Debuts 2017 - Lorraine Gregory

Today's debut is a fellow SCBWI member and one half of the team that brought you #ukmgchat, Lorraine Gregory. I've followed Lorraine's journey for a few years and it's so lovely to see her finally getting her time in the limelight. Mold will be published with Oxford University Press in May. Here is Lorraine to tell us all about her upcoming debut book, Mold. 

How are you feeling about your debut this year? 

It’s a mixture of overwhelming excitement and mind numbing fear basically. I absolutely can’t wait to have my book out in the universe at last; to have children discover Mold and the world I created, to be able to run events and school visits and to finally be a real life, bone fide, published author after so many years of trying!

But the flip side of that is the stomach clenching worry over whether anyone will actually like my book. Maybe they’ll just think it’s weird? Maybe no one will buy it? Maybe people will hate it entirely, write horrible reviews and tell me about it on twitter and I’ll end up running away to live in a Yurt in outer Mongolia…

The thing is that as much as I WANT people to read my book it also makes me feel incredibly vulnerable to know people CAN read my book. It’s a bit like letting any random stranger, friend, acquaintance or enemy root freely around in your head, picking through your deepest thoughts and feelings and judging everything, judging me, by what they find there. 

So to sum up, basically it’s all completely terrifying and wonderful and I’m fairly sure I’m going to be hideous to live with for the next six months or possibly longer but shhh don’t tell my family, they have no idea!

 Did you ever feel like quitting writing?

The honest answer is no. I never wanted to quit writing because it had taken me so many years to get round to doing it and made such a huge difference to my life that I couldn’t imagine NOT writing. 

But I certainly considered giving up the quest for publication. I had some extremely low points where rejection and failure seemed to haunt me and I wondered why I kept putting myself out there, why I was chasing this dream that seemed impossible and hurt so much. 

I was lucky that I had family and friends to support me and just enough stubbornness and grit to keep going. I grabbed onto every tiny triumph I could find and just kept writing.

What are your hopes for 2017?

A film deal, a t.v spin off and my own interactive, nose based theme park to start with.

*Cue maniacal laughter* 

We writers do have overactive imaginations don’t we? 

No, truthfully I think it’s really easy to get caught up in the whole success thing. To see other authors winning prizes, getting five star reviews, selling foreign rights, as well as the pinnacle of all authors dreams - having their own themed stickers, rubbers and pencils! It’s understandable that we crave similar validation that we’re talented and special too. But lovely as all those things are (especially the pencils!) my real hopes for 2017 are that children will love reading Mold and the Poison Plot, that they disappear into the world I made and never want to leave and that maybe they’ll tell me all about it one day. I can wait till 2018 for the theme park…

Who did you tell first about your book deal? 

My son was in the house when I got the email offer from OUP and I may have danced excitedly past him shouting “I’ve got a book deal!” which made it quite difficult for him to ignore. It was lovely and fitting that he was the first person to know because I started writing for him and he has been an amazing support throughout; listening to me reading draft after draft, discussing plots and characters and ideas for hours, nagging me to keep writing so he can find out what happens next, telling me it’s boring and I need to make it better and doling out hugs and words of comfort when I’ve been struggling. 

What has the wait for publication been like?

VERY VERY LOOOOOOONG!

I signed my book deal in May 2015 and Mold will be released in May 2017 so it’s been rather a slow road to publication for me. 

At the beginning it didn’t seem that bad, there was editing to do and then more editing and ooh a little bit more editing and just some tiny extra bits of editing and that kept me occupied for a while screaming into the void and banging my head on the desk. 

After the editing’s done though, much of the work that goes on is the publishers domain and there were long periods of time when I wasn’t needed for anything. I’d try and focus on a new manuscript for a while only to be needed again for brief bursts of excitement over things like proof pages and cover discussions.

I often think that writing is one of the worst occupations for someone with little or no patience like myself to get in to and… unsurprisingly, I’m absolutely right. 

I’m pleased to say that I’ve coped well with all the waiting (snort) by moaning excessively to all my (very long suffering) friends and family and the copious use of twitter. 

And in between I’ve done some actual writing of words so that one day I might be lucky enough to go through it all again.

***

Summary of Mold

He's got a big heart . . . and a nose to match! 

Mold's a bit of a freak. His nose is as big as his body is puny and his mother abandoned him in a bin when he was a mere baby. Who else but the old healer, Aggy, would have taken him in and raised him as her own? But when Aggy is accused of poisoning the King, Mold sets out to clear her name. 

In a thrilling race against time to save Aggy from the hangman's noose, Mold faces hideous, deadly monsters like the Yurg and the Purple Narlo Frog. He finds true friendship in the most unusual - and smelly - of places and must pit his wits and his clever nose against the evil witch Hexaba. 

To find out more about Lorraine Gregory:

Twitter / Website

Electrigirl and the Deadly Swarm written by Jo Cotterill & illustrated by Cathy Brett

There should be a law against rain in the summer holidays. School finished two weeks ago and we've barely had a single day without rain. I hate it when it rains. It means I can't get outside, and I go bonkers when I'm cooped up indoors. 

Published by Oxford University Press in August 2016

244 pages 

Summary

Fully charged and ready for action. The second title in an explosive new series, with a unique mix of stunning comic book style visuals, and action-packed prose. Holly Sparkes was just your average 12-year-old, that was, until a bolt of lightning crashed into her. Now Holly Sparkes is ELECTRIGIRL! After honing her superpowers, rescuing her best friend, and defeating the evil Professor Macavity - a holiday is just what Holly needs. But there's much more than sun, sea, and sand on offer in the sleepy town of Polcarrow - and when a mysterious and deadly swarm attack there's only one person that can save the day ...ELECTRIGIRL! A new and exciting take on the classic superhero story - told from the original perspective of a 12-year-old girl. Part comic, part text, perfect for fiction and comic book fans alike. This accessible, fast-paced read is truly electrifying!

****

I love it when a sequel is just as fabulous as the first book! Electrigirl - part book... part comic is really a brilliant concept and as I mentioned in my previous review, I do think there should be more Middle Grade books like this.

Our heroine, Holly, is heading off on holiday with her mum, brother and best friend. They are all hoping for a good rest after all the drama with Professor Macavity and CyberSky. Though it seems when you have super powers, you don't really stand much of a chance of a rest. 

It seems Cornwall has been hit by a swarm of  potentially dangerous flying creatures, which means Holly needs to save everybody...AGAIN! Holly is quickly thrown into the drama, racing to the top of cliffs and climbing down through narrow caves to save everyone. 

There is a fabulous addition to their team in this book - Cameron, who comes across as slightly autistic. He's not very good at social interactions but has a head full of useful and useless facts. 

This book is easy to read and perfect for reluctant readers. The drama kicks in quickly and you find you can't put the book down until you have finished. Another cracker from a dynamic duo!

#ReviewMonday with KM Lockwood: The Rising written by Tom Moorhouse, with illustrations by Simon Mendez

We are River Singers, Water Folk, children of Sinethis. We live by her ways. She takes our old and gives us young. She stirs our hunger; feeds us with grasses She shelters us in her waters and burrows. She rises and dashes us. She sings with us a song as soft as thistles, hard as roots, deep as shadows, old as stones. We singer her a song as quick as thinking, sweet as apples, brief as day. We are River Singers, and we are hers. 

~ 

‘This,’ said Strife loudly, as she followed her sister through the tunnels,’ is just typical, isn’t it? Just as we’re old enough to be out on our own, Mother limits us to mornings and evenings. Don’t you think it’s typical? I do.’ 

Ivy ignored her. Kale, walking behind, also said nothing. But in his case that was not unusual. 

‘I mean,’ Strife continued, ‘I know Mother doesn’t want us out in the middle of the day, what with the rain and everything but it’s not like we’re pups anymore, is it? I’m sure I could cope with a bit of drizzle now and again.’ 

Published by Oxford University Press July 2015 

256 pages in paperback with 100+ black and white illustrations 

Summary from author’s own website 

When their uncle Sylvan pays an unexpected visit, young water voles Kale and Strife know something exciting must be about to happen. Little do they know that soon they'll be running for their lives, as a new danger threatens to destroy everything and everyone they care about. 

Kale and Strife will need all their strength and courage to survive their journey into the unknown. But the shadows are full of enemies, and still more surprises lie in wait . . . will they ever make it back home again? 

*** 

I’ve given you two contrasting mini-extracts from The Rising to suggest the range of flavours in this delightful story. At one end of the spectrum, it is lyrical and touched with subtle fantasy. Indeed, as the prologue excerpt shows, it has a delicate hint of the spiritual about it. 

But on the other hand, there’s character-led humour and easy-to-read adventure. It’s a fine balance which author Tom Moorhouse carries off well. 

If you want something with the charm of The Wind in the Willows, but without either the sexism or snobbery, then this is a cracking choice. True, there are no anthropomorphic toads driving cars, but that strong sense of a beloved countryside animates both. There’s definite peril - which can be a little frightening at times - and some sadness. But the moments of beauty, courage and joy will outweigh any anxiety on the behalf of younger readers or listeners. 

It could certainly be read aloud to young listeners at primary school - Tom Moorhouse’s love and knowledge of his subject shines through without spoiling the story. I should like to add that the detailed illustrations by Simone Mendez really make this a lovely book to share. 

The Rising would make a brilliant choice for child readers not quite ready for the length, complexity and epic scope of Watership Down, but who love wildlife. I would recommend they read The River Singers first (I wish I had) as this is the sequel - but it’s not absolutely necessary. A good read for lovers of nature - whatever their age.

---

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.

Electrigirl written by Jo Cotterill and illustrated by Cathy Brett

If I hadn't argued with my best friend, I'd never have been struck by lightening. But if I hadn't been struck by lightening, I'd never have got my superpowers. 

Published in February 2016 by Oxford University Press

Pages - 208

Summary

I used to be plain old ordinary Holly . . . but now I've become EXTRAordinary Holly!

Being struck by lightning and getting an amazing superpower wasn't how Holly thought that her day would go. But now it's happened, she might as well make the most of it . . . if only she could work out how to stop blowing everything up!

****

Wow! So this is what happens when you combine a book with a comic. You get an explosive adventure that is so easy to read, you can easily finish it in a couple of hours.  This is perfect for reluctant readers and I think the covers will make it appeal to boys and girls. I want to see more books like this! I really think more Middle Grade books should have pictures in. In fact, I'd happily read an adult book with illustrations. Just because I can read, doesn't mean I don't appreciate excellent drawings too. 

Although aimed at the Middle Grade audience, it deals with the role of technology  and social media in today's society and shows how it is filtering quite quickly down to the next age group. We've seen a rise of social media appearing in Young Adult books, so it's not surprising  and quite refreshing to see it reaching the 9 to 12 year old bracket, who are already using it as well. 

I love the main character, Holly. She is the most unlikely super hero, yet with the help of her super hero mad younger brother, Joe, she   gets to grips with her new power. I'm so pleased to see a girl as the superhero and taking the main role in the book and Macavity makes a superb essential villain too. 

Electrigirl is electrifyingly brilliant!

Jo Cotterill and Cathy Brett make the perfect team as they both bring Holly's story to life. I really hope this is a long running series. 

Pugs of the Frozen North by Reeve and McIntyre

Winter came in the night, like a white sheet laid over the world. It came so cold and so fast that the waves of the ocean froze as they rolled. The good ship Lucky Star froze with them, trapped tight in the suddenly solid sea.

Published by Oxford University Press in September 2015

Pages - 211

Summary

The Race to the Top of the World! It comes around once in a lifetime, and the prize? Your heart's desire. Shen and Sika can't resist the chance to win, but competition is fierce. The path to victory is littered with snow trolls, sea monsters, and a gang of particularly hungry yetis. But Shen and Sika have something the other contestants don't have. Actually, they have 66 other things; pugs to be exact. That's a 264 paw-powered sled. Let the race begin! 

*****

This book is delightfully bizarre! I'm completely convinced that sixty-four pugs could pull a sled in a race to meet the Snowfather. In fact, I would argue with anyone that doubted it.

From the moment the sea freezes over, I was wrapped up in this story. All the characters are quirky and unique. How could you not love Mitzi Von Primm with her newly grown Yeti fur or Helga Hammerfest and her beard?

The story is mind blowingly original. The Yeti Noodle Bar was the zaniest part of the book and yet so utterly believable. 

Sensitive situations were made extremely child friendly and I imagine children getting comfort from the way the story climaxes. 

I honestly don't know what I loved best - the illustrations or the words. They both work so beautifully together. I think someone should capture the imagination of Reeve and McIntyre and bottle it. It would sell for a thousands on Ebay. When I'm plotting in the future, I shall ponder over the question - what would Reeve and McIntyre do in this situation?  

I can see why these books are such a hit with the kids. They take situations further than extreme and make them down right hilarious. I would say it would suit the more confident reader but it would also be a brilliant book for parents and children to share together. 

What a super talented team.

Waiting on Wednesday - Electrigirl by Jo Cotterill, illustrated by Cathy Brett

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, started by Jill at Breaking The Spine, highlighting future book releases everyone is waiting on!

Electrigirl - written by Jo Cotterill and illustrated by Cathy Brett is published in February 2016 by Oxford University Press.

I am really looking forward to this Middle Grade book! Not only is it written by one of the UK's favourite Middle Grade authors, but it's also illustrated by the extremely talented Cathy Brett, who is an author as well. Also it's about a girl with super powers. What's not to love??

Summary

I used to be plain old ordinary Holly . . . but now I've become EXTRAordinary Holly!

Being struck by lightning and getting an amazing superpower wasn't how Holly thought that her day would go. But now it's happened, she might as well make the most of it . . . if only she could work out how to stop blowing everything up!

The A to Z of Railhead Blog Tour: V is for Villains.

I'm so pleased to be hosting today's spot on the A to Z of Railhead blog tour with Philip Reeve.

V is for Villains

All good stories need a villain. Or do they? Personally, I hope they don’t, because I keep forgetting to put villains in mine. The stories which inspired me when I was young all have thoroughly evil villains whom it’s a pleasure to boo and hiss until they get their inevitable come-uppance, and anyone who has done any acting will know that the villain is the best part to play. But my own stories don’t seem to work that way. 

Railhead is a good example. It definitely has some dodgy characters among its cast-list. There’s the sinister Raven, with his shadowy past and mysterious schemes, tempting my young hero into trouble. And then there’s Kobi Chen-Tulsi, who seems a simpler sort of villain; a spoiled, idle, none-too-bright bully. The trouble is that once you start writing about people, you start to see things from their point of view, and find out that they have reasons for the things they do. This may not turn into heroes - their excuses my be bad ones, or their dark deeds too wicked ever to excuse - but they stop being villains, at least in that boo-able, hiss-able sense. And at the same time, a similar process starts to happen to the good guys. They can’t be completely good - that would be dull, and make them seem like plaster saints, not real people. So maybe they do bad things sometimes, or do good things for selfish motives. So do they become villains? Well, not really - it’s more that everyone ends up just as a person; some are better than others, but none of them is perfect. They are all pursuing their own aims, and sometimes that brings them into conflict. 

The downside to this approach is that I don’t get to have anyone swirling their long black cape and going, ‘Mwah-ha-ha-ha!’ (That really is a downside, because a villain who swirls a long, black cape and goes, “Mwah-ha-ha-ha!’ can be a lot of fun.) On the upside, I think it’s more interesting if we’re not always sure who the good guys and the bad guys are. And even we have a pretty good idea, we retain at least a soupçon of sympathy for the Devil.

Railhead is published by Oxford University Press. 

Summary

Come with me, Zen Starling, she had said. The girl in the red coat. But how did she know his name? 

The Great Network is a place of drones and androids, maintenance spiders and Station Angels. The place of the thousand gates, where sentient trains criss-cross the galaxy in a heartbeat. 

Zen Starling is a petty thief, a street urchin from Thunder City. 

So when mysterious stranger Raven sends Zen and his new friend Nova on a mission to infiltrate the Emperor's train, he jumps at the chance to traverse the Great Network, to cross the galaxy in a heartbeat, to meet interesting people - and to steal their stuff. 

But the Great Network is a dangerous place, and Zen has no idea where his journey will take him.

To find out more about Philip Reeve: 

Website / Twitter / Facebook

Secret Serendipity Seven with Joss Stirling

Today on the blog, I am pleased to welcome author, Joss Stirling, to tell us seven secrets about herself and her new book, Misty Falls,

Secret 1 - The inspiration for the South African section of the book were the penguins - no, really!  My husband went to see the colony on a business trip and I couldn’t believe his stories about penguins in Africa so had to find out more about them.  I liked the correlation between the funny little birds and my gawky but sweet heroine.  She feels like a penguin next to black swan that is Alex.

Secret 2 - The second key place in the book is Cambridge.  At eighteen, I went to university there and had my first romances.  I was drawing on that when I wrote the scenes on the Backs and on the punts.  

Secret 3 - I have a wonderful teenage daughter who makes me laugh by the ways she expresses her enthusiasm for life.  The way she talks has been an inspiration for Misty more than any of my other heroines.  You’ll find some of her speech mannerisms dotted throughout the story.

Secret 4 - The savant series was never planned as a series.  I wrote Finding Sky as a one off.  You may have noticed I started with the youngest Benedict.  When the book was successful, I then had the challenge of working my way up the brothers by reverse age.  I got as far as Xav and saw I was leaving teenage years behind.  I then had to come up with a strategy to provide endings for the older brothers and this new book is the result.  I’m hoping people will like the stories of Misty, Angel and Summer, as well as the next chapters for Victor, Will and Uriel.

Secret 5 - My first ever ‘finished’ novel was called The Tapestry Room, written when I was 10.  It involved an old house with a huge tapestry that changed magically from day to day.  It was also a doorway to another world.

Secret 6 - My first job was in an old fashioned sweet shop.  I had to serve sweets from big jars - aniseed twists, coconut mushrooms, chocolate éclairs - adding up a running total in my head, so I now associate mental arithmetic with candy.

Secret 7 - My favourite place in the world is Oxford - it is also the city where I live so that’s pretty good news for me!  What I like about it is the mixture of beauty and history, but it is also a small enough city for it to feel personal.

Misty Falls was published by Oxford University Press in October 2014

Summary

Misty is a one-girl disaster zone. Born with a Savant 'gift' that means she can never tell a lie, her compulsive truth-telling gets her into trouble wherever she goes.
So when she meets Alex: gorgeous, confident, and impossibly charming, Misty instantly resolves to keep her distance . . . Someone so perfect could never be hers, surely?
But a dark shadow has fallen across the Savant community. A serial killer is stalking young people who have these special mental powers. Soon one of them will be taken to the edge of death . . . and beyond.

To find out more about Joss Stirling:

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Scarlet Ibis by Gill Lewis

“Be careful,” I say.

He looks at me, his eyes wide, his red hair lit up by the setting sun…

…Red’s hands clench and unclench in small fists.

He’s working it out, planning every move in his mind. He has to take five steps across the lagoon of green carpet, only letting the soles of his feet touch the brown threadbare patches before he reaches safety. I keep my fingers crossed he gets it right first time. If he gets it wrong he’ll make himself start all the way back in the bathroom with brushing his teeth again…

…Red pulls his blanket tighter round him. “And we’ll always be together?”

“Always,” I say. “Just you and me in that little boat, as evening falls, watching the scarlet ibis flying back to Caroni Swamp.”

Published by Oxford University Press on 1st May 2014

Pages - 203

Summary

Scarlet is used to looking after her brother, Red, a little boy with complex difficulties. But when disaster strikes their fragile family, Scarlet and Red are separated and Scarlet knows she has to do whatever it takes to get her brother back...

******

Reviewed by author, Jill Atkins

I jumped at the chance to review this book as I have read and loved Jill Lewis’s previous novels and I couldn’t wait to read it. 

From the first page Scarlet Ibis gripped me. In Scarlet’s troubled life only one thing matters and that is keeping her little brother Red safe. But that’s easier said than done. Red is very hard to manage and their mum suffers from her own mental health problems. Scarlet has been keeping the family together for years.

By caring so deeply for Red, Scarlet has discovered how befriending birds and collecting feathers, keep him on an even keel and this is a central theme throughout the story. Red’s obsession with his feathers and birds gets him into trouble a few times, but Scarlet and a few sympathetic adults help to calm the situation. Through daring and determination, she searches for a way of ensuring that Red is safe forever. 

Told in the first person, present tense, Scarlet’s voice is very strong. Her deep love for her little brother is shown clearly through her thoughts, words and actions and I found I could empathise with her as she patiently tells him his favourite story of the scarlet ibis on Caroni Swamp in Trinidad, undemonstratively copes with caring for him and their Mum and keeps ‘The Penguin’ (the social worker) at bay. 

The characters of Mum and Red, the foster parents, Scarlet’s new school friends, the old bird lady, the zoo keeper, are all convincingly drawn. Even ‘The Penguin’ has a softer side to her rather officious nature.

It’s a moving, gripping book that covers relationships and serious issues of mental health in a sympathetic way. A brilliant book for middle grade! I look forward to Gill Lewis’s next one.

An Interview with Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

To celebrate the publication of Oliver and the Seawigs, I’m so pleased to welcome the book’s author, Philip Reeve and illustrator, Sarah McIntyre onto  the blog.

How did the working partnership between you both come about?

PR: We met at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010. Sarah was doing a drawing a day on her blog at that time, and I thought that sounded like a good idea, since I'd rather let my drawing lapse since I became a full-time writer. So I came home to Devon and started drawing landscapes, and we talked a lot online about drawing and stories, and became the best of friends. 

SM: The most interesting bit was when winter set in, and he kept going out on the moor and drawing. And I thought, if he’s braving the cold of Dartmoor to draw, I can at least manage to get to Greenwich Park. So I nearly froze my fingers off more than a few times, trying to keep up with him.

PR: At first I never imagined we'd work together, because our styles and outlooks are so different, but it was such fun inventing stories and throwing mad ideas to-and-fro that it just became inevitable.

 What came first - the storyline or some of the pictures?

PR: We came up with the idea together, and Sarah did some drawings of the main characters, which I referred to while I was writing.  But lots of the ideas in the story are Sarah's, and sometimes when I got stuck I'd just ask her what she wanted to draw!

SM: The Sea Monkeys came about because of an advert I’d seen in comics as a child, offering a family of sea monkeys if you’d send them a dollar. There was a little drawing of a happy underwater family - strangely humanoid - and I knew the sea monkeys couldn’t possibly be actual little people for only a dollar. So they started in our book with that advertising image, became part of our text, then I drew them as something slightly different.

I understand there are plans for further books in the series,  can you tell us anything about that yet?

PR: We've signed a contract for four books, and I hope there will be many more! They won't be a series in the usual sense, though: each one will be a new story, with new characters. The second is a space adventure, set aboard an enormous spaceship where everyone is asleep in suspended animation except for one girl who wakes up, and has to deal with various problems that arise, including cheeky aliens and... well, it's called Cakes In Space.

SM: We didn’t want to to tie ourselves down to one set of characters; we’re looking forward to playing around with entirely new ideas each time. And we like cakes, and space.

Your working partnership has been compared to Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake’s - how does that make you feel?

PR: McIntyre is a lot taller than Quentin Blake...

SM: Reeve isn’t quite as grumpy as Roald Dahl.

What projects are you working on individually at the moment?

SM: I’ve just finished a picture book with Scholastic that I’ve written myself, called There’s a Shark in the Bath and I’m working on another picture book with David O’Connell at the moment. I’m also the artist for next year’s Summer Reading Challenge, so I have a few posters and stickers and things to prepare for that. I’m trying to keep the downloadable activity sheets on my website up to date with each book and suddenly I’m getting requests from some of our foreign Seawigs publishers (Dutch, Turkish) to hand-letter the sheets in different languages

PR: I'm just finishing the third novel in my Goblins series, which will be published by Scholastic.

 

Oliver and the Seawigs is published by Oxford University Press. Check out K.M. Lockwood’s review here.

To find out more about Philip Reeve:

Website / Tumblr / Twitter / Facebook

To find out more about Sarah McIntyre:

Website / Twitter

Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve & Sarah McIntyre

Oliver Crisp was only ten years old, but they had been a busy and exciting ten years, because Oliver’s mother and father were explorers.

They had met on the top of Mount Everest.

(I wish you could see the goat saying ‘Meh!’as the mountaineers fall in love)

They had been married at the Lost Temple of Amon Hotep, and had spent their honeymoon searching for the elephants’ graveyard.

Published by Oxford University Press in September 2013

203 pages in hardback

Coloured cover with grey scale illustrations throughout.

Summary from http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk

Oliver grew up in a family of explorers - but his biggest adventure is about to begin! Along with his new friends, a grumpy old albatross, a short-sighted mermaid and a friendly island called Cliff, Oliver goes off in search of his missing parents. But before he can put his rescue plan into action there's the evil Stacey de Lacey and an army of greasy, green sea monkeys to contend with ...

*****

Reviewed by K. M. Lockwood

This illustrated book for children is frankly bonkers. It is stuffed full of enchantingly mad pictures by Sarah McIntyre and equally potty characters by Philip Reeve. Who could fail to love Mr Culpeper the grumpy albatross, Iris, a plump and resourceful mermaid and Cliff, the jolly wading island?

The story follows our brave ten year old hero Oliver searching for his missing explorer parents - and encountering some very strange places and problems along the way. It’s deeply daft - in a good way - and actually has a plot, not just a sequence of funny events. The overall story could suit a very able young reader -whilst there is peril, our hero and his friends overcome it with cleverness and courage. 

The illustrations, like the language, are a source of joy. Both are lively, unpatronising and imaginative. Dare I say it, but I believe some children might enjoy colouring in Sarah’s line-drawings?

I particularly enjoyed the places where the text and the images play with each other; for example, where a scene in darkness is written white on black or the pictures invade the page. Great fun.

There’s plenty for more experienced readers to enjoy and detailed artwork begging to looked at carefully. It would work very well as a book to read aloud and share: I wonder if OUP might consider a ‘Big Book’ for schools?

All-in-all, a splendidly funny book for good readers of seven and over. I would add that it is a good read for girls as Iris is a strong and central character. I do hope Oliver and his friends go onto have further adventures.

15 Days Without A Head by Dave Cousins

 Pages - 272

Published by Oxford University Press in 2012

'The front door slams. Mum's back.

It sounds like a dead body hitting the ground as she dumps her stuff in the hall and goes straight to the kitchen. I head the thud of a bottle on the table, the crack of the cap, then the slow glug as liquid spills into a  glass. 

Mum coughs, drags a chair across the floor and sits down.

The smell of cigaretted smoke drifts into the front room, where me and Jay are being quiet. Keeping out of the way until Happy Hour - when the first drink has worked its magic and made her smile again.'

Amazon Summary

Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach just wants a normal life, but it's not easy when your mum is a depressed alcoholic, and your six-year-old brother thinks he's a dog. When Mum fails to come home one night, Laurence tells nobody, terrified he and his brother will be taken into care if anyone finds out. Instead, he attempts to keep up the pretence that Mum is still around: dressing up in her clothes to trick the neighbours and spinning an increasingly complicated tangle of lies. After two weeks on their own, running out of food and money, and with suspicious adults closing in, Laurence finally discovers what happened to his mother. And that's when the trouble really starts . . . A compelling thriller filled with some hilarious and surreal moments. Fifteen Days Without a Head is a tender, honest story about family, forgiveness and hope.

**********


On finishing this book, the first question that came to mind was - where the hell has Dave Cousins been hiding?  


This book is fantastic. I loved it from the first word until the last. In fact this book really took me by surprise, because when I first heard about it, I really wasn't sure it would be one for me. How wrong was I? This book made me feel so comfortable and right at home as soon as I entered the Roach household. The story was refreshing and original and kept me entranced all the way through. I found that the  author's writing just sucked me into the story until I felt like an invisible member of the Roach family. 


The story is written in first person from the point of view of Laurence Roach, a lovely teenage boy who is struggling to help his mother with her alcohol addiction and depression. A few pages into the book, she goes AWOL. She had obviously reached the point of no return and disappears without a forwarding address from Laurence's life; leaving him hungry, penniless and in charge of his mischievous little brother, Jay, who has that innocence about him until you upset him  and his feral side is let loose, which will result in a nasty bite! 


This book will play with your emotions. One minute you will be laughing, before tears of sadness sneak up behind you and take your breath away. I honestly didn't know what to expect next as Laurence battled with everyone and everything around him in order to stay at home. I would like to say the ending was magical and happy, but this story is about real life and no one lives like that. 


This is one of the best contemporary novels I have read this year. I would put it up there with My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece.  I want to put this book in every teenager's hand and make them read it, especially the ones who whinge about how their lives suck! Pah! They know nothing. 


I really want to see this made into a TV drama on the BBC! I could just envisage it playing on the screen as I read it. 


My only worry is whether or not Dave Cousins will be able to follow up such a fantastic book. I really hope so! 

Stealing Phoenix by Joss Stirling

Pages - 264

Published by Oxford University Press in September 2011

The boy seemed the perfect target. He stood at the back of  a group taking the tour of the London Olympic stadium, attention on the construction vehicles beetling up the huge ramp to the athletes' entrance, not on the thief watching him. The building was nearly finished and to my mind resembled a giant soup plate stuck in a wire salad shaker on a green tablecloth. All that was left to do was the last-minute landscaping and put in place the final touches before the world arrived for the games. 

Goodreads Summary

Yves' story.

This is about getting you out...I'm stealing you.

Phoenix belongs to the Community - a gang of thieves with paranormal powers. Yves Benedict - an American student visiting London - is her mark. But Yves turns out to be more than just a target. He is her destiny. Her soul mate. But the Community owns Phoenix's past and it wants her future too.
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Well I loved Finding Sky last year and Stealing Phoenix was just as brilliant. I just can't get enough of this series.  I may actually love Stealing Phoenix slightly more than Finding Sky, but that has a lot to do with the setting of the book around places from my childhood, making me instantly biased. The book is set around the Olympic village and mention places like Epping Forest, Lee Valley and Walthamstow which bring back such fond memories to me. The fact that the Olympics and Wicked were both mentioned, makes this book feel very real and relevant to today, though I worry that it might date the book.


There is a very English feel to this book and it had a real Oliver Twist feel to it, yet with a modern twist. The Seer appeared to resemble Bill Sikes from Oliver, only much more sinister with his evil capabilities.  Phoenix is living day to day and just about survives with her life. She is a petty crook, but she isn't doing it for the fun of it, she is doing it to keep alive. I love the way she tried to resist Yves, as he made every attempt to keep her close. She is definitely more feisty than Sky was. Yves is a lot more controlled and thoughtful than his brother, perhaps the geek of the family, but still irresistible. I think I actually prefer Yves to Zed, which makes me wonder if I will swap allegiance as each brother tells their story. 

When the whole Benedict clan arrive in London, the book just sparkles with a celebratory manner. They are such an enigmatic family, you are instantly drawn to them. It was really lovely to see how Sky and Zed had progressed in their relationship. 

This is the only series where I will accept instant love amongst Young Adults! I can't help but love the way the Benedict brothers find their soul finder and just click, like pieces of a magnetic puzzle pulling towards each other.

As always, this series just keeps pulling me. The storyline keeps you turning the page. The characters are fabulous and draw you in. The Benedict family are beginning to feel like old friends. The plot is all wrapped up by the last page, even though you know their will be more books in the series.


I am a huge Benedicts fan and I can't wait for my next installment of their story. I just can't get enough of these boys!