The Gates - John Connolly

I am a huge fan of John Connolly's writing. That being said you are probably wondering why it has taken me so long to get around to reading this novel, marketed for both adults and children and published in 2009. It is simply a Charlie Bucket and the birthday chocolate thing. In Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Charlie gets a bar of chocolate on his birthday but instead of eating it at once he spends as long as possible looking at it before he can stand it no longer and he must eat the gift. I have been looking at this book for a long time waiting for the right moment to unwrap the gift that John Connolly has given us, that moment came when the book was chosen for one of the teen reading grouped I help organise.

Samuel is 11 and is not in a happy place, his Dad has left home and his mother has started getting dressed up to go out again. Samuel is a very unusual child, he is questioning and intelligent and the adults around him are by turns bemused, frustrated and irritated by him. In characteristic fashion Samuel decides to think creatively and steal a march on Halloween by going trick or treating a few days early. When he gets to 666 Crowley Road he finds more than he bargained for when Mr and Mrs Abernathy (with a little help from CERN's Large Hadron Collider) open a portal into another dimension and the gates of Hell begin to melt which will allow The Great Malevolence to lay waste to the world. Clearly Samuel and his dog Boswell have to stop this but when Samuel seeks help from adults they see only a child and do not believe him. Samuel has to rely on his wits and his dog, a few friends and a demon called Nurd, the scourge of Five Deities to save the world.

This is a hugely entertaining read. The tone of the book is light and accessible and Connolly has allowed the humour, which features in all of his books, even the dark Parker series, full reign. It is not just a book that entertains as there are also footnotes and riffs on particle physics, the Big Bang, philosophy and babysitters. The Gates has a very linear story line, there are occasional small branches off the main story that are short entertaining sketches but it's story arc is uncomplicated and perfect for ages 9+. I remain skeptical about it's marketing on publication to adults, but then the two adults who run book group both enjoyed the book immensely - so I am probably wrong.

I am interested in whether the book reveals Connolly's views on religion, although the story features the gates of Hell which will release The Great Malevolence, there is no mention of Satan and there is no sign of God - who you might think would take an interest in whether the gates of hell melt. The reader is treated to an opening chapter on the big bang theory which 'contained the building blocks of all that you see around you' and which also contained evil.

'There's a little bit in all of us, and the best thing we can do is to try not to let it govern our actions too much.'

It would seem that personal responsibility, rather than religion and a higher power, is the message, if there is a message, to be taken from Samuel's willingness to oppose Mrs Abernathy when the adults around him do not believe him. Taking personal responsibility is not a bad message to take away having read this entertaining and funny book.

Zombie Apocalypse created by Stephen Jones

Wanting something a little different over Christmas, Stephen Jones' Zombie Apocalypse had caught my eye. It is a mosaic novel ie 'a novel where individual chapters are written by different authors with the aim of telling linear story from beginning to end' (Wikipedia). There are twenty co-authors of this book each responsible for a particular voice or narrative within the whole. The different sections range from diary entries, transcripts of radio broadcasts and audio files, Internet pages, police transmissions, medical reports etc. The experience of reading the novel (and I use that term loosely) is like picking up a file full of different data and forming an overall impression of a series of events.

Set in an increasingly authoritarian UK, where the current coalition government have decided to hold a new Festival of Britain 'To put the Great back into Britain'. Excavation has begun at a church and graveyard in London which is to be the site of a new train station for the festival. Concerns are raised that the graveyard contains a plague pit which if excavated could release Bubonic Plague - the rest as they say is history.

I have to say that this is the first zombie novel I have read and for me the zombies were not the point of the book. What the book does well is to look at the progression of a disease event (the zombies are irrelevant to this save as a transmission mechanism) through a western society, both from an individual perspective (think in cinema terms 'Cloverfield' and 'Blair Witch Project') to the often extreme and useless measures taken by government to combat the problem (together with bureaucratic inefficiency). One of my favourite contributions was 'Minutes of Meeting' by Kim Newman which as the title states are the minutes of a meeting of the Parliamentary Select Committee Supervising the Extreme Contingencies Planning Group during which the Minister with responsibility quizzes the Junior Assistant Planner on the circumstances leading to the formation of 'Contingency Twenty-Four: In the Event of the Zombie Apocalypse' which leads to official government advice being 'Run Away Screaming.'

Due to the fragmented nature of the various contributions, and when the novelty wore off, I found myself bored with my inability to connect with anyone in the book as almost inevitably things end badly and prematurely for everyone, I began skipping ahead. The book does convey a good sense of panic and fear (together with the global spread of the disease) but I felt the ending (which I won't give away) let down what had gone before it. Am I taking this to seriously? Possibly, but as one reviewer I spotted said 'personally I found it a little unrealistic'!

The Memory Cage-Ruth Eastham

The Memory Cage is Ruth Eastham’s first novel. It is a touching story revolving around the effect of Alzheimer’s Disease on a family. Alex’s grandfather suffers from the disease and it is getting worse. Alex is adopted and his bond with his grandfather is very close as he is the one who made him feel most at home in England. Alex does not want to lose Grandad and so he covers up for him. Grandad makes Alex promise that he will not let his parents send him to a nursing home. A leaflet on Alzheimer’s Disease suggests that making a scrapbook can help sufferers. Alex clings to the hope that doing this will improve Grandad and that he will be able to keep his promise. But looking at the past upsets Grandad and some things do not add up. There are the strange words of Mr Webb and Grandad’s angry reaction to a figure in an old photograph. On top this there is the locked attic room in the house where no one is allowed to go. Alex is sure that all these things hold the secret to Grandad’s past. Piecing together the history leads to revelations about the Second World War but it also brings up memories of Alex’s past that he wants to forget forever.

                The Memory Cage deals with many more issues than Alzheimer’s Disease. It shows the difficulties surrounding adoption in the jealousy of Alex’s adopted brother, Leonard. It also shows Alex’s fear of rejection by his family. He is scared that if his family send his grandfather away they will be capable of sending him away also. It also illustrates the tragic effects of war on people through Grandad’s Alzheimer’s and references to Alex’s past. Alex’s memories of his life in Bosnia before his adoption are repressed by him. It is clear that what happened to him damaged him deeply. The story also touches on how secrets within families can adversely affect the relationships between the people in them. Eastham provides a list of websites at the end of the book that give further information on the topics introduced in it.

                I thought that The Memory Cage was an excellent book. I was thoroughly absorbed by it and, though I do not usually cry in books, I could barely read the last chapter through my tears! I would like the thank Scholastic for providing me with a copy of it to review. It is due out in January 2011 and is an excellent read for anyone in the 9+ age group.

Odd and the Frost Giants- Neil Gaiman

Odd and the Frost Giants was originally written as a U.K. World Book Day book. It became a bestseller and subsequently was published in America. The edition being reviewed here is in hardback with expressive illustrations by Adam Stower. It is suitable for the 8+ age group and is available to buy from October 2010.

                Odd lives in a small village in Norway in the time of the Vikings. His name does not mean odd in the English sense but instead translates as the tip of a blade. But Odd is strange in other ways. When he is told about his father’s death he just smiles. When he cripples his leg his reaction is the same. His mother’s new husband doesn’t have time for him and the winter seems as if it will never end. Odd decides to run away. He leaves for his father’s old woodcutting hut and that is when his adventures begin. He meets a fox who leads him to a bear and an eagle. They are not all they seem and through them Odd finds out why the winter has been so long and what must be done in order to end it and help his new friends. So Odd sets out on a journey to a place that stories are told of and on the way he finds out things about himself.

                Odd and the Frost Giants is a book that uses Norse mythology to weave an interesting coming of age novel. Odd is out of place in his village after his father dies and he gets crippled. His journey with the fox, bear and eagle lead him far away from there. It is at this distance that Odd realises what he wants to do next in his life, after he has solved the problem of the Frost Giants of course! This is an exceptional piece of writing. I would never have guessed that it had originally been written for World Book Day if I hadn’t found out after I finished it. It is one of the best World Book Day pieces I have ever read and shows great skill on Gaiman’s part to be able to put together such an exciting and moving story with such a small word limit. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people of all age groups!

Tomorrow, when the War Began - John Marsden

This book by Australian author John Marsden is regarded as a classic in it's native country and is taught extensively in Australian schools. The first in a seven book sequence it deals with the effect on a group of teenage friends of returning from a week of going bush (camping out away from civilisation in the Australian bush) to find their homes and towns empty of people and livestock, their pets dead and their country invaded by an unknown foreign force. Families, friends and townspeople are being held in a makeshift camp where the celebrations for Commemoration Day had been held.

Marsden's teenagers are educated but are, at the beginning of the book, more concerned with their friends and potential romantic connections than the strident voices issuing from the TV and radio. This all changes as they return from their trip to Hell to find that a version of hell has landed in their front yard.

Marsden's novel ticks all the right boxes for young adult literature dealing as it does with growing up, change and self discovery, where it triumphs however is in it's portrayal of teenagers as being thoughtful, concerned by the consequences of their actions and being able to see many sides to an issue. This is no gung-ho flag draped all action adventure but a hard look at the reaction to war/invasion by those who haven't really been interested in politics and current affairs and are forced to reassess their relevance to them.

The essential question that Marsden asks is what would you do? Hide, surrender or fight. The group of friends decide to fight for their country and society, from that moment on they have to grow and change to accommodate their new roles and experience.

It is a book that has great relevance in today's world, almost 20 years after it was published, for a generation that also considers that the strident voices issuing from TV and radio and politics has no relevance to them. In fact, the book is asking the biggest of questions of it's teenagers and the society in which they live, particularly now. What are you going to do? Hide, surrender or fight (figuratively not literally of course) for your country and the type of society you want to live in.

Originally published in Australia in 1993 the book has held up well to almost 20 years of technological advancement (the absence of ipods, ipads and mobiles goes almost unnoticed). No longer in print in Ireland, if you can root out a copy it would be well worth it for a well written account of real teens facing tough choices rather than easy actions with no consequences (nobody dies or is hurt badly).

Carole.

The Dead of Winter - Chris Priestley

This tale opens with a funeral. Michael Vyner's mother has died leaving him  an orphan. Michael's father died in Afghanistan when Michael was a baby saving the life of another,Sir Stephen Clarendon who has been Michael's benefactor and is now his Guardian. Michael is invited to Hawton Mere, Sir Stephen's ancestral home in the middle of bleak Cambridgeshire fenland, to spend Christmas with Sir Stephen and his sister Charlotte. But all is not well at Hawton Mere and Michael begins experience strange and sinister noises and apparitions. Who is the woman in the white shift? What or who is the image in the mirror?

This is a great spooky and frightening Gothic tale for children that has all the required elements for those who enjoy the more subtle horrors of vast and empty landscapes, castles, madness, death, secrets and ghosts. This is no blood and guts tale but an atmospheric and well crafted page turner that gathers its horrors around it like a cloak of thickening fog until the reader has sunk into the bed with a single lamp burning into the night, afraid not to finish the book and afraid to finish the book - and then afraid to turn the light off afterwards!

Read this in one giant bite and tell your friends, I doubt they will be as thrilled by anything so fearsome this year.

My thanks to Bloomsbury for my copy of Chris Priestley's book.

The Dead of Winter is available now.

Matched-Ally Condie

Cassia is seventeen and she is about to attend her Match Banquet where the Society will reveal to her who her Match is. Her Match is her future husband found using a mixture of genetic and psychological compatibility. The government, known as the Society, has picked the partner who she is most likely to have a happy family life with and who is most likely to produce strong healthy children with her. Everyone in Cassia’s world is matched when they are seventeen unless they choose to be single for the rest of their lives. Only those who are matched are allowed to have children. In Cassia’s world the people are watched closely at all times, even while they are dreaming or exercising. People’s careers are determined by what they are best at and they are not allowed to have knowledge that relates to jobs that are not theirs. The Society even determines when people die, on their eightieth birthday. Cassia fits perfectly into this world, accepting all the rules the Society makes without question. It is only after her Match Banquet that she finds out more about the totalitarian regime that the Society really is and begins to see what is lost when lives are run purely on rules.


Cassia’s Match Banquet goes perfectly. She is matched to her best friend Xander, a surprise as is it rare that a person knows their Match prior to their matching. She is happy until she goes home and puts the microcard with Xander’s personal details onto her computer. Xander’s picture is replaced by someone else’s after a second. Someone that Cassia knows, Ky Markman. Curiosity leads Cassia to learn more about Ky and why he is one of the people in the Society who is not allowed be matched. Her relationship with Ky develops and through him she learns about things that have been lost due to the Society’s rules and about the people the Society exploits in order to maintain its control over the majority of the population. Cassia finds herself falling for Ky with no thought for the consequences.

Matched is a book about freedom of choice and about how something can look perfect on the outside until the consequences of achieving that perfection are shown. It explores the effects of a totalitarian government’s brainwashing on society when there is no one left who remembers what life was like before the totalitarian regime was established. It also puts the reader in mind of the Aryan race of Hitler’s regime as the matching system is essentially a breeding programme. It is a powerful book and as two more are to follow in the series it promises to continue to be so. My only problem with it is that probability gets such a bad name as it is one of my favourite branches of maths!

Condie has created a disturbing dystopian book, which not only makes the reader look to the future to see the faults that could happen there but to examine the faults in our own time. The Society shows why they rejected the world we live in now in the book. It easy for the reader to look at the world Condie portrays and to see the flaws in it but it is unsettling to see the flaws of our own as an outsider would see them. Dystopian as the world shown is, the inequalities of our own are equally unpalatable and the book helps us to remember that our world could be considered as a dystopia by an outsider. At least the people in Cassia’s world have the excuse of being brainwashed from birth in accepting their society. We have no such excuse.

Matched is a great, if disturbing read. It is suitable for young adults in the 14+ age group and is due out on 2nd December 2010. I would like to thank Razorbill Penguin for providing me with an advance copy for review.

Roisin

A Boy Called M.o.u.s.e.- Penny Dolan

A Boy Called M.o.u.s.e. is an exciting and fast moving book about Mouse, a boy who has no surname and a surprising amount of enemies for someone so young. The reader knows more about Mouse’s story than he does himself as, though the majority of chapters are written in the first person from Mouse’s point of view, some the chapters are written in the third person from the view of both people who wish him ill and wish him well. Because of this from the start the reader knows what Mouse does not: that he is the son of rich parents who are lost at sea and his nursemaid Hanny, who he calls Ma, ran away with him to save him from his uncle Scrope who wants him dead. But Scrope is not the true villain of the piece. He is in the clutches of the sadistic money lender Mr Button who likes to cause others misery as much as he likes to collect the money they owe him. Scrope thinks that he has Button under his control but his perception is clouded by the jealousy he feels because his brother’s wife did not choose to marry him. Scrope needs money to pay back Button and feed his gambling addiction and Mouse is in his way. This leads him to leave Mouse’s affairs in Button’s hands. Button quickly discovers where Hanny has taken Mouse and when he judges the time is right he brings Mouse to Murkstone Hall, a cruel and tough school in the middle of nowhere run by an unhappy, uncaring man. But even during Mouse’s trials in his lessons we know worse is to come since we have seen Mouse as a servant in the kitchen of the school near the start of the book. Luckily we also know from the Dramatis Personae (if we have read it before starting the book) that Mouse has many cheerful friends to look forward to such as Nick Tick, Charlie Punchman and even a heroine, Kitty. Mouse longs to return to Hanny. The only clue he has to who he really is is a small silver disk with his name and a mouse carved on it that Hanny gave him and made him swear never to show to anybody.

This book is about love and friendship during hardship and what family really means. Even though Mouse is cruelly treated and pursued by villains throughout the book he also finds some true friends and how to survive in the world that has treated him badly. It also shows Mouse’s feelings of displacement because he knows he doesn’t know the full story about who he is and why the villains of the piece have it in for him. Mouse learns that it is love that creates a family and he uses this knowledge to create a life that he is happy in.

Mouse is a cheering and lively character. His skill at climbing and his head for heights are phenomenal and help him both in finding a place for himself wherever he is and when escaping from those who wish him ill. The other characters, whether hero or villain, in the book are all as vividly depicted as Mouse and have their own lives and, for some, secrets. I thoroughly enjoyed A Boy Called M.o.u.s.e. It is due out on 4th October and is an exciting book for the 9+ age group. I would like to thanks Bloomsbury for providing me with an advance copy for review.

Roisin

Reckless - Cornelia Funke

Cornelia Funke has a world wide army of fans following the publication of her Inkheart Series. With 'Reckless' Funke will keep those fans and add new, older, ones beguiled by her writing style.

Jacob Reckless has lost his parents. His father has disappeared and his mother is lost in her grief. A year after his disappearance Jacob enters his father's study to look for clues as to what happened. Instead Jacob finds the way into a different world, through the glass mirror hanging on his father's study wall. From that moment Jacob is also lost to his mother and brother Will, disappearing for extended periods into this alternate world but as Will and Jacob Reckless grow up Jacob's secret does not remain a secret and Will follows him through the mirror.

Although we first meet Jacob as a child the story very swiftly jumps to a point when the Jacob and his brother are adults in their twenties, their alternate universe is peopled with humans, fairies elves and goyle. It is a place where magic is real but not in a benevolent way. The goyle (stone men) aided by the Dark Fairy are at war with the humans, the humans are loosing. Due to a mistake made by Jacob his brother is injured by a goyle as a result of which Will's skin is slowly turning to stone. Will is turning into the Jade Goyle dreamed of by the Dark Fairy and sought by the Goyle king's most trusted general. Jacob must find a way of reversing the Dark Fairy's spell in order to save his brother.

Funke has created a beguiling and dangerous world, from child eating witches to Sleeping Beauty whose prince never came (and I don't even want to think about the Tailor who is stitching clothes of skin!). There is an argument that this is not a book for those under 12 although children who have grown up with fairy tales will be no stranger to the grotesque. The fact that the Reckless boys are in their twenties which is unusual in 'childrens' fiction also means that there are more adult elements to the story, there are intimations that Jacob has had a chequered love life in this mirror world and there is possible confusion as to who Will's girlfriend Clara (who has also ended up in this mirror world) truly loves, Will or his brother Jacob.

The story is told from Jacob's point of view. He has clearly operated both in this world and the mirror world as an independent entity for many years leaving his mother and Will for long periods of time. He is in all respects a mercenary, paid for his services and hired for his expertise in tracking down artefacts. He is calculating and alone, apart from Fox. The impetus for his quest to save his brother is the mistake he made which resulted in Will's injury but along the way he comes to value that which he is about to loose - his family. There are however other relationships in this mirror world that Jacob does not necessarily value and it will be interesting to observe through this intended trilogy whether Jacob's lessons in caring are the point of the series.

My only critism of the book would be Jacobs capacious pockets, he seems to have a magical item for every eventuality, which became quite conspicuous by the end of the book. It is clear however at the end that there are further adventures to be had in this new world and Jacob faces further challenges. I for one will be waiting for the next instalment with baited breath.

Carole

Alien Storm - A. G. Taylor

A taut roller coaster ride of danger, betrayal and superpowers this book continues A. G. Taylor’s tale of six children who have gained special powers following a virus infected meteorite strike (The first in the series is 'Meteorite Strike').

Saved from capture and befriended by Russian billionaire Nikolai Makarov, the six friends are pitted against their strongest and most dangerous adversary yet as more deadly meteorites head towards the earth in what will be an extinction event.

 Perfect for the 10+ age group this is a thrilling sci-fi adventure with strong characters of both genders, so the book should appeal to a wide audience. At 412 pages the book is also one for confident readers younger than 10.

'Alien Storm' will be published on the 26th November so there's plenty of time to catch up by reading the first book in the series before publication day!

Noah Barleywater Runs Away- John Boyne

Noah Barleywater Runs Away is about eight-year-old Noah Barleywater and the adventures he has the day he decides to run away from home. Noah has decided it is better to leave home and not to think about the things there that make him sad. Instead he faces the path before him. After all eight is old enough to leave home, all the books he has read show how easy it is. But Noah is surprised by how different it is to run away in real life and, having skipped breakfast, he is very hungry by lunchtime. The villages he passes through are strange. When he takes some apples off a tree they vanish and no one seems friendly. In the third village things are different. He is fascinated by a strange tree and the odd shop behind it. When Noah goes into the shop he meets an old man there and his fortune changes. 

              This book is an interesting blend of fairy tale and the present day. The stories Noah tells the old man are firmly set in the unmysterious modern world. But the old man’s stories take place in a strange, slightly magical world in the past and are strangely familiar... I personally found Noah’s stories more interesting but enjoyed those of the old man almost as much. It is a touching story about love, death and growing old. It is also about not being afraid to make the choices that will make you happy in life. The time that Noah and the old man spend together leads them both to share things that they are scared or ashamed of. Both their futures are put on a different path by their meeting.

              I enjoyed the book, especially after the familiar story lines began to emerge. It is a clever combination of a sequel to a classic children’s story and a modern story about a child trying to deal with a problem that is out of his control. The novel is due out on the 30^th September and is a great read for anyone in the 8+ age group.

I would like to thank David Fickling Books for providing me with a copy for review.

Roisin.

The Stray Sod Country - Patrick McCabe

The people of Cullymore, Ireland are startled by a scream. And so begins this novel of the innermost thoughts and desires of a town. Strangely compelled to act upon these impulses, the town may indeed have stepped onto ‘The Stray Sod’, a clump of grass enchanted by fairies so that you become lost and disoriented, the familiar becoming unfamiliar. Allied to this is William Blake’s vision of a ‘Nobodaddy’, a patriarchal god who is nobody because he never shows himself to those he supposedly created. McCabe has combined the two in a characteristically savage and fantastical tale of a town, its relationships and petty jealousies which is a song to the rural communities of the 1950’s. Who is the narrator of this tale? A Fetch designed to presage the death of the community and its way of life or, in the absence of God, the Devil come to taunt the devout community. As 1958 draws to a close and the modern world comes closer, the echo of the community and its actions reverberates through time.

X'ed Out - Charles Burns

Doug is in bed with a head trauma, he is woken by his cat Inky who died years ago. The cat is sitting in front of a hole in Doug's bedroom wall, the cat enters the hole and Doug follows, through this portal into another world.

So begins this graphic novel of the American sequencial artist Charles Burns, a homage to Herge's Tintin ( the cover specifically references 'The Shooting Star') and William Borroughs. Doug is a teenage artist who possibly got into an altercation with the boyfrind of a (possibly) ex-girlfriend which resulted in the head injury. At home in bed, drugged with pictures scattered around him, Doug drifts between reality, flashbacks and drug induced hallucinations. The hallucinations take over more and more of his life until it becomes increasingly unclear what is reality and what's not.

This novel is concerned with Burns' enduring preoccupation with identity, the ability to cover or alter yourself, the wish to transform and become a new person - that a person may indeed be 'X'ed Out'. Doug's head wound is clearly visible as a result of having his head shaved, his 'affliction' is in plain sight. Doug can not cover the cause of his suffering, but can Doug transform himself? The eternal teenage quest for identity.

Filled with strange creatures and grotesque human figures -and eggs, Doug hallucinates a reptilian race who clearly hold some power. This race have found a new Queen and Doug is instantly smitten but she is being taken to the hive - yet another possible reference to the erasure of the individual, subsumed into a collective mentality much as modern society demands conformity.

Tintin is also referrenced in the artwork Burns' has produced, the hallucinated panels are in the style of Herge with flat bright colours. The panels dealing with Doug's reality have a different visual style, much darker. Images from Doug's reality are replicated in his dreams, much as Burns has replicated some of the images that recurr throughout his past work in this novel.

This is the first in a planned sequence of books (the next is 'The Hive'). There is much to look at and think about in this, the first part of Doug's story. My only critism is that it is too short. There is no sense that we have understood or resolved anything from this first part of the story, indeed I suspect that I have only just begun to scratch the surface of the complexity that Burns will offer to his readers in this series. Whilst the brevity of 'X'ed Out' is frustrating there is enough to engage the reader and keep them guessing until the publication of 'The Hive' (for which I have no release date).

I am indebted to an interview between Charles Burns and Brian Heater at The Daily Cross Hatch here .

I would also like to thank Jonathan Cape and Random House for my copy of 'X'ed Out' for review.

'X'ed Out' is released on the 16th October.

Carole

I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett

'I Shall Wear Midnight' is the fourth book about Tiffany Aching. Tiffany is a witch and she’s run off her feet. She’s not even sixteen but she’s the one who is called in by the people of the Chalk to deal with births and deaths. She’s also responsible for all the assorted nursing that everyone else is too busy to do or even think about, like cutting old ladies toenails. Usually Tiffany cannot remember when she last ate or slept in a proper bed. But even though she is doing all the work no one wants to do people seem to be suspicious of her. Tiffany knows that people always dislike witches a bit because they wish that they did not need them but it seems that the dislike is getting out of hand. And the kelda of the Nac Mac Feegles is telling her that that there is danger in her future. Tiffany may not have the time or energy to think about or fear what is in store for her but she will have to face it soon.

'I Shall Wear Midnight' is another excellent book by Pratchett. Like his other books concerning witches it deals with close knit communities and the problems that arise in them. Though the world it is set in seems old fashioned the ideas put forward are not. Tiffany and her fellow witches are involved in doing damage control for all the bad things that can happen in a community as well as being the equivalent of a local doctor. People think that magic can fix everything but Tiffany knows that sometimes difficult decisions have to be made and sometimes it is not deciding what the ‘good’ choice is but which of the two bad choices is the best. In an earlier book concerning Granny Weatherwax she plays Death for the choice of whether a mother or her baby dies. It is these choices that Tiffany is talking about in this book, the ones that you do not speak about afterwards but have to be made by someone. In Pratchett’s books it is witches that have to make them. Tiffany is not even an adult and she has to make decisions where there is no right choice. This book is partly about the fear that people who make such decisions can provoke in society and how it can lead society to turn on those who are trying to help them. Of course, it has the humour and excitement of all the Discworld books. No book containing the infamous Nac Mac Feegles (also known as Pictsies) could fail to be hilarious. While these are my favourite characters for providing amusement, the rest of the cast also lived up to expectations.

For Pratchett fans this book ties up a few loose ends and brings up old characters that might have been forgotten. There are also some fascinating new characters that can at times be very surprising! As there often is, there is a little crossover with characters from other Discworld subseries and it is fun to see people who are usually protagonists appearing in the background. The plot is fast moving and it is sometimes very scary. The importance of everyday life to the book means that the dangerous magical forces are even more terrifying in contrast.

As always I believe Terry Pratchett’s books are suitable for all age groups but this book is listed as Young Adult so I’ll put it down as 10+.

'I Shall Wear Midnight' is out at the start of September. It is a fantastic read and will not disappoint Pratchett’s fans.

My thanks to Doubleday for providing me with an advance copy for review.

Roisin

A Most Improper Magick- Stephanie Burgis

Kat Stephenson’s family is in trouble. Her brother’s gambling debts will have him thrown into debtors’ prison if they are not paid in two months. For Kat and her two older sisters, Elissa and Angeline, this would put paid to any prospects of marriage. As it is their marriage prospects aren’t good. They have no real dowries and though their father is a clergyman, their mother was a witch and in the nineteenth century that was a disgrace in the eyes of society.

Kat is only twelve and her plan of dressing as a boy and running away to London to make her fortune is quickly foiled by her older sisters. Her stepmother has a much more practical plan. She hopes to marry off Elissa to a wealthy man, Sir Neville Collingwood. Elissa has agreed to this but Kat knows there is something ominous her two sisters are not telling her about him. Both Kat and Angeline are determined to stop the match from happening. Kat’s plans are brought to a halt but when she finds her mother’s magic books in Angeline’s possession she realises that Angeline’s plans are more risky. Kat realises that magic could be an effective means of preventing the marriage but when she searches her mother’s belongings she finds out there is more than one type of magic and that those who practice it are not always the friendliest people. As the meeting with Sir Neville grows closer Kat is determined to ensure that catastrophe is diverted without marrying her sisters off to men they do not love.

Kat is a lively and likable character. Her family seems to be a typical fairy tale family with the wicked stepmother and the weak father. It is an interesting twist that it is the girls’ dead mother who was the witch not the stepmother. The book is exciting and fast moving. It’s quite scary in places and very funny. Kat is perpetually making mistakes but she always has good intentions. The reader will be able to relate to her because she is not perfect even if she has powerful talents. The book has the familiar plotline of the young protagonist being responsible for dealing with the mess that her older relatives make. It is distinguished by its great heroine and sinister villains. It has a well thought out structure for its magical world and what is revealed about makes the reader want to know more. It also brushes against problems of class in both Kat’s home life and the magical world that she enters. A Most Improper Magick is an exciting book for readers in the 10+ age group.

'A Most Improper Magick' is Stephanie Burgis’ first novel. There are two more books about Kat and her family due to be published in the next few years. Stephanie Burgis has had short stories published, many of which are available to read online on her website www.stephanieburgis.com Most of these short stories are written for adults.

'A Most Imprper Magick' is available now.

My thanks to Templar Publishing for my review copy of the book.

Roisin

Dark Matter - Michelle Paver

Dark Matter (n): Matter inferred to exist from it's gravitational effects on visible matter.

It is 1937 and in a foggy London four gentlemen of science await a fifth, the potential wireless operator for an expedition to Gruhuken in the Arctic to study High Arctic biology and conduct a meteorological survey. The fifth member of the group is Jack Miller, a clerk who had to abandon his dreams of a scientific career to care for his mother after his fathers illness and death.

'Dark Matter' is comprised of Jack's diary entries primarily written during his time in the Arctic. However, at the beginning of the book is a letter from a medical Doctor in 1947 seeking more information from a member of the Arctic team regarding Jack for a monograph on  'abnormal fears' and 'phobic disorders'. The reader is therefore placed on notice that the contents of the journal may not be reliable and of the need to assess how far Jack can be trusted to tell us the 'truth' of his experiences in the Arctic.

Jack is 28, lonely, poor and has a chip on his shoulder about his life circumstances and the wealth of his expedition companions. He has no friends and has been alone for 7 years since the death of his mother. Judgmental and resentful of his companion's opportunities due to their wealth Jack isn't a very likable character. Jack wants to change his life and views the Arctic and the expedition as a way to do this:

'I think that's what the Arctic means to me. I think that up here, I'll be able to "breathe with both lungs", as Mr Eriksson says: to see clearly for the first time in years. Right through to the heart of things'

Like the obscuring London fog at the beginning off the book, Jack is unable to view his circumstances and history clearly and without emotion. He hates 'all this raking up the past' and hopes that the expedition to Gruhuken will be a new start.

Unfortunately, of the original team of five, only three make it to Gruhuken - Jack, Algie and Gus.

What follows is a quiet winding of tension as both Algie and Gus have to leave Grunuken and Jack remains to carry out the meteorological objectives of the survey. But as endless day turns into endless night, Jack and the reader enter a world where science and reality hold no sway:

There's no dawn and no dusk. Time has no meaning. We've left the real world, and entered a land of dreams'

What actually happens to Jack, what he sees, hears and feels are the 'Dark Matter' of the title. Jack doesn't like the past 'poking through' but this is exactly what seems to be happening to him. The past influences Jack in how he lived in London and the past influences his behaviour in the Arctic winter. The scientific mind is pitted against our most primitive fears:

'Fear of the dark. Until I came here, I thought that was for children; that you grew out of it. But it never really goes away. It's always there underneath. The oldest fear of all.'

As the polar night engulfs Gruhuken in darkness and the point of no return approaches, what exactly is Jack experiencing?

Gruhuken and the Arctic are physically present in this book in their own right. What lingers in the mind are Pavers' descriptions of the expedition surroundings, the first sight of which is like 'a blow to Jack's heart'. The noises of the ice talking to itself, the pistol shot as part of a glacier breaks off and sinks into the sea and behind it all, the stillness

'Immense. Overwhelming. I realised that this place is and always will be No-man's-land.'

This is no high octane action adventure, more of a slow burn as tension and doubt are layered on top of each other. Paver's tightly controlled narrative and character development meant that I never lost belief in Jack's character, there are no slips or jarring notes to bring the reader back to their own reality. Jack's character begins to change as his story unfolds, thawing and relaxing, due to his friendship with Gus and his love for one of the team of huskies. Paver is equally convincing in the portrayal of the unraveling of Jack's view of reality. As we are left to try to sort out what actually happened to him in Gruhuken we are given a glimpse into Jack's future - a view which I found as unsettling as the events in Gruhuken itself.

Definitely a book to read in large bites (if not in one mouthful) if you are a lover of the strange and chilling.

This is Michelle Pavers' first ghost story for adults, her style is simple and direct and as such the book would be accessible for older teens.

My thanks to Orion for providing me with an advance copy for review. Because my copy is an advance some of the quotes above may differ slightly in the final version of the book.

'Dark Matter' will be published on the 21st October

Carole.

Dark Life - Kat Falls

When the oceans rose, entire continents were swallowed up by the rising water. Now humans live packed into high rises on small tracts of land, while those willing to forge new frontiers settle deep on the ocean floor.

Ty is the first child to be born on the ocean floor in Benthic Territory, an underwater community. He has spent his entire life as one of the new settlers in this new environment. There are other children in the territory but he is the oldest. When he discovers a submarine without lights sitting on the sea floor it provides a convenient place to wait out some sharks that are a little too interested in him. Inside Ty finds the sub dripping with blood and a girl, Gemma, an orphan and ward of the Commonwealth, who is searching for her brother sent to a juvenile detention centre when she was young. But things are about to change in the territory, outlaws and pirates are preying on the ships of the 'wealth and they are about to turn their attention to the settlers. The children of the territory have secrets that could destroy their community and the life they live on the ocean floor.

Kat Falls has written an compelling book that owes a debt to many different genres and types of story. Variously a western (frontier life, pioneers, outlaws and a sheriff), a dystopian novel of life after global warming, a coming of age novel (both for the central character Ty and the community in which he lives), love story and science fiction all action adventure. Despite all of these different styles Falls has managed to keep a firm hand on her story which rattles along at breakneck speed and which will keep it 11+ audience entertained and enthralled.

Falls has done an excellent job of underwater world building, her awe and fascination with the creatures of the deep oceans is transmitted clearly through her vivid descriptions which, coupled with her underwater technologies, make the Benthic Territory a character in the book in it's own right. She touches on but does not labour the politics of the new frontier - control and exploitation by the Commonwealth. The reader is also made aware of The Topside (where Gemma comes from) an overcrowded, hot teeming place where space is a luxury and where the Commonwealth still maintain martial law and elections have not been held for 20 years. There are therefore many areas of interest for intelligent and interested teens to consider.

Although Ty and Gemma appear a little young for their supposed 15 years, slightly too gung-ho, innocent and unable to consider the consequences of their actions, they are not too young to feel the first stirrings of more adult emotions towards each other. Ty and his other underwater born friends have their own secrets which they are anxious to conceal, however as the outlaws turn their attention to Ty and Gemma and the 'Wealth reveals it's interest in the children of the new frontier it becomes clear that the children are what will help the settlers survive.

As the book ends and the plot arc draws to a close I anticipate that this is not the last we shall hear of Ty and Gemma, there is a lot more of this new world to be explored. Indeed for such a well thought out and potentially complex world I would hope that Kat Falls can produce fiction that is more complex and satisfying than this essentially plot driven novel. There is huge potential for the world of the Topsiders and Dark Lifers which is only touched on and skimmed over in this book. It is no surprise that the book has already been optioned as a movie.

Carole

The 10 p.m. Question – Kate de Goldi

Kate de Goldi is a New Zealand author. She writes young adult fiction, short stories and children’s books and has won many awards for her work. The 10 p.m. Question has received several awards including the New Zealand Post Book of the Year (2009) and the Readers’ Choice award at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards (2009).


The 10 p.m. Question covers several months of twelve year old Frankie Parsons’ life. Frankie’s structured world is changed drastically when he makes friends with Sydney Vickerham, a new girl in his class. Sydney is different to everyone he knows and her intense questioning about his life and family make Frankie worry. Some parts of his family life are taboo subjects that no one ever brings up. What if Sydney asks him questions he does not want to answer?

As Sydney becomes part of Frankie’s life further worries emerge. Sydney’s mother does not stay in one place for long. Frankie worries all the time about everything from earthquakes to spiders and Sydney’s cheerful company helps Frankie to enjoy life more. He does not know how he will cope if Sydney goes. And since he is afraid of flying how will he be able to visit her?

de Goldi has created a fabulous world in The 10 p.m. Question. She has created fantastic characters in Frankie’s family and his school life. From the incredible Aunties to Frankie’s eccentric teacher, Mr A. all the characters in this book come to life on the page. Each chapter ends with a section in italics. This describes when Frankie goes to his mother’s room at 10 p.m. every night to ask her questions about what has been worrying him during the day. The italics make the conversation between Frankie and his mother more private and show what an important and personal part of Frankie’s day it is.

The 10 p.m. Question deals with the effect of mental illness in a family. It is interesting because it covers mental illness in both adults and children and shows the genetic connection within families. It also focuses more on Frankie’s journey to understanding what he wants from life than on how his difficulties with endless worry are solved. It is also notable in that it does not focus on the taking of medication to solve mental illness. It shows that there are limitations in trying to cure people who are mentally ill and that sometimes people need to compromise their idea of what is normal in order to be able to accept these limitations.

The 10 p.m. Question is out this August and is a great read for anyone in the 12+ age group.

My thanks to Templar Publishing for supplying me with a copy of this book for review.

Roisin

Gregor the Overlander - Suzanne Collins

Published this month is Suzanne Collins' debut novel Gregor the Overlander, previously only available in the US. It is a fantasy adventure novel for ages 9+ that is well written and action packed.

Gregor is 11, his father disappeared 2yrs 7mths and 13 days ago and life has not been the same since. Gregor doesn't allow himself to think about the future, it is too painful, he just thinks about now - the now of not being able to go to summer camp because he has to stay home and mind his 2yr old sister Boots while his mum works. But while he is thinking about the now his mind is not on what he is doing (the laundry) and definitely not on his sister. When Gregor realises his sister is very quite and has been for some time he finds her leaning into a grate in the laundry room, as he reaches for her she disappears, Gregor has to follow and down down he falls into the Underland.

Gregor finds himself in a land where cockroaches, bats, rats and spiders speak and are far larger than in the Overland. Humans have violet eyes and his father is being held by Gorger, King of the Rats. Gregor's arrival leads the Underlanders to believe that he is the warrior prophesied in 'The Legend of Gray' carved on the walls of the palace, a warrior that will affect the fate of the humans in Underworld. Gregor knows he is no warrior, but it is the only way he can rescue his father so he, Boots and two Underworlders set out to build an alliance with the spiders and the cockroaches in order to rescue Gregor's father and save the Underworld from the rats.

Suzanne Collins is known in Europe for her best selling Hunger Games Series, a dystopian adventure for the 11+age group. Gregor's tale is an introduction to the world of fantasy literature for the 9+ age range but is no less well written or absorbing just because it is for a younger audience.

Gregor is an average child who has suffered a traumatic loss and Collins is astute enough to realise that although Gregor's father can be rescued, he will have been changed by his experiences.

Gregor had thought he would get a parent back when he found his Dad. Then he could stop having to make hard decisions. He could just be a kid. But the man before him was even needier than Boots was.

Collins' portrayal of Gregor is real and vivid, Gregor is no all action hero he is just an ordinary boy in extraordinary circumstances - he even realises that even though he might want a sword, as his mum won't even let him carry a pocket knife and, as he is likely to be grounded for the rest of his life, a sword just wouldn't be worth the hassle!

The Underland is a fantastic world. From Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  through to the wardrobe in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe secret portals to other worlds have long been a staple of children's literature and Collins has done an excellent job of world building. Coupled with dangerous allegiances, treachery and battles this book is a must for young (and not so young!) bookworms.

There are four more books in the series and I assume these will be released in due course

At the back of the book children will find a note about the author, an interview with Suzanne Collins and for imaginative children a piece about how to go about constructing their own portal and underworld when writing stories - this is a great idea.

You can find an excerpt of the book here

For the teachers amongst you a teachers guide and book group type questions here.

Carole

I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore

Penguin's big new release for the autumn is I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, the pseudonym of James Frey ( A Million Little Pieces and Bright and Shiny Morning) and a new young writer Jobie Hughes. The book is also currently being filmed as a movie and clearly Penguin are hoping for great things from this projected 6 book series.

John Smith is a teenager new to Paradise, Ohio. His documentation says that he was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. John is not a normal teenager and his place of birth is far from Tuscaloosa, in fact its far from anywhere on Earth. John Smith was born on Lorien, a planet ravaged by the Mogadorian. He is a Garde, one of nine children that survived the Mogadorian invasion that destroyed his home world. Due to a charm placed on the nine they can only be killed in number order. Three of those survivors are dead, John is number four and he is next!

Whilst trying to come to terms with new powers that he is developing John must also try and blend in in the new school he is attending, difficult to do when your hands start glowing when stressed. Unfortunately not everyone in Paradise is friendly and as John's terrestrial problems mount it seems that his extra terrestrial problems are just about to explode with devastating consequences for friends and enemies alike.

This is a rip roaring read full of action and adventure for the 13+ age group, a plot driven story which will have the intended audience lapping up not just this book but it's sequels. It is also nice to see not only 'the love interest' but the introduction of, what I hope in future books, will be a kick ass girl - number 6.

The relationship between John and his guardian Henri is one of the best features of this tale. Henri has cared for and tried to guide John through 10 years of hiding on earth but, as with most teenagers, Henri's control over John is slipping as John moves closer to adulthood. As John makes more of the decisions on his own and Henri disappears we see just how frightening the adult world that Henri has shielded John from, can be.

Keep an eye out for two of my favourite characters Bernie Kosar and Sam Goode and for the sequel of this book which I am sure is going to be huge.

In the beginning we were a group of nine.

There are six of us left. The first three were killed in the order of their numbers.

They won't stop until they've killed us all.

I am number four.

I know that I am next.

Catch up with all the info on the book and movie here

My thanks to Penguin for sending me an advance copy of this book for review.

Carole.