Review: Sorrowline by Niel Bushnell

Twelve-year-old Jack Morrow is used to life being complicated. His mother died five years ago, and his father is now headed for prison. But then Jack discovers he's a Yard Boy - someone with the ability to travel through Sorrowlines, the channels that connect every gravestone with the date of the person's death - and he is quickly pulled into an adventure beyond anything he could have possibly imagined.

Finding himself in 1940s war-torn London, with his then-teenage grandfather, Davey, Jack soon realises that his arrival in the past has not gone unnoticed. The evil forces of a secret world are determined to find him - and to find out all he knows.

As Jack struggles to survive, he comes ever closer to unlocking the dark secret at the heart of his family, and to - just maybe - changing his own destiny . . .

Like many main characters in books written for this age, 13-year-old Jack’s lot in life is not a happy one. His mother was killed when he was younger, and now his father is heading for a lengthy spell behind bars. Just before his father ‘goes away’, on a visit to his mother’s grave, Jack places his hand longingly on his mother’s headstone and is pretty much pulled into it. The next thing he knows, he is still in the graveyard but the headstone, and his father who was only seconds ago sitting on a nearby bench, have disappeared. Strange? You bet, but things get even stranger as Jack’s grandfather appears and informs him:

a) He is a Yard Boy, able to travel through time using the Sorrowlines;

b) Jack’s life is in danger;

c) Jack must travel back to 1940 and track down the younger version of his grandfather, where all will be explained.

Like most 13-year-olds would, Jack has more than a little trouble believing what he perceives to be a smelly old homeless guy, but then the Dustmen appear, and before he knows it Jack is fleeing for his life through the graveyard, hunting for a headstone marked 1940 that will take him back in time. So begins a wonderful and exciting time travel adventure featuring people from an alternate world, knights that simply will not die, Boagymen who can travel between the smallest rooms/cupboards in houses and transport you pretty much anywhere you want to go (at a cost), vicious creatures called Weavers. And of course, a story like this would not be complete without a particularly nasty  villain, in this case the power hungry and ruthless Rouland.

I love time travel stories, and in recent years we have been treated to the brilliant TimeRiders series by Alex Scarrow, and Damien Dibben’s exciting action adventure series, The History Keepers. Some might therefore question the need for another time travel series for readers of this age but author Niel Bushnell proves that an original concept can inject freshness into the genre, and with books like Sorrowline there continues to be room for even more time travel stories for young readers.

Niel Bushnell never patronises his readers by dumbing down the plot - as with some of the best time travel stories this book has a fairly complicated plot that keeps readers on their toes, looking for clues to events in the future as the past part of the story continues to develop. The question of whether changing events in the past can alter the present/future naturally raises its head and Niel Bushnell deals with this in a way that should keep all of his readers happy. 

Jack is just one of a handful of great (and believable) characters in Sorrowlines, as he makes various allies and enemies as he travels back in time. However, unlike many books of this ilk it was very refreshing to see that Jack simply does not know who he can and can't trust. Usually we see a main character make close friends very quickly with someone of a similar age, and they become the close companion in the main character's adventure. In Sorrowlines it seems that just about every character has their own agenda, and could possibly betray Jack at the drop of a hat, whether it be for financial or some other gain, or simply through sheer cowardice. Thus, it isn't only Jack who is plagued with confusion and uncertainty, as the reader also gets to share these emotions as the plot twists and turns.

Sorrowlines is an exciting adventure story that will have 10+ aged readers gripped from the beginning. It is also somewhat poignant in places as Jack's adventures give him a greater insight into the events from his own childhood, and he searches desperately for a way to change his past.

My thanks go to Niel Bushnell for sending me a copy to read.

Review: Road To London by Barbara Mitchelhill

Thomas is desperate to join 'the players', he'll do anything to watch them perform, even skip school and risk a caning. But when Thomas's rule breaking gets him in trouble with more than just his school master, he has to flee his home and make his way to London. Here he meets his hero, Shakespeare, and his players. But behind the excitement of the theatres is a grimy world of deception, poison and treason. Will Thomas manage to uncover the plot in time? And will he manage to save Shakespeare from a fate worse than death?

I love reading thrillers set in Tudor and Elizabethan England. It was a time that was ripe with plots, conspiracies and political intrigue as a result of the English Reformation, a time when people were sometimes executed at the merest hint of a treasonous word spoken. It is a period in time that most young people are taught about in British schools, and whilst there are many adult thrillers set in this era, the same cannot be said for children's and YA literature. I was therefore very excited to receive an email from author Barbara Mitchelhill back at the beginning of 2012, giving me more information about her forthcoming book, Road To London, as part of my Coming Up In 2012 feature. Barbara promised action, adventure and intrigue, and her book certainly delivers on all counts.

Road To London tells the story of Thomas Munmore, a boy who lives in Stratford-Upon-Avon, idolises the town's most famous son, William Shakespeare, and dreams of becoming an actor in Shakespeare's company. As a result of a badly failed attempt at poaching to raise some money to run away to London, Thomas finds himself on the run from the local law and his hangman's noose, heading for London but without a penny to his name. Eventually he makes it to London, despite meeting some pretty nasty people along the way, and manages to blag his way into working for the Chamberlain's Men. It is at this point where the plot begins to thicken and Thomas finds himself slap bang in the middle of a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth herself.

The historical aspects of this story are wonderful. Barbara Mitchelhill has a skill for bringing Elizabethan England alive for her readers, and confident young readers will take delight in picturing the setting and inhabitants of a London very different to the one we know today. It is a filthy, cesspit of a city full of overwhelming, nausea-inducing smell and dangerous criminals who would cut your throat in broad daylight just for a few coins.

The story itself moves at a cracking pace, the short chapters and many moments where Thomas and his friend Alice find themselves in great peril, as well as the handful of comedic moments provided my members of the troupe and Alice's common-as-muck mother, will have readers turning the pages rapidly. However, the book is not perfect, as it sadly lacks the twisting, turning, more complex plotting that is apparent in the very best children's books being published these days.


Road To London is a good, entertaining read for history loving 10+ children, and perhaps even younger ones if they are confident readers. It is due to be released on 5th April, and my thanks go to the good people at Andersen Press for sending me a copy.

Coming Up in 2012 #6: Road To London by Barbara Mitchelhill

I am loving the sound of Road To London, due from author Barbara Mitchellhill in April. As some of you will know I love historical fiction, especially that set in the Tudor period, and this one sounds like it is right up my street. Adventure? Check. Intrigue? Check. Blood and guts? Check! Put all of those together and you have a great sounding, boy-friendly story set in my favourite historical era. Result! I can't wait to read this one, and here's Barbara to tell us a little more about her book:

Thomas lives in Stratford upon Avon where everyone knows the madly successful local hero, William Shakespeare – a writer and actor with loads of money. Thomas wants fame and fortune, just like him. He plans to join Shakespeare’s acting troupe in London but he needs money to get there. When his attempts at poaching fail spectacularly, he has to flee the town and travel the road to London on foot. Exhausted by the journey, Thomas finds the city full of rogues and thieves and cutthroats and, although he manages to join Shakespeare’s Chamberlain’s Men and soon enjoys strutting upon the stage, he discovers that the life of an actor is not as easy as it might seem. When he uncovers a plot to kill the Queen, things turn decidedly nasty.

A Tudor adventure with blood and guts and all that!

Haunted Blog Tour: Guest Post by Philip Reeve

Short stories are great! Especially those of the spooky kind. I remember reading through many an anthology of ghost stories as a child, but these days it seems that many young people prefer longer novels and there are only a minority of these compilations published each year. Back in September Andersen Press published Haunted, a superb anthology of ghost stories written by some of the biggest names in children's literature today. This book includes tales by the likes of Derek Landy (author of Skulduggery Pleasant), Robin Jarvis (author of Dancing Jax and many others), Joseph Delaney (author of the Spooks series), and many others, including the legend that is Philip Reeve. Yes, the Mortal Engines Philip Reeve! Thus I am more than a little excited that I am today hosting a guest post by Philip about his beloved Dartmoor. Not only that, there are also a couple of stunning photos taken by Sarah Reeve, as well as a special video produced by Philip's friend, author and illustrator Sarah McIntyre (look really closely - is that a ghost in one of the images in the video?).

Haunted Dartmoor

Dartmoor, where I live, is ghost country.  You might not notice it if you see it in the summertime, when bracken greens and softens the steep hillsides, and the moorland car-parks are filled with picnicking visitors and greedy ponies hoping for a crisp.  On wire racks outside the shops and cafes in Widecombe you’ might find little books of ‘Dartmoor Ghost Stories’, but they seem like pretty thin stuff: well-worn tales of phantom monks and spectral huntsmen, and the ‘hairy hands’ which are supposed to appear and grip the steering wheels of cars on the lonely road from Postbridge to Princetown, causing them to swerve off the road (that one always sounds to me like an excuse some local farmer invented after he drove into a ditch on his way home from the Warren House Inn).  These are processed ghosts, served up for the tourist industry, and unlikely to scare anybody nowadays.

But come the autumn, when the leaves turn and the nights draw in and the bones of the landscape start to show through the thinning trees, then the true, spooky nature of the moor shows too.  In low light or sudden mists it’s hard to tell the scale of things; those figures on the skyline that you think are a line of walkers turn out to be standing stones, set up some time in the bronze-age, forming an avenue that leads from nowhere to nowhere through the heather.  The tangled woods are full of secret movements.  In one of them, Wistman’s Wood, legend has it that the devil kennels his pack of ghostly hounds under the boulders which lie tumbled between the roots of the gnarled and stunted oak trees.  I don’t believe in the devil, or ghosts, or anything supernatural, but when you’re alone there in autumn it’s easy to imagine that there’s something down among the shaggy moss and leaf mould and dead branches, watching... It’s not unfriendly, perhaps, but it’s as old as the moor itself, and it’s definitely nothing human.  That’s where my story The Ghost Wood in the Haunted anthology comes from: it’s a little gust of autumn wind, blowing down off Dartmoor on Hallowe’en...

Photo by Sarah Reeve

Photo by Sarah Reeve

Video by Sarah McIntyre

~~~

Huge thanks to Philip, Sarah and Sarah for taking the time to produce this piece for The Book Zone. However, before I go I guess you might be wanting to hear my thoughts about the anthology in more detail, so please read on for my brief review.


This book is perfect for Hallowe'en, and for any other time of the year if you love a spooky ghost story. I think what I liked most about Haunted was the way each of the eleven authors brought something very different to the mix. Some of the stories have touches of dark humour, some of them are straight pee-your-pants scary, but every single one of them makes for a great spooky read and Andersen Press have done a sterling job in collecting such a fantastic group of authors and their stories together.


I am still undecided as to which one is my favourite in the anthology. Philip's tale, The Ghost Wood, is not as scary as some of the others, but it made me think about the ancient power that could still lie within our land, despite all that has happened to it since the Industrial Revolution. Mal Peet's story, Good Boy, will have your heart in your mouth whilst reading it, worrying what will happen to main character Katie, and Eleanor Updale's The Ghost in the Machine is very clever and possibly unlike any ghost story you have ever read as it deals with haunting through the internet. For the 'sheer terror award' I think that Susan Cooper's  The Caretakers is definitely in with a shout of first prize, but if I was tied to chair and threatened by a particularly nasty ghost in order to help me make my  mind up I think my favourite of the anthology would have to be Derek Landy's Songs the Dead Sing. Readers of The Book Zone will know I am a huge fan of Derek's Skulduggery Pleasant series, for both its horror element and its brilliant use of humour, and both of these are present in his Haunted short story.


This book is a treat for fans of both short stories and horror fiction and if you have left it late to buy someone an All Hallow's Read then this is well worth buying. My thanks go to the good people at Andersen Press for sending me a copy and for arranging for Philip to write the guest post for us. If your appetite for all things spooky as been whetted then you can read a serialisation of Jamila Gavin's short story, The Blood Line, over at The Guardian by clicking here.

A Tale Dark and Grimm Blog Tour: Guest Post by Adam Gidwitz

I love fairy tales! Honest! But if you are a 8/9+ boy and you are horrified at me saying that please do not go just yet. You see, I am talking about fairy tales as they were originally written: stories that might make even the likes of Darren Shan a little squeamish. Not the sanitised Disney-fied versions that have seem to be accepted these days as the definitive versions. The original Grimm tales were bloody and nasty, and now debut author Adam Gidwitz wants to raise children's awareness of these gloriously dark originals. He does so with A Tale Dark And Grimm, a book that follows two little children called Hansel and Gretel. Yes, I hear you say, we know that story already.... but do you? I certainly didn't and I lapped up his relatively thin volume that retells their adventures in a gory, blood-soaked and totally hilarious manner. You want an example? Fair enough - in the version you know did Hansel and Gretel have their heads chopped off before they had even met the witch? Exactly! Boys (and girls) will totally lap this book up as let's face it, 8+ kids have a passion for things that make you go "euuurrrrgghhhh" and then leave you rolling on the floor laughing.


Having loved this book I was really chuffed to be asked by the good people at Andersen Press if I would like to be involved in Adam's blog tour, and I feel honoured to be kicking the tour off on Day One. The blog continues tomorrow at the So Many Books, So Little Time blog, but in the meantime, it is my great pleasure to hand you over to Adam Gidwitz:

The Grimm Truth About Fairy Tales

Once upon a time, fairy tales were horrible.

Not boring horrible. Not so-cute-you-want-to-jump-out-the-window horrible.

Terrifying, bloody, disgusting horrible.

Now, if you’ve been raised on the drivel that passes for fairy tales these days, you probably don’t believe me.

First off, you’re constantly hearing the same fairy tale again and again and again. “Today, children, we’re going to read a Cinderella story from China! Today, children, we’re going to read a Cinderella story from Madagascar! Today, children, we’re going to read a Cinderella story from deep space!” And you, meanwhile, are wondering how many students have been convicted of murdering their teachers.

Second of all, those stories they keep telling you over and over are all about fairy godmothers, and talking frogs, and cute little girls in red caps. And they are generally about as interesting as a cookbook. In Swahili.

But you see, the real Grimm stories are not like that.

Take Hansel and Gretel, for example. Two greedy little children try to eat a witch’s house, so she decides to cook and eat them instead—which is fair, it seems to me. But before she can follow through on her perfectly reasonable plan, they lock her in an oven and bake her to death.

Which is pretty cool, you have to admit.

Or Cinderella. You think you know what one, right? But did you know that when the first step-sister tries to put on the slipper, and her big toe is too big, so she cuts it off with a knife? Or that the second step sister tries on the shoe, but her heel is too big, so she takes the same knife and cuts off a nice juicy chunk of her heel? And then, at the end, both step-sisters have their eyes pecked out by birds? Sweet, huh?

And that’s not to mention the stories that are so terrible adults deny their very existence. Have you ever heard of a story called Faithful Johannes? Of course not. Because in that story, two lovely little children get their heads cut off. By their parents. The heads get put back on, of course. So it’s no big deal.

What about the fabulous fairy tale Fowler’s Fowl? Heard of that one? Of course not. That’s because Fowler’s Fowl is about a lovely young woman who marries a very important doctor who lives in a very big house. He gives her keys to every room of the house, and tells her she can go anywhere—anywhere, that is, except the basement. He tells her that if she ever goes in the basement, he will kill her. So of course she goes into the basement, and what does she find? The bodies of all the women he’s married before her, hanging, dead, from the ceiling. And then, of course, he comes home. I won’t tell you what happens then. You can probably guess.

“Okay,” you are now asking, “if fairy tales are so horrible, why are all the versions of the stories I’ve heard so unbelievably, mind-numbingly boring?” Well, you know how it is with stories. Someone tells a story. Then somebody repeats it—and it changes. Someone else repeats it—and it changes again. Then someone’s telling it to their kid and taking out all the…well, the horrible, awesome parts…and the next thing you know the story’s about a sweet girl and a glass slipper and singing mice—and you’re so bored you’ve passed out on the floor.

Even the Brothers Grimm changed the fairy tales some. So I’ve written a book that goes back and sets them right. You see, there is a story behind the stories of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. A story that winds all throughout that those horrible, bloody tales, like a trail of breadcrumbs winding through a forest. It appears in stories you may never have heard, like Faithful Johannes and Fowler’s Fowl. And in some that you have—Hansel and Gretel, for instance. It is the story that you will find in the book A Tale Dark and Grimm.

Now, this story isn’t for everybody. It is scary, and gory, and grim. But it is a tale worth knowing. For, in life, it is in the darkest zones that one finds the brightest beauty and the most luminous wisdom.

And, of course, the most blood.

Review: The Island of Thieves by Josh Lacey

Buried treasure. Ruthless gangsters. An ancient clue . . .

Our Captayne took the pinnace ashore and I went with hym and six men also, who were sworne by God to be secret in al they saw. Here we buried five chests filled with gold.

Tom Trelawney was looking for excitement. Now he's found it. With his eccentric uncle Harvey, he's travelling to South America on a quest for hidden gold. But Harvey has some dangerous enemies and they want the treasure too. Who will be the first to uncover the secrets of the mysterious island?

This is one of the most difficult reviews I have had to write for some time as I have found it difficult to put my "9 year old" hat on for this one. The story details above promise so much, and had me dropping everything when it arrived, expecting an old-school high-octane adventure story for the 9+ age group. Instead, I found it to be a fairly predictable by-numbers treasure hunt story with very few surprises. What I have to decide is whether a child would feel the same about it?

The story starts with Tom accidentally burning down the garden shed just as his parents are due to go on holiday. The parents of his friend are now no longer happy with him staying with them, and therefore they turn to irresponsible Uncle Harvey as a last resort. However, as soon as they have driven off down the road Harvey informs Tom that he is leaving for Peru, and leaving his nephew to fend for himself in London for the week. Tom has other plans however, and manages to coerce his uncle into taking him along on his quest for the long lost treasure of Francis Drake. This quest will see Tom become involved in a deadly race for the treasure, hounded all the way by dangerous criminals in the pay of a Peruvian crime boss.

Sounds exciting doesn't it? The narrative moves at a pretty fast pace, and there are some pretty nasty villains to add a little spice to the pair's adventure, but that's about it... no twists in the plot to speak of, so is there enough to keep a young boy interested? All I can say is that it really depends on the boy in question. I know some less confident readers who would happily read this book from cover to cover and enjoy the many exciting action scenes in the story, and not notice the over-contrived plot points. And yet I also know boys of the same age who would not find it at all rewarding once they reach the final page, and like me would be less than excited at the prospect of a sequel. , so it is unlikely there will be time for him to get bored with it, but would he find it an ultimately rewarding read come the final page? 

If you have a son who is in the 9-11 age range and you are looking for an adventure story as a summer holiday read then you could do a lot worse than this book, especially if he is a less-confident reader, but then again you could also do a great deal better. My thanks go the the people at Andersen Press for sending me a copy of The Island of Thieves to review. 

*** Interview with Stephen Davies (author of Outlaw)

Yesterday I posted my review of Outlaw, the latest book from author Stephen Davies, and today I am really chuffed to be hosting a Q and A session with Stephen on The Book Zone for the second time (click here to read the first one he did back in 2009).

What gave you the idea for Outlaw?

Kidnapping and terrorism have always been good thriller material, with lots of potential for character development and plot twists. I knew I wanted to write a kidnapping story and the Sahara Desert provided a great setting – it is a raw, hostile environment, very much the Wild West of Africa.

There are two main characters in this book – one African, the other English. Can you tell us any more about them?

The Chameleon is an eighteen year-old Fulani cattle herder. He is a very low-tech hero who relies on cunning, quick-thinking, clever disguises and local knowledge. Jake on the other hand is an English teenager, obsessed with Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. He is totally out of his depth in the Sahara desert but even there he does find uses for his smart phone.

And he has one interesting physical skill, doesn't he?

Oh yes, he can run up walls! Wall-running is a parkour (freerunning) skill. This was a nod to my last book HACKING TIMBUKTU, which had lots of parkour action.

Tell me about Jake's sister.

Kas is a thirteen year-old emo and she was a beautiful character to write. Her emoness is more than just a fashion statement – it's a heartfelt response to the suffering she sees all around her. Kas is the one with the social conscience, the one who questions the gap between rich and poor – it's she who sees the beggar by the side of the road when the rest of her family walk on by. At one point Jake accuses her of being attention-seeking and melodramatic, but he couldn't be more wrong. If either of them is self-obsessed, it's him.

Why did you make Jake and Kas the children of a British ambassador?

There are a limited number of reasons someone might be living in a place like Burkina Faso. Aid-worker or missionary felt a bit too close to home. Archaelogist has been done to death. Ambassador felt right. The diplomatic setting meant that I could structure Outlaw as a 'voyage and return' story, with the embassy as the safe haven. I wanted to create that feeling of being in a hostile environment and trying desperately to get back to the safe place. This choice also provided some interesting plot devices. Embassy premises are a little slice of home in a foreign country, and there are strict international rules to protect them. But what if a wanted terrorist were to enter an embassy compound and be granted diplomatic refuge? What kind of tensions would that produce with the local police? What kind of showdown might it lead to?

You've described Outlaw as 'a thriller with a social conscience'.

Yes. Both Kas and the Chameleon are deeply aware of the injustice and corruption all around them. Kas's tendency is to respond with helpless anger and withering sarcasm, but the Chameleon demonstrates a different response – he and his gang go about righting wrongs, outing villains and fighting injustice. The Chameleon loves nothing more than to rob from the rich and give to the poor. He is swashbuckling, optimistic and endearingly naïve, and all the authorities despise him!

He sounds like an African Robin Hood.

Exactly. The comparison is never explicit, but it was definitely in my mind. Outlaw has a very distinct Robin Hood flavour: the feasting and friendship, the simple camp well-hidden in the bush, the low-tech weapons training, the use of disguise to infiltrate the enemy, the hosting of 'villains' at the camp (with a view to teaching them a lesson), the humour, and of course the anti-rich pro-poor politics. There is a Sheriff of Nottingham character, too, as it happens – a powerful individual hellbent on the Chameleon's destruction.

Apart from the Robin Hood legend, what else influenced you during the writing of Outlaw?

I wonder if any of your readers are old enough to remember the American TV series MacGyver? Angus MacGyver was a secret agent who regularly found himself in life-or-death situations – he usually got out of them by using his knowledge of physics, chemistry, technology and outdoorsmanship. There's quite a lot of this sort of 'modern survivalism' in Outlaw, including a scene where Jake charges his phone using AA batteries and butter! Incidentally, something else I liked about MacGyver was that he hated guns and didn't use one himself. In Outlaw, too, it's the bad guys who carry guns. The good guys ride horses and carry slingshots (catapults)!

Were you in Africa when you wrote Outlaw?

As it happens, no, I was back in England. We took a year out of Africa in 2009/10 because my wife was expecting our first child. I wrote the book in Chichester public library – sitting at a desk on the second floor by a huge window overlooking the cathedral. I wrote from 9 to 5 every day with a half-hour sandwich break. It felt nice to have a normal life for a year and to be so completely inconspicuous. The kidnapping plotline felt very close to the bone, though, because I knew that my family and I would shortly be heading back to our home in the Sahel, an area of Africa where kidnapping for ransom is increasingly rife. Some scenes were deeply discomforting to write, especially the 'hostage video' chapter. No one wants to be that person in the orange jumpsuit.

What are you writing at the moment? Anything in the pipeline?

I'm in the process of writing a big action trilogy. The first book will be called Tracker. I can't say much more about it at this stage!

~~~

Huge thanks to Stephen for taking the time to answer these questions. Outlaw was released last week and is well worth giving to adventure loving boys of 10/11+.

Review: Outlaw by Stephen Davies

Fifteen-year-old Jake Knight is an explorer and adventurer at heart but this often gets him into trouble. When a stuffy English boarding school suspends him for rule-breaking, Jake flies out to Burkina Faso where his parents are living. He is expecting a long, adventure-filled vacation under a smiling African sun. But what awaits him there is kidnapping, terrorism and Yakuuba Sor – the most wanted outlaw in the Sahara desert.


Back in the early days of The Book Zone I reviewed a book called Hacking Timbuktu by Stephen Davies. This was a time when only a couple of publishers had noticed me and I was still doing as I had originally planned to do with the blog - reviewing books from my own collection or from the school library. Hacking Timbuktu was one of the latter, and with so many to choose from I am not sure what made me pick it up. Perhaps it was its Africa setting (before we had a glut of Africa-set books)? Perhaps it was the mention of parkour/freerunning in the blurb? Whatever the reason, I really, really enjoyed it, and I have been looking forward to reading whatever Stephen wrote next ever since.

Outlaw is that next book. It is not a sequel to Hacking Timbuktu - both are standalone novels, although they do have a lot in common: breathtaking action, tight plotting, realistic use of modern technology, a degree of social comment without being in-your-face moralistic, likeable protagonists and the fantastic African setting, in this case Burkina Faso. For me it is this final aspect that is the icing on the cake for this book, as well as the other books by Stephen Davies that I have read. Stephen lhas lived in Burkina Faso for the past ten years, and so you know that pretty much all his descriptions of the people, their culture and the environment in which they live are spot on. This is not the work of an author who has taken a jolly little jaunt to Africa in order to research the location for their novel - this is the work of a man who lives, breathes and loves the country he has written about, and the setting in this book feels all the more real because of this.

The hero of Outlaw is Jake Knight, son of the British Ambassador to Burkina Faso, wannabe adventurer but currently stuck in a boarding school in England. As any parent or teacher will know, when active kids are bored this often leads to mischief, and for Jake a late night challenge by his fellow boarders as part of an ongoing game ends with him being suspended by his Headmaster, and sent to stay with his family for the rest of term, although Jake sees this as a release from his boredom more than a punishment. Once in Africa though it isn't long before he and his sister are kidnapped by someone they believe to be Yakuuba Sor - a bandit whose name is at the top of the country's most-wanted list. But is all as it first appears?

This is one of those books that 11+ boys who love action and adventure will love. The plot twists and turns, with Jake and his sister, and us as readers, never knowing who we should trust, and just who really are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Stephen Davies certainly deserves to become more widely known than he currently is, and I will definitely be pushing Outlaw in the school library this term. My thanks go to Andersen Press for sending me a copy of Outlaw to review. Please come back later this week when I will be posting a Q&A session that Stephen very kkndly did for The Book Zone.

Review: The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan

Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home. They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with man who means to harm them. But Sam doesn't know how to get them out. They were trapped, then separated. Now they are alone. Will either of them get out alive?

If ever there was a book that should be required reading for every 11+ boy or girl then it is The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan. The content does not make for comfortable reading, and as a parent you may find yourself having to answer some awkward questions that you may not be entirely at ease with, but that is why this book is so important as it looks at what could happen to a young person if they happen to let their guard down for just one moment. In simple terms it looks at the abduction of two boys, but from their point of view as opposed to that of the parents, which we see on TV and in books all too often. We see how a simple misunderstanding leads the boys to find themselves at the mercy of a human predator whose motives are only too apparent to us as readers. We witness how the two boys react to this danger, with one becoming the hero and taking control whilst the other, previously more confident boy, retreats into his shell.

As a teacher who comes into contact with young people on a daily basis this book did not make for pleasant reading at times as I could picture this sort of thing happening so easily to children I know well. I would say that at school every six weeks or so we have a call from a parent to inform us that their child was approached by a man in a van on their way to or from school. Fortunately, every time the young person or people concerned have acted with common sense and a maturity sometimes beyond their years, and no bad has come of this. However, I know this is not the case for many families and schools up and down the country, and this makes the plot of The Long Weekend even more hard hitting. I know so many kids who think they are streetwise, and yet could so easily end up in a situation similar to the one that Sam and Lloyd find themselves in. Savita Kalhan should be commended for tackling the rarely covered subject of child abduction and abuse (in YA books at least) in a way that is both gritty and sensitive.

This is a dark, dark story and may not be suitable for less mature readers. Although it isn't mentioned explicitly in the story, a simple case of reading between the lines suggests that something very bad happens to Lloyd whilst Sam is locked in another room. There are no graphic details of this assault, the author very cleverly leaves it to the imagination of the reader to fill in the blanks, and it is this that makes the book so frightening, perhaps even more so if you are a parent. In Sam and Lloyd, Ms Kalhan has created a pair of very believable 'boy next door' characters and as a reader I very quickly felt an affinity towards them, something else I believe contributed to the queasy feeling I had in my stomach as soon as it became apparent that they had been abducted.

The Long Weekend is probably best read in a single sitting, although at only 180 pages this won't take a huge chunk out of your day. I would also suggest reading it during daylight hours - there are no supernatural demons, vampires, zombies or werewolves, but it is just as scary as any of the recent YA horror stories that have been released, if not more so. And one final suggestion - perhaps parents should read it before their kids as only they will know whether their child will be mature enough to cope with the issues covered.

Review: Losing It (edited by Keith Gray)

Melvin Burgess, Keith Gray, Patrick Ness, Sophie McKenzie, Bali Rai, Jenny Valentine and Mary Hooper. Some of today's leading writers for teens are gathered here in a wonderful collection of original stories: some funny, some moving, some haunting but all revolving around the same subject - having sex for the first time.


I may be mistaken but I think this is the first time I have reviewed an anthology of short stories on this blog, and what a book to be the first (pun intended). This is the kind of book that will have old fashioned, Daily Mail reading members of the British public up in arms, demanding that it be banned from schools and the Young Adult section in libraries across the country. And yet, if they bothered to stop and actually read this book they would discover that it could play a small part in helping our society to improve its shameful record of teen pregnancies and underage sex. Strong words, I hear you say, but I stand by them - books like this are very important, yet also seen far too infrequently on library and school bookshelves.


The above blurb from Amazon says it all - this book is a compilation of stories about teens losing (or trying to lose) their virginity. It is something that at some point will monopolise the thoughts of every teenager in the country, whether it be because they are desperate to have sex for the first time, whatever the consequences, or whether they want to save themselves until the time and other person are right for them. And just look at the list of authors who have contributed a story to this anthology - readers are certainly in good hands here.


As with all short story anthologies some of the stories are stronger than others, but as a collective effort it is brilliant. The stories are in turn poignant, funny and cringeworthy and I think most teenagers would run the gamut of emotions as they read through the whole volume. The book also covers a variety of different scenarios, including a boy who questions his football coaches maxim that sex before a big match will affect his performance; a girl living in India and the cultural attitudes of her society concerning relationships and sex; and a boy who is coming to terms with being gay and whether he should feel ashamed of this. This latter story is written by the hugely talented Patrick Ness, author of the Chaos Walking trilogy, and it is probably my favourite story in the anthology. Patrick uses a very crafty device in his writing by having all the 'rude' bits blacked out, as if censored. And I'm not just talking about the occasional word - in places there are whole paragraphs blacked out. I am sure there is many a teenager out there who will find it hilariously funny to create their own idea of what is going on in these blacked out areas.


I think there is something for every teenager in this anthology, and I know that many could gain enormously from reading it. I also feel that many adults will find it hugely entertaining, possibly in a cringing way, as they think back to how it felt being a teenager worried about losing their virginity too soon or too late. Losing It should be on the shelf in every school library, and the copy that Andersen Press kindly sent me will be added to our collection when the new term starts. There is also a fantastic Losing It blog that has been launched to tie in with the book. There are already a number of comments on there from the various authors and Keith Gray (the book's editor), as well as comments from readers who have expressed their own thoughts about losing their virginity.

Review: Hellion: The Curse of Snakes by Christopher Fowler

Red Hellion lives opposite the creepy, tightly locked Torrington Park, or 'Viper's Green'. Walking home from school one day, he meets Max, who is trying to break in. Before he knows it, Red finds himself sucked into Max's plans to discover the whereabouts of his father, who disappeared weeks before under sinister circumstances connected with the park. But neither Max nor Red realize just how much their lives are at risk for their investigations into the park, are linked to the terrible the legend of Medusa, and are about to lead them into horrific danger...

Christopher Fowler has been keeping me entertained for a number of years with his Bryant and May detective series for adults. This series kicked off in 2004 with the release of Full Dark House, although the characters of Bryant and May first appeared in Mr Fowler's Darkest Day, published in 1993. This book underwent a rewrite to late appear as Seventy-Seven Clocks in 2003, although the original book with its significant supernatural element running throughout the plot (including zombies) is something of a guilty pleasure of mine.

Imagine my delight then when I discovered that he had written his first teen horror book, entitled Hellion: The Curse of Snakes. Then I read the opening paragraph online and I was straight away rattling off an email to the publisher. As opening lines for a teen horror novel go these are perfect:

"Something had been released into the night streets. It moved unnoticed and sucked the life from people. It caused slow painful death, but even those who could sense its presence were too scared to admit it was there. 

And now, with quiet deliberation, it was heading for the street where I lived."  

Fortunately the kind people at Andersen Press felt me worthy enough to receive an early copy of the book and I finished it in one sitting. As YA books go it is quite short at 197 pages, and I feel that many confident readers below the age of 13 will have no problem coping with the language or the themes within the story. However, ophidiophobia sufferers beware - this will probably scare the pants off you.

One of the principle themes running through Mr Fowler's work to date is his portrayal of London, a city he obviously loves with a passion. His descriptive writing of the city will strike a chord with Londonphiles everywhere, especially in the way he works the everyday idiosynchrasies of the city and its inhabitants into his writing, and I was overjoyed to find that The Curse of Snakes is no different. Long-time readers of this blog will know I am a sucker for a good horror or urban fantasy story set in London; in my opinion it is the most amazing city in the world, a modern, vibrant metropolis with a history rich in blood, violence and mythology - what more could an author ask for?

The cover of this book leaves us in no doubt that this story revolves around the Medusa/gorgon myth. You may well now be asking what on earth this ancient greek myth has to do with London. I asked the same question myself as I started reading this book. However, those questioning voices in my head were soon quietened as Mr Fowler has created a very credible extension to the traditional gorgon myth, and in doing so has created a story that is 100% creepy from beginning to end.

The synopsis tells you everything you need to know about this story. Just like Scared to Death by Alan Gibbons which I reviewed recently, the story focuses on a 'nice' boy. He doesn't bunk school, he gets home on time, he does chores for his mother. Red is a normal boy, not an action hero in-waiting. In Red's own words: "My dad's half-Indian (on his mum's side), my mum's half-English, half-Don't Know, my rellies are all sorts from New Zealand to French, but I'm just a Londoner, which can mean anything". Yes, the book is written in the first person, with Red as the narrator, and this is one of the book's real strengths as Christopher Fowler has imbued his main character with a voice laced with charm and humour. Kids will love Red; they will find it very easy to associate with his personality, and when things start to hot up and the horror kicks in they will also find it easy to imagine how they would react in his situation.

Like Scared to Death, this nice boy also find himself led astray by a rebellious older boy, although in this case Max is no demon, he is just another ordinary boy who is desperate to find out what happened to his father on the night he disappeared - did he just walk out on Max and his mother or is there a more sinister explanation? Red's words to us as readers on meeting Max for the first time will strike a chord with children all over the world:

"... I came from a long line of people who always did what they were told. Max was exactly the kind of kid I was warned away from. It should have made me turn and leave the park. But there was something about him that made me curious enough to stick around."

Secondary characters have always played a big part in the Bryant and May stories, and the author has treated this book for younger readers no differently. In addition to Red and Max, Mr Fowler has used his magic to create a string of colourful characters, which really help add another level to this traditional urban horror story. There is the "pale and haunted" Emma, a fellow inhabitant of the run-down Torrington Estate where Max resides with his depressed and possibly alcoholic mother; Emma's mother, seemingly crazy; and Josun, the wild-haired old caretaker of the mysterious, locked park that Max persuades Red to venture into wih him.

I do not know for sure, but I have a feeling that this could be the first in a series of book featuring Red Hellion, and I really hope that I am correct in surmising this. Interestingly lovereading4kids has this labelled as a book for the 14+ age group. I would suggest that many young people of this age would find it a little too easy a read, although it would suit perfectly struggling readers in this age group. I know many horror-loving 11+ boys (and girls) who would love this story, especially with the current proliferation of greek mythology associated books and movies around at the moment. Hellion: The Curse of Snakes is published by Andersen Press and is officially released today. You can also find out more about the book and it's author at this fab new website.