Author: Jack Heath

Publisher: Usborne (1st March 2012)

Pages: 279

ISBN: 978-1409531104

From Amazon
Meet Ash and Ben, teen master thieves; stealing for the rich, hiding from the law…and wanted by some of the deadliest men and women in the world. Ashley Arthur and her best friend, Benjamin, are teen thieves working for the billionaire Hammond Buckland, hunting down stolen artefacts and returning them to their rightful owners – for a fee. But when they stumble across an SOS from an imprisoned girl, they realise they’re in over their heads. Because there are others looking for the girl. Corrupt governments. Ruthless corporations. Rogue assassins. Suddenly it’s Ash and Ben at the top of everyone’s hit list…and when you’re about to break into the largest intelligence agency in the world to rescue a mysterious stranger, that’s a seriously dangerous place to be. Smart, slick and explosive, this is teen crime fiction as its most compelling.

Review
Hit List is the second in the Ashley Arthur series and as such this review may therefore accidentally contain spoilers for Money Run – you have been warned!

If you’re looking for a fast paced, action filled and heart stopping read – Hit List is it. Hit List is another book that falls into the category of books where the characters we follow lead less than legal lives. As such Ash and Ben put themselves in very dangerous positions in doing what they do.

In Hit List Ash and Ben are trying to put right the things they have done in the past by returning items to their rightful owners (working from a list known as the ‘Hit List’. They aren’t the things that they have stolen though (it wouldn’t be that easy would it ) they have to actually steal them first, in return they are given an undisclosed reward.

I loved how the narrative whilst mainly staying with Ash and Ben switched from time to time to show us that something else was coming or that all was not well. This was especially fun as it allowed me to draw the wrong conclusions time after time.

The Ghost was a character I wouldn’t want to meet in bright day light let alone on a dark street corner, he has a reputation that evil master criminals would cower in front of. I could get the sense of how many characters feared him by the way the name was always spoken with reverence. And lets be honest if a master criminal had apparently paranormal abilities wouldn’t you be hoping never to hear ‘the Ghost is nearby’ – I’d be running for the hills!

I really enjoyed how the story kept me guessing, I was trying to guess who the Ghost was and every time I thought I’d worked it out the story twisted and that idea went flying out the window with the rest of them.

The story made me think about a certain company in rather scary ways – I’d never really considered how holding so much data and the resulting information can make a company powerful. Very powerful indeed!

Overall, Hit List is a fabulous book which I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to teenage boys and anyone who wants a fast paced and action packed story with writing that sweeps you off your feet and carries you away.

Thanks to Usborne for sending me a copy

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (1st March 2012)

Pages: 336

ISBN: 978-1444722925

From Amazon
Love, the deadliest of all deadly things.
It kills you when you have it.
And when you don’t.

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Pandemonium is a poignant, explosive, recklessly romantic and utterly heartbreaking novel. Like Delirium, the first in the compelling trilogy, it will take you to the very edge. That’s all you need to know. We’ll let Lena do the rest of the talking . . .

Review
Pandemonium is the second book in the Delirium Trilogy, this review may therefore accidentally contain spoilers for Delirium – you have been warned!

Pandemonium picks up right up where Delirium leaves off but don’t expect it to be the same kind of story, for a start it’s split into then and now. The Then chapters follow Lena’s life since she and Alex made their escape attempt into the wilds at the end of Delirium (after that ending!!!). We see what happens to her and find out about the people that she meets.

The then chapters introduce us to Raven and Blue amongst other people who live in the wilds. At this point I have to say that I love these names – they don’t sound like normal names at first but as I read more and more the reasons and personas behind them add so much depth to the story. I loved Raven, she came across as a strong character – someone who gives off a hard appearance, an appearance that says don’t mess with me but once you get to know her you see a softer centre.

The Now chapters are set further ahead and shows us Julian – who is in a way in the same position as Lena was in the last book. In these chapters Lena becomes his mentor – opening his eyes to what the world feels like when love is allowed in.

It all leads down a dramatic path with the then chapters laying the understanding for what happens in the Now chapters. And yes you guessed it – to another dramatic cliffhanger of an ending (I would say it’s more shocking than the first

Overall, Pandemonium is an amazing read – even better than Delirium and just as expertly written as Before I Fall creating scenes that fill the senses and left me wanting more, lots more

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a copy

Author: Robin Jarvis

Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books (2nd February 2012)

Pages: 532

ISBN: 978-0007448029

From Amazon
The second novel in the extraordinary, ground-breaking, genre-busting new trilogy from master of fantasy Robin Jarvis

Five months have passed since the publication of the devilish book discovered in Dancing Jax. It is on its ninth reprint and tens of millions of copies have been sold in the UK. The entire country is now under its evil spell.

Yet a tiny percentage of the population have proven to be immune to the words of Austerly Fellows. The number of unaffected children between the ages of 7 and 15 is only 49. With the critical eyes of the rest of the world turned towards Britain, the Ismus decides to send the children for an intensive holiday camp, where they will study the sacred text and learn to embrace it.

But after the holiday is over, the children are told their stay has been extended. A barbed wire fence is put up around the site. And it soon becomes apparent that the place is not a camp and the children are not guests. They are prisoners of war…

Review
Freax And Rejex is the second book in the Dancing Jax series, this review may therefore accidentally contain spoilers for Dancing Jax – you have been warned!

I finished Dancing Jax last year and was spellbound with the world of Mooncaster that Robin Jarvis had painted so vividly and clearly so I was thrilled when I realised there was a second story!

And book two, Freax And Rejex doesn’t let me down and in many ways it’s even better. In this story set not long after we leave the first book. Dancing Jax has really taken hold of the UK. No more is the hold of Mooncaster just confined to school children and a number of adults – it’s now considered bad if you have not yet entered the land of Mooncaster – so much so that they’re called aberrants.

They are rounded up and imprisoned in a special camp and it’s not the kind of camp that I would like to find myself in! Head of the camp is Jangler, the castle gaoler – we caught glimpses of him during Dancing Jax but in this book his role is more authoritative. He’s the kind of character that if he says jump you say how high or you face … in no uncertain terms … death …. or ….. worse!

That being said Jangler is not one to get his hands dirty, rather he delegates the delivery of all punishments to the Punchinello guards – a fact that these guards are all to happy about. These guards are brutal beasts, they take great joy in their duty of punishing the aberrants in all manner of ways and as the book progresses they show just how nasty they can be.

There is however something about them that I love, in a way I think they are my favourite characters – they each are addressed by name and each one has it’s one personality (not just drones who follow orders) – I particularly loved Yikker and his pet name for one of the aberrants – Stinkboy. Although they are not easily led – they can be easily bought creating some fairly amusing images.

This time round we still get snippets of the sacred text, but as oppose to being forced to read pages of it every now and again like last time, it’s kept in check and so doesn’t get a chance to slow the story down like I thought it did in book 1 and the occasional handy image makes it easy to visualise some of the more unusual creatures.

Character wise I can’t not mention Jody – and not only as she’s a Bristol gal I really, really liked her to start with but as the story moved forwards I felt that change and she started becoming someone I wouldn’t want to be friends with – but living in that horrible camp I can understand why it happened.

I loved Maggie, she came into the camp after the others and was a bit like a pulse of energy, something new and interesting – the others thought so too!

The writing was fast paced and gripping – it immersed me once again completely in the world of Mooncaster, the sights, sounds and smells were all captured tremendously. Not to mention the changing ‘dream’ or grey world around it.

I loved how we got to see how Dancing Jax all started out, sure we found out in the last book how the world fell to Dancing Jax and the Ismus but in this book we get to see when it was initially first written and some of the dark magic behind it.

Overall, Freax and Rejex is a different book from Dancing Jax, it advances the world and lays foundations for further journey’s into Mooncaster. It’s a dark and gripping fantasy and I am sitting here hoping there is going to be a third – I would love to know what happens next. This series is EPICLY GOOD! *rocks back and forth and enters Mooncaster*

Thanks to Harper Collins Children’s Books for sending me a copy

Author: Jay Ahser & Carolyn Mackler

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books (5th January 2012)

Pages: 356

ISBN: 978-0857076076

From Amazon
It’s 1996 and very few high school students have ever used the internet. Facebook will not be invented until several years in the future. Emma just got a computer and an America Online CD. She and her best friend Josh power it up and log on – and discover themselves on Facebook in 2011. Everybody wonders what they’ll be like fifteen years in the future. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

Review
Now how cool does that sound? Being able to see what the future you is up to 15 years from now via Facebook. Of course the year is 1996 and Facebook hasn’t exactly been invented yet which kind of makes it all the more fun.

I really enjoyed this book, it’s set in 1996 so (groan) we get to relive the dreaded AOL CD, or as I used to like to call them – fancy coasters

The book brought back memories of the dial up squeaks and whistles which sound every time you connect and the horribly slow speeds but I digress, the core theme of this story is how the little actions that we do today ripple out and affect our future.

I mean what would you do if one day you discovered that you could find out how every little action you did today would affect your life in 15 years time, would you be hooked and try and take control of your future no matter how obsessed you got. Or would you rather not know – let your life take on it’s own course.

In The Future Of Us we meet two characters Emma and Josh, they discover a website which tells them what their future is like 15 years in the future. Each handles this discovery very differently and I loved how the way each of them behaved exposed a deeper sense of the character.

Each chapter alternates between these two characters showing how they interpreted each others actions and how they viewed what each other was doing. I love this way of telling stories as nothing is hidden away from view and when it’s done well like this some of the plot twists are still unpredictable

I would agree with a number of reviews that say it’s a nostalgic look back and like them – I don’t think all teens will get some of the references – I mean, I loved it but I remember AOL dial up internet *shudders*. I’m not saying teens wouldn’t like it – I think they would, but I think older readers might get more out of it!

Overall, The Future Of Us was a fun read and a really interesting idea , I mean like I said at the start, what would you do?

Thanks to Emma at Book Angel Booktopia for sending me a copy

Author: Louise Rennison

Publisher: HarperCollinsChildrensBooks (2nd February 2012)

Pages: 334

ISBN: 978-0007156849

From Amazon
It’s the hotly anticipated sequel to the winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, WITHERING TIGHTS – laugh your tights off as Tallulah Casey and her bonkers mates return for a new term at Dother Hall performing arts college. Boys, snogging and bad acting guaranteed!

Yaroooo! Tallulah’s triumphant Heathcliff in ‘Wuthering Heights’ the comedy musical was enough to secure her place at Dother Hall performing arts college for another term. She can’t wait to see her pals again, Charlie and the boys from Woolfe Academy and maybe even bad boy Cain…

Could the bright lights of Broadway be calling? And for who? Find out in the next Misadventures of Tallulah Casey.

Review
A Midsummer Tights Dream is the follow up book to Withering Tights, as such it may accidentally contain spoilers for the first book – you have been warned!

If you’ve seen my review of Withering Tights you’ll know that I suspected that because of everything I’d heard about the book before reading I’d built it up in my head to be something that it wasn’t. I’m a big fan of books with a theatre theme so when it didn’t quite live up to my expectations I was a little bit disappointed.

A Midsummer Tights Dream confirms my suspicions – I came to it with no expectations, I deliberately avoided reviews of it, and began it with a clean slate. And I am so glad I did, with no expectations I was able to read A Midsummer Tights Dream for what it is – a fun read based at a theatre school which lets just say has low entry criteria hehe

Tallulah is back with her knobbly knees along with the rest of the Tree Sisters and of course the boys – like the first book, one big theme is boys and snogging – I loved the kissing scale, it makes an interesting comparison to the one presented in Swim The Fly and Beat The Band lol.

The things that happened to Tallulah could only have happened in this world, I swear she is probably one of the most clumsy performing arts people I have ever read about, and her, ahem, random Irish Dancing performances made for some very funny moments.

There’s a band in this one too but this one is not one of the cool variety – I won’t say too much about them except to say pies and I’ll leave you guessing at that.

Overall, A Midsummer Tights Dream is a quick, light hearted and very funny read and I’m so glad I gave it a chance.

Thanks to HarperCollinsChildrensBooks for sending me a copy to review

Author: James Dawson

Publisher: Indigo (2nd February 2012)

Pages: 312

ISBN: 978-1780620039

From Amazon
Something wicked this way comes… She thought she’d be safe in the country, but you can’t escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she’s being paranoid – after all who would want to murder her? She doesn’t believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn’t believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you’re alone in the woods, after dark – and a twig snaps… Hollow Pike – where witchcraft never sleeps.

Review
Hollow Pike was published to positive review and after positive review after positive review and it had me a little bit worried. I’ve read a number of books with this kind of hype in the blogosphere only to read it myself and not quite feel the same way. I’m pleased to report though that I feel exactly the same.

It’s like Hollow Pike takes my favourite films mixed with a dash of my favourite TV programs and throws in a bit wickedness just for fun. After the first few chapters I was thinking of the story as Mean Girls with a twist, it has the queen bee like character in the form of Laura Riggs, she’s mean as anything – making it very clear very quickly she is not the kind of girl to be messed around with.

But when I was nice and comfortable and getting into the groove of the book something happens which throws the whole story off kilter taking the story in a completely unexpected direction. I’m not going to say what it is here but lets just say that it takes the Mean Girls comparison and tramples all over it making Hollow Pike into a book I would never have thought it was at the start.

And all of this is going on set against a backdrop of Hollow Pike, a creepy place where Witchcraft has played a heavy part in its history and its present day. The place had an atmosphere about it that made it feel like something dark was bound to happen there.

I was really impressed how the story handled the bullying theme and how truthfully Lis’ story was told. Also how LGBT characters were included without making it into a big deal – they’re just characters in a story that happen to be gay – perfect!

Here I go again – honorable mention this time go to Mrs Gillespie, her part may be small but I’m a huge fan of the quirky characters and there’s just something about her whenever she appears

Overall, Hollow Pike is a stunning debut which is a wonderful blend of dark and lighter moments with twists and turns that had me gasping. Seriously go and buy it (if you don’t already have a copy that is! )

Author: Julianna Baggott

Publisher: Headline (2nd February 2012)

Pages: 448

ISBN: 978-0755385485

From Amazon
We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now, we watch from afar.

Pressia Belze has lived outside of the Dome ever since the detonations. Struggling for survival she dreams of life inside the safety of the Dome with the ‘Pure’.

Partridge, himself a Pure, knows that life inside the Dome, under the strict control of the leaders’ regime, isn’t as perfect as others think.

Bound by a history that neither can clearly remember, Pressia and Partridge are destined to forge a new world.

Review
I’ve said it on this blog before that I love dystopia’s and pure does fit into the dystopia category but I didn’t love it in the same way that I’ve loved others. There’s something quite different about Pure, for me it didn’t feel as fast paced as most dystopia’s but there is a lot going on and a lot to take in and this did make it a little bit confusing keeping track of all of the characters. On a number of times I thought I was reading about one character for it only to be a different one.

That being said there’s something to be said for the way Pure is handled, I can’t complain on the writing front, it’s a beautifully written book with so much depth and detail, it’s clear that a hell of lot of thought has gone into this world. And the writing has that addictive quality right from the begging that made me want to continue reading.

The society in Pure has been split into two as a result of the detonations, those who live in the Dome live in peace and safety while those who live outside it (the Wrenches) have felt the force of the impact and have found there bodies fused with whatever was nearby, a doll’s head, a fan, dust, birds – I’m sure you get the picture.

The start of the story reminded me a little of Inside Out, the idea of the grass being greener on the other side, there was someone inside the dome trying to get out and someone on the outside who wanted to get in, seeing it as a heavenly place. But the story takes some interesting twists which completely blow this comparison out of the water and it becomes a (in places) quite gruesome story.

Ultimately Pure is a story of friendship and family loyalty, the friendships and relationships we see are a pleasure to read about and I loved how the relationships in the story formed slowly (there was no insta-love here). I loved how Pressia discovered more about herself as the characters she met slowly revealed more about who she really was and I absolutely adored the relationship between Pressia and Bradwell.

Pure isn’t by any means a perfect book and it probably won’t be for you if you want something which is fast paced and quick to read but if you’re prepared to take your time with it and give it your full concentration then Pure is a very special book indeed.

Thanks to Headline for sending me a copy to review

Author: Don Calame

Publisher: Templar Publishing (1st February 2012)

Pages: 427

ISBN: 978-1848770577

From Amazon
‘Who gets more girls than a rock god? No one.’ In the hotly-awaited sequel to the hysterical Swim the Fly, Coop finds himself partnered with social outcast ‘Hot Dog’ Helen for a class project on safe sex. Desperate to find a way of saving his rep, Coop decides that winning the school Battle of the Bands contest is the perfect solution. Surely the small fact that neither he nor his best friends, Sean and Matt, can actually play an instrument will stop them achieving rock-and-roll awesomeness –

Review
Lucky for me I didn’t have to wait long to read Beat the Band as I only read and loved the fabulous Swim the Fly earlier this year. The story is set a few weeks after Swim the Fly finishes but rather than it be a sequel I would agree with Don when he calls it more of a companion book.

Sure, the story is a continuation from the last one and the characters are instantly recogniseable, the traits that defined Coop, Sean and Matt are still very much there. Many people described Swim the Fly as the book form of The Inbetweeners – I would argue that the start of Beat the Band is even more like that show, mainly I think because it’s told from Coop’s point of view.

This was a great change for me as we got to know Coop a little better and saw that underneath the outer shell, underneath all the barvado is a someone who does have the same human feelings as everyone else. Don’t get me wrong on the outside he’s still the same guy but in this book he shows us another side, he shows us he can be compassionate and thoughtful.

Talking of Coop I can’t not mention his Dad, he was an amazing adult character in the book even if he did look like he was trying to relive his youth. He provided so much entertainment value and caused a portion of the problems that the boys had to deal with throughout the story. Coop’s sister, Angela also made a return which was nice to show she was still there, but she was much more of a background character this time around.

I can’t not mention Helen, she’s took everything that was thrown at her in her stride, doing her best to not let anything get her down and she really is the star of the story, showing an inner strength that I don’t think I possess despite how much crap she has to put up with. By the end I am in so much awe of her it’s unbelievable!

I thoroughly enjoyed Beat the Band, it was just as funny and fast paced as Swim the Fly but also had a message concealed within its pages that I think deserves to be read.

Thanks to Templar for sending me a copy to review

Author: Gideon Defoe

Publisher: Bloomsbury (5th January 2012)

Pages: 192

ISBN: 978-1408824955

From Amazon
Just make sure we’ve got plenty of hams on board. I didn’t really enjoy our last adventure much because we ran out of hams about halfway through. And what’s my motto? I like ham! It is 1837, and for the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain and his rag-tag pirate crew, life on the high seas has gotten a little dull. With nothing to do but twiddle their hooks and lounge aimlessly on tropical beaches, the Captain decides it’s time they had an adventure. A surprisingly successful boat raid leads them to the young Charles Darwin, in desperate need of their help. And so the pirates set forth for London in a bid to save the scientist from the evil machinations of a diabolical Bishop. There they encounter grisly murder, vanishing ladies, the Elephant Man – and have an exciting trip to the zoo.

Review
Aarrghh! Anyone heard of a new film coming out soon made by the wonderful people at Aardman Animations? Pirates… In An Adventure With Scientists is the book that started it all.

Full of adventure and all manner of funness (here I go making up words again hehe) really sums up what this book is about. In no way does it take itself too seriously (scratch that, it doesn’t take itself seriously at all) – it’s a funny read from start to finish.

I love a good pirate story and Pirates… In An Adventure With Scientists is like no other pirate story ever (in a good way). The story takes place on the high seas with a bunch of less than intelligent pirates and follows them on a barking mad adventure. At it’s heart is Pirate Captain, a captain who identifies his crew by colours and other identifying features and is easily misled, I loved him).

It features everything you would expect from a pirate story (plus quite a few things you wouldn’t ), I won’t go into them as it will spoil the story but lets just say if you love pirates and comedy you can’t go far wrong.

At just under 200 pages it’s a very quick read – I managed to read it in one day which is something of a record for me. But in those 200 pages is a story which is full of laughs, fun and scientists – I can completely see why Aardman were attracted to it – it’s so them!

You’ll also learn something too as scattered throughout the text are footnotes which point out bits of the plot that are fact or elaborates or certain themes which were fascinating.

I don’t think I need to say anything more apart from I am now dying to see the film even more than I was! And for those who want to get a feel for what the story is like here’s the film trailer:

Thanks to Bloomsbury Books for sending me a copy to review

Author: John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman

Publisher: Buster Books (2nd February 2012)

Pages: 334

ISBN: 978-1907151644

From Amazon
Lots of twins have a special connection – being able to finish each other’s sentences; sensing what the other is thinking; perhaps even knowing when the other is in trouble or in pain – but for 12-year-old twins, Matt and Emily Calder, the connection is beyond special. Together, the twins have extraordinary powers. They are able to bring art to life, or enter paintings at will. Their abilities are sought by villains trying to access the terrors of Hollow Earth – a place where all the demons, devils and creatures ever imagined lie trapped for eternity. The twins flee with their mother to the security of an island, off the west coast of Scotland, where their grandfather has certain protective powers of his own. But too much is at stake, and the twins aren’t safe there either. The villains will stop at nothing to find Hollow Earth and harness the powers within…

Review
Doesn’t the idea sound amazing? To have the power to draw things and bring those things into being (or as the book calls them animate them). Imagine all the scrapes you could get out of by drawing a means of escape or the fun you could have! Of course this not being normal it all has to be done in secret – what’s the use in a super power when you can’t show anyone

But there’s more to it than that, there’s a legend or myth or whatever you want to call it which says that there is a place called Hollow Earth, a place where all manner of monsters and demons lie in wait to be drawn and animated into our world and it’s this mysterious place that will put the twins in great danger!

If you know anything about this book you’ll know it’s been written by all round good egg, John Barrowman and his sister Carole E. Barrowman. Now I love virtually everything John turns his hand to and I’ve read both of his autobiographies who were written again by John and Carole and they were interesting and unputodownable reads so I was really interested to see if the chemistry that came from those books transferred into a fictional world. And largely it did.

The writing was engaging and fast paced, for the amount of pages there is an awful lot of story in there. if you follow this blog you may know that I love stories which switch points of view – enabling us to not only see the story from one person but from all sides (or as many as needed) and this is something that Hollow Earth uses to great effect.

Perhaps surprisingly my favourite character was Zach, he doesn’t have these fascinating abilities that the twins have and he can’t hear so has to rely on lipreading. He’s a whiz with the computer and gets the twins out of a tight spot or two. I have to applaud John and Carole for including a character with a disability and for not making a big deal over it and even more importantly for showing they can be just as brave if not more so than those without disabilities.

It wasn’t without it’s faults though, one problem I did have is more of a personal thing – the length of the chapters, they were all very short – most are no longer than 6 pages and many are shorter. To me this made it feel very stop starty, I like short chapters but I like them mixed in with longer ones Not only this but I found that some parts of the story were told twice (once shown and then later told).

Overall, Hollow Earth was a fairly enjoyable read – there’s a lot going on and a lot to take in and the idea in itself is enough to keep reading to see what the twins and Zach will do next.

Thanks to Buster Books for sending me a copy to review