Review: Perijee & Me by Ross Montgomery

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.

There's only one problem - Perijee won't stop growing.

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.

Perijee & Me is Ross Montgomery's third book for young readers and yet again he has struck gold. His first two books, Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door and The Tornado Chasers, 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 The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brockett and Noah Barleywater Runs Away. 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.

Perijee & Me 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 Perijee & Me that pay homage to Spielberg's masterpiece, as well as one of my all time favourite stories, Ted Hughes' The Iron Man. 

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?

I hope that Perijee & Me 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 Perijee & Me, will venture out to get their hands on his previous two books.

My thanks go to the lovely people at Faber for sending me a copy of Perijee & Me to read.

Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Dustwalk is Amani's home. The desert sand is in her bones. But she wants to escape. More than a want. A need.

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.

Three was the magic number for Bob Dorough, Blind Melon and De La Soul, 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 Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton:

1. The story

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 Rebel of the Sands, 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 Pirates of the Caribbean. As someone who grew up loving the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad films, I was rather disappointed at the barely average Prince of Persia film, but Rebel of the Sands has something that film did not have - a cracking plot without any silliness.

2. The world building

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.

3. The main character

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.

~~~

Rebel of the Sands 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 The Oathbreaker's Shadow, which became my Book of the Year back in 2013.

Review: The Imagination Box by Martyn Ford

There is a box. Anything you imagine will appear inside. You have one go, one chance to create anything you want. What would you pick?"

That's exactly the question ten-year-old Timothy Hart gets to answer after discovering The Imagination Box. The greatest toy on earth.

The top-secret contraption transforms his life but when the box's inventor, Professor Eisenstone, goes missing, Tim knows he has to investigate.

With the help of a talking finger monkey called Phil, he sets out to find the professor. In order to rescue his friend, he must face his darkest fears and discover the true potential of his own mind.

The Imagination Box by Martyn Ford is a modern, exciting and very funny take on the classic genie-in-the-lamp tale. Orphan Tim lives in the hotel owned by his adopted parents, and it is a pretty lonely life he leads. He seems to have no friends and his adopted mother and father are focused on running the hotel, and so he escapes from boredom by drawing. Tim loves to draw and has an incredibly vivid imagination; in fact, most of his drawings have very little to do with the real world. Except for finger monkeys that is. Tim loves drawing finger monkeys and they are his all-time favourite animal.

Into the hotel and Tim's life comes Professor Eisenstone, the inventor of the Thought Directed Atomic Construction Device, which Tim feels is too much of a mouthful and decides to christen it the Imagination Box. The Prof recognises that Tim's powerful imagination is the very thing that is needed to make his invention work, and it isn't long before Tim is conjuring up all kinds of things from the box, using only the power of his mind, including the one thing that he has always wanted: a real, live finger monkey! And not just any finger monkey - this one can talk.

Obviously, the Imagination Box is a potentially world changing invention, and equally as obviously that means that there is going to be some kind of dastardly and nefarious villain who wants to get their hands on it. When the Prof disappears it is down to Tim, Phillip and Dee, the professor's granddaughter, to find the professor, defeat the villains and save the world. 

The Imagination Box is a thoroughly entertaining, funny mystery adventure story that will delight 9+ readers, and most likely their parents too. There is something for everyone in this story - action, adventure, fantasy, science (albeit it a little fantastical in nature) and humour. And, of course, a finger monkey called Phillip.

Ok, so yesterday in my review of Fire Girl by Matt Ralphs I stated that I'm not a fan of talking animals, and yet here is another book where a talking animal is a stand-out character, and probably the star of the show. Honest, I really am not a fan of talking animals, but Phillip the finger monkey, with his highly educated and slightly upper class voice, is such a great creation. 

If I had one small negative thing to say about this book, it is the lack of illustrations within. Over the last twelve months there have been some fabulously written books published in the UK for the middle grade audience that have been enhanced even further by the work of an illustrator (just a few notable examples are Jamie Littler's work for Hamish and the Worldstoppers, Ross Collins' illustrations in The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones, and the fab drawings of Sara Ogilvie in Demolition Dad), and it is a shame that Matt Hunt's awesome work on the cover for The Imagination Box is not seen on the pages within, especially given the main character's passion for drawing. (I guess I should add that I only have a copy of the proof, so if illustrations were included in the finished edition then all I can say is brilliant!!!).

The Imagination Box is one of those books that will have children who have read it keen to discuss it with their friends. After all, the story's central theme - that of using your imagination for wish fulfillment - is one that will engage most active young minds. As such, it would make a great class reader for a group of Year 5/Year 6 children, although it's 270+ page length may worry some teachers and thus reduce the likelihood of this happening. However, the pace and fabulous fun factor of the story do ensure that children will race through these pages, most likely giggling all the way to the final chapter.

My thanks go to the fab people at Faber for sending me a copy of The Imagination Box to read.

Review: The Tornado Chasers by Ross Montgomery

When Owen Underwood's family move to Barrow, it's because there's nowhere safer in the Valleys - and safety is very important. Especially when the threat of tornadoes, and giant bears, is constant.

But in Barrow, safety is taken to extremes. Children have to wear bright yellow at all times and are never allowed outside except to go to school. How can Owen face an entire summer of that?

In secret, Owen and his friends form the Tornado Chasers. Their mission: to get as close to a Grade 5 tornado as possible. It's time for them to face their fears!

And then... And then...

I described Ross Montgomery's debut, Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door as being "one of the most bonkers books that I have read in ages", and it was one of those books that took me completely by surprise by how much I enjoyed it. Above everything else, it was also of the most original books for Middle Grade readers that I had read in a very long time. I was therefore very excited in deed when a copy of Ross's second book, The Tornado Chasers, arrived from those lovely people at Faber.

The Tornado Chasers is not a sequel to Ross' s debut: it is a standalone story, although the world its characters live in is almost as crazy as Alex's. However, the craziness is The Tornado Chasers exists not because of the world itself, but more because of the attitude of the adults that live there. These parents, who have all moved their families to the village of Barrow, are incredibly safety conscious and averse to their children putting themselves in any kind of risk. In fact, main character Owen  sleeps under his bed, which is wrapped in chicken wire and surrounded by sandbags, just in case a tornado ripped off the roof of the house. Oh yes, and he has to wear a helmet at all times, even indoors. Owen's parents aren't the only residents of Barrow who live in fear of tornadoes (and, rather bizarrely, bears): one of the local laws decrees that children go straight home from school to the safety of their homes. This, and other seemingly ridiculous rules, make life for the kids of Barrow a somewhat dull affair, and if they break any of the rules, however bonkers they seem, they may finds themselves inmates of the forbidding County Detention Centre.

As the new boy in town, who also happens to have had grandparents who were tornado chasers, Owen very quickly becomes the catalyst for a minor rebellion. He and a handful of his new friends decide that they are going to follow int he 'footsteps' of his grandparents, and so set off on a rule-defying adventure that is surreal, thought-provoking, heart-warming and exciting. Like Ross's debut, it is a story that almost defies description, and really has to be read with as little knowledge of the plot as possible, if one is to fully benefit from the experience.

I guess one could describe the situation in Barrow as being dystopian, but with a difference. if the Monty Python team were writing Middle Grade or YA books today then this is the kind of dystopia I would imagine them coming up with. The story is very funny in a Monty Python crazy kind of way, but it also has great depth to it, especially with regards to its characters, very few of whom turn out to be how they initially seem. In fact, the whole story is a little like this as the plot twists and turns almost as much as the tornadoes of the title, and then, just as you finally think you have got everything straight in your head, Ross Montgomery drops yet another bombshell of devious and devilish twistiness. The 'I-didn't-see-that-one-coming' ending in particular is a perfect topic for discussion, and it would be well worth parents reading this alongside their children so that it can be discussed and dissected afterwards.

Ross Montgomery has fast become one of my favourite current writers of middle grade fiction and I have found myself checking online in spare moments for news of any future release from him. I do not think there is any other writer out there like him, and the closest I can think of when I recommend this book to others is that if you enjoyed the characters and situations of Louis Sachar's Holes then there is a good chance that you will enjoy The Tornado Chasers. Just like Holes, it sucks you in with a clever beginning, and messes with your mind as the plot is gradually revealed to be something you were certainly not expecting. 

Countdown to 7th August: Author Interview with Jeff Norton (Author of Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie)

It's great to be featuring an interview with Jeff Norton today, as part of the Countdown to 7th August blog tour. However, to kick things off I have an extra special treat for you - a short video of Jeff reading the prologue of his hilarious new book, Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie. The video was taken when Jeff took part in the Wonder of Words Young People's Literary Festival last month.

And now on to the interview:

Firstly, how would you describe your book Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie to a potential reader?

It’s the funny, sometimes awkward, true story of a twelve-year-old boy called Adam Meltzer who has early-onset OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) who dies and comes back as a zombie. It’s a coming of age story about learning how to be comfortable in your own skin…even if it’s decomposing.

What was the original inspiration behind the story?

The original inspiration was literally feeling like a (sleepless) zombie when my first son was born.  It made me wonder what it’d be like to actually be a zombie. I explored the idea in a short film I made about a grown-up zombie trying to get his old life back (you can see it here: https://vimeo.com/32102311) and then I kept thinking about the unfair life of a zombie, and then started to imagine how bad it’d be if you were undead in middle school. Life’s hard at twelve with friends, parents, puberty, and teachers…imagine being among the walking dead too!

I loved your main characters in Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie.  Can you tell us a little more about Adam, Ernesto and Corina?

Thank you! What I love about them is that they are all better people/monsters with their friendship.  Adam is a neurotic worrywart, fearful of germs and obsessed with safety and hygiene.  But he’s got an inner confidence, and over the course of the book, he learns how to accept what he’s become.

Corina is a vegan vampire who’s not got a very supportive home life. She’s cold and prickly on the outside, but that’s mostly because nobody has taught her how to be kind….until she meets Adam and Ernesto.

Ernesto, who goes by Nesto, is a very messy Chupacabra who’d rather be a werewolf. He lives with a big family in the house behind Adam’s house and since he’s always the runt of every group he’s in, had never really had a group of friends.  

Exactly what is a Chupacabra?

No one really knows, but it’s a new legend that began in Puerto Rico in the mid nineties. People began reporting sightings of a lizard-like creature, the size of a large dog, destroying goats and the myth spread to Mexico where the creature is blamed for eating cattle.  In the book, Ernesto’s family (who are Mexican) moved from the countryside because the farmers were arming themselves against Ernesto’s midnight feasts.

How did you find the writing process compared with when you were writing the MetaWars books?

Mostly it was a relief. MetaWars, as you know, is utterly relentless in its intensity so I needed to so something funny.  I wrote most of this book in various coffee shops (including in my childhood hometown) and would often break into unstoppable laughter while writing it. I’m pretty sure people around me thought I was crazy…which I suppose you have to be to write about an OCD zombie. So maybe they’re right?

What do you like most about writing for young people?

It’s a real honour and a total privilege to write for people who are still discovering the world.  I was such a reluctant reader as a boy that I love creating stories that I hope will turn young people into life long readers. 

Do you have a favourite zombie movie?

That’s a hard one!  While not technically zombies, I think Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later is a master class in reinventing the genre.  I also have a real soft spot for Zombieland because of its deadpan comedy.

Do you have a survival plan for when the zombie apocalypse arrives? 

I don’t reckon my chances are very good, but I do have a stash of zombie makeup so I think I’ll first make up myself and my family and zombies and try to blend in. The key will be not to leave the house in case zombie hunters mistake us for the real thing. That’d be awkward.

When said zombie apocalypse arrives you can have one person, real or fictional, as your survival partner. Who would you choose?

Doc Brown, obvs. I’d get into the DeLorean with him and zip back to before the outbreak and stop it.

If you could pose one question to any writer, living or deceased, who would the writer be and what question would you ask?

You mean beyond asking JK Rowling to reveal that she’s the actual author of Memoirs Of A Neurotic Zombie using Jeff Norton as a pen name, I’d love to sit down with F. Scott Fitzgerald and ask about his opinion on the world today and how much it’s the same or different as the 1920s.

If you were to host a dinner party for any three people (alive or from the past), who would those three people be? 

These people from the past, would they be in decrepit corpse mode or ghost mode? If the former, I’d only go with alive folks because I think I’d lose my appetite with living corpses around the dinner table. I think they’d leak all over the floor too, and I have a really nice hardwood floor that I’d like to keep bile free.  

Anyway, assuming ghost mode: FDR, Benjamin Franklin, and my granny.

Assuming corpse mode, and thus going for living dinner guests: J.J.Abrams, Joss Whedon, and my wife, Sidonie.

And if you were allowed to invite a few fictional characters as well?

Gatsby, Yoda, Katniss (but she’d have to leave her weapons at the door). Brian Flanagan on bar (Tom Cruise’s character in Cocktail).  I’d ask Robocop to do security. 

Is there anything else you would like to say to readers of The Book Zone?

I hope you’re losing yourself in a good book this summer!  Happy reading!

Oh, and there’s a brand new Adam Meltzer website launching called www.adammeltzer.com.  Check it out.

~~~

Huge thanks to Jeff for taking the time to answer my questions.

Jeff Norton’s Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie publishes 7th of August from Faber.  Jeff is on the web at www.jeffnorton.com and tweeting as @thejeffnorton.

Review: Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie by Jeff Norton

'My name is Adam Meltzer and the last thing I remember was being stung by a bee while swinging at a robot-shaped piñata on my twelfth birthday. I was dead before the candy hit the ground.'

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie is narrated by the hilarious Adam Meltzer - pre-teen, worrywart, and now zombie. Adam's family gets the fright of their lives when he turns up at their door . . . three months after his funeral.

Soon Adam's back at school trying to fit in and not draw extra attention to himself, but when he sees his neighbour Ernesto transform into a chupacubra, and the beautiful Corina (Adam's number one mega-crush) turns out to be a (vegan) vampire, undead life is never going to be the same again.

A hilarious adventure caper - if Ferris Bueller met Shaun of the Dead - all about friendship and being yourself . . . even if you're undead.

I love Jeff Norton's MetaWars series. The story is the perfect blade of action, adventure and science fiction, all set in a brilliantly imagined dystopian future. I was therefore really excited to see Jeff at a blogger event held by Faber as this could only mean that he had a new book coming out. And then, I was even more than a little surprised when we were told about his new book, Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie, as on the face of it it could not have been more different from his previous work (of which I would happily have read more and more). My slight disappointment evaporated as soon as Jeff started reading the prologue to Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie. He had the room in tears of laughter, a feat that he repeated a couple of months later when he appeared at the Wonder of Words festival that I organised.

In his main character and narrator, Adam Meltzer, Jeff Norton has created a protagonist that will have readers in stitches. And if you thought zombies had been done to death (pun intended) then think again: a teen zombie with OCD? It is such a great concept as Adam's neurosis open things up for all kinds of puerile jokes (in the very best kind of way), and in particular to loads of great references to poo, germs and other toilet humour that kids will find hilarious.

Adam isn't the only great character in this book, as fortunately for him he is aided and abetted by two other kids who can only be described as unsual (ok, maybe weird is a better word, however unkind it may seem). First there is Ernesto, Adam's diminutive neighbour who just happens to turn into a Chupacabra during a full moon (it's a sort of mythological lizard ape hybrid thing) and then there is Corina, the object of Adam's (secret) affections who also happens to be a vegan vampire. Together they make a great team, and take it upon themselves to find out just how on earth a mere bee sting could kill Adam and then have him come back as a zombie.

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie is one hell of a funny read, and with this new book Jeff Norton proves to the world that he is certainly no one trick pony. I hope this is just the first in a long series as I think there are so many more adventures this oddball trio could have in the future. It is also the kind of book that I think will benefit from word-of-mouth 'promotion'. Like the Wimpy Kid books, once one child as read it they are bound to tell all of their friends who will then also want to read it. If you're looking for something to make your 9+ child laugh out loud this summer then this should certainly be on your radar.

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie is published on 7th August and my thanks go to the lovely people at Faber for sending me a copy.

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie by Jeff Norton - Cover Reveal

A while back I was fortunate to me invited to a blogger event held by the lovely people at Faber. My personal highlight of that event was writer Jeff Norton (he of Metawars fame) giving us a special reading of his new book, Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie. It was flippin' hilarious, and one of the funniest things I had heard for a long time, and so I am really chuffed to be part of the big cover reveal. 

Today, there are 18 blogs showcasing a short extract of Memoirs, along with the fab cover for the book, which is due out this summer. I have to say I totally love the extract that I have been assigned - how could I not? It's about farts and I'm a boy! (yes, even at my age I still find farts amusing).

Extract #17: Adam ruminates on cleanliness after being drenched in coke.

Normally, I don’t need to be told to take a shower. If I could, I’d shower five times a day, just to scrub off the grime that hung in the air. For example, did you know that when someone farts, particles from their bum actually float around in the air? So when you smell a fart, those particles are actually nestled in your nose? The official population of Croxton (not counting undocumented aliens and tourists) is 21,371, and that’s a lot of bums doing a lot of farting, creating a lot of particles that cling to your hair and skin. If you ask me, five showers a day doesn’t seem like enough when surrounded by over twenty thousand fart-producing bums, but the one exception I made was for showering at school especially during lunchtime.

‘But sir,’ I said, using the word ‘sir’ to appeal to his authoritarian nature, isn’t it the high school’s football practice hour? I can shower at home later.’

‘Yeah, it’s not like it’s dirt,’ said Jake.’

‘You’re covered in cola,’ said the teacher. ‘And it’ll attract bees and rats and-‘

‘What kind of bees?’ I asked, wondering there was some link between my killer bee and banning of syrupy soda from school grounds.

Each of the 18 blogs participating in this cover reveal has an extract. if you want to head to the first one (chronologically as far as the book is concerned) then head on over to Readaraptor. If you've read them all so far and you want to read extract #18 then head on over to Much Loved Books.

Guest Review: Atticus Claw Breaks the Law by Jennifer Gray

Today on The Book Zone, as part of U14s Only Month, we are joined by Jenni (aka @JuniperJungle on Twitter). Jenni runs the fab Juniper's Jungle blog, works with kids as  Beaver leader and is also currently studying to be a librarian. Jenni wanted to write a review about a book she had recently and loved. It is a book that has been sitting on my own TBR pile for some time, but always gets overlooked as like Jenni I have never been a fan of talking animal stories. Based on Jenni's glowing review, I may now have to overlook this general dislike and give Atticus Claw a chance. Thanks Jenni for taking the time to write this for us!

Meet Atticus Grammatticus Cattypus Claw, the world's greatest cat burglar. He's a tabby who spells trouble. And he's been hired by the fiendish Jimmy Magpie to steal all the jewels in Littleton-on-Sea.

Atticus needs a temporary home - preferably one with lots of sardines provided. But when he adopts Inspector Cheddar and his family, Atticus starts to wonder, is a life of crime really for him?

When I was a child I read pretty much anything, but with only a handful of exceptions stories with talking animals did not please me. I'm so pleased I've left this particular reading quirk behind - I wouldn't want to think I might have missed out on reading this gem of a book.

Atticus Claw Breaks the Law is full of talking animals, and mighty fine talking animals they are. Well, Atticus Claw is mighty fine, the dreadful gang of magpies are downright villains that reminded me of the hyenas in The Lion King on more than one occasion. Regardless of whether they're on the side of right or wrong the animal characters in this book are all well created, vivid characters. 

The humans in the book are equally strong creations, the Cheddar family with Mrs Tucker the tall-tale telling childminder leap off the page - I frequently found myself imagining that I was sitting at their kitchen table with them, watching the events of the story unfold. The humans that made me laugh the most though were Lord and Lady Tofty, a pair of Hyacinth Bucket style aristocrats. They are ludicrous and caricatureish but in the best possible way.

The main storyline of Atticus being hired by the magpies to act out their revenge on the humans is well thought out and believable, the motivations of the characters are clear and understandable even when the double crossing begins. This plays neatly with the sub plot lines of Inspector Cheddar wanting to prove himself as a policeman and Mrs Cheddar trying to organise a tv antiques valuation day - you can start to see how the plotlines are going to twist around one another and the eventual payoff is incredibly satisfying.


There is loads of humour in this book, in addition to the obvious laugh out loud moments there are many instances of wordplay that left me absolutely delighted. I think this book would work really well as a read aloud book, both to a group of children or on a more individual basis. It has broad appeal, there is something for everyone to enjoy, and best of all it's the first in a series so there are plenty more adventures to look forward to (there are 3 so far with more to come).

*** Competition: WIN a Signed Copy of The Windvale Sprites by Mackenzie Crook

edit (02/12/13): This competition is now closed. The winner is Jane Clarke.


On Sunday I posted a review of The Lost Journals of Benjamin Tooth by Mackenzie Crook. Now, thanks to the lovely people at Faber, you have the chance to win a signed first edition hardback of its predecessor - The Windvale Sprites - simply by filling in your details in the form below.

  

The first name drawn at random after the closing date will win a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is 7pm GMT Tuesday 26th November. This competition is open to UK residents only.

Contest open to UK residents only.
Neither the publisher or I will be held responsible for items lost in the mail.
I hold the right to end a contest before its original deadline without any prior notice.
I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.
I will contact winning entrants for their postal address 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.

Review: The Lost Journals of Benjamin Tooth by Mackenzie Crook

My name is Benjamin Tooth. This is my journal.

One day I will be remembered as the greatest scientist that the world has ever known and so it is my duty to mankind to record my thoughts that future generations are able to study the progress of a genius.

I am eleven years old.

These are the recently discovered journals of Benjamin Tooth: alchemist, inventor and discoverer of the Windvale sprites. They chronicle his journey of scientific discovery from pompous boy to mad old man in his pursuit of the sprites on Windvale Moor. The sprites hold the key to eternal life, and Tooth is determined to capture it.

I was very fortunate to be sent The Lost Journals of Benjamin Tooth and its predecessor, The Windvale Sprites, both by Mackenzie Crook, in the same package by the lovely people at Faber. The Windvale Sprites was published two years ago, and received many rave reviews for its humour, charm and old school story telling magic. It told the story of Asa, a young boy who spots the remains of an unusual creature after the great storm that hit the UK back in 1987. His curiosity suitably piqued, Asa embarks on a mission to find more of these otherworldly creatures, and along the way he discovers the lost journals of one Benjamin Tooth, an eccentric resident of Mereton back in the eighteenth century. This latest publication from Mackenzie Crook and Faber, is that journal.

The Lost Journals of Benjamin Tooth is, as the title would suggest, written in the form of a journal or diary. It begins on Monday 18th April 1768, with eleven year old Benjamin confidently proclaiming that 'one day I will be remembered as the greatest scientist that the world has ever known' before going on to tell us that 'Today for supper I ate of a buttock of ham with plum pudding and greens'. Whilst wandering on Windvale Moor, Benjamin spots what he believes to be an exceptionally large species of dragonfly. When he returns to make more drawings for his teacher he has a run in with the seemingly barking mad Farley Cupstart, a particularly odd and potentially dangerous character, and Benjamin's interests in the Moor are multiplied a hundredfold.

Benjamin's journal continues on to 1780, in which time his life sees many ups and downs, and yet through it all Benjamin never loses his hunger for notoriety in the field of science. Through his journal we are introduced to a number of colourful characters, all of whom help take the edge off Benjamin's arrogance. He is not, you see, a particularly likeable character at times, so as a reader it is hard to root for him, but this doesn't matter as it is the sheer conceit and haughtiness that permeates through his writing that makes it so funny for us to follow.

When I first received an email from Faber asking if I would be interested in copies of these two books, I was told that it probably wouldn't matter which order I read them. I decided to read the Journals first, and then moved on to The Windvale Sprites, and I really enjoyed reading them in this order. However, I think the stories would have been just as enjoyable if I had read them the other way around, so it really doesn't matter which one you pick up first. But please do pick them up and read them - they are both funny, whimsical stories full of old school, almost Blyton-esque adventure, but given a dark and occasiionally grusome edge.

Not only is Mackenzie Crook an accomplished comic actor (his Gareth Keenan is one of my all time favourite sitcom characters), but with these two books he also demonstrates that he has a talent for writing as well. But that's not the limit to his talent either as both stories are accompanied by lovely black and white illustrations drawn by the author himself.

The Lost Journals of Benjamin Tooth was published in hardcover by Faber on 7 November, on the same day that The Windvale Sprites was published in a paperback edition. You can find out more about The Lost Journals of Benjamin Tooth over at http://benjamintooth.co.uk where you can also find details of an exciting competition. Come back here later in the week for your chance to win a signed copy of The Windvale Sprites.

Review: Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door by Ross Montgomery

Alex Jennings is a boy with a problem.

His mum's sent him away to boarding school because his father, the most famously failed explorer in the history of the Cusp, has escaped from hospital again, yelling 'squiggles'.

Make that two problems.

Now the evil Davidus Kyte and all his henchmen are after Alex, convinced he alone knows the meaning of the word 'squiggles'.

OK, make that three -

Alex Jennings is a boy with a lot of problems. But with the help of a talking dog and a girl with unfeasibly sharp teeth, he just might have what it takes to cross the Forbidden Lands, escape the evil Davidus Kyte, and find out what lies beyond the Cusp . . .

 

I'm trying my hardest to come up with some way of describing this story without giving away anything. It is so brilliantly bonkers that I think it is best read with little prior knowledge or preconceptions. However, to keep things simple, it is a story about a boy with a famous father (now literally barking mad) who has had to suffer the subsequent humiliations of a private boarding school. However, Alex's world is a little different from our own. Cloisters Boarding School for Boys is located in an area called The Outskirts. Adjacent to this is the heavily fortified and militarised Cusp, which itself surrounds The Forbidden Land.

This rather dramatically named area is one of great mystery as only one person has ever been able to enter it for any kind of lengthy exploration. That person just happens to be Alex's father, and his mental health has seemingly deteriorated ever since he returned. Everyone else who enters The Forbidden Land gets the immediate and totally uncontrollable urge to run home, no matter how far it is or what/who is in the way. This book tells the story of Alex's attempts to find his again-missing father, and ultimately discover the secret that lies at the centre of The Forbidden Land.

 

 

This is one of the most bonkers books that I have read in ages. It is perfect for kids who have grown up loving the sheer craziness of Andy Stanton's Mr Gum, but are now ready for something a little more challenging. It does not have the insane vocabulary of a Mr Gum book, but the story is definitely just as mad. As I was reading it and thinking about writing my review I was considering likening it to the unpredictability and madness of the comedy of Monty Python, and in particular their Holy Grail film. However, although I think that is still a fair comparison, I would suggest the comedy in Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door is not always quite as off-the-wall as that, and now I can't help but think that its surrealism, humour and feeling of 'I have no idea what on earth is going to happen next' remind me very much of one of my all time favourite films - O Lucky Man. I appreciate that this will mean little to any children reading this review, and probably a good number of adults too.

This is a truly fun adventure story, set in a crazy fictional world, with a subtle humour running throughout that will have readers giggling quietly, and with plenty of sudden laugh-out-laugh moments. Just like a Roald Dahl or David Walliams book it has the prerequisite pantomime-esque villain - greedy, egotistical, borderline insane - but due to the bonkers nature of his actions his parts in the story never feel clichéd. As with books by those aforementioned two authors, the adults in the story are pretty useless and it is the actions of Alex and his new friend Martha that are generally needed to save the day. And just like these other  authors, Ross Montgomery subtly weaves many other themes into his wacky tale, such as family, loss, bullying, friendship and loyalty.

I think kids of 8 or 9+ will love the crazy nature of this story. As well as being a funny and thoroughly enjoyable read, it will also feed the 'What if..?' nature of their imaginations that they use when they are doing their own writing: What if Alex's Headmaster was actually nice? What if that dog could talk? What if..... I'll leave it there as I don't want to reveal too much.

My thanks go to the kind people at Faber for sending me a copy of Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door to read (great title, by the way - it's almost as bonkers as the story itself).

 

 

Review: The New Adventures of Tarzan - The Savage Lands by Andy Briggs

A TREACHEROUS LORD

Lord Greystoke has arrived at the logger's camp in the Congo, and will stop at nothing to find and eliminate his long-lost cousin, Tarzan.

A CRAZED QUEEN

Robbie and Jane set out through the jungle to warn Tarzan, and find themselves trapped in the sprawling ancient city of Opar, where the insane Queen La is running an illegal Coltan mine.

AN EPIC BATTLE

With a volcano threatening to explode, Tarzan, Robbie and Jane must form an unlikely alliance to save themselves. Not everyone will make it out alive . . .

Long time readers of The Book Zone will know that I really enjoyed the first two of Andy Briggs' New Adventures of Tarzan books. The Greystoke Legacy was a cracking reinvention of Edgar Rice Burrough's iconic jungle warrior, and the sequel, The Jungle Warrior, was even better. Now Faber have published the third book in the series, and in my opinion it is the best one yet. This is rip-roaring adventure writing at its very best, with the author seamlessly blending classic boys' own thrills with a modern fast-paced story.

If you haven't already discovered these books then I strongly recommend that you pick up the first in the series and read them in order, as although they can be read and enjoyed as standalone books, there are many plot threads that cross between volumes. For this reason, if you want to avoid spoilers of the previous two books you may not want to read on.

Andy Briggs dropped something of a bombshell at the end of The Jungle Warrior with the appearance of Lord William Greystoke, the current holder of the title that should rightly be Tarzan's. It was Greystoke's father, and thus his son too, who commissioned the hunter Rokoff to track down and kill D'Arnot and Tarzan, in order to protect their inheritance. With Greystoke now in the jungle, it can surely only be a matter of time before there is a major confrontation between the two cousins. However, at this moment in time Tarzan is oblivious to these dangers, and he is more concerned about protecting his family of gorillas, the Mangani. Tarzan and the Mangani have travelled away from the site of his parents' plane crash to a new grazing area where there is a greater abundance of food. However, this area also falls within the territory of a highly aggressive group of chimpanzees, and Tarzan has to be constantly vigilant as their attacks are violent and bloody. Meanwhile, Jane and Robbie are miles away, back at the logging camp, working out how they can sabotage Greystoke's plans. Mixed in to all this is a quest for the long lost (potentially mythical) ancient city of Opar, and the riches it supposedly contained.

Unlike the previous two books in the series, Tarzan and Jane spend much of the story apart, although their respective journeys gradually bring them closer and closer to a set of explosive and violent climactic scenes, where, in the words of the book's blurb, "not everyone will make it out alive". Thus, the POV of the narrative switches back and forth between Tarzan and Jane/Robbie and therefore the Lord of the Jungle does not appear as much in this book. This would be disappointing if it weren't for the brilliant and superbly paced story that Briggs has crafted for his characters.

The previous two books have contained a strong environmental message, although at no point has this come across as preachy. I was a little concerned before reading this book, that at some point this aspect might become a little too much, but the message in this book, whilst still there, takes a back seat to the adventure this time. As in previous books Andy Briggs has delved deep into the Tarzan stories created by Burroughs, and reintroduces more characters and locations  from those originals. In this case Briggs has resurrected Queen La and the lost city of Opar, although both have been twisted to suit this modern story.

The Savage Lands is yet another great addition to the series, and I hope there are more to come in the future. This book does not end with the cliffhanger introduction of a new character, but there are plenty of minor plot threads left untied to merit another volume.

The Savage Lands was published earlier this year and my thanks go to the lovely people at Faber for sending me a copy.

My Life That Books Built: Guest Post by Andy Briggs (The Jungle Warrior Blog Tour)

Towards the end of last month I posted my review of Tarzan: The Jungle Warrior by Andy Briggs. When I as asked by the nice people at Faber if I would be interested in hosting Andy for a stop-off on his blog tour, naturally I jumped at the chance. I asked if he would be interested in adding to my slowly growing feature called My Life That Books Built, and he duly sent through this great post about some of the books he loved when he was younger.


BOOKS THAT ROCKED MY WORLD

We all want to know what movies our favourite actors watch, what songs pop stars listen to, so it’s no surprise that one of the most frequently asked questions an author gets is “What is your favourite book?” This is often followed by “What do you think the best book you have written is?” (it is always the last one) - and of course “What car do you drive?” (a Land Rover) and “How much do you earn?” (not enough!). So, let me focus on the first question.

When I was younger, and even now, I adored comic books. Telling a story in 20-something pages, with only several panels per page is a real art form, and amateur writers could do far worse than study how well crafted those stories can be. For me, Spiderman, Daredevil and the X-men were my top three comics for consumption. The stories rattled along with a lightning pace, while the characterisation was subtle and allowed to develop over the course of years.

Comics gave way to books, and I discovered Gordon Boshell’s Captain Cobwebb series of eleven children’s books, which are sadly now out of print. They follow the fantastic exploits of two brothers, David and Toby, who undertake missions for their Uncle Septimus who mysteriously disappeared while sitting in a fairy ring. These stories were like dynamite for my imagination, unlike anything I had encountered before.

Another ground breaking book - which I still re-read as often as possible - is Douglas Adam’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Forget the film or the (rather good) TV series, the book is a fantastic journey through the galaxy that will leave you breathless from laughing so hard. I would highly recommend the whole series.

 Of course, I found J.R.R. Tolkien, and still regard The Hobbit as one of the finest fantasy books every written. And speaking of fantasy, you can’t go wrong with Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, especially the earlier books (particularly Mort) which remain bonkers and addictive.

 Sometimes I need a book to give me a shot in the arm and drag me kicking and screaming through a riotous adventure. For this, I would prescribe anything by Clive Cussler, particularly his Dirk Pitt stories. Cussler manages to effortlessly take a piece of history and weave it into a modern day adventure that will grip you by the throat until you turn the last page. They are a master class for frenetic adventure storytelling.

 Of course, I can’t leave out Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes - along with Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World - which formed my childhood impression of reading. Both books take place in the dark jungles and venture into the unknown. Reading such books made me want to become a writer and they left my mind open enough to want to explore the world and realize that, even with our global communications and advanced technology, there are still places in the world left undiscovered... waiting for their stories to be told.

TARZAN: THE JUNGLE WARRIOR is out now, published by Faber.

Guest Post by Alexander Gordon Smith: The Real Magic of Horror (The Fury Blog Tour)

For a variety of reasons, recently I have been cutting back on the number of blog tours I am participating in. However, there are a handful of authors who are always welcome to guest post on The Book Zone and Alexander Gordon Smith is one of them. He writes such great articles, and if you haven't seen his earlier pieces that have appeared on The Book Zone you can find them here and here. This time he is here as part of the blog tour for his new book, The Fury. At the end of this post you will also be able to read details about an amazing The Fury competition that Faber are running.

The Real Magic of Horror

This is my third guest post for the awesome Book Zone (For Boys) blog – my favourite book blog in the world! – and I’m really honoured to be here again! Last time I talked about how playing Murderball was the inspiration for my new book, The Fury, and this time I’d like to go back even further, to when I was a kid, and talk about another moment of horrific inspiration!

When I was six years old, or thereabouts, I had my first experience of real horror. I don’t mean a tragedy, I mean genre horror. I used to go and stay with my Gran and Granddad up in Scotland. They were a wonderful couple (both sadly passed now), and my Gran especially was a lovely, round, little old lady who liked to give me and my sister treats. She worked in a shop, one that rented videos, and she would often bring home sweets and toys and films for us. I’m not quite sure how it happened, but on one of these trips I must have told my Gran that I really liked horror. Being six years old, what I probably meant by this was that I enjoyed the occasional episode of Scooby Doo. But my Gran must have got the wrong end of the stick, because one afternoon she came home from work with a stack of videos for me to watch. Horror videos.

I don’t know exactly which movies they were – I think I have blanked out the memory! But there were definitely zombies. And killer puppets. And chainsaws. I remember being absolutely terrified, but I didn’t want to hurt my Gran’s feelings by telling her to turn them off, so I kept trying to make excuses (I must have gone to the toilet seventeen times), or claiming I heard someone knocking at the door, or just staring at the wall above the telly trying to tune out the screams from the screen. But my Gran was sitting right next to me, and she kept pointing out all the gruesome bits, saying things like “Oh look, she’s just eaten his eyeballs.” That night, lying in bed at my Gran’s house (which was quite a scary place anyway, as there was a cupboard door in my room that would never stay closed and I was convinced monsters lived in there), I was absolutely terrified; literally petrified, I couldn’t even move in my bed. Right then, six years old, monsters were 100% real. Ghosts and zombies and serial killers with chainsaws were 100% real. There was no distinction between fantasy and reality in my head. Absolutely anything could happen. So, when my Gran walked into the bedroom (she must have sensed I was still awake), wearing nothing but a nightie, her teeth already out for the night, saying “Are you okay?” I was utterly convinced that she was a zombie. I fell out of bed, ran into a wall, and that’s all I can recall about that particular evening.

For a little while after that, I couldn’t even watch Scooby Doo without having a panic attack and bursting into tears. But I think that night is what gave me a real sense of the potential for horror. Obviously I didn’t rationalise it like this at the time, being only six, but looking back at that night, and the other times I was scared witless as a kid, it made me realise what I love about the genre: Horror makes the impossible possible.

Horror twists reality and fantasy in a way that no other genre does. How many times, when reading a scary book or watching a gruesome movie, have you felt that tickle of fear crawl up your spine, your scalp shrink, your guts churn? Not because of the words on the page or the images on the screen, but because right then, in that moment, you are convinced that the horror has leaked out into the real world – there really is a serial killer lurking behind the shower curtain, or a ghost in the mirror, or a brain-eating zombie right outside the front door. At the risk of sounding like a wimp, I regularly leave the hall light on at night because I’ve been reading something terrifying – and occasionally my bedroom light too (most recently a few weeks ago when I was utterly convinced there was a legless witch at the bottom of the stairs who wanted to eat me)! That isn’t sane, rational behaviour – it’s because deep down in my psyche I am absolutely, 100% convinced that there are bad things in the house, that the story has become real, just like I was when I was six.

For me, that is the true power of horror – it takes the boundless, depthless, incredible imagination of childhood and lets you explore it once again. As adults, we often lose that ability to lose ourselves in fantasy; it’s so much easier for us to rationalise, to distinguish between what is real and what is not, what is possible and what is impossible. I think we suffer for it, because we become rooted in reality, and we lose that sense of wonder and awe. For me, one of the best things about being a kid was that everything you read, watched, wrote, dreamed could be real, that literally anything could happen. Of course when you read any book or watch any film you suspend your disbelief a little, but you’re still often aware that what you’re experiencing is just a narrative. With horror, though, the physics of the story leak out of the pages, off the screen, they become as real as the world you live in; utterly, terrifyingly believable.

I’ve had a few people get in touch already to say that The Fury has had this effect on them, which is great! I wrote the book to get under your skin, to stay with you long after you have finished reading it. The core idea of the story – that at any moment, without warning, every single person in the world will turn against you, tear you to pieces, and then go back to their lives as if nothing has happened – will start off sounding ridiculous, impossible. But hopefully after reading it you’ll be in the mall, or at school, or at a football match, and suddenly you’ll start to wonder what you’d do if everyone fell silent and turned to look at you with expressions of utter hatred; if they all screamed at once and started running towards you with nothing but murder on their faces. You’ll start to plan your escape routes, your hiding places, what you might be able to use as a weapon. And in those moments, the story will have become real, you’ll be six years old again and living in a world where anything can happen.

Horror turns you into a kid again, it opens up your imagination, making everything possible. But it isn’t all about being scared. That’s the real beauty of it, I think. It’s like exercise for your brain – if you believe that monsters are real, even for a short time, then suddenly other impossible things become possible too: maybe even things about yourself that you never thought you could achieve. It makes you question your idea of reality, of your own world and your own potential. Suddenly you are no longer being told what’s real – you create your own reality, your own boundaries. It stops being a case of, “That’s impossible, I could never do that,” and becomes instead, “Well, who says it’s impossible?” That’s the true magic of horror. If anything can be real then anything can be possible. If anything is possible then anything is doable. And if anything is doable, then do it! Horror makes that happen.
Thanks, Darren, for letting me stop by on my blog tour!

~~~

Huge thanks to Gordon for taking the time to write this for us. A lot of what he has written rings very true for me too - I have a habit of planning escape routes whenever we go out for a meal, etc - just in case the zombie apocalypse finally arrives during that evening. And this was long before I read The Fury. If you love horror and have not yet discovered the Furnace series or The Fury then shame on you!


Competition Details:

CALLING ALL ASPIRING YOUNG FILMMAKERS!!

A brand new competition from THE SPARK www.facebook.co.uk/thesparkpage, Faber’s new online community aimed at creative 13 – 18 year-olds.

THE FURY is a brand new YA thriller from Alexander Gordon Smith, about what would happen if, without warning, the whole world tried to kill you. It’s a non-stop, rollercoaster ride of excitement, mystery and supernatural terror – and we giving YOU the chance to create the trailer for it!

If you’re between the ages of 13 and 18 and fancy trying your hand at filmmaking, all you need to do is send us a script and storyboard for the trailer of THE FURY, by 2 July. You don’t need filmmaking experience or equipment – if your script is selected in our top five you’ll win a Flip camera with which to bring your trailer to life!

Finally, the filmmaker behind the best of those five trailers will win a £500 Apple Store voucher and see their film used worldwide as the official trailer for the book.

Go to the competition page http://www.facebook.com/stayfurious to find out more about the book, how to enter and tips on how to write the storyboard for your book trailer. Closing date Monday 2nd July 2012