Author: Julie Cross

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books (5th January 2012)

Pages: 413

ISBN: 978-0230756267

From Amazon
Jackson Meyer is hiding a secret. He can time-travel. But he doesn’t know how he does it, how to control it or what it means. When Jackson, and his girlfriend Holly, find themselves in fatal danger, Jackson panics and catapaults himself two years into his past, further than he’s ever managed before, and this time he can’t find a way back to the future. All the rules of time-travel he’s experienced so far have been broken and Jackson has no choice but to pretend to be his younger self whilst he figures out a solution. Jackson is tearing himself apart with guilt and frustration, wondering if Holly survived. He’s also become the target of an unknown enemy force and it seems even his dad is lying to him. Jackson is racing against time to save the girl he loves, but to do that he must first discover the truth about his family and himself. And stay alive.

Review
When I saw Tempest in Foyles Bristol the other week … it had to be mine, I’d heard such good things about it and as it had a rather unusual take on time travel (something which there isn’t much of in YA anyway) – I couldn’t resist!

To be honest though it took a few chapters to actually get my head around what was happening, Tempest doesn’t make use of your ordinary time travel (is there such a thing as ordinary time travel?) theories where a time traveler can hop back to the past change something and it affects the future. It instead suggests that there are half jumps, full jumps and essentially parallel universes and not all affect the future.

But once you’ve got past this and have a lose general idea of what’s happening you can see through the science-y bits to a genuinely enjoyable story which became really difficult to put down.

I loved the friendship between Jackson and his best friend Adam. Adam is my kind of guy, he’s incredibly bright and determined and this comes in handy in more ways than one – he’s the one that encourages Jackson to explore and ultimately test what he can do and he has enough foresight to think about how Jackson can get help when he jumps to the past.

Jackson has another very close friend in Holly, I loved feeling the passion that Jackson feels towards her and the lengths that he would go to keep her safe. And i can’t not mention Jackon’s Dad and Doctor Melvin who are little stars in there own right!

Tempest flew by me in a flash of pages with a gripping story, brilliantly told by a fantastic debut author – I’ll be keeping my eye out for more Julie Cross in the future (couldn’t resist ).

Author: Rebecca Emin

Publisher: Grimoire Books (23rd January 2012)

Pages: 166

ISBN: 978-1908375063

From Amazon
Sam Hendry is not looking forward to starting at her new school. Things go from bad to worse as the day of truth arrives and all of her fears come true… and then some. When Sam meets a different group of people who immediately accept her as a friend, she begins to feel more positive. With her new friends and interests, will Sam finally feel able to face the bully who taunts her, and to summon up the courage to perform on stage?

Review
There are two things which will almost guarantee I will read a book – a book which tackles a subject like bullying, I will always try and highlight these books when I come across them. The other thing (if you’re wondering) is anything to do with theatre (professional, school or otherwise) and unusually New Beginnings has both!

Sam is just about to transfer to secondary school which can be a stressful period of time at the best of times but it’s made worse as her parents have opted to send her to a different school from her friends forcing her to start afresh. And on top of that she starts being bullied … arrgghhh!!!

I have to admit my first impressions of the teachers at the new school left a little to be desired, they seemed friendly enough but they didn’t seem to have a clue about what was going on right under there noses! Now I know it’s not possible to know how everyone in a classroom is feeling but even the teachers in my old school were better than that! I was particularly disappointed with Mrs Jennings (the PE teacher – maybe that explains my dislike of her hehe) as she failed to listen to both sides of what was going on after one incident.

Moving away from the bullying aspect there is another side to this story – Sam loves to sing and she’s pretty, what am I saying, she is fantastic at it, everyone who hears her sing is captivated by it and it leads the story into some interesting places. It allows her to meet new characters and makes Sam feel like she’s found a place in the world where she belongs. It fills her with more and more self confidence and it allows her to discover it’s the bully with the problem and not her.

I loved how although the book doesn’t preach out a message about bullying, instead it shows the kinds of effects it can have on other people, plus there are references to the UK bullying charity, Bullying UK and it gives a tip on how to deal with it. Of course the most important thing it raises is that if you are being bullied you should tell someone!

I only had one niggle it is something that happens right at the very end so I can’t really say what it is, I understand why it’s in there but without encouragement I’m not absolutely sure it would happen. It’s only a tiny thing and nothing to really worry about and for the age group I completely understand why. (that’s why it’s only a niggle ).

New Beginning is a very fast paced story and its 166 page whip by and are gone before you know it, there’s plenty of things going on that no-one will get bored. Aimed at younger readers, it could be an eye opening read for the bully, the bullied and those that observe.

Thanks to Rebecca for sending me a copy to review

The press release of the current book I’m reading makes reference to the Faust legend, for anyone who’s not aware of it the basic legend is essentially a deal with the devil. It’s not the first time I’ve come across stories that are either based on the legend or use similar ideas on film or in books.

The first time I came across the Faust legend I didn’t even know it was a legend – it was in the comedy film Bedazzled which I caught completely by accident on Channel 4 years ago. It’s a film where a geeky guy meets the devil as an attractive woman and trades his soul for 3 wishes – this being a comedy interpretation of the legend all hell breaks loose in terms of the interpretation of the wishes. Anyhoo, it’s one of the few films that has stuck with me for ages.

I met the legend again when I read the play Dr. Faustus by Christopher Malowe – again a similar set up (but still with it’s comedy moments and no wishes), it’s a much darker telling of the legend (featuring necromancy or dark magic) but you can see the essentials of the legend are there.

I’m currently reading Advent and it’s cropped up again (though I’ve only just started it so I’m not sure how well the comparison will stand up) and the idea of trading a soul for something crops in book 2 of the Soul Screamers series (which I still need to read ).

It got me thinking why are authors and storytellers attracted to legends? Is it because they want to retell the legend giving it there own twist (a bit like the fairy tell retellings we’re seeing lately)? Maybe to bring the legend to a new generation and to give it a new lease of life?

And what is it about certain legends and myths that attract a storytellers attention? Arthur and the Faust legend are the two that spring to my mind (but I’m sure there are others) what is it about them the draws us and authors into them?

Author: Kimberly Derting

Publisher: Headline (11th November 2010)

Pages: 327

ISBN: 978-0755378951

From Amazon
Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies – or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world…and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift, but now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer – and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling in love, Violet is getting closer to discovering a killer…and becoming his prey herself.

Review
The Body Finder is another one of those books that I wish I’d bought and read ages ago (like when it came out for instance) but even when I did buy it a few months ago I still didn’t read it straight away. I waited and waited. Then the other week I felt like something completely different and there it was – waiting for me!

It’s about Violet, a girl who has what can only be described as a ‘morbid’ special ability. She has the ability to sense a dead body (whether it be animal or erm, otherwise). That may seem odd enough but there’s more to it as she can also sense when the killer is close to her.

For me it’s like nothing I’ve ever read before and it’s an ability I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But Violet seems to handles these discoveries remarkably. Sure she’s upset and all the usual feelings you would expect a young girl to feel when a discovery such is this is made are evident but once they are out to rest she seems to move on.

Violet, however also shows such compassion for these dead bodies, always having to give the dead animals a proper send off. And even when she discovers a dead body her determination doesn’t let her down. She becomes determined to help the police catch the killer even if it puts her own life at risk.

Another aspect I liked about The Body Finder was seeing the story from the point of view of the killer – it wasn’t an altogether nice place to be but gave a hint about what the killer was up to and there thoughts.

The Body Finder wasn’t all about death though (thank goodness, that would have been a little too morbid for my tastes lol). It also has an almost coming of age quality too it as the two main characters, Violet and Jay discover more about themselves as they grow up and the new feeling they are feeling.

It’s just a fantastic book and I know most of you will already have read it so I’m going to finish by saying I’ll be buying book two very soon indeed!

Author: Cate Tiernan

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (5th January 2012)

Pages: 392

ISBN: 978-1444707007

From Amazon
He is the thorn in my side, nightmare of my past, destroyer of my family . . . And the one whose fevered kisses I had relived over and over as I lay exhausted and unable to sleep.

And yet night after night, he – who had kicked down hundreds of doors – had not brought himself to knock on mine.

Nastasya has lived for more than 400 years but things never get any easier. As she learns more about herself, she questions whether it will ever be possible to break free from the darkness of her former life. Can she turn away from the one person she wants to be with above all others? Should her past determine who she should – or should not – love?

Desire, death and painful secrets are revealed in this compulsively addictive sequel to Immortal Beloved.

Review
Darkness Falls is the second book in the Immortal Beloved series, as such this review may unintentionally reveal things about the first book – you have been warned!

Before I started reading Darkness Falls I was worried, that I would have forgotten everything from Immortal Beloved and that would have effected my enjoyment of this book. I needn’t have worried. After just a few pages the story flooded back to me and anything extra that is needed is very conveniently filled in as we go.

In truth I’d forgotten how bad things had got between Nastasya and Incy in the first book and the reasons why Nastasya had run away from him. But even so he was far worse in Darkness Falls – he is responsible for a scene I know I won’t be able to get rid of in a hurry (brilliant that I read those pages in work and had the image stuck there while I was trying to work, lovely! hehe).

Though I liked Incy as a character, I loved, loved, loved Nastasya – she goes through so much in this story, puts up with a lot of crap from a lot of people. I’m sure it’s in no small part that she stays sane(ish) is because of her family (that is truly what they truly feel like) at River’s Edge help to keep her grounded and the warmth and care that grows and comes from that place escapes the page and made me feel all warm inside. I also felt that as a character she goes through some major changes, helping her see the world through a different pair of eyes and seeing this unfold in such a character as Nastasya was very satisfying indeed.

I love magic and books with magic are right up my street, like the first book Darkness Falls doesn’t make use of wizards and wands and the like, rather it takes the form of magick (with a k) which I don’t get to read about often. I like it because it’s different and in a way it feels (to me) more powerful, more deadly if you like.

Come the end I was literally cheering her on, by this point in the book it was so hard to put it down ‘for a bit’ as the action had come to a place where the stakes were at there highest, my hairs were standing on end. So good, but you’ll have to find out for yourself!

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me copy to review

In todays stop on the 15 Days Without A Head blog tour I am delighted to welcome Mina who is in the middle of recommending some new songs for Laurence to add to his iPod

Over to Mina…

Playlist for Laurence – some good songs to listen to for a change! Love Mina xx

Don’t take this the wrong way, Big Man, but you are seriously in need of some new music. Give your ears a go on these …

1. Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now. I always hated Queen until we went to Pop in the Park. Whenever I hear this it reminds me of that night, standing in the crowd with your arms around me. Until you buggered off of course, and left me to deal with Han Solo!
Watch the music video

2. Florence & the Machine – Dog Days Are Over. One for Jay. Ha ha! Woof! Woof!
Watch the music video

3. The Breeders – Fortunately Gone. This was my mum’s favourite song. My dad said she had a cassette of it that got jammed in the car stereo, so it was the only thing they could listen to for about six months until the tape wore out. Mum used to play it all the time and it drove him crazy. I like it – a song about Magpie soup!
Watch the music video

4. Imogen Heap – Daylight Robbery. Ha ha! He he! I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t stopped you?
Watch the music video

5. Elliott Smith – Say Yes. Elliott Smith is legend. You HAVE to like him – end of. Listen to the words. It was hard choosing just one track because there are so many, but I think this is my favourite.
Watch the music video

6. Mumford & Sons – Hold on to what you believe. For some reason, this always makes me think of you and Jay.
Watch the music video

7. The Kinks – Lola. A song about dressing up in women’s clothes. I can’t imagine why this makes me think of you!
Watch the music video

8. Laura Marling – Night Terror. If they want you, they’re gonna have to fight me!!!
Watch the music video

9. Vega4 – Life is Beautiful. Something to remind you and make you smile
Watch the music video

10. The Specials – Ghost Town. Remind you of anywhere? I hated it when we first moved down here – too much concrete. I missed the green fields and the big skies you get in Yorkshire. Maybe I’ll take you up there one day and show you around?
Watch the music video

11. Portishead – Roads. This is from the first Portishead album, Dummy. It’s all brilliant, but this is my favourite track. I listen to it at night when I can’t sleep. It helps. I think her voice and the music is beautiful.
Watch the music video

12. Bat for Lashes – Sad Eyes. Because you have them too. Another song to listen to in the dark.
Watch the music video

13. Joni Mitchell – Little Green. My dad saved all my mum’s CDs for me when she died. There were lots of Joni Mitchell. This song sometimes makes me feel sad because it reminds me how much I miss my mum, but I think that sometimes it’s OK to feel sad and remember people.
Watch the music video

14. Bix Beiderbecke – Singin’ The Blues. My dad started teaching me trumpet when I was five. He loves Bix Beiderbecke and used to play his records all the time. This reminds me of being at home with my dad. I taught myself how to play this on the cornet a few years ago and played it for Dad on his birthday. It was the only time I’ve ever seen him cry. Not because it was bad – at least, I don’t think so!
Watch the music video

15. Morecombe & Wise – Boom Oo Yatta-Ta-Ta. My dad used to sing this to me when I was little. It always cheers me up and makes me laugh. We could try it, me, you and Jay!
Watch the music video

Fantastic selections and thanks to Mia and Dave for stopping by!

Further Information

Website: www.davecousins.net
Blog: davecousins.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @DaveCousins9000
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DaveCousinsAuthor?sk=wall

I loved (strike that) adored, worshiped (okay maybe I’m starting to go a little bit overboard here hehe) but you get the picture, it was an amazing book and next month a sequel comes out in the form of Beat The Band and I have to say it sounds just as hysterically fun.

So it gives me absolute pleasure to bring you the trailer, enjoy!

Late yesterday afternoon there was a *ahem* slight scare amongst bloggers using Google’s Blogger where a blog (not a book blog) was deleted by Google. I reiterate my last post where I say that this is a rare occurrence and would normally only occur if the terms of service were broken. I’m not entirely sure of the circumstances but some people are suspecting it was to do with a breach of copyright (which is the main reason Blogger or a host would terminate an account by the way!).

Anyway with this in mind and that my mentions column on Twitter almost exploded yesterday and partly thanks to The Bookette for suggesting it – here is my handy dandy guide to back up your blog (regardless of if you use Blogger (new or old version) or WordPress (the absolutely best blogging platform in the world – you know I speak the truth lol).

In fact if you own a blog it’s something you should be doing anyway – it’s not just Blogger / Host deleting your account that could cause problems.

Please note for simplicity (and length) I’ve left out how to backup the design for Blogger.

So on with the guide – just look at the section you need – can you guess which platform is a little but easier? (but please look at the bottom if you have your own domain!)

Blogger

I’m guessing most people reading this will be using the new version of blogger so I’ll tackle this first! If you’re using the older version (blue background) the steps are similar but the screens will look different and you can miss out clicking Other in step 2 as the export link is on the main settings page.

Step 1: Login to Blogger
I won’t explain this step

Step 2: Visit the Settings Page
On the blogger dashboard find your blog’s name. To the right hand side is an orange button and next to that (on the right hand side) is a drop down menu, click this and select settings:

On the left hand side at the bottom of the menu select ‘other’ (under the settings header):

Step 3: Export & Backup
Now click the export button (the middle link at the top of the screen under the Blog Tools section):

A box should pop up – click the big orange button which says ‘Download Blog’:

Save the file somewhere where you’ll remember where it is – this file only includes the post content (not pages if what I’ve read is true!) so if you’ve been uploading your images to Blogger please bare in mind that is where they will stay. To date I’m not quite sure how you would get the images out – if somebody knows let me know and I’ll update.

WordPress

I know most people won’t be using this but it’s helpful to know anyway!

Step 1: Login
Again I won’t bother explaining this step

Step 2: Click Export
From any WordPress admin screen click the export link in the left hand navigation (under the tools menu):

Step 2: Export & Backup
Leave the default option of all content selected and click the ‘download export file’ button.

Step 3: Images, Plugin & Theme
Again this will not download the images – to get these you’ll need to use an FTP client (like FileZilla) and download the upload folder under the wp-content folder which is normally found in the public_html folder.

For plugins download the one’s you want from the um, plugins folder again in the wp-content folder and for the theme download your current theme from the themes folder (again you guessed it in the wp-content folder).

Worried About Domains?

Don’t be – if you registered your domain through Blogspot / Google – Google (like a good host) will have registered it with you (yay!) and that means that legally they can do zip with it. If you want to use it elsewhere, go ahead, even if they delete your account they still have to give you access to your domain and if they don’t there places that you can go who will quite literally overrule them (for a small fee).

In the UK (if your domain ends in .uk so .co.uk, .org.uk etc) the organisation responsible for these domains is Nominet – and they have a form which you can fill in which will allow you as the domain owner to move it elsewhere – and Google can’t do dot about it .

If you’re domain is registered elsewhere the same rules apply (providing your domain is registered to you), if you’re new to domain registration I don’t think you can go wrong with Daily by the way

I hope this guide helps in some way, you might also be interested to know that if anyone is considering switching to WordPress (or any other platform) this is the first step in making the switch!

Author: Cliff McNish

Publisher: Orion Children’s (5th January 2012)

Pages: 274

ISBN: 978-1780620169

From Amazon
When Elliott and his brother, Ben, move into the old and crumbling Glebe House they don’t expect to find themselves sharing it with ghosts. But soon sinister events are unfolding. An old diary reveals glimpses of the mansion’s past – and of a terrible tragedy. A mysterious woman talks to the dead. And evil lurks in the East Wing – a hideous labyrinth of passageways devised by a truly twisted mind. Can Elliott and his family escape the clutches of Glebe House? Or will they be trapped in the maze of corridors, forever hunted by the dead?

Review
On the front cover of the Hunting Ground is printed the words ‘haunted by pure evil’ and I think this just about sums it up. It’s a book that won’t leave you when you close the cover, it won’t leave you when you do the washing up and it especially won’t leave you when you’re thinking about nothing. Ever since closing the book every now and again the story based at Glebe House keeps creeping back into my mind.

Essentially The Hunting Ground is a ghost story based on an old, creepy house which brothers Elliot and Ben are staying in temporarily while there Dad renovates it and makes it suitable to sell on. And so this is how we find ourselves in this creepy house which seems to have a mind of its own. I don’t want to say too much about the story as I think knowing too much would spoil the story as it’s so well crafted in revealing its secrets bit by bit.

Creepiness aside The Hunting Ground is a thriller which ever so gradually takes you over so you don’t really realise what’s happening. The pace may seem a little slow but it’s perfect for the story as it allows time for the happenings around the house to sink in. Gives us and the main characters the time to think about what has just happened and start to think about what is to come.

McNash leaves hints of what’s to come all over the story, makes it very hard to know who to trust – Janey for example I was all over the place with. One minute trusting her, the next not and so on and I can only imagine what Ben and Elliot would have felt being confronted with her and all the other weird goings on in the house especially around the East Wing.

I loved Ben and Elliot – I could really see the brotherly chemistry going on, how they didn’t always agree but deep down cared for each other and not mentioning Eve would be a crime. I’m not going to tell you who she is because I think you need to discover it for yourself but as a character I loved her!

I expected to enjoy The Hunting Ground but I think in the end it way surpassed my expectations and I’ll be sure to look out for more McNash stories in the future.

Thanks to Orion Children’s for sending me copy to review

Author: Don Calame

Publisher: Templar Publishing (9th May 2011)

Pages: 371

ISBN: 978-1848774537

From Amazon
Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year’s? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time. But this mission impossible starts to look easy in comparison to Matt’s other challenge: to swim the 100-yard butterfly and impress the gorgeous Kelly West.

Review
When we’re young the summer holidays used to feel like they went on forever so I loved the idea that Swim The Fly has it’s main characters (which are boys, yay!) come up with a single goal which they have to achieve over the summer months, something to aim for if you like. In the past the aims have been harmless but in the months that Swim The Fly covers – Matt, Coop and Sean have the summer goal to see a real life naked girl.

I loved the idea from the moment I heard of it and the reviews I’ve seen since have lashed so much praise onto this book I had to check it out, and boy am I glad I did. From the writing it’s not surprising that Don is also a screenwriter, it has a movie / film like fast paced style – interspersing sequences when I was just left cringing and laughing my head off (laxatives anyone?) with moments of such genuine warmth – amazing!

Don has done a fab job of capturing the male voice, the characters all reminded me of people I knew in school and it was funny thinking of them in similar situations. Very funny hehe.

Credit also has to be given for the older ‘authority’ characters, each gave something extra to the story – my favourite of these characters has to be Ulf, the way his character helps Matt develop through the story and the comedy that he creates. And I can’t not mention Ms Luntz or Grandpa Arlo who Swim The Fly would not be the same without.

It’s the kind of book which I think will immediately appeal to boys but boys and girls of most ages will equally enjoy (though it does have a parental guidance badge on the back and would not be suitable for really young readers lol).

I didn’t realise there was a second book – Beat The Band which essentially follows up on this story and I for one can’t wait!