuating the more it is stated ( much like that oft proclaimed 'fact' that boys don't like reading). Well I would challenge any read, boy or girl, to read this book and not be excited by the adventures of Scarlet (aka Scar) McCall. Scar is brave and resourceful, but also frustrated that her father doesn't allow her to have more than a basic support role in the heists that he plans and carries out. By necessity, Scar's life has been relatively solitary, so her resourcefulness becomes even more important when her father is taken hostage, and she is left to carry out a daring robbery all on her own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. The pace</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Cat Burglar</i> is great, galloping fun; it is chock full of breathless action and has a plot that moves faster than a rocket full of monkeys. Short chapters mean that readers are sucked in and held tight, until before they know it they are turning the page of the final chapter. Definitely one of those books that is best read in a single sitting, and at only 220ish pages this is achievable for most confident readers, and even many who are less-confident.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. The fantasy element</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This would probably have been a good, entertaining read if it had been a straight heist thriller for kids. However, Tamsin Cooke injects an exciting fantasy element into her story through the ancient Aztec bracelet that Scar steals in the first chapter, and as Scar quickly discovers, this bracelet certainly ain't no trinket. Said bracelet endows Scarlet with strange new abilities, but are they a gift or a curse for our plucky heroine? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cat Burglar was published in the UK on 7th January, and the sequel, Mission Gone Wild, is due out in July. My thanks go to those fab people at OUP for sending me a proof copy to read.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-910076169469562984.post-56159257965402705552016-01-07T21:26:00.002+00:002016-01-07T21:26:42.615+00:00Review: The Marsh Road Mysteries by Elen Caldecott<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><b><i>Diamonds and Daggers</i></b><br /><br /><i>Hollywood sensation, Betty Massino, has come to star in the theatre down the road and Piotr and his friends Andrew and Minnie couldn't be more excited! But when the famous actress's hugely expensive diamond necklace goes missing, Piotr's dad, a security guard at the theatre, is a prime suspect. Soon, Piotr faces the very real threat of being sent 'home' to Poland. With the help of Sylvie and her twin sister Flora, can Piotr, Andrew and Minnie solve the crime or will they lose Piotr forever? The first in a fantastic new series filled with friendship, adventure and mystery!<br /><br /><b>Crowns and Codebreakers</b><br /><br />When Minnie's gran comes to stay, all the way from Nigeria, Minnie KNOWS there will be trouble. And straight away Gran notices she's picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport. This one is full of boy's clothes, and she's not at all happy about it! But when their house is burgled and the only thing taken is the suitcase, Minnie realises there'll be much more trouble than she bargained for. Can the gang solve the crime or will the mystery of the little lost boy be forever unsolved?<br /><br /><b>Spooks and Scooters</b><br /><br />Flora and Sylvie are going on the holiday of a lifetime with their dad. But - WHAT? - Dad cancels the trip only hours before the flight because - OH MY GOODNESS - someone has stolen precious blueprints of Dad's latest invention: an amazing new scooter. But who? And why? Time to call on the only five people who can possibly solve the crime!</i></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three was the magic number for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4pyiB-kq0" target="_blank">Bob Dorough</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVfe6rdHRKI" target="_blank">Blind Melon</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8" target="_blank">De La Soul</a>, and it's also the magic number for these new style Book Zone reviews, as part of my seemingly endless quest for brevity when reviewing. So, here are <b>three reasons to love Elen Caldecott's <i>March Road Mysteries</i></b> books, of which the third, <i>Spooks and Scooters</i>, is due to be published next month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. Diversity</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's fantastic to read a middle grade mystery story that follows the adventures of a group of friends of different races and backgrounds. Piotr Domek is a Polish immigrant and lives his parents, who moved to Britain in search of a better standard of living; Minnie Adesina is of Nigerian heritage; twins Flora and Sylvie Hampshire's parents are separated; and Andrew Jones is probably a young carer (I say probably, as each story puts the spotlight on a different member of the gang, and it hasn't been Andrew's turn yet). This diverse mix of backgrounds and ethnicities rings very true as a group of friends living in modern multi-cultural Britain, and it also lends itself to stories that, whilst being primarily mysteries, also touch on themes such as racism and prejudice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. Friendship</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.elencaldecott.com/" target="_blank">Elen Caldecott</a> <i>gets </i>kids. She understands how they tick and how their friendships can be strong one day and fragile the next. Young readers will find it very easy to identify with the relationships between the five protagonists. The characters themselves are engaging and very cleverly drawn, with each child's personality shining just as much as the next, and they bring a wonderful air of humour to the stories that has the reader finding themselves grinning from ear to ear without even realising.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. Mystery</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The mysteries in which the group of friends find themselves embroiled are exciting and cleverly plotted. These aren't Famous Five style adventures, where the protagonists just happen to stumble on to the solution; our team of young sleuths really have to use their brains and combine their various strengths to solve these mysteries. As an adult reader, I have to admit to guessing the outcome of the first two books, but it took me quite a lot longer to work out whodunnit. But I'm reading with a lifetime of read mystery stories locked away in my brain, and I'm sure younger readers will find the solutions a little harder to predict.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Elen Caldecott's <i>Marsh Road Mysteries</i> are a must-read for any mystery-hungry young reader. It's great to see so many new mystery stories being published for this age group at the moment, as they do not appear to have been in vogue for some time. My thanks go to those wonderful people at Bloomsbury for sending me copies of the books to read.</span></div>
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BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.com15