Review: Wild Boy and the Black Terror by Rob Lloyd Jones

A new sensation grips London - a poisoner who strikes without a trace, leaving victims mad with terror ... and then dead. Is there a cure for the BLACK TERROR? To find out, Wild Boy and Clarissa must catch the killer. Their hunt will lead them from the city's vilest slums to its grandest palaces, and to a darkness at the heart of its very highest society.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was honoured to be a member of Booktrust Bookbuzz selection panel for this year. One of the books that the panel decided to put on the final Bookbuzz list was Wild Boy by Rob Lloyd Jones. I have to admit that I barely managed to delight when this decision was made as Wild Boy was one of my favourite books of 2013. Our decision also seems to have been a good one if the Year 7 pupils at my school are anything to go by as it has been a popular Bookbuzz choice.

Needless to say, its sequel, Wild Boy and the Black Terror has been one of the books I was most looking forward to reading in 2014 and I am delighted to report that I was not to be disappointed at all. In fact, I might possibly have enjoyed it even more than the first book.

With the main characters of Wild Boy and Clarissa firmly established in the first book, this sequel is very much about developing them further, especially given the traumatic adventures they experienced in Wild Boy. Rob Llloyd Jones does this by throwing the unlikely pair of friends into a conspiracy that is even more vile and despicable than the one they faced in their first outing. It quickly becomes a mystery that will test their friendship to its limits, especially as all the odds seem stacked against them from the start: the majority of the Gentlemen, in whose headquarters the pair now reside, are barely tolerable of their presence, and despite their success in saving London in the previous book they are still strongly mistrusted by the city's populace. Add to this cauldron the ingredient that is Clarissa's hot-headedness and we have a recipe for disaster.

Like its predecessor, Wild Boy and the Black Terror is a fantastic, fast-paced mystery adventure story in a wonderfully realised Victorian London setting. Without the need to introduce new characters the action kicks off pretty quickly, and barely slackens off at all until the final page. There is one scene in particular, where Wild Boy and Clarissa are required to carry out a particularly daring heist, that will have readers' hearts beating faster than a Keith Moon drum solo. Wild Boy is given plenty of opportunity to use his considerable powers of observation and deduction, and the mystery will keep readers guessing all the way through as the plot is very slowly revealed, although naturally only via a number of devious twists. Fans of the macabre and gruesome will also not be disappointed, as the black terror of the book's title begins to afflict more and more people.

If you picked up Wild Boy last year then you will know that Walker published it in a wonderful hardcover edition, sans dustwrapper, and they have repeated these fantastic production values with this sequel. They are the the kind of books that could quite easily create the bibliophiles of the future. My thanks go to the fab people at Walker Books for sending me a copy to read/review (and, of course, add lovingly to my ever growing collection). Please, please tell me there are going to be more adventures for Wild Boy in the future!

Event: WOW 2013 - Wonder of Words Young People's Literary Festival - 13 July 2013

You may have noticed that I have been a little quiet recently. One of the reasons for this is the semi-secret project I have been working on at school, which I can now reveal to the world. Yes, the school where I work is going to be holding its very own young people's literary festival. I have pasted details below, taken from the school's book blog page which you can view by clicking here. We are really excited about the brilliant line-up of authors we have arranged, and we hope you will join us if you live in or near Berkshire. If you're a blogger and help us to promote the festival by adding something to your blog then I will arrange a free VIP ticket for all three events. I know it's not much but... :-)

On Saturday 13 July Charters School will be holding its very own young people's literary festival. Read on to find out more about the event, the authors who will be appearing and how you can get tickets. Alternatively, you can download the festival programme by clicking here.

Last summer we held a summer fair at Charters School to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and also the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was a great success and so we decided we wanted to continue to hold an annual summer fair, with all the great stalls, games, live music and food that people have come to expect from a Charters School summer event,  but with a slight difference. That difference is WOW!

For our very first Wonder of Words Young People's Literary Festival we have managed to provide a brilliant line-up of author events, featuring some of the hottest authors currently writing for children and young adults. We are very excited to be hosting Laura Dockrill, Holly Smale, Will Hill, Rob Lloyd Jones and Conrad Mason and we believe we have a programme which has a little something for everyone.

Programme

12-1pm

Laura Dockrill

Laura visited Charters in April and we are delighted to be welcoming her back to wow the audience with her wild and colourful imagination. Laura's debut book for children, Darcy Burdock, has received countless rave reviews, with The Guardian saying: "Move over, Jacqueline Wilson. Darcy Burdock could just be the new Tracy Beaker." Darcy Burdock is a hilarious and fun book, with a main character who will be loved by boys, girls and adults. This event is suitable for children aged 7+.

1.45-2.45pm

Holly Smale

Don't miss your chance to meet Holly Smale, author of Geek Girl, the best selling Young Adult debut of 2013. Although Geek Girl has been aimed at the 11+ market, girls as young as 7 and as old as 18 are finding it to be hugely enjoyable read. Clumsy, a bit geeky and somewhat shy, Holly spent the majority of her teenage years hiding in the changing room toilets. She was unexpectedly spotted by a top London modelling agency at the age of fifteen and spent the following two years falling over on catwalks, going bright red and breaking things she couldn't afford to replace.

3.30-4.30pm

Will Hill, Conrad Mason and Rob Lloyd Jones

 We are delighted to welcome three very talented writers for our final event of the day. Covering horror, fantasy and mystery this panel event is suitable for all ages from 10 upwards. Will Hill is the author of the extremely popular and critically acclaimed Department 19 series, which features a secret government agency who are dedicated to protecting the public from the vampire menace. Conrad Mason's hugely entertaining and magical Tales of Fayt fantasy books have been described as being perfect for fans of Pirates of the Caribbean or the works of Terry Pratchett. Rob Lloyd Jones is the author of Wild Boy, a fast-paced adventure mystery story set in Victorian London, whose main character lives in a freak show.

Tickets

There is no charge for entry to the Summer Fair, but we are making a small charge for each of the author events. Tickets for each author event are only £2 for adults and £1 for under 18s. All children under the age of 11 must be accompanied by a ticket buying adult.

Tickets can be purchased by post by sending a cheque for the correct amount made payable to Charters School. Please ensure you state clearly the event(s) you wish to purchase tickets for. You tickets will be posted to you for a charge of 60p or free of charge if you include a stamped addressed envelope with your booking. Otherwise your tickets will be held at the school for collection on the day of the festival.

All cheques should be sent to:

WOW Festival, Charters School, Charters Road, Sunningdale, Berkshire. SL5 9QY


Books and Signings

Waterstones will be selling books after each event and there will be an opportunity to meet each author and get your books signed. Unfortunately we will not have credit card facilities on the day and we will only be accepting cash or cheques for book purchases. You are welcome to bring books you already own for signing.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email chartersbooks@gmail.com or call the school on 01344 624826


The Summer Fair

As mentioned above, the summer fair part of the day is completely free to enter, and there will be plenty going on for all of the family to keep you occupied between the author events, including:

Hog Roast

Barbecue

Indian food stall

Tea and cakes


Silent auction

Raffle

Tombola


Bouncy castle

Sumo suits

Games, games and more games


Second hand book stall

Jewellery stall

All kinds of other stalls (info to come)

Review: Wild Boy by Rob Lloyd Jones

London, 1841

A boy covered in hair, raised as a monster, condemned to life in a travelling freak show.

A boy with extraordinary powers of observation and detection.

A boy accused of murder; on the run; hungry for the truth.

BEHOLD THE SAVAGE SPECTACLE OF WILD BOY!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, take your seats. The show is about to begin.

Confession time: occasionally I get very excited about books by debut authors, when all I have done is read the blurb/press release and/or seen the cover design. Sometimes a book just screams "READ ME, YOU'LL LOVE ME!" This is not always a good thing, as there have been a number of time where I have ended up being disappointed when such a book turns out to be not/less than I expected. Wild Boy by Rob Lloyd Jones was certainly not one of those books - it had me completely hooked from beginning to end and I loved every moment of it. And yes, it became yet another 2013 release that received 5 stars from me on Goodreads.

Before I even opened to the first page of the book I was mentally ticking the boxes as I read its press release. A Victorian setting - check! A main character who is in a freak show, and has a Sherlock Holmes style talent for observation - check! A sinister underside to scientific advancement - check! Packed with atmosphere and graphic gore - double check! And even better - written for younger readers (i.e. no teen angst and huge loads of fun - I'm getting so bored of YA and middle grade adventure novels are really my thing right now). As I turned to that first page I was pretty confident that I was going to love it and I just want to shake the author's hand and thank him for not letting me down. This is one book that I will be pushing hard in the school library, although Walker and whoever design the cover have done such a great job I'm not sure I will have to work too hard to get the kids reading it.

As I have already mentioned, Wild Boy (the only name he has ever had) is part of a travelling freak show, where he is owned by a rather nasty master. Before he was 'sold' he had lived in an workhouse/orphanage where he was kept locked in a room, and bullied mercilessly by the other children. Moving to the freak show brought a different set of problems, but the daily humiliation continued and the only way Wild Boy stays sane is by observing the many people who visit the circus. Over time he has developed this truly amazing talent for observation and deduction, and now 'boasts' skills to match the great Sherlock Holmes. 

Unfortunately for Wild Boy though, a murder happens at the circus, and for Wild Boy it becomes a classic case of being in the wrong place and the wrong time. He is spotted at the scene of the crime, and as he is so different from the norm, he is immediately accused of the crime. All of a sudden he finds himself on the run from the law, accompanied (very reluctantly) by Clarissa, an acrobat who is far from being Wild Boy's biggest fan, but who finds herself sought as his accomplice in the crime. So begins a fun, and occasionally frightening, action mystery story as the unlikely pair attempt to track down the real murderer and thus clear their names. Along the way they encounter sinister scientists, deadly (and steampunk-ish) technology, and the mysterious organisation, known only as the Gentlemen. Seriously - what is there not to like about this book?

Whilst the mystery and the action aspects of this story are spot on, for me the stand out elements were the characters and the descriptions of their Victorian world. As the story progresses Wild Boy and Clarissa develop in ways neither of them could ever have imagined, and they gradually come to accept each other for who they are. As a reader I became attached to both of these characters very quickly, and went through a range of emotions, from anger at the way the two were treated, to total elation as they began to solve the mystery using their special talents. Come the final page of the proof copy I received I was left wanting more (in a good way, of course), and I was overjoyed with the final chapter that hinted that there may be more on the cards. I have since discovered that Rob is currently working on a sequel, Wild Boy and the Black Terror, and although it is only in the writing stage and so way, way off publication I still cannot wait to immerse myself in the world of Wild Boy and Clarissa again.

Wild Boy was published in a beautiful hardcover edition on 4th April and my thanks go the the lovely people at Walker Books for sending me a copy. If you have a 9+ child who loves a good mystery story then this is a must-read, and is certainly up there as one of my favourite books of the year so far. You can find out more about Rob Lloyd Jones and his Wild Boy over at http://www.roblloydjones.com/