Setting the Scene with Fleur Hitchcock

I'm so pleased to welcome Middle Grade author, Fleur Hitchcock onto the blog today, to tell us all about the settings in her latest book, Murder in Midwinter, which was recently published by Nosy Crow. Keep a look out for a review of the book, coming very soon!

Setting the scene...

At the heart of Murder in Midwinter, is Maya, a London girl, a girl who knows and walks the streets just south of the river, around the Southbank and Borough and just to the east of Waterloo. It’s an area I know well, my niece, Ruby, and her family live there - here’s a lino cut Ruby did of the block of Corporation of London flats that they live in. 

I didn’t actually use these flats, not completely, because I wanted Maya’s family to live over the plumbing supplies shop that they run. That was an amalgamation of a decorator’s shop near Southwark street and Pimlico Plumbers who have a huge sign on the railway line as you approach Waterloo station. 

But what I really used was the Thames, at night in the winter. It’s stunning, all purple and green lights, monumental architecture and silhouettes and reflections - and at one point Maya and her sister Zahra are sitting watching the streams of tourists passing the Globe theatre and Zahra says: “God. London’s beautiful.” She’s speaking for me at that point, because I love to sit on those Thames side benches in the twilight just looking. 

And when Maya needs to flee, I had to find somewhere that was the absolute opposite. Somewhere with no lights, no architecture, nothing. 

A snowy mountain in Wales. 

I have to confess that although I’ve lived in Wales, I’ve never lived in the mountains, I’ve only visited them in the winter, not in the snow, but I have lived in the countryside most of my life and a couple of years back we had some very severe winters, so I used what I remembered of those.

And finally there were the horses. I was a horse kid, but never a very able horse kid, but I do remember one particular pony, black, mean, standing in the snow, biting my best friend on the bum. I used that pony. 100%.

Is that a setting?

I think so. 

Sadly, I have no photos of him. I never thought I’d need it. 

Summary

Sat on the top of a bus days before Christmas, Maya sees a couple arguing violently in the middle of a crowded Regent Street. They see her watching, she looks away, and the woman disappears. Maya goes to the police, who shrug and send her away. Then a body turns up… Now convinced she is a vital witness to a crime, the police send Maya into hiding in rural Wales. She resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery. Then the snow comes and no one can get out. But what if someone can still get in?

Published by Nosy Crow in October 2017

To find out more about Fleur Hitchcock:

Twitter / Website

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

The rusted Chevy pickup truck clanked to a stop, and when Lauren Huntsman’s head thumped the passenger window, it jolted her awake.

Published by Simon and Schuster in October 2014

Pages - 392

Summary

Britt Pfeiffer has never been that adventurous, but that's about to change. Wanting to impress her ex-boyfriend, Britt convinces best friend, Korbie, to take a trekking trip with her. But when a freak storm leaves the girls stranded they seek shelter in a cabin, where they find two knights in shining armour. Or so they think.
Britt quickly realises that the girls need to get off the mountain, fast. In exchange for her life, she is forced to guide the boys down, and as they set out on a harrowing journey through the cold and snow, Britt realises the only way to escape with her life is to pretend she is on their side. But is gorgeous, sexy Mason an enemy or an ally? Tension mounts, and it's only a matter of time before things turn deadly . . .

*****

I honestly feel like I have to defend this book, as after reading it and rating it a five, I realised there wasn’t a lot of love for the story. I was surprised by the amount of people who really disliked it and how many couldn’t finish it.

I have read the other reviews and I could see why people didn’t necessarily gel with the main character, Britt. They believed she was a spoilt brat, but I didn’t see this. Yes, her friend, Korbie, had the spoilt brat image down to a fine art, but Britt, didn’t come across like that. If anything, she was rolling along on Korbie’s money rollercoaster. She was also struggling with her emotional attachment to Calvin and her feelings were continually swaying in different directions.

When considering the theme of the book, I kept thinking it was about being self reliant. Britt starts off by relying on everyone around her to help her. She acts the innocent, highly dependent character perfectly, but as the book progresses you witness the real Britt shining through. No one is about to hold her back, least of all Calvin, Korbie or Jude.

I also felt the book explored friendship quite deeply. This book shows that if you are in competition with the people closest to you, then you are cohabiting in a fake friendship. Friends don’t keep scores on everything you do.

I can’t tell you anything about the plot without giving the story away. All I can say is watch out for Jude, because he is one hell of a character.

This is completely different from Becca Fitzpatrick’s best selling paranormal series, Hush, Hush. It must be difficult for an author to embrace something new, but I think she has done exceptionally well in writing such an intense, romantic thriller.

If I had to have any quibbles about it, I would only have one. It might’ve been nice to have a dual perspective within the story, as sometimes it was difficult being just in Britt’s head when so much was going on around her.

However, I can put my hand on my heart and say I really loved this book. I was glued to the pages from the very beginning. If I had to sum it up in one sentence it would be - Expect the Unexpected!

The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable

Pages - 273

Published by Chicken House in October 2012

'Hold my hand, Sophie. We have to leave!'

It was her father's voice. She couldn't see him, but she knew, somehow, that his hair was dishevelled and that he was wearing his tatty overcoat, the one with the hem that hung down like a ragged wing. 

Goodreads Summary

Alone in the world, Sophie dreams of being someone special, but she could never have imagined this. 

On a school trip to Russia, Sophie and her two friends find themselves on the wrong train. They are rescued by the beautiful Princess Anna Volkonskaya, who takes them to her winter palace and mesmerises them with stories of lost diamonds and a tragic past. But as night falls and wolves prowl, Sophie discovers more than dreams in the crumbling palace of secrets.

********

You can't review this book without discussing the cover and the gorgeous purple edging. What you can't see from the photo is the sparkly bits and silver lettering which make this book look absolutely stunning. The purple edging which seems to becoming  a more common addition to books recently really sets it off. If I was a kid, I would like nothing more than to find this book in my Christmas stocking.  I think it might just be my favourite cover of the year. 

The book is set in Russia during the  winter, which just adds to that Christmassy feel. A huge amount of snow features which left me in desperate need of a lovely hot chocolate and a hot water bottle. At times I actually felt physically freezing, especially when Sophie and her friends found themselves thrown off a train in the middle of the night during a snow storm. 

The richness of the prose in the first chapters had me reminiscing my childhood favourites such as The Children of Green Knowe and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. It really has that timeless quality to it. As the book progressed I did become absorbed into the story although I will admit that I found it slowed a little too much in the middle. Thankfully the ending really pulled me back into the book and I was completely transfixed by the story. 

Many of the characters were lovely - although as normal the animals won my heart. The wolves were just adorable, even though to begin with they were portrayed as threatening predators. The baddies of the book, were really mean as they tried to make Sophie's life even harder than it already was. A few characters in the book talk with Russian accents and I did find that jolted me a little out of the story. However I am fully aware of how difficult it is to write a character with an accent and the balance between too much and too little has been dealt with very well in this book. 

I loved that this story had a strong influence of Russian folktales and I really hope to see more authors using them in the future. This is a beautiful book that I would personally buy for any child who still believes in a world encased with magic. 

Trapped by Michael Northrop

Pages - 325
Published by Atom in December 2011

'We were the last seven kids waiting around to get picked up from Tattawa Regional High School. It sounds like an everyday thing, but this wasn't an ordinary day. It was one of those bull's eyes in history, one of those points where everything comes together, where, if you were at that place at that time, you were part of something big. It meant that we weren't going to get picked up, not on that day and maybe not ever.'


Goodreads Summary
The Breakfast Club meets The Blizzard of the Century: A young adult suspense novel from PW Flying Start author Michael Northrop. 

Scotty and his friends Pete and Tommy are among the last kids waiting to get picked up at their high school. The snow has been coming down for hours, and it's starting to look like no one is coming for them. As the snow piles higher, their teacher Mr. Gossell leaves them behind to seek help--and disappears into the drifts outside. Now the seven remaining students are on their own, with no food and no electricity, facing a night of sleeping on classroom floors. Will their friendships survive the night . . . and will THEY?

**********


As soon as I realised this book had a group of teenagers locked in a school, my mind raced back to the 80's  to the film 'The Breakfast Club' with Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald. This story holds the essence of that film and transplants it into a natural disaster. Just imagine being stuck in a school for  a few days with no means of escape!

As the story progresses, you watch kids from the many different cliques become friends. They wouldn't normally talk to each other, but these unfortunate circumstances have brought them together and they have to face the situation head on.  This book is about survival, about facing the elements and making your way through them. 

This book will evoke emotion in you. You will feel stifled and suffocated. As you watch the snow rise higher and higher at the beginning of each chapter and feel the desperation from the kids, you feel like you want to open all the windows and doors just to get a  little sunlight and fresh air in. I swear it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I was desperate for someone to come and save these poor kids.

This isn't a fast book at all, the story builds slowly with each new layer of snow adding  another layer of  difficulty  to their situation. For some reason, before reading it, I had got it into my head that it was going to be a creepy book, but it wasn't at all. I think it might have been the blood on the cover that distracted me a little. 

Unfortunately the ending of the book left me wanting more. I was convinced it was going to be a Lord of the Flies kind of situation - you know, surely there would be a murder under such intense situations. I wanted more drama, but it wasn't there.But then perhaps I watch way too many disaster movies! The ending also left me with unanswered questions. Being a mother, I personally wanted to see what happened to each child. I wanted to check in on them and make sure they were OK. 

Not to say that I didn't enjoy the book, because I did. I think it really shows how teenagers spend most of their teenage life trying to find where they fit into the intricate society of high school. You get to see how they learn to accept each other for who they are and what they stand for. 

If you want a read that will make you wary during snow storms, then this will definitely fit your need.

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

I know I said I would be back on Wednesday but it didn't happen. My week got taken over by a serious snow visitor that made itself at home. It came down quickly and heavily and decided to stay awhile. Keeping the children off school and in desperate need of entertaining, constant feeding and refueling in order to keep playing in the snow.

 I haven't seen snow like this since I was about eighteen and living in Essex. We have had more snow this year than I have seen in the seven years we have lived here. Normally we miss every little bit of snow as we are near the coast.

 I was getting quite irate on Tuesday when every news programme and weather forecast showed how Britain was gripped by heavy snow and we didn't even have an icicle growing off the conservatory. Then Wednesday morning, we woke up to about an inch of snow. School was still open, so the girls and I braved the elements by walking a mile and a half to school. I was not prepared to risk crashing my car on ice. As the day wore on, the snow kept falling and it was getting rather serious. Luckily hubby was at home, as he was unable to get to work and went to pick the girls up. He has a car that is built for bad weather and I actually call the car Nasher, as it eats up the snow.

 The snow kept falling through the night and when we woke up yesterday morning, there was about six inches of snow.  England came to a complete standstill. We are rubbish when it comes to snow and just cannot function. So school was shut and we headed out to play in the snow.

 Hubby says I look like a soldier!

So as you can see my week has been hijacked!

I haven't even begun to make my Christmas journal, so I am already three days behind. I hope to get around to it today.  I haven't written a book review all week and I have a stack of them left to do.  I haven't even read anyone's blogs this week, so I do hope to get around today. 

I hope you like the seasonal look to my blog. I was feeling rather festive with all this snow around.