Author: Jeff Norton

Publisher: Orchard

From Amazon
Jonah Delacroix can’t stand the real world – so he lives most of his life inside a global computer-based virtual world called the Metasphere, where everyone is represented by an avatar. When he discovers the avatar of his dead father, and assumes his online identity, a series of events are unleashed that compel Jonah to race across the real world with a secret society to protect the freedom of all mankind…

Review
If you’re into video games you’ll love MetaWars – the Metasphere is for all intents and purposes one gigantic online multiplayer game which takes the Kinect a couple of stages further – it takes the phrase “you are the controller” quite literally.

MetaWars shares a similar idea to that of Ready Player One but for a younger market, set in the future, the real world is not a nice place to work and play – the problems that we are constantly being warned of today are coming true – the earth’s precious resources have run out and the people are looking for a place to escape, and escape comes in the form of the Metasphere – an idyllic, perfect place where you can be educated, earn a living, play – indeed live out your life … and, well afterlife too.

It sounds perfect but nothing perfect can last, the governments want to control and tax it (as governments often do), the Guardians want to free it from government power and make it free and open for everyone. The Millenials on the other hand want to see the original owner and creator, Matthew Granger – back in charge.

MetaWars is the start of the battle.

Like any good game – a person is represented in the Metasphere by an avatar – I felt this was a really interesting idea as like with many online activities the people you meet online may not be quite who they say they are. We literally have no idea who we’re talking to – unless we’ve met them previously in the real world. And there’s no escaping that in the Metasphere – something which Jeff plays on to great effect.

Talking of the Metasphere I loved the idea of the island of the uploaded – a place where the essence of someone can be saved to live well on past their real life death. A place where relatives don’t have to visit a gravestone but actually visit the person – or a version of their loved ones anyway.

But the story is much bigger than the Metasphere and those who want to make it free for all have to do battle in the real world too and this mix between the programmed and the real world was really well imagined. It rooted the story and brought it home that whilst they could live in the Metasphere for so long – they’re body and everything keeping them alive was very real. It added an extra level of excitement that the characters were actually more vulnerable when they were in the Metasphere.

By the end I had mixed feelings about the two main groups involved and whose side I wanted to support. I was fully supporting the Guardians up until this point but then we here Matthew Granger’s side of the story and I felt like I think Jonah felt at that point and started questioning which side to put my faith in

MetaWars: The Fight For The Future is a fast paced, action packed adventure that I’m sure gamers and readers alike will devour.

Thanks to Orchard for sending me a copy

Author: Emma Pass

Publisher: Corgi Children’s (Random House Children’s Publishers)

From Amazon
2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID – the most brutal, controlling police force in history – rule supreme. No throwaway comment or muttered dissent goes unnoticed – or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a bloody crime she struggles to remember.

The only female inmate in a violent high-security prison, Jenna has learned to survive by any means necessary. And when a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID – and to uncover the truth about what really happened on that dark night two years ago.

Review
On reading the description of ACID you would be well forgiven for thinking “not another dystopia” but don’t pass judgement just yet! It was wonderfully refreshing to learn that ACID is based in the UK (I know, how awesome is that – a UK dystopia!), or to be more specific the IRB but yay – a future UK . Being based only 100 years into our future though did make it feel a tad close for comfort.

ACID is essentially a police force come government who are as bad as they sound, say anything out of place, do anything ACID consider wrong – then you’ll be watching out for your shadow wherever you go. They’re a power hungry organisation that are basically in control of everything a citizen can say, where they can go, what they can do and what they can watch. Oh yes, and one other teeny, little thing – they’ve disconnected the IRB from the internet … nnnnnooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

In other words that thing we like to think as freedom – ACID have taken it away.

Jenna Strong as her name suggests was a kick-butt strong female lead, I guess being the only female in a male prison (whattt?!?!?) is to blame for that! She knows how to stand up for herself and she’s smart to boot. Despite everything that happens to her whether through her own actions or those of others she still somehow remains true to her character.

I loved the news stories and other scraps of documentation scattered throughout the book, they showed us what Jenna couldn’t always know – only guess at and raised the tension to a point where I’d be close to screaming at Jenna not to do something as you knew just knew that action couldn’t end well.

A special mention has to go to Max’s Dad – Alex Fisher, what he did was way beyond the call of duty and although we only really see him at the beginning his actions there were felt way beyond the first few chapters (liking the vagueness hehe )

Overall, ACID was a wonderfully refreshing UK based dystopia and I absolutely loved it (I think you, yes you – will too!) If you’re after a fast paced book, writing that envelopes your senses and a story that can’t help but get under your skin- step this way – ACID is what you’ve been looking for! I cannot wait to read what Emma has in store for us next

Thanks to Random House Children’s Publishers for sending me a copy

Author: C.J. Daugherty

Publisher: Atom

From Amazon
Cimmeria Academy has been more than a school for Allie, it’s been a safe haven. But no longer.

The school – her friends, her teachers – are under attack. A nefarious group, a group that Allie and her mysterious family might have more to do with than she could’ve ever realized, is trying to destroy everything Cimmeria stands for.

And throughout it all, someone they eat with, sleep with, train with, is betraying them. There’s a spy in Night School. As the paranoia grows and the fights begin, it’s not the enemies outside they have to worry about.

They’re hurting themselves.

Review
Please note this is book two in the Night School series and may indadvertedly contain spoilers … so do yourself a favour and read Night School first!

I loved Night School so I’m actually quite surprised to be saying that I think I enjoyed Legacy even more. I guess in Night School we got things going, questions got asked especially around this mysterious part of Cimmeria Academy – Night School which essentially lives by the rule – what happens in Night School stays in Night School.

In Legacy things are flipped over and instead of wondering what happens in Night School – we’re in. We can see what it is exactly from the inside – no more guessing games. Well, I say no more guessing games – there’s more to Night School then first meets the eye – even to those in the know!

There’s normally a slight problem when it comes to reading a second, or third, or fourth (okay, any book that forms part of a series that isn’t book one) when you haven’t read the previous ones recently. We begin to forget what happens – there’s several options for dealing with this and Legacy takes a rather nice approach.

The way I normally like this handled is to naturally feed the backstory into the story as and when it’s needed. The alternative is to recap it all at the beginning which can sometimes feel a bit repetitive for the times when the original story for whatever reason is still lodged in your brain. This is essentially the way Legacy deals with it but for me it didn’t feel like it was wasting pages – it felt much like some TV episodes say “previously on…” and I have to say I liked it!

I loved the mystery element this time around – it’s heightened from the last book – since the fire and the developments surrounding Gabe and we come to discover that not everyone can be trusted. I loved how this impacted on the relationships taking place. We see it mostly from Allie’s point of view and her thoughts on everyone else but also very cleverly through discussions we see in the actions of other characters and how much they trust / don’t trust Allie. It must be a very surreal experience to not be able to trust what people say all around you and know that they have the same feelings towards you!

The fiery love triangle is of coure back – my feelings about who Allie should be with constantly changed – Carter and Sylvain were both brilliant characters, both (I think) cared for Allie and would do what they could to keep her safe.

A special mention has to go out to the librarian – Eloise, I mean how can I not – she’s a librarian. But oh, she’s so much more besides a keeper of knowledge. And I can’t forget to mention Isabelle. I could probably go on but think I better stop here.

Overall, Legacy is a fantastic addition to the Night School series and I’m looking forward to book number three set in the mysteriously dark boarding school that is Cimmeria Academy!

Thanks to Atom for sending me a copy

This is a little embarrassing to admit but this video was a response to a video I saw ages ago – way back before I started making videos – the only problem is … I can’t find the original video (eek!).

So, maybe the first bit is now irrelevant – hey ho.

Anyhoo, this video is almost like a challenge video to anyone that is who says they don’t like to read, whether they’re still in school or if they’ve now left. I’m assuming that as you’re watching this (assuming you click the play button that is) that this doesn’t apply to you!

It’s aimed at people who say they don’t like to read without perhaps giving it a chance – maybe they (like me) didn’t like the (or aren’t currently liking the) books they had to read at school and have since been left with the impression that they don’t like to read. And maybe this is an idea for how they might be able to find books that would fit their tastes – who knows maybe they would like reading if they just read the right books for them.

I think that’s enough of my ramblings though – so, you don’t read?

You can see all the previous vlogs on The Teen Books Sidekick YouTube channel

You may have seen my review for Geekhood: Mission Improbable the other day – if not why not head over and check it out Okay, okay – enough with the plugs!

Today I have a little vlog inspired by the Internal Monologue which is such a prominent character in both the Geekhood books, I don’t really want to ramble on too much about it or I’ll end up writing it all here :p

So without further ado, what’s with those little voices?

What do you think of the little voices? Do you ignore them, go with them .. or maybe something in between?

Review of Books Mentioned

• Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb
• Geekhood: Mission Improbable by Andy Robb

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Really? Well, if you insist you can check out the full channel – The Teen Books Sidekick and subscribe or keep an eye on this blog where most of the videos are posted.

Author: Andy Robb

Publisher: Stripes Publishing

From Amazon
Archie is a Geek to his core – and despite having a Close Encounter with Sarah at the beginning of term, he’s still completely clueless about girls. Enter Clare – an older woman (she’s sixteen) who Archie meets on his weekend trip to see his dad and his nightmare step-mum, Jane. Clare and Archie hit it off – and she comes up with a brilliant, foolproof way to get their crushes to notice them: pretend to be going out with one another! What can possibly go wrong? With school, Sarah, a fake girlfriend and his insane family to deal with, Archie and his mates step-up the nerdiness and go Live Action Role-play gaming. Ladies and gentlemen, we are entering a new era…A warm, witty tale of being a teenage geek, Geekhood captures the awkwardness of being a teenager perfectly. Geekhood has won huge acclaim and deserves a place in the heart of any teenager with even slightly geeky leanings.

Review
Mission Improbable is the second in the Geekhood series and as such this review may contain spoilers for Close Encounters of the Girl Kind. If you haven’t read it, go read it now then come back later – you can thank me later

Bom-bom-BOM-bom! (um, just imagine the Mission Impossible theme tune here please )

The IM and EM (Internal Monologue and External Monologue respectively) are back online, this can only mean one thing – Archie’s back in town and it’s time for Geekhood 2 aka Mission Improbable!

I know it’s only been about a year since Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind but it feels like a lot longer and in that time I’ve been itching to get my hands on a copy of the second instalment. And believe me everything I loved from the first book is present and correct here.

If you’ve already read CEotGK you’ve probably already guessed that the improbable mission is mainly centred around The Most Beautiful Girl In The World(TM) – Sarah who we met previously. She’s still the object of Archie’s affections and still seems to him to be out of reach. His mission should he choose to accept it is no matter how unlikely to be more than friends with Sarah

I really liked how this panned out and how it dogged Archie’s thoughts throughout the story and how it led to something happening … with Claire. Well, okay you’ve got me – at least if you’ve read the Amazon description above. Claire is someone Archie meets on his way to his Dads and she comes up with an *ahem* foolproof plan.

The plan I have to say is not shall we say completely original but it’s something that I can imagine easily being used by teens and quite possibly some adults – at least if the soap operas are to be believed hehe. But what I liked was that it’s been given a modern twist – this Classic Geek Proof Plan(TM) (like what I did just there? ) has been dragged kicking and screaming into the Facebook generation.

And I loved how it sent the IM and EM into overdrive – the plan meant that Archie has to lie to Sarah, the grunts and worse of all his friends. From the moment the plan goes online we see how he reacts to his friends and the people around him finding out he has a *ahem* girl friend. Especially Beggsy … interesting!

Hilarity ensues when the IM and EM start jabbering away in the background – broadcasting to us Archie’s inner thoughts. The thoughts that I’m sure run through most people’s minds day to day. You know the ones – they make us doubt what we’re doing, doubt the decisions we’re making, make us chicken out of possibly doing the right thing or something that’s a little out of our comfort zone.

All of this ignores LARPing – think dungeons and dragons but spread out over a weekend where the players become their characters. It’s the same kind of rules as the traditional role playing games but it’s more of an immersive experience – complete with foam weapons. I have to say it sounds AWESOME!

And how did this little gang of geeks find out about LARPing? Well, from The Resident Grown Up Geek(TM) of course and that’s where the special mention for this review goes to. A review of Geekhood: Mission Improbable would quite simply be incomplete without Big Marv and he’s just as fabulous as last time around.

Overall, Mission Improbable is the perfect book for anyone wanting a fun read and wanting a second sneak peak into how a teenage boys mind (yep, I missed out the word Geeky there on purpose ) processes what it observes from the outside. Yes in relation to girls but also the feelings they have for the people around them. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Stripes Publishing for sending me a copy

Author: Katy Moran

Publisher: Walker

From Amazon
The mysterious boy who Lissy encounters at a deserted train station acts like he has known her all her life. Unnerved by his unnatural beauty, she sets about uncovering the dark secret of the village of Hopesay Edge. The boy, Larkspur, is a member of the Hidden, an ancient group of elven people and Lissy quickly finds herself fighting to escape from a powerful elven magic. A bargain has been made that cannot be broken, and if the Hidden catch Lissy now, they will never let her go.

Review
In the past for me fey and fairy etc books haven’t had the wow factor, they’ve never really bowled me over – that’s not to say I haven’t liked the few I’ve read but I’d never been able to invest much in them and have never moved onto the second book in a series. I never got that yeah, I have to read the next book. I got more of the “I liked it but I wanted more feeling”. Let me just say this is so far away from the feeling I got with Hidden Among Us.

Okay, so lets back peddle a little bit – Hidden Among Us does start out the way most fey books do with a child being for want of a better word kidnapped by the Fey. But from then on things are a little different. For a start Lissy is returned … for a price! Oh, and a little curse (well, maybe not so little) – the life of your children I’d say is a pretty big price to pay if you fail to meet your end of the bargain.

The story really starts to get going (which is as it happens not so long after it starts) when Lissy’s 14th birthday is on the horizon (the deadline for want of a better word) as the family do all that they can to keep Lissy away from the fey!

Exciting stuff!

Hidden Among Us is told in a switching first point of view or to put it another way through the eyes of each character and I found it really refreshing to see one of these viewpoints is that of the mother, Miriam. We never see this in YA – and normally with good reason – but here it really works as without it we wouldn’t get the necessary backstory – it provides a quick way of getting the necessary backstory in without relying on conversations or spending time figuring it out as the main character makes their way through the story. It didn’t pop up very often but just enough to keep us in the loop and keep the tension where it needed to be!

I loved how there was a secret society – membership only granted by inheritance who knew about the fey but who were sworn to keep them a secret. They were charged with ensuring the gateways were kept shut and the two worlds separate. And I loved how their actions impacted on those trying to keep Lissy safe.

Before I end I just want to mention the ending – it rounded off the book and answered all the main questions but left gateways to another book well and truly open!

Overall, Hidden Among Us is my favourite fey book and for the first time with these books I really do hope that they’ll be a second one on the way.

Thanks to Walker for sending me a copy

Author: Anne Cassidy

Publisher: Bloomsbury

From Amazon
Rose’s mother and Joshua’s father have disappeared. Police inquiries have gone nowhere and the case, it seems, is closed: Rose and Joshua have been told that the police believe their parents are dead. But Rose and Joshua still hold out hope that they are alive. Joshua is determined to follow up his own inquiries, which includes working out the meaning of the cryptic notebooks – the murder notebooks – they have discovered. Then Rose is distracted by odd, desperate messages she receives from Rachel, a former best friend from her school, followed by the terrible news that Rachel is dead. But perhaps Rachel’s death will provide one more piece of the puzzle about what has happened to Rose and Joshua’s parents . . .

Review
Please note Killing Rachel is the 2nd in the Murder Notebooks series and as such may contain spoilers for Dead Time – you have been warned!

The second installment of the murder notebooks continues the search for Rose’s and Joshua’s mother and father. It continues where Dead Time left off in terms of this – investigation. In other words at the start it’s still unclear whether their parents are still alive but with the help of the notebooks they hope to find some answers.

Like Dead Time this isn’t the only story in Killing Rachel – or even the main one for that matter, it’s something which for most of the book sits in the background ticking over as something more urgent pushes itself to the front – the unfortunate demise of Rachel, an old school friend of Rose’s.

Unfortunately despite loving the first installment I didn’t get into Killing Rachel instantly – I think my brain was trying to connect it to the first story – thought it had made a match, dismissed the match as it wasn’t certain only to find out it was right. I guess this is one of the problems of large distances of time between reading series books.

However, approximately half way through all this was forgotten and I started getting into the story itself – this could very well have been when the story clicked back into place. Anyhoo – I found the second half just as engaging as the first book and I really enjoyed how the two seemingly separate stories impacted on each other. One pushing the other to the back boiler for a brief period of time!

I’m not really going to say anything more (though it feels like I haven’t said much anyway – sorry!) as I feel that saying anything much about the story itself will spoil it for anyone yet to read it.

I will however send a special mention out to go to Skeggsie – who I loved, I only wish we saw more of him – he’s the person to turn to for technical wizardry. Can you now see why I like him so much! We often heard his name dropped by Joshua or caught the tail end of a telephone conversation. I really hope we see more of him in the books that are to come

Overall, Killing Rachel is a really good addition to the Murder Notebooks series. While I wasn’t completely bowled over by the first half, the second half was completely worth the wait and I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the series has to offer!

Thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy

Author: Erin Lange

Publisher: Faber & Faber

From Amazon
You think I eat a lot now? That’s nothing. Tune in December 31st, when I will stream a live webcast of my last meal. Death row inmates get one. Why shouldn’t I? I can’t take another year in this fat suit, but I can end this year with a bang. If you can stomach it, you’re invited to watch . . . as I eat myself to death.

-Butter

So starts Butter, the story of a lonely 423-pound boy everyone calls ‘Butter’. Worse than being ridiculed for his size at high school, he is simply ignored. Desperate, he pledges to eat himself to death live on the Internet – and everyone will watch. When he makes this announcement online, he expects pity, insults, or possibly sheer indifference. Instead, his classmates become morbid cheerleaders for his deadly plan.

Yet as their dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that feels good. But what happens when Butter reaches his suicide deadline?

Readers will be surprised to find themselves identifying with both the bullied . . . and the bullies.

Review
From the moment I heard about Butter I knew I had to read it and it’s one of those books that once you start is incredibly difficult to put back down again!

Butter tells the story of a boy who decides he’s going to put on one of the most dangerous shows on the internet – he’s going to eat himself to death and he’s going to broadcast it live via butterslastmeal.com on new years eve.

It felt a little strange reading this book, normally I sympathise with the main character and go with them on their journey but this time although I still sympathised with Butter and what he was going through I felt like I was one of his so called ‘friends’ egging him on. Just by reading it felt like I was encouraging him. I felt probably a little like his viewers for want of a better word to read on to see if he would actually go through with it. Wishing and hoping so much that he doesn’t.

I can’t just brush off these friends though – they weren’t all bad, in school they treated him like a friend, supported him and I guess respected him for his stunts. There was a definite trace of fun around them, at least in school – face to face! The one thing I will say for them is that they included him and I guess this is what made it difficult to back out. Would he lose these friends if he backed out?

I loved Butter, as a character I found him undeniably likeable, he has a sense of humour despite everything and he plays the saxaphone in a way I could only wish to play the piano. His ideas though do need a little work.

It was horrifying reading as his deadly menu came together, as he found out new ways that he could die by eating from various sources. The more and more I read the more and more I thought he would actually do it. This of course was not helped by his friends who were constantly suggesting new things for the menu and making it understandably difficult to back out of once things took hold – not to mention with his popularity in school rising it started to look like his priorities had gone a little out of whack.

Overall, Butter is a book that I urge everyone to read, it has a real heart and a worthy message – it’s not as morbid as it might sound from the outset and has a lovely main character that I hope as many people as possible get to know.

Thanks to Faber & Faber for sending me a copy

Author: Tom Becker

Publisher: Scholastic

From Amazon
When Alfie Mandeville’s insomnia threatens to embarrass his wealthy family he is sent to Scarbrook House, a sanatorium for wealthy children. Troubled by the eerie atmosphere and skittish patient, Alfie’s condition gets worse, not better. He falls under the spell of the charismatic and cruel William Travers, who seems to delight in bullying the other patients. A mysterious sighting by the water tower in the woods stirs up turbulent memories of Alfie’s time in India. And as he lies awake one night, Alfie is haunte by visions of a strange creature moving through the darkness at the edge of the patients’ beds. Are his tired eyes hallucinating, or is starting to lose his mind? When Alfie learns that the creatures are hunting a demon escaped from the depths of Hell – and that the only protection against them is to be asleep – suddenly insomnia becomes the most dangerous condition of all… WHILE THE OTHERS SLEEP is a gripping psychological thriller – don’t read it alone at night!

Review
If you’re looking for something a thriller, While The Others Sleep might be just what you’re itching to read.

Alfie Mandeville’s (it has to be said) wealthy parents are concerned about their son – Alfie’s suffering from severe bouts of insomnia and they decide to take the rather extreme course of action of sending him to Scarbrook House in the hopes that this ailment will be driven away and the family name protected.

Scarbrook House it has to be said is a place where rich kids get sent when their parents feel that they will cause them embarrassment. Which kind of makes the above paragraph seem barmy but trust me as you read While The Others Sleep all will be revealed! The kids that are sent there are a mix of people who genuinely might have a problem and others who seem completely normal.

The head doctor on first appearances seems like any other kind of doctor – kind, with only the best of interests for his patients and I think putting aside his tendency to take on cases from time to time which he’s not best suited to purely for the acclaim (and the money) I think his heart is in the right place.

Unlike Travers. Travers is one of the patients (though I can’t exactly remember why he’s at Scarbrook House) that immediately befriends Alfie. He’s someone I have trouble with – I have trouble with him because as a character I loved him. Strange, huh?

I could easily visualise him sauntering down the halls of Scarbook House getting whatever he wants and feared by the other patients. but that’s my problem, he was the bully – he teased people relentlessly and although Alfie didn’t catch the brunt of it, we still got glimpses of what Travers was like through Alfie’s eyes and I didn’t like what I was seeing! And that pure and simple is why I had trouble with him – my feelings were mixed!

While The Others Sleep is a psychological thriller and you’re probably wondering right now what exactly makes it so – it seems so far to just be a story of insomnia – nothing particularly thrilling about that… until you introduce the idea of a thing that’s stalking the night – a demon from the depths of hell to be more precise. A demon who is hunting something, something that it has to take back to the depths of hell. Insomnia doesn’t feel so safe now!

This element shines something new on the story from the moment it’s introduced as you feel the tension rise as Alfie and the other patients try (desperately) to get to sleep!

Overall, While The Others Sleep is a perfect read for anyone who likes a story which subtly gets more creepy the more you think about it. If you’re a thinker – don’t read this before bed!

Thanks to Scholastic for sending me a copy