#ReviewMonday with @lockwoodwriter : Night Shift written and illustrated by Debi Gliori

Summary

A groundbreaking picture book on depression with stunning illustrations. 

With stunning black and white illustration and deceptively simple text, author and illustrator Debi Gliori examines how depression affects one's whole outlook upon life, and shows that there can be an escape - it may not be easy to find, but it is there. Drawn from Debi's own experiences and with a moving testimony at the end of the book explaining how depression has affected her and how she continues to cope, Debi hopes that by sharing her own experience she can help others who suffer from depression, and to find that subtle shift that will show the way out.

Published by Hot Key books in January 2017 

32 pages in hardback - illustrated throughout 

***** 

I don’t usually do personal in reviews. I believe reviewing is about suiting the right book with the right reader - and therefore it’s not about me. But I am going to make an exception. 

This beautiful book is about fighting depression - which is something both Debi and I suffer from. Her artwork has expressed sensations that words often fail to convey. Her prose simply yet thoughtfully works with the moving images to deepen the experience. It works whether you know the ‘Black Dog’ or not. 

Despite the subject matter, it is fundamentally a hopeful book that I will treasure. Please get hold of a copy for anyone you know who has to deal with depression themselves or in their family. Brilliant for discussion with all ages. It would make a great companion piece with Horatio Clare’s Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot. 

Highly recommended for individuals, families and schools. 

(I do hope Hot Key bring it out as a Big Book for PSHE.)

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K. M. Lockwood lives by the sea in Sussex - see the pics on Instagram. She fills jars with sea-glass, writes on a very old desk and reads way past her bedtime. Her tiny bed and breakfast is stuffed full of books - and even the breakfasts are named after writers. You'd be welcome to chat stories with @lockwoodwriter on Twitter

Happy Publication Day Margot and Me by @junodawson

Today is the day when Margot and Me by Juno Dawson is published! Hoorah! *throws confetti* I am already half way through this book and absolutely loving it. Each book Juno writes, knocks her last one off the spot of being my favourite! Every book is so unique. 

To celebrate publication, Tina from Hot Key Books has kindly allowed me to post this telegram written by Juno, which was sent out with all the proofs. This gives you a real feel of what the book is about. 

Thank you Juno and Tina for allowing me to share this today. 

Summary

Fliss is on the way to visit her grandmother in Wales - the grandmother who she doesn't get on with - with her mother who is recuperating from chemotherapy. But her mum is getting better, that's the main thing, so Fliss can concentrate on being grouchy and not looking forward to meeting her grandmother Margot, who is so cold and always so unforgiving of Fliss's every mistake . . . But when the six months is up, Fliss consoles herself, she and her mum will go back to London and back to Real Life!

In the meantime Fliss needs to get used to her new school, not upset the scary girls, and just keep her head down (whilst still making sure that everybody knows she is from London, of course). Then Fliss discovers a diary at the back of her bookcase. It is from the 1940s and is set in World War II, and, Fliss realises, is actually Margot's diary from when she was a young woman during the Blitz. Intrigued, Fliss begins to read. There she discovers a whole new side to Margot, a wartime romance and also Margot's deepest, most buried secret. And it is then that Fliss discovers something terrible in her own life that she is going to have to come to terms with...

To find out more about Juno Dawson:

Twitter / Website

Cell 7 by Kerry Drewery

Martha sits at a table in the centre of the room in half light. Her long hair has been shaved to her scalp and her clothes have been replaced by white overalls. 

Published by Hot Key Books in September 2016

Pages - 400

Summary

Should she live or die? You decide 

An adored celebrity has been killed. Sixteen-year-old Martha Honeydew was found holding a gun, standing over the body.

Now Justice must prevail.

The general public will decide whether Martha is innocent or guilty by viewing daily episodes of the hugely popular TV show Death is Justice, the only TV show that gives the power of life and death decisions - all for the price of a phone call.

Martha has admitted to the crime. But is she guilty? Or is reality sometimes more complicated than the images we are shown on TV?

*****

Wow! When you think you've read every type of dystopian going, an author pulls a completely brand new one out of the bag. 

If you ever imagined what George Orwell's Big Brother might really be like now, then this chilling tale is it. Based loosely on the hit reality shows of today, the audience get to choose whether Martha lives or dies, by phoning in their votes.The votes are suitably rigged - money is the key. If you have lots you can easily, rig the voting, causing innocent people to die.  Imagine if the justice system was really organised like this. A rather chilling thought. 

Through a mixture of show segments and first and third person narrative, you get to see the whole picture. The majority of Martha's chapters are first person, so you get a real insight into her past and her fears about the future. You discover what really happened on the night the much loved celebrity, Jackson Paige, died. As the story evolves, the plot unravels and by the end, the truth has been revealed. 

Martha is a fighter. She is headstrong and determined that the truth about Jackson Paige becomes public knowledge. But will she get the truth out there in time to save her? 

I found this book rather disturbing to read. It is extremely realistic, exceptionally gritting and rather too accurately foreboding. It's one of those books that could happen and that is unnerving. I got a chill just reading it. 

A chilling realistic tale, that I hope to God, never really happens!  

The Yellow Room by Jess Valance

It's about half past seven on Tuesday morning and it's freezing in my bedroom so I'm doing my usual trick of gathering all of my uniform together in one quick sweep, dragging it into bed with me and getting dressed completely under the duvet.

Paperback, 263 pages

Published July 28th 2016 by Hot Key Books

Summary

Sixteen-year-old Anna receives a letter from her father's girlfriend telling her he has died and asking to meet. Anna is drawn to Edie: her warmth, her character, her ability to rustle up delicious meals, all of which her own mother is seemingly incapable of... and the way she can tell Edie the secret that is buried inside her.

A tautly told, compelling tale about mothers and daughters and the lengths that some will go to, to make their dreams come true.

****

As you head into this book, you quickly realise that all is not rosy in Anna's life. On the outside things look normal but there is something Anna is not telling us and it involves the super creepy, stalkerish Leon. I wasn't sure what he was up to in the beginning, but he creeped me out as soon as he stepped into the book. I swear he made me shiver with uncomfortableness. He takes manipulation and bullying to whole new level.  

Anna has a secret which is consuming her life. It's one of those secrets that perhaps shared with another wouldn't seem so bad, but as Anna is lacking in having someone to turn to for advice, it's eating away at her.  She comes from a one parent family and her mum really doesn't have a lot of time for her, in fact let's be honest, she gives her no time at all, even bailing on one of the most important days of her life. 

So when Edie appears on the scene, all warm, caring and willing to listen, it's not surprising Anna likes her and wants to spend more time with her. 

I really liked Edie. And I don't think I'm supposed to. She is the most mixed up, screw loose character in the book who goes to some extreme lengths to show her allegiance, but her heart is warm and she will do anything to protect Anna. 

The book gets creepier as the story progresses and you hope that Anna will see through the sugar glaze before it's too late. 

Having met Jess and followed her on Twitter, I am so pleased to see her wicked sense of humour is revealed in her writing. At times I was giggling when I'm not sure I was supposed to. It's like Jess slipped the jokes in under her editor's nose. 

I really enjoyed The Yellow Room and I will definitely be reading Jess Valance's first book, Birdy in the near future. 

A realistic look at the deteriorating relationship between a mother and daughter. Be careful who you trust with your secrets, because they might just use to bring you down. 

If you're looking for a super creepy page turning contemporary, then this is the one for you. 

Setting The Scene with Kerry Drewery

I'm so pleased to welcome author, Kerry Drewery, onto the blog to talk about the fascinating settings for her latest YA novel, Cell 7.

Thanks so much to Serendipity Reviews for having me over on the blog, and giving me the opportunity to talk about settings in Cell 7. 

Cell 7 is set in a society where the death penalty hasn’t been abolished but has evolved into a system where guilt is decided by public internet and phone votes over the course of seven days. There are seven cells on death row, one for each day of the week, until the accused reaches the Cell 7 where their fate is finally decided. 

There are a few key settings within the novel, but one of the most important is death row itself, and the cells within it. 

I wanted the cells to be very basic, and had a look around the internet for ideas and inspiration and found these - 

I also spent the day at the old Victorian prison in Lincoln. 

The old Victorian prison in Lincoln 

My death row needed some specifics though; it needed to have a room for the counselling sessions close-by, it needed a larger cell at the end for the (potential) executions, and this needed to have space for an audience, and the audience needed to be able to access this without coming through the ‘cell’ building. I’m not very good at drawing but I do find it helps to map something out, so in my head, this is what death row looks like in Cell 7. 

Rough sketch of how I saw the layout of death row 

Another key setting within the book, is the area called The Rises. The people with money, power and influence live in the City or the surrounding Avenues, but those at the other end of society live in the Rises, a poverty-striken place, it’s made up of high rise flats, unkempt parks, and boarded up shops. 

There are areas like this in most towns, so I took a trip to a town close to me and took some photos of the high rise flats, some of the public spaces and some of the boarded up shops (see above). 

I took this in Grimsby - some old flats are being demolished. 

It was very interesting to watch the people, the general comings on goings and remember that although this section of society is often looked down on, and assumptions are made about 

their lifestyles, most are just people trying to survive and do the best for their families. It reminded me that criminals exist in all sections of societies - just a different type.

 

Inspiration for the underpass in Cell 7 

The most fun setting to create was those for the TV sections. The show, Death is Justice, ended up with a couple of different studios depending on the show for that day. For the usual ‘news’ show I wanted something very glitzy and glam and looked at American news shows like Fox News. 

Still c/o Fox News website 

Another setting was a ‘talking heads’ section called ‘Judge Sunday’ and the inspiration for this came from a visit I made to the Old Bailey the summer before I started writing it. I found out that the public are allowed to sit in on trials within the Old Bailey (there’s information here), and I went and spent a couple of hours watching a trial and drawing the layout of the space. For security reasons, you’re not allowed to take in any electronic devices, but armed with some paper and a pencil I made a rough sketch. 

Rough sketch of a court room in the Old Bailey 

I realised that in the society I had created in Cell 7, the Old Bailey wouldn’t be used for its original purpose, but I thought that as it’s such an iconic building with such a rich history, it would be a perfect location to use as the story developed, and so it became a key setting within the series. 

 I hope you’ve enjoyed my mini tour of settings, and I hope if, or when!, you read Cell 7 you can see the influences of these real-life places.

Published by Hot Key Books in September 2016

Summary

An adored celebrity has been killed. Sixteen-year-old Martha Honeydew was found holding a gun, standing over the body.

Now Justice must prevail.

The general public will decide whether Martha is innocent or guilty by viewing daily episodes of the hugely popular TV show Death is Justice, the only TV show that gives the power of life and death decisions - all for the price of a phone call.

Martha has admitted to the crime. But is she guilty? Or is reality sometimes more complicated than the images we are shown on TV?

To find out more about Kerry Drewery:

Twitter / Tumblr

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#ReviewMonday with KM Lockwood: The Door that Led to Where by Sally Gardner

Summary

AJ Flynn has just failed all but one of his GCSEs, and his future is looking far from rosy. So when he is offered a junior position at a London law firm he hopes his life is about to change - but he could never have imagined by how much.

Tidying up the archive one day, AJ finds an old key, mysteriously labelled with his name and date of birth - and he becomes determined to find the door that fits the key. And so begins an amazing journey to a very real and tangible past - 1830, to be precise - where the streets of modern Clerkenwell are replaced with cobbles and carts, and the law can be twisted to suit a villain's means. Although life in 1830 is cheap, AJ and his friends quickly find that their own lives have much more value. They've gone from sad youth statistics to young men with purpose - and at the heart of everything lies a crime that only they can solve. But with enemies all around, can they unravel the mysteries of the past, before it unravels them?

Hot Key 2015

288 pages in paperback - read courtesy of NetGalley

******

My goodness, Sally Gardner can write in a variety of styles - from the jolly capers of the Wings & Co. books for younger readers via the extraordinary Maggot Moon to the marvellously dark fairy tale of Tinder. Yet The Door that Led to Where is different again. 

It begins in a contemporary, recognisable London with almost-17-year-old AJ. Many readers will feel for his difficult circumstances - and warm to his sense of humour. But then there’s added time travel - which brings its own set of perils and challenges to his complicated life.

It’s more than a touch Dickensian - but as if in a Simon Pegg film. Moments of visual and character-driven comedy lighten the adventures in the dark streets - and there’s a mystery to puzzle out. That may make it sound a bit superficial - but friendship and family are right at the heart of the story. 

For me, AJ and Elsie are a particular highlight. I don’t give spoilers but seeing relationships across generations gives extra depth to a story - think of Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho -Yen. I would also mention the eclectic mind of largely self-taught AJ - we’re close to it most of the time - and it’s so entertaining. 

I would say experienced readers would get the best out of The Door that Led to Where - it has a complex plot and the language is mature at times. (Though under the circumstances, actually quite restrained!) 

Perfect for those who love London, history, and adventures with lots of threat.

The US cover captures the spirit of the book admirably.

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K. M. Lockwood lives by the sea in Sussex - see the pics on Instagram. She fills jars with sea-glass, writes on a very old desk and reads way past her bedtime. Her tiny bed-and-breakfast is stuffed full of books - and even the breakfasts are named after writers. You're always welcome to chat stories with @lockwoodwriter on Twitter.

YA from my Youth by Claire Hennessy

To celebrate the publication of Nothing Tastes As Good which was published by Hot Key Books last week, I'm pleased to welcome author, Claire Hennessy onto the blog to talk about the YA books she grew up with.

My imaginary version of adolescence was incredibly American. Even though there were a handful of Irish and British and Australian YA writers, it was the Americans that called to me. I wanted to be in a high school clique. I wanted to be jealous of the cheerleaders. I wanted to go on dates. I maybe even wanted to be in the chess club (never mind that I couldn’t play chess!).

In my pre-teens I’d discovered the magical world of the Sweet Valley universe, devouring titles from the Twins, High and University series. If you’ve never read a Sweet Valley book, here’s what you need to know: Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are identical blonde twins with eyes the colour of the Pacific. Jessica’s a sociopath. Elizabeth isn’t much better but disguises it by acting ever-so-caring. They are stalked, kidnapped and proposed to (often by princes or jewel thieves) on a fairly regular basis. Oh, and they’re always falling in love with each other’s boyfriends, and the best way to wake anyone from a coma is to get Jessica to talk to them and tell them they’re allowed on the cheerleading squad. 

Thinking myself too cool for these books as I entered my teens (despite their fabulous ridiculousness), I hunted down creator Francine Pascal’s other projects. One was a set of trilogies about the beautiful, rich Caitlin, featuring much melodrama and implausibility. I adored them. The other was a trilogy she’d actually (gasp!) written herself, rather than relying on ghost writers. The Victoria Martin trilogy begins with ‘My Mother Was Never A Kid’ (also published as ‘Hangin’ Out With Cici’) and follows a troublemaker fall back in time and meet her teen mother, and learn about mistakes and taking responsibility. The following books explore summer jobs - one as a mother’s helper who’s being seriously taken advantage of, the other as a summer camp counsellor who’s fallen for her best friend’s boyfriend - and are both funny and poignant. I may have read them a couple of hundred times. 

Other American writers I turned to had written for kids as well, so it was an easy step up. Beverly Cleary’s ‘Fifteen’ is a very honest and also innocent look at a girl’s first boyfriend and all the hopes that go with that, while Judy Blume’s ‘Here’s To You, Rachel Robinson’ is an incredible look at a thirteen-year-old overachiever struggling with a difficult family situation. I wanted to have a boyfriend who would drive me around! Or one with a chartreuse jacket with a dragon on it. (You had to be there.) I also loved Paula Danziger’s writing - so funny and so good on recognising that kids and teens go through some really difficult stuff, but also inspiring them to stand up for themselves. ‘This Place Has No Atmosphere’ is about a popular girl who moves to a tiny colony on the moon in 2057 and learns a lot about herself - I’ve reread it over and over. I’d love to write something like it one day (there were some bad scribbled imitations in my youth which I think have fortunately vanished into the ether).

And weirdly, now that I think about it, because I am kind of a wimp, I was obsessed with Christopher Pike. ‘The Last Vampire’ series was a firm favourite, but I also loved his standalones - you always knew that a ‘Slumber Party’ would lead to no good, or that a ‘Weekend’ away was doomed (expect angry teenage girls, dark secrets, and murder). I adored the books of his that explored stories - ‘Last Act’, in which a play a group of teenagers are putting on has a sinister echo to their real lives, or ‘Master of Murder’, where a teen horror writer (using a pseudonym so that his classmates have no idea he’s the author) uncovers the secrets of a local murder through his new book. ‘The Midnight Club’, about a group of terminal patients telling stories and fables that reveal their secrets, is absolutely haunting, while ‘The Starlight Crystal’ is basically a look at the entire history of the Earth and the universe and blew my mind a little bit. 

I’m not sure how much any of these books directly fed into my writing but the one thing they did absolutely instil in me was a sense that teen books were awesome. That they could handle tricky issues while still being funny, that they could be dark because teens could handle it. That they were a space where a lot of cool stories and intriguing characters were hanging out. They still are. 

Published by Hot Key Books on July 14th 2016

Summary

What happens when you give in to the voices in your head?

Annabel is dead. And she's not happy about it. Despite having strived to be 'lighter than air' back when she was alive, the consequences of that yearning haven't quite sunk in yet. 

Julia Jacobs is fat. Which Annabel immediately notices when she's assigned as Julia's ghostly helper (don't even think about calling her a guardian angel). And as her helper, Julia's problem seems pretty obvious to Annabel. Fat = problem = unhappy. Sorted. 

The only trouble is that whatever is causing Julia to overeat is hidden deep within her. Annabel will have to get to know Julia to uncover this secret and 'fix' her. Annabel can become the voice of reason, Julia's source of strength. 

Except. . . all this time spent in someone's head has got Annabel thinking. Not just about food, but about her family too. And that maybe happiness can mean more than eradicating all the flesh from your bones.

To find out more about Claire Hennessy

Twitter / Website 

#ReviewMonday with KM Lockwood: Anything That Isn't This written and illustrated by Chris Priestley

Summary from Publisher’s website

Shortlisted for the Peters Book of the Year

Seventeen-year-old Frank Palp lives in a grim little apartment, in a grim little building, in an exceedingly grim (and rather large) city. Cobbled streets and near-destroyed bridges lead one through Old Town and Old New Town, and war-damaged houses stand alongside post-war characterless, concrete hutches. Most people walk hunched over, a habit from avoiding snipers, but others are proud to stand tall and make the world take notice . . . This is a city full of contradictions, and Frank is no exception.

He mostly hates his life, he definitely hates the ludicrous city he is forced to live in and he absolutely with complete certainty hates the idiots he’s surrounded by . . . and yet he is in love. A love so pure and sparkling and colourful, Frank feels sure it is ‘meant to be’. His love is a reward for all the terrible grey that he is surrounded by - which would be great, if the girl in question knew he existed. And then one day, the perfect sign lands in his lap. A message, in a bottle. A wish, for ‘anything that isn’t this’. The girl who wrote this is surely his soulmate - and now he just needs to find her.

Hot Key October 2015

480 pages in paperback

*****

The one that got away

Have you ever had a book get away from you? One you didn’t even know existed until you came across it well after publication? One that you absolutely love and cannot begin to understand why no-one pointed it out to you?

Well, I have.

And it’s called Anything That Isn't This.

Now I have to say it’s not for everyone. It most definitely is not my more usual 9-12 fantasy read. It’s meant for those on the edge of becoming an adult. It also works brilliantly for older readers reflecting on their own coming-of-age: I found a vein of dry humour in it too.

However, it certainly has more than a touch of dark Eastern European magical realism which I relish. If you’ve seen any Jan Švankmajer films or read any Kafka, you’ll have an idea. There’s also a hint of The Lives of Others (a film I would highly recommend - age 15+). But it doesn’t matter if you haven’t come across any of these: it’s not clever-clever. Those references are for the essential mood - not showing off.

Frank Palp’s story resembles some strange mid-century fairy-tale - told like a spy thriller. One where the 17-year-old central character constantly has to revise everything he thought he knew. It’s both fascinating and moving - and very true to many a teenager’s experience in an odd, parallel way. Despite having some large ideas, and being quite long, it’s easy to read. The style is deceptively simple - not unlike the drawings.

It’s chock full of Chris’s own illustrations. To see some of them, check out The Guardian’s gallery here. That way you’ll know if it’s right for you or the person you might give it to. As Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell said “An astonishing novel; beautiful to look at, thrilling to read.”

How I missed I doubt I shall ever know - but I am so glad I’ve caught up. If it looks remotely interesting, do try it. I’m giving one to my husband!

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K. M. Lockwood lives by the sea in Sussex - see the pics on Instagram. She fills jars with sea-glass, writes on a very old desk and reads way past her bedtime. Her tiny bed and breakfast is stuffed full of books - and even the breakfasts are named after writers. You'd be welcome to chat stories with @lockwoodwriter on Twitter

London Belongs To Us by Sarra Manning

LONDON

A city of eight million people. Eight million lives. Eight million stories. 

This is just one of them.

Published by Hot Key Books in June 2016

Pages - 272

Summary

Seventeen-year-old Sunny's always been a little bit of a pushover. But when she's sent a picture of her boyfriend kissing another girl, she knows she's got to act. What follows is a mad, twelve-hour dash around London - starting at 8pm in Crystal Palace (so far away from civilisation you can't even get the Tube there) then sweeping through Camden, Shoreditch, Soho, Kensington, Notting Hill . . . and ending up at 8am in Alexandra Palace.

Along the way Sunny meets a whole host of characters she never dreamed she'd have anything in common with - least of all the devilishly handsome (and somewhat vain) French 'twins' (they're really cousins) Jean Luc and Vic. But as this love-letter to London shows, a city is only a sum of its parts, and really it's the people living there who make up its life and soul. And, as Sunny discovers, everyone - from friends, apparent-enemies, famous bands and even rickshaw drivers - is willing to help a girl on a mission to get her romantic retribution.

*****

This is actually my first Sara Manning book and I want to give myself a damn good talking to about not reading any of her books before, because this book is BRILLIANT!

Where do I start as there is so much to love about this book? 

I adored the concept behind it. A twelve hour journey around London stopping at all the beautiful places in the city. It made me proud to be British. In my head I was singing this and waving my flag!

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At the beginning of each chapter we get a guide to each town with all the bits of gossips you wouldn't get from a tourist guide. They were such a wonderful accompaniment to the story itself. 

I loved Sunny! It was great to see a  mixed race character in the lead & how she was treated in different settings. I was nodding my head at the scene where she was the only person of colour in the room, as I've been in that situation with a mixed race friend and felt how uncomfortable it was for them. It was great to see how her attitude to her boyfriend and her life itself change as the story progressed. 

Vic and Jean-Luc were entertaining. They had such an enigma about them to begin with that it was brilliant to see they were just two squabbling cousins behind it.

The viral YouTube scene was just fabulous and so fitting for today's young adult market. Nearly every teen dreams of being in  a viral video and being discovered.   

This book is fun, light and summery, giving us a whirlwind tour of London at it's best. 

Letter To My Younger Self by Alison Rattle

I love this post today from author, Alison Rattle! 

Alison has recently published her third novel, V for Violet with Hot Key Books, which is set in the Swinging Sixties. Alison has written a heartwarming, yet comical letter to her younger self below. 

Dear Alison,

First of all I would like to say PLEASE STOP OBSESSING ABOUT YOUR HAIR. It might not be sleek and straight and capable of falling into perfect flicks like your mates, Karen and Pamela and Dawn, but believe me, you will grow to love that unruly mass of curls. It will become your defining feature, and in time, Karen and Pamela and Dawn will kill for hair like yours. 

Secondly, and this is really important, please don’t feel you have you join in when all your friends are trying to learn how to smoke in the park after school.  It’s not cool or grown up, it’s disgusting. And you’ll probably develop a life-long smoking habit, plus wrinkles, damaged lungs and the risk of cancer. So please DON’T. 

Listen to your mum when she tells you it’s not necessary to shave the baby fine hairs on your legs. They will grow back all black and stubbly and you’ll have to keep on shaving them forever which will turn into a real chore. Definitely don’t shave your eyebrows.

Don’t feel like you have to go out with the first boy that asks you, just because all your friends have boyfriends. The thought of kissing him will make you feel sick and it will end in disaster. You’ll know when you’ve met the right boy when your hand fits in his hand perfectly, he shares your passion for books, old black and white films and still loves you even when you’ve forgotten to shave your legs.

Have confidence in your talents and abilities. But know that you can’t be good at everything. It doesn’t matter if you suck at maths and chemistry, you’ll still be able to manage a household budget and you will be brilliant at baking cakes. You might find your history lessons the most boring things on earth. You might even fail your history exams. But in years to come your history teacher will fall off his chair when he learns that you have written and published historical novels. 

You are capable of so many things you don’t even know about yet. Just dare to dream, because your dreams will come true if you work hard at them and never give up. (Even if it takes until you’re forty, you will get a publishing deal) And remember it’s ok to have more than one dream. Don’t think you have to decide what you want to do in life and stick to it. It’s ok to change your mind. It’s ok to fail. It’s ok to try a million and one things. Believe me, you’ll do things you never even dreamt of.

Don’t be afraid to be an individual. Don’t follow the crowd. Their way is not necessarily your way. Wear that leopard skin hat if you want you and that beautiful vintage dress. But be careful of four inch high clog boots. You might fall off them and break your ankle one day.

And don’t make the mistake of thinking that one day you’ll grow up. That one day you’ll be all sensible and will understand politics and be able to make grown-up decisions about mortgages, investments and insurance policies. Because you won’t. You might grow older, but inside you’ll feel the same as you do now. Wiser perhaps about some things (not politics or financial investments) and more experienced, but definitely NOT grown-up.

Grab every opportunity. Do things that scare you. Travel as much as you can and don’t waste too much time exercising, because the size of your bum is a genetic feature that no amount of exercise will ever change.

Most of all, have fun! Lots and lots and lots of fun!

With love

Alison XXX

Thank you Alison for an awesome letter, which all teenagers should read.

Published by Hot Key Books in April 2016

Summary

Battersea, 1961. London is just beginning to enter the swinging sixties. The world is changing - but not for sixteen-year-old Violet. She was born at the exact moment Winston Churchill announced Victory in Europe - an auspicious start, but now she's just stuck in her family's fish and chip shop dreaming of greatness. And it doesn't look like fame and fortune are going to come calling anytime soon. Then she meets Beau. Beau's a rocker - a motorcycle boy who arrives in an explosion of passion and rebellion. He blows up Violet's grey little life, and she can't believe her luck. But things don't go her way for long. Joseph, her long-lost brother, comes home. Then young girls start going missing, and turning up murdered. And then Violet's best friend disappears too. Suddenly life is horrifyingly much more interesting. Violet can't believe its coincidence that Joseph turns up just as girls start getting murdered. He's weird, and she feels sure he's hiding something. He's got a secret, and Violet's got a dreadful feeling it might be the worst kind of secret of all...

To find out more about Alison Rattle:

Website / Twitter