My Top Five Scariest Films...and some TV shows, too! By Cameron McAllister

Today I am pleased to welcome Cameron McAllister, the author of the spine-chilling detective novel THE DEMON UNDERTAKER onto the blog.

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

You wouldn’t think an ex US president would know much about scary movies. Well, you’d be surprised… 

First of all, here’s a little secret. As well as writing books, I also write television scripts...sometimes scary ones. One of the shows I wrote for a few years ago was a series called Primeval about dinosaurs escaping from the past and terrorizing London. Hmm, not that terrifying you might think - unless perhaps you’re six. But you’d be surprised. Because what we quickly discovered was that the most frightening thing was not the monster - as FDR said, it was fear itself. When we realised that, the show suddenly got a lot scarier. 

Let me explain. When we first started writing the series, we had a lot of fun creating what we hoped were really terrifying CGI dinosaur monsters. Naturally, we were keen to show them off and scare the living daylights out of our audience. But a strange thing happened. To our disappointment, in test screenings the audience weren’t nearly as scared as we hoped. Then we tried an experiment. We didn’t show them the monster…at least we held off for as long as possible. The result? The children in the audience started cowering behind the sofa! 

This was the first time I realised something that seasoned horror writers have known for decades, maybe even centuries…that the scariest thing isn’t meeting the monster, it’s the anticipation of meeting it. In other words, the suspense of wondering when the creature or bogeyman will jump out on them. 

Take a simple thing like Harry Potter’s Marauder’s Map. Seeing the mystery footsteps getting closer and closer to Harry as he peered down the pitch dark corridor was genuinely spine-tingling. The tension built and built as you waited for the terrifying creature to burst out…or not, as the case was. 

This is why The Silence of the Lambs is one of the scariest films I’ve seen. 

Take the moment when the young rookie Agent Starling bravely (or stupidly?) crawls under the garage door and explores the lock-up by herself. I defy the viewer not to be peering through their fingertips as they wait for some grisly spectre to be revealed…the equivalent of the monster leaping 

out. More nail-biting still is the moment when she corners the killer in his lair and he turns the lights out. She gropes around blindly in the dark, all seen from the point of view of the killer through his night vision goggles. 

This is why we end up screaming at the screen to tell the character to “turn the bloody lights on!” Deep down, of course, we’re all terrified of the dark because we can’t see what’s lurking - and more to the point, when it’s going to jump out on us. 

Eventually the monster must jump out, but when it does, frankly it can be a bit of a let-down. This is usually when scary movies turn into action movies. But action is rarely that scary. Personally, the more movies resort to outlandish CGI, the less gripped I become. Truth is, action sequences, unless they’re brilliantly realised, can just be plain boring. All the tension that’s been so carefully built up evaporates on the spot. 

This explains why so many great scary movies take as long as they possibly can before they reveal what their monster looks like. Usually about an hour according to my watch. The film makers know that whatever they come up with can never compete with what we’re imagining in our heads! 

Take Jaws - a masterpiece in tension and story-telling. But when you see the shark bite…sorry, I nearly start laughing. 

Alien, on the other hand, is a very different matter. Again, about an hour of tension as you wonder what the creature will look like and where it’s lurking. But when it does finally leap out…it doesn’t just have one set of jaws dripping with battery acid - it has another mini-me set inside! 

Two of my all-time scariest movies, The Grudge and The Ring, are remakes of Japanese ghost stories, and this is why I think they succeed so well - because they rely on good old-fashioned ghostly creepiness and not CGI. 

One of the most chilling scenes I’ve seen in a movie is also the simplest, and it’s in the sequel, Grudge 2. It’s when one of the characters thinks she’s alone in the locker room after taking a shower. Cue tense, discordant music. She looks round and her eyes narrow in confusion, then terror…is that someone’s foot she can hidden behind the pillar? Is someone there…? Who knows, because by now I’m not even looking at the screen. 

One of the most effective ways to make a monster scary is a simple devise - a mask. Cover the bogeyman’s face, especially their eyes, and you rob them of any human characteristics - hell, they might not even have a face at all! This is why in my novel THE DEMON UNDERTAKER I give my villain 

a white mask - in this case shaped like a crow’s skull. It doesn’t just disguise your baddie - it dehumanizes them. 

It’s interesting that one of the scariest masks belongs to a figure who should provide fun and laughter - the clown. Schoolchildren across the US are being terrified as I write by a spate of clowns leaping out at them. One of the scariest masks for me, though, has to be the one worn by Michael Myers in Halloween. It’s so simple, but completely terrifying, simply because there’s no emotion there…no trace of humanity. 

Top prize for most original mask I’ve ever seen, however, goes to a children’s TV series…Doctor Who. An episode called THE EMPTY CHILD had children the length and breadth of Britain scrambling behind the sofa - and frankly me. The monster in question? None other than a little schoolboy who went round asking “Are you my mummy?” Surely this wasn’t terrifying, and yet somehow he was. The reason…? He was wearing a gas mask…

*****

Thanks Cameron. I'm not sure I will be watching any of these soon. *shivers* 

The Demon Undertaker was published in September.

Summary

olt your doors! Do not dare to sleep! A kidnapper known as ‘The Demon Undertaker’ is on the loose in London! 

Yesterday he continued his reign of terror in his most chilling crime yet - kidnapping Lady Grace Davenport from under the very noses of her family! 

A barrage of bullets could not stop the blood-thirsty ghoul from escaping in his black hearse - is he man or vampyre?

Young Thomas Fielding, nephew of the Chief Magistrate, stumbled across the villain and gave chase. Can Thomas and his team of Bow Street Detectives save Lady Grace and catch the Demon Undertaker before he snatches his next victim? 

To find out more about Cameron McAllister:

Twitter / Website

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The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo by Catherine Johnson

With everything marvellous, everything new

We’ll trace a description of Miss CARABOO

And where did she come from? and who can she be?

Did she fall from the sky? did she rise from the sea?

From the Bath Herald, June 1817

Published by Corgi (Random House) in July 2015

288 pages in paperback

Cover by Laura Bird and Bella Otak

Summary from Publisher’s website

Set in the early nineteenth century, this is incredible story of the ultimate historical hustle, based on the true story of Mary Wilcox.

A very curious tale indeed . . .

Out of the blue arrives an exotic young woman from a foreign land. Fearless and strong, 'Princess' Caraboo rises above the suspicions of the wealthy family who take her in.

But who is the real Caraboo?

In a world where it seems everyone is playing a role, could she be an ordinary girl with a tragic past? Is she a confidence trickster? Or is she the princess everyone wants her to be?

Whoever she is, she will steal your heart . . .

******

Reviewed by K. M. Lockwood

I love historical fiction -and I loved Sawbones, Catherine Johnson’s previous work in this genre. I hoped I would thoroughly enjoy this one too - and I was not disappointed. 

It is a deceptively easy-to-read book. You can just lose yourself in that Georgian world in moments - and find hours have gone by. Based on a true story (with some really interesting notes at the back if you like that sort of extra), it doesn’t clobber you over the head with that I’ve done my research so I’m putting it all in even if it cripples the story thing. It’s a fine dramatic tale in its own right - but there’s more than that. If you want to delve deeper, it can be a meditation on the nature of selfhood - which is particularly affecting with a person-of-colour as the central character.

Despite the charming cover, I wouldn’t recommend it for a sensitive or very young reader. The beginning is quite brutal - though thoughtfully portrayed. Indeed, thoughtful is the word. I admired how sensitively the male characters were handled, and the central themes of identity and imagination are beautifully realised. We get right inside the main characters’ heads and the contrast of the two young women in particular is fascinating. This makes it sound rather serious and worthy - but actually the story fairly bounces along with both incident and humour. There’s also a thought-provoking look at love and desire.

I find it hard to imagine anyone not admiring Caraboo’s spirit. Without giving any spoilers (after all, it is based on a true story) I’d query the word ‘hustle’ in the blurb above. It’s a lot more interesting and ambiguous than that. There’s plenty here to fascinate readers from secondary school upwards - including adults. I rather wish someone would make a TV series out of it!

I Was Here by Gayle Foreman

The day after Meg died, I received this letter:

I regret to inform you that I have had to take my own life. This decision has been a long time coming, and was mine alone to make. I know it will cause you pain, and for that I am sorry, but please know that I needed to end my own pain. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me.  It’s not your fault.

Meg.

Pages - 270

Published by Simon and Schuster in January 2015

Summary

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

*****

I’m not sure how it happened, but while I was reading this book, I started to read another one that dealt with assisted suicide too, so I spent a whole week, weeping. Suicide pacts among teenagers really give me the heebee jeebies. To think that they are so many teenagers at the cusp of adulthood desperate to end their lives is extremely upsetting. I struggle to understand why this happens and why no one around them realises how close they are to taking their own lives.

For  a large part of  the book, you are questioning Meg’s decision. What on earth made her want to kill herself? Especially as Cody portrays her as this fun, bubbly and popular girl. But as the book progresses, you start to wonder if Cody really knew Meg at all.

As a main character, I found I didn’t get well with Cody. She didn’t shine as much on the page as other characters did. The one that shone the brightest had to be Ben McAllister, who practically engulfed the pages with flames every time he came on to the page.

I enjoyed the book on the whole, but it didn’t grip me in the same way If I Stay did. At times this book was rather morbid in tone, and could often be quite depressing. Considering the topic of the book, I was expecting a bigger emotional connection to the main character and it just wasn’t there for me.

Lockwood & Co: The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

Don’t look now,’ Lockwood said. ‘There’s two of them.’

I snatched a glance behind me and saw that he was right. Not far off, on the other side of the glade, a second ghost had risen from the earth. Like the first, it was a pale, man-shaped curtain of mist that hovered above the dark wet grass. Its head too seemed oddly skewed, as if broken at the neck. I glared at it, not so much terrified as annoyed. Twelve months I’d been working for Lockwood & Co. as a Junior Field Operative, tackling spectral Visitors of every horrific shape and size. Broken necks didn’t bother me the way they used to.

‘Oh, that’s brilliant,’ I said.’ Where did he spring from?’

Published by Random House in September 2014

496 pages in hardback

Summary from publishers’ website

Ghosts and ghouls beware! London’s smallest, shabbiest and most talented psychic detection agency is back.  Life is never exactly peaceful for Lockwood & Co. Lucy and George are trying to solve the mystery of the talking skull trapped in their ghost jar, while Lockwood is desperate for an exciting new case. 

Things seem to be looking up when the team is called to Kensal Green Cemetery to investigate the grave of a sinister Victorian doctor. Strange apparitions have been seen there, and the site must be made safe. As usual, Lockwood is confident; as usual, everything goes wrong - a terrible phantom is freed and a dangerous object is stolen from the coffin.  Lockwood & Co. must recover the relic before its power is unleashed, but it’s a race against time. Their obnoxious rivals from the Fittes agency are also on the hunt. And if that’s not bad enough, the skull in the ghost-jar is stirring again…

******

Reviewed by K. M. Lockwood [no relation!]

I decided I’d better read the first Lockwood story [the Screaming Staircase] before I reviewed this. I’m glad that I did.

They are both great fun - in a spooky way - but this second one’s even better. If you like a mixture of detective novel with creepy bits mashed up with humour in an alternative ‘now’ - then these are for you. 

There’s a really pleasing balance of chills, thrills and laughs - I could so see it as a serial in the manner of Randall and Hopkirk [Deceased] if anyone remembers that. One of the best things is there are two boys and a

girl involved - and not a hint of a love triangle. Hurrah. Adventure, risk, strong female characters - and no soppiness. What more do you want from this sort of book?

It’s not profound - it never makes any claim to be - but the friendships are well drawn and the sense of honour in our investigators is engaging. There are some ongoing strands which are not fully resolved - so you know there are more books to come - but this one has more completeness than the first, perhaps. I found this plot more satisfying though sometimes I do get pulled out of the story by strange details - like rapiers and Velcro. This is probably an adult perspective - and a finicky one at that. I doubt younger readers will notice at all.

I would recommend these for when you want a fast-moving, entertaining read with likeable central characters - and you love a mix of eerie and funny. You want to be a competent reader - but audio would be great too. I hadn’t really expected to - but I’ll definitely be looking forward to the next one!

Echo Boy by Matt Haig

Audrey. Mind-log 427

It has been two weeks since my parents were killed.

It has been the longest two weeks of my life.

Everything has changed. Literally everything. The only thing that remains true is that I am still me.

That is, I am still a human called Audrey Castle.

I still look like me. I still have the same dark hair I got from my dad and the same hazel eyes from Mum.

My shoulders are still too wide.

I still walk like a boy.

I still think it would have been cool to live in the past.

Published by Random House 2014

403 pages in paperback review copy

Summary from Guardian Children’s Books website

Audrey's father taught her how to stay human in the modern world; he taught her to love books, music, philosophy and dreams, so that she would never be simply a machine, like the Echoes. Daniel is an Echo - but he’s not like the others. He feels a connection with Audrey; a feeling Daniel knows he was never designed to have, and cannot explain. And when Audrey is placed in terrible danger, he’s determined to save her.

********

Reviewed by K. M. Lockwood

I have to be honest, I am something of a Matt Haig fangirl - you can spot me for a brief moment on ‘The Humans’ trailer. So of course I was itching to read this first YA novel of his. 

As you can see from the extract and the summary, it could loosely be described as science fiction, which is not usually my thing. I review partly to experience work outside my comfort zone, so I plunged in anyway. If you’re not normally a fan of SF, don’t worry. Echo Boy is more of a thriller with a futuristic setting.

Yes, there are references to events that haven’t happened ‘yet’ and a reasonable amount of new technology but they don’t over-dominate the fundamental story. For me, it works best when he just mentions these in passing, and doesn’t really explain the mechanics or back story. That way, the plot zips along and we care about what happens to Audrey and Daniel.

Obviously, the human-android relationships are central to the book and Matt Haig uses these to explore what our humanity is. It is something he really engages with - and so do most YA readers, I would say. Older teens might well enjoy some of his adult work afterwards such as ‘The Radleys’ or ‘The Humans’.

Although it is marketed as a YA book, I think proficient readers of 9+ may well enjoy Echo Boy (not the others yet!). Both violence and romance are portrayed without exaggeration or callousness. Overall, it’s not difficult to read nor over-complicated. The perspective shifts - but you do know who is ‘talking’. There is definite peril and distress, but the feeling I was left with after reading was not oppressive, but hopeful.

So in short, I would recommend this for any competent reader who likes a good thick read with plenty of action and suspense but with emotions at its core. They would be happy with exploring a less-than-perfect vision of the future and intrigued by the implications of thinking androids.

.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

What follows is the strange and fateful tale of a boy, a girl, and a ghost. The boy possessed uncommon qualities, the girl was winsome and daring, and the ancient ghost…well, let it only be said that his intentions were good.

Published by Random House Books in June 2013

Pages - 369

It says quite a lot about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn't even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since. After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm. Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion. And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings. . .

*****

This book was brought to my attention after references to it’s similarity to The Book Thief. Now I’ve never read The Book Thief as it’s one of those books that intimidates me, so I refused to let this new release make me feel the same way.

Right from the start you find yourself listening closely to the omnipresent voice of the ghost that haunts Jacob, although I don’t actually think you could calling it haunting, more nurturing than anything. The ghost is quite a studious and moralistic soul and claims to be the voice of Jacob Grimm, one of the famous Brothers Grimm, which really adds a fantasy overlay to what seems to be a contemporary story.  Fairy tales and the lives of the Brothers Grimm, play a really  important part in this story and you need to keep that at the forefront of your thoughts as you read it - otherwise you might be completely shocked by the final quarter of the book. A huge event occurs in the last part of the book which I completely missed  and I am kicking myself for not seeing it sooner.  Ingenious plotting!

The characters evoke empathy in you as soon as you meet them. From Jacob right through to the Sten, the baker, I sympathised with them all and only wanted to see happiness brighten their lives. They had all suffered in one way or another. Ginger was probably my favourite. After appearing a little cocky and perhaps a bit of a trouble maker, you soon realise there is a lot of love in her heart.

The setting was extremely charming. It felt very contemporary and yet their was an invisible layer of magic that floated over the top of it. You couldn’t see it or feel it, but you knew deep down it was there.

At the heart of the book there is a gentle and innocent love story that blossoms out of friendship and fear. After their experiences, nothing will ever break the bond between Jacob and Ginger from that point on.

This is a beautifully written tale and one that will stay with me long after finishing it. I can honestly say I haven’t read anything else like it. The author has managed to take elements of fairy tales and weave them intricately into a contemporary novel.   I would say it is  unique and original and definitely a book I will return to again and again. 

Inspire Me with Jane Casey

To celebrate the forthcoming publication of How To Fall, the new crime novel for young adults, I am pleased to welcome Jane Casey onto the blog to tell us what inspired her to write this novel.

 

I usually write crime novels for adults - I’m just finishing my fifth - but I have an enduring love for YA fiction. I started out as a children’s books editor (not a bad Plan B for a writer, it has to be said) and I was lucky enough to work with great authors such as Meg Cabot and Alyson Noel on some amazing books. The idea to write a YA novel came around the time I should have been writing my second crime novel. I’ve never been able to resist a good story, either as a reader or a writer, and I got hopelessly sidetracked. That book didn’t quite make it to being finished - maybe I’ll get around to it one day. It led, however, to a very lovely editor at Random House Children’s Books suggesting I might write a crime novel for teens, which in turn became How To Fall.

How To Fall is mainly a mystery but also a love story. My heroine, Jess Tennant, is a new arrival in the sunny seaside town of Port Sentinel - but the town has a dark heart and many secrets to uncover. I wrote Jess as an alternative to the fainting heroines that were Bella Swan’s legacy in YA fiction and she’s pretty feisty. She has a lot in common with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, being blonde, opinionated and easily underestimated. Like Buffy, she’s addicted to wisecracks even when she should keep her mouth shut. Like Buffy, she has a strong moral sense. Like Buffy, she can’t help falling for what might be the worst possible guy for her. If you’ve never watched Buffy, seasons 1, 2 and 3 are pretty much essential viewing, despite the rubbish CGI when they were making each episode for about $12.50. There has never been a better TV show. About vampires and teenagers, anyway.

A few years ago I got completely addicted to One Tree Hill, despite the fact that it was preposterous. I don’t even like basketball. I do like evil fathers who pull strings to get their own way, and One Tree Hill had a great one of those. Also, cute boys. 

And speaking of which, Grant Gustin. I’ve often been asked who would play a particular character if they made films of my books. If How to Fall was ever filmed, I wouldn’t get a say in who played Jess or any of the other characters, and it takes approximately one million years to get a film made so he would be too old (and American), but when I imagine Will, he’s built along the lines of Grant Gustin. To find this image I had to look at literally hundreds of pictures of him. Had to. For ages. I won’t judge you if you find you have to do the same.

Don’t ask me why, but I am currently obsessed with owls. They, and their reproductive habits, play a major part* in How to Fall. This one was an eBay purchase and sits on my desk. The picture does not feature my desk, which was too untidy to be a backdrop but has altogether fewer fruit bowls on it.

*all right, a minor part

In many ways I haven’t grown out of my teenage taste in music. Give me an angsty pop song about heartbreak and I am happy. It’s not cool and I don’t care. I edge towards credibility with my love for Feist, Gemma Hayes and Martha Wainwright, but to be honest it’s Taylor Swift, One Direction and Take That all the way when I’m writing. I highly recommend the overwrought yodelling of Avril Lavigne, especially ‘Keep Holding On’. It’s a karaoke classic. 

Art is a big element in How to Fall and I couldn’t resist including a particularly lovely painting that hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. It was voted Ireland’s most popular painting recently, and you can see why. Called ‘The Meeting on the Turret Stairs’, painted by Frederick William Burton in 1864, it shows the final parting of Hellelil from her bodyguard, Hildebrand, and it’s a beauty. Hellelil, as a name, has been slow to catch on. I may try to revive it by giving it to a character. Then again, I may not.

Finally, Dirty Dancing, a film that really deserved a better title. I remember when it came out first (though I was FAR too young to go and see it in the cinema) and being fascinated by the poster - Jennifer Grey being lifted out of the water by Patrick Swayze. Like How to Fall it tells the story of a girl who learns to love and take risks and believes in doing the right thing, no matter what it costs her. I’ve seen the film so many times I think it’s woven into my DNA and every love story I write probably owes something to it. Sometimes falling in love is just the start of your problems, not the happy-ever-after ending you might expect - and that’s the kind of story I like to tell.

 Thanks for a fabulous post Jane!

How To Fall by Jane Casey will be published on the January 31st by Corgi.

To find out more about Jane:

 Author Place: http://authorsplace.co.uk/jane-casey/

Twitter: @janecaseyauthor

 

Muddle and Win - the battle for Sally Jones by John Dickinson

Reviewed by K. M. Lockwood

240 pages

Published by Random House Children's Publishers UK (David Fickling Books)

Published  on the 30 August 2012

RULES FOR STAYING ALIVE IN PANDEMONIUM

1. Don’t ever go there. Don’t even think of going there. Look, you really, really don’t want to know. The people aren’t friendly at all. In fact, it’s stretching a point to call them ‘people’

Summary from The Hive Network

Goodreads Summary

Everyone has a Lifetime Deed Counter (LDC).

It works like this:

You offer to help with the housework: Lifetime Good Deeds +1.

You steal your little brother's sweets: Lifetime Bad Deeds +1. Looks straightforward, huh? But what if your every thought was disputed by opposing forces of good and evil - by an angel wearing ray bans (called Windleberry) and a demon in the form of a wart (called Muddlespot)? And within your mind they were fighting a fierce battle over your actions, a battle dictated by a game of poker?

When Muddlespot is promoted from a devil's janitor to special agent, the pressure is on for him to infiltrate Sally Jones and make her Bad. If he doesn't, it will be Very Bad for him. But as his mission leads him down Sally's ear and into the deepest recesses of her mind,

all becomes unclear. Just what does it mean to be good? And can it be good to be bad?

*******

As can be seen from the summary, there’s a good deal of devilish comedy in this story from John Dickinson. Ideal for bright readers from 9 upwards with a wicked sense of humour and an interest in fairness, this book deals with some big concepts in a light-hearted way.

It is not for the very squeamish - though I should say any violence is of a cartoon, slapstick style and unlikely to cause nightmares for most children. It’s fast-moving and moves around a fair deal in location. Sometimes you are in the outer world, sometimes inside Sally’s head. Just occasionally this is a bit tricky. You do need your wits about you but it makes for a lively read.

Notions of right and wrong, fairness and blame are central to the story - but because of the family-based humour and the antics of the demons and angels, it doesn’t preach or get ‘heavy’. You get to see the heroine develop very closely and it’s great fun. The book could work well as a discussion text in PSHE for teachers - though the kids might laugh too much!

There are some great moments set in Sally’s school, and do watch out for Mrs Bunnidy - I won’t spoil her for you.

I found the experiments with different typefaces and other graphics effective and entertaining. I am reviewing from a book proof so I don’t know if the publishers have used any illustrations in the paperback. I think this could work really well with doodles and comments in the margins from Muddlespot and Windleberry.

All-in-all great fun with some thoughtful points made - it will make the right reader laugh out loud at times - and think hard at others.

Cover Reveal: Acid by Emma Pass

I am so happy to be part of a group of UK book bloggers who are all revealing this AMAZING book cover today. This is the final version of ACID by the wonderful Emma Pass. ACID will be published by Corgi/Random House Children's Books in April 2013. Isn't it stunning. 

Here is the blurb from Amazon, to get you drooling.

A fast and furious thriller featuring the coolest, toughest bad girl since Lisbeth Salander. Meet Jenna Strong.

In Jenna’s world, ACID - the most brutal, controlling police force in history - rule with an iron fist. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a bloody crime she struggles to remember.

But Jenna’s violent prison has taught her a thing or two about survival. And when a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed and skill to stay one step ahead.

A gripping futuristic debut that will hook you from the very first page.

To celebrate the final cover reveal, Emma is giving away an ARC copy of the book, so head over to Emma's blog to enter now. 

Early Review: Darcy Burdock by Laura Dockrill

Pages 278

Published by Red Fox in March 2013

Have you ever noticed you're noticing? Sometimes I notice that I notice so much that I get trapped in noticing my noticing. 

Goodreads Summary

Ten-year-old Darcy is one of life's noticers. Curious, smart-as-a-whip, funny and fiercely loyal, she sees the extraordinary in the everyday and the wonder in the world around her.

********

I wouldn't normally write a review four months in advance, so this is a rarity for me,  but I feel I want to lay out a red carpet and hire an orchestra to announce the arrival of this book. I may spontaneously combust if I don't talk about it now and get it out of my system.  

I heard about this book back in June at the Random House Children's Books blogger party where I was lucky enough to meet the author, Laura Dockrill and hear her reading the first few pages from the book. (If you ever get the opportunity to hear Laura read, then I strongly suggest you take it - as she is a very talented performer.) So I have waited really really patiently until I could stand it no more and I had to read the book. 

This is Darcy Burdock's story, she is a quirky, hilarious, mischievous, kind and cool all at the same time. She is a really strong character, which many children will easily identify with. 

The book is told in first person and is interspersed with hand written stories by Darcy as well as really cool illustrations by Laura herself. Darcy is the lovable child we all see hidden in ourselves - the one that is still trying to make sense of the world and deal with life. She isn't perfect and she doesn't try to be, she just learns to overcome her issues by trying to occasionally do the right thing.

This book is both heartwarming and funny at the same time, as you follow Darcy's episodic events while  writing everything down in her journal. She reminded me a little of Harriet the Spy but without the nosy, snooping tendencies.

The writing in this book oozes personality and is extremely refreshing to read. Darcy's voice is unique and original keeping you entertained all the way through the book. I really hope that Darcy will be returning to centre stage relatively soon after her debut. Knowing how much she loves attention, I believe she  will be appearing a string of books over the next few years. 

This is Laura Dockrill's first children's book, but she is already fast becoming a household name. Laura not only writes fiction, but she also performs and write poetry too. She was recently voted one of the top ten literary talents by the Times and a hot new face by Elle magazine.

When this book is published, I would definitely recommend buying it as it is one of the best children's books I have read in a while.

Fire City by Bali Rai

Reviewed by KM Lockwood.

480 pages

Published by Corgi in August 2012

‘I pulled my hood over my head and dropped down from the building, landing in their midst, my heart pounding. My foes roared with anger, their mouths scarlet, teeth clogged with human flesh.’

Goodreads Summary

Twenty-five years ago the world changed forever. A great war, which had raged for three years ended, and the reign of the Demons began... Within the crumbling walls of Fire City, fifteen-year-old Martha is a member of the resistance, a small band of humans fighting for freedom in a lawless and horrifying new world. Amidst the chaos of battle arrives Jonah, a handsome stranger with a thirst for revenge and a power to destroy the Demon rulers. As Martha and Jonah’s lives collide, the future of the resistance is altered forever. The battle for humankind will now begin. An epic story of catastrophe, survival and the power of humanity by multi-award winning author Bali Rai.

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As you will have gathered from the short extract above, this book has its gory moments. The striking cover conveys the dystopian future portrayed in Bali Rai’s story (although crossbows don’t feature much, but demons definitely do). This should

appeal to its target audience of older teens and young adults - and the book certainly lives up to its image.

Fire City is recommended for confident readers who also enjoy violent films and games set in the near-future. The portrayals of carnage and its effects are graphic - this is not suitable for younger or more sensitive readers. Indeed less experienced readers might be confused by the shifting points of view and changes in time. These allow us to see the same event from different perspectives - a film-like technique which adds depth and complexity to this fast-moving tale.

The novel includes both personal stories and an element of wider political events that affect the characters we follow. This makes the twisting, turning plot more credible and relevant to the reader. As it says in the publisher’s blurb: think Hunger Games meets Terminator - with demons! You know it’s not going to be a nice cosy read.

I was impressed and pleased by the range of characters in The Resistance - there are strong female leads, a variety of ages and backgrounds and some touching emotional back-stories ( to say more might give spoilers). I also thought the elements of betrayal and uncertainty were well-handled - and very appropriate for the target readership. It is a complex plot - and very definitely leaves plenty of room for sequels, and possibly a prequel.

Despite the length and changes of perspective, it is not a difficult read. You would choose this for someone who likes graphic novels, post-apocalyptic films and games - and can cope with gruesome episodes. It might feature violence and deceit but fundamentally the story is on the side of humanity - there is gore but at its centre there is hope.

Grymm by Keith Austin

Reviewed by Caroline Hodges

Published by Random House Children's Books in July 2012

Pages - 4000

Something stirred in the gravelly yard beneath their window A soft slippery nuzzle, the sort of sounds you'd expect a pig to make with its snout in a trough.

Amazon Summary

The small mining town of Grymm perched on the very edge of the Great Desert is the kind of town you leave - but when Dad gets a three-month contract in the mine there, Mina and Jacob, unwilling stepbrother and sister, are reluctantly arriving From a grotesque letting agent who seems to want to eat their baby brother, a cafe owner whose milkshakes contain actual maggots and the horribly creepy butcher, baker and candlestick-maker, Mina and Jacob soon realize that nothing in Grymm is what is appears to be And then things get seriously weird when their baby brother disappears - and no one seems to even notice! In Grymm, your worst nightmares really do come true

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I was really excited to read GRYMM. When I read the description, two of my favourite things jumped to mind; Labyrinth and Tim Burton. In a strange past-its-prime town in the middle of nowhere, a new family are moving in, including step-siblings Mina and Jacob. Within a day, their baby brother has disappeared and no one else seems to remember him ever existing. What follows is an investigation into his disappearance which has the children meeting some characters which are all relatively, creepy, weird and down right disgusting. There’s the blood-thirsty butcher with a bad case of OCD, the baker tempting children with his tasty treats, and the kooky milkshake shop owner who’s re-inventing tequila through milk by adding a maggot or two to the bottom. Grymm is the kind of place that will incite fascination with the sickening and morbid which so often appeals to children and young adults. The setting and characters makes this the perfect book for horror-loving boys and girls alike.

The way the tumultuous relationship between Mina and Jacob develops through the story is lovely and, at times, I really just wanted to give Jacob a big hug. Fighting between siblings is normal, but Mina and Jacob drew the short straw and are also step-siblings, so carrying a lot of baggage over new step mothers/fathers - not to mention a new baby brother. But the shared experience of beating Grymm and its bizarre occupants draws them closer together and gives them a new found respect for one another.

Aside from the Burtonesque characters and Labyrinth theme (the GRYMM version of the ‘Goblin King’ is far from a seductive Bowie however!), there are some fabulous fun references to Lord of the Rings and I found the character of Cleaver Flay distinctly inspired by Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast.

The downside is that I found the novel just too long and in parts, very repetitive and unnecessary. The plot settles into a formulaic pattern - kids go out, meet a weirdo, something creepy happens, kids narrowly escape. This happens so many times, I found myself skim-reading... something I usually only do reading a boring document at work... not good. I get that the author wants to establish how the people within the town are being influenced by the evil ‘Goblin King’ in the mine, but ultimately, most of them add very little to the climax of the novel. Having said that, I did find the characters imaginative and the evil Anhangar with his cockroachy movements is a villain worthy of most young people’s nightmares.

Overall I’m undecided on this book. I really loved the cover and the corresponding drawings at the start of each chapter and the story is quirky and devilish. Random House have really got a winner here in appealing to those that love quirky horror. I liked the twist at the end relating to baby brother Bryan as one I just didn’t see coming. But for me, the tale dragged on too long and I think in the end, I rushed through what was actually a pretty good ending just to get the book over and done with.

Teenage Takeover - Itch by Simon Mayo

Lil' Dude joins us today to tell us all about Itch by Simon Mayo. Lil' Dude is probably my youngest reviewer, so give him a big hand for his first review.

What is this book about? 

Itch discovers some very rare elements and all of a sudden everyone is after them.

Who is the main character of the book? Tell me a bit about them and whether you liked them or not. 

Itch is the main character. I like him because he has a very important role in the book and what he does interests me.

What was your favourite part of the book and why?

My favourite part is where Itch threw the rocks down the well, fell unconscious and ended up outside Cornwall hospital. That was very tense and unpredictable. 

Where was the book set? Could you imagine the settings easily from the descriptions provided? 

Mainly in Cornwall as that is where Itch lives but they move around a lot. I found it quite easy to imagine where they were.

Who was your favourite character apart from Itch and why?

Probably Mr. Watkins because he helped out Itch a lot in the book and played an important role.

Did you find it easy to read? How long did it take you?

I found it very easy to read as I enjoyed it and it took me about a week.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?

There were a few unanswered questions which I would have hoped to have found out and I would very much like it if there was a sequel to this book.

Was the ending satisfactory? 

The ending to me was brilliant because I was definitely not expecting it!

Was there anything in the book you would like to have seen written differently? 

I think perhaps it would've been better if Flowerdew hadn't escaped from jail. 

Would you read a book by this author again?

Certainly.

Would you recommend this to others?

Yes.

How many points would you give the book out of ten? 

9/10. Very good book. 

I think Itch by Simon Mayo is definitely a winner! 

Really Random Tuesday

Really Random Tuesday is a meme created by Suko at Suko's Notebook which is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of. 

I can't actually remember the last time I did one of these posts but I do have lots of news to tell you!

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Strange Chemistry signs their next author - Ingrid Jonach!

Strange Chemistry just announced in the last couple of hours the next author to join their ranks. Today it is the turn of INGRID JONACH with WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT (AND WE WERE IN LOVE)!

Here is the summary of the book!

There is no such thing as imagination.

Your dreams are memories from an alternate dimension.

And that cold shiver down your spine as you sleep means you are already dead.

These are the facts sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart must come to accept when the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith arrives in her small Nebraskan town. These, and the fact that the two of them, Tom and Lillie, have been in love before - in a different dimension.

In fact, Tom has been sliding between parallel worlds for hundreds of years, falling in love with versions of Lillie over and over again in every world. But when the present Lillie learns the secret of their connection, she learns as well that their love must overcome more than their multiple past heartaches. There is also a powerful enemy who aims to ensure the two will never be together again, in this dimension or the next.

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Have you seen the trailer for Seraphina by Rachel Hartman? This book is presently getting a lot of attention. Have a look and see what you think?

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Little Brown launched  a competition last week for readers to write their own ending to It Happened at Boot Camp.  The winning entrant will receive a copy of both books in the It Happened series (It Happened in Paris and It Happened in Venice, which is published next month), and the entry will be posted on Little, Brown Books.net plus Molly Hopkins’ website http://www.mollyhopkins.co.uk/.

For more information about the competition please visit the Little Brown website :http://www.littlebrownbooks.net/write-your-own-ending-to-molly-hopkins%e2%80%99-it-happened-at-boot-camp/

To enter, simply submit your 500 word ending to [email protected] with the subject line ‘It Happened at Boot Camp Competition’ by midnight on Thursday 2nd August 2012.

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Mira Ink have an exciting book coming up for you in August. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry. Check out the trailer and see what you think. 

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HarperCollins signs three more books from Department 19 author Will Hill

HarperCollins is delighted to be continuing its relationship with YA author Will Hill by acquiring three new titles. Fiction Editorial Director Nick Lake secured UK & Commonwealth rights to two final books in the Department 19 series, plus one untitled YA novel. The deal was concluded by Nick and Charlie Campbell at Ed Victor Ltd.

First launched by HarperCollins in 2011, Department 19 was the number one bestselling YA hardback debut of the year and the series has acquired more than 7,000 fans on Facebook (www.facebook.com/department19exists). The books have also enjoyed sales success as ebooks, with Department 19: The Rising becoming HarperCollins' bestselling children's ebook launch in April. Hill’s writing has also been acclaimed in the press. "High action, fast plot, original and gripping, this is vampire writing without the sparkle - but with lots of blood!" said the Sun, while the Telegraph pronounced that, “Bram Stoker can stop turning in his grave: his 21st-century legacy extends beyond Twilight.”

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Now Is Good is soon to be released! 21st September sees the UK release of the film based on the book originally known as 'Before I Die' by Jenny Downham. You might want to take your tissues to watch it though!

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The winners of Soul Beach and Soul Fire by Kate Harrison are: 

Donna Lawton

Kerry Locke

Well done ladies. More competitions coming to the blog soon. 

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Two winners from the competition to win a copy of  The Case of the Good-Looking Corpse by Caroline Lawrence did not reply to the emails in the time stated, so two new winners have been drawn. 

The new winners are: 

Petty Witter

Gillian Holmes

Congratulations ladies. Emails heading your way. 

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That's another news round up done! I promise to try and do these posts on a more regular basis. 

The Movie Maker with Keith Austin

As part of the Grymm tour, I am pleased to welcome Keith Austin on the blog, to pick out his ideal cast should his book  ever be made into a book!

AS disturbing as it sounds, I keep bumping up against Tom Cruise. It’s something you’re bound to do when asked to imagine the dream team for the movie version of your book.

            Remember when author Anne Rice wasn’t exactly backward in coming forward about the choice of Tom Cruise to play Lestat in the film version of her mega-bestselling book Interview With The Vampire? As she told the Los Angeles Times in 1993: “I was particularly stunned by the casting of Cruise, who is no more my Vampire Lestat than Edward G. Robinson is Rhett Butler.”

And yet, many people would later say that Cruise was the best thing in the film. Even Rice was moved to comment that “from the moment he appeared, Tom was Lestat for me”.

So, with one exception, here’s my list of who could maybe perhaps one day play some of the weird and wonderful characters in Grymm …

Thespa Grymm The real estate agent from hell, a woman as wide as she is tall, a “harmless old sofa” with a “heart of pure, baby-eating evil”: Imelda Staunton*, a consummate actress who could not only pull off the physical transformation but also find the soft centre that makes Thespa tick.

Margaret from Maggot’s Milkbar False teeth, false hair, false leg and a habit of coming out with disconcertingly bizarre statements: Ricky Gervais. I love the idea of getting Gervais dressed up as a woman with a wooden leg who is pining for her missing dog. Could it be a challenge he couldn’t resist?

Inky Bugleslab The sly newsagent with the wormlike tongue and the mouth like a scalpel slash: Steve Buscemi. Inky only appears a couple of times in the book and I think a cameo by bug-eyed Buscemi would be fun.

Malahide Fleur The huge baker whose masterful creations look, smell and taste divine but are only a prelude to … what? Here, I’m torn between Richard Griffiths and Little Britain’s Matt Lucas. I quite like the idea of Griffiths sort of reprising his role as the chef from the Pie In The Sky TV series but turning it on its head - the chef sleuth turned bad. Very bad.

Beersheba Bluehammer The neurotic, frustrated and dangerous artist who runs the hardware store has bright orange hair and a face like an axe? Well, Emma Thompson was Nanny McPhee, right? And this is the nanny turned up way past 11 and then flipped inside out. Thompson could do this standing on her head.

Frederick and Catherine Puzzlewick The oddly vampiric Puzzlewicks, owners of the candle factory, are a married couple who look so much like each other that they could be twins. Which is the husband and which the wife? This one’s a bit from left field and would depend on the audition, of course, but step forward and take a bow John and Edward Grimes, aka the Irish pop duo Jedward. I think they would be great as the spooky couple.

Mr Anhanga The ultimate villain of the piece - a shifting insect of a man who is creepy beyond belief. Well, until I saw the TV version of Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal, I thought David Suchet was Poirot and Poirot was always and forever Suchet. However, his turn as the villainous Reacher Gilt showed he could transform nicely into the scuttling “cockroach thing” that is the trickster Anhanga.

Which brings us to the exception to all those coulds - Cleaver Flay. There is, to me, one actor whoshould play the mad butcher. Only this man embodies the beefy man mountain that is the hairless, animal loving monster that is Flay - and he is Pruitt Taylor Vince. I know, I know; who? He’s the American actor who played Malcolm Rivers, the mass murderer with multiple personalities in the much acclaimed movie Identity. He even looks the way I imagined Cleaver Flay. That’s him, I swear, standing on the roof of the SUV on the cover of the book. All it would take would be a vat of animal fat and a cutthroat razor.

            Yes, only Pruitt Taylor Vince should play flay.

            Unless Tom’s free.

* Or Helena Bonham Carter (if you’re out there, Tim!)

GRYMM by Keith Austin is published by Red Fox/Random House UK