The Dog Who Saved Christmas - Ben Miller

 

Alfie and his family are boarding the train to head home for Christmas when Bear, his dog and best friend, is kidnapped. With no thought to what he is doing, he jumps off the train and finds himself alone on the platform.  Alfie is determined to rescue his dog and, with the help of his new friend, he sets off to do just that.

Alfie's love for Bear is evident from the very beginning of the book and is the reason he abandons his family on the train. His grandma has already left the station so he finds himself completely alone.  Thankfully a girl appears in the waiting room and the pair quickly decide that they need to save Bear.  With Alfie leading the way, the adventure begins and takes them back to the Scottish village where his grandma lives, and then to the Baron's castle. With danger lurking, Alfie needs to summon all his courage if he is going to succeed in his mission.

The Dog Who Saved Christmas is a wonderfully festive and heart-warming read which is full of courage, friendship, quick thinking and dogs ... lots and lots of dogs!  With characters readers will love to hate, and gorgeous illustrations by Elisa Paganelli, this is a book that will fill your heart with joy this Christmas.

Lydia Marmalade’s Christmas Adventure - Carisa Lloyd

Lydia and her best friend Colin (the sausage dog) are heading to London for Christmas as Marianne's companion.  But her time in London takes on a different feel when she is tasked with finding fire sprite Bel's missing cousin, an ice sprite called Samhaina.  With a strict housekeeper in London to contend with, Lydia feels finding Samhaina may be impossible, but then she meets Joanna and together the pair embark on an unforgettable adventure through London.

This is the second in the Lydia Marmalade adventures, with Lydia Marmalade And The Christmas Wish having been released previously.  I haven't read the first book but the recap that is woven through the beginning of this book quickly brings reader up to speed (I love it when authors do this).

Following her mother's death, Lydia has grown used to a quiet, rural life in the manor house at Peppomberley so the bright lights and sophistication of London are quite a shock.  With social rules to follow and Marianne throwing herself into London life, Lydia finds things tricky, especially as the house keeper, Mrs Hanover, takes an instant dislike to her and seems determined to make her life miserable.  It's only by chance that she meets her neighbour, Joanna, and as their friendship blossoms, so does the adventure: from the Frost Fair on the Thames, to climbing cathedrals, the girls are determined to find Samhaina, no matter what.

Set in 1813, Lydia Marmalade's Christmas Adventure is a book full of fun, adventure and a sprinkling of magic that combine to make the recipe for a book that is perfect to curl up with this holiday season... preferably with a mug of hot chocolate!

The Raven’s Gift - Kiran Millwood Hargrove

Harry’s older sister has just died and both he and his parents are struggling to come to term with this. When Harry ventures into his sister’s room, he stumbles across her copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven … and also the raven that lives in the tree outside her room. As he grows closer to the bird, he finds it helps his pain, but when the big storm comes, can he keep it together long enough to help an orphaned baby raven?

This book broke me (for all the right reasons)! I read it yesterday evening in one sitting as I just couldn’t put it down and ugly cried through so much of it (but especially the end). My husband is used to me crying at books but even he asked if I was ok!  I wasn’t! I was emotionally bereft and my heart was shattered by what this family had to go through.  However, I have to say that my need for tissues is down to how skilfully and beautifully Kiran tells this poignant and heart-breaking story. 

I cannot begin to imagine the earth-shattering pain of losing a child and having to carry on for the sake of those around you. Harry’s parents are desperately trying to navigate their grief away from him as they feel this will help, but Harry is struggling too. Despite his sister’s room being a no-go area, he heads in to feel closer to her which is when he finds the book, and the raven living outside. When he discovers that Frankie had been looking after the bird (Nev), he too begins to look after it and they bond. Nev is a lifeline for Harry, something for him to focus on at a time where nothing feels right. 

The portrayal of Harry's different emotions feels very real and honest; from sadness, fear and anger, to confusion and destructive behaviour, Kiran's exploration of grief is one that will be helpful for anyone (young or old) who finds themself in a similar situation.  

Kiran is a master story-teller and her way with words in The Raven’s Gift, along with Tom de Freston’s stunning artwork, shine a spotlight on how crippling and utterly heart-breaking losing a child/young sibling is. At the same time, I feel the book also has hope sprinkled in there too: that life can go on (albeit very differently), that grief isn’t a linear process and it takes time to find a new rhythm, but it will happen eventually and with work.  

Out now, The Raven's Gift is a powerful and poignant read that will stay with me.

The Night House Files: The Ghosts of Grey Towers - Dan Smith

 

When Damien is sent to Grey Towers Boarding School for Boys, he gets the sense that something is wrong from the second he walks through the door.  He quickly discovers that he doesn't fit in, especially as something unusual happens to him every time somebody touches him.  But the longer he is there, the more he knows that something is wrong: ghostly figures lurk, the boys and the head seem to be hiding something, and the building seems to be evil.  The question is: can he escape before it's too late?

The Ghosts Of Grey Towers is the fourth book in The Night House Files series and they just get better (and creepier!) with every book. 

Everything about this book is sinister!  The book is set in a remote and crumbling building on a wind-swept moor; Damien arrives during a storm; he sees ghostly figures; he is isolated and bullied, and I have to give credit to Luke Brookes' illustrations which perfectly enhance the creepiness perfectly. 

With narrative, newspaper articles and interview transcripts woven through the plot, the reader is transported between the past and the present as the story unfolds; however, I found it impossible to predict what was ging to happen to Damien.

A ghost story set in a boarding school with extra creepiness stirred into the mix - with The Ghosts Of Grey Towers, Dan has managed to masterfully create a chilling story that should only be read by the bravest soul before bed!

Serial Chillers: Horror In Hazard - Jennifer Killick

It's Aim High day: the day when the local theme park, Apocoland, is open to all local schools in Hazard.  However, the park is run by Dani's evil muncles which means that it quickly becomes apparent that danger is lurking round every corner and the fun day out quickly turns into an other dangerous mission for Travis, Zayd, Dani and Seline.

This is the third book in the Serial Chillers series and, although it can be read as a stand alone, it's better if you've read the previous two books so you get the full impact of the friends' previous exploits, and the history of Hazard.

The more time the friends spend together, the more we get to know them and their different personalities.  Killick is a master at creating dialogue that makes characters feel very real and this is the case in this book too.  

The plot is fast-paced and gripping, with Dani's mucles playing a bigger role - after all, they do own Apocoland.  As theme parks go, it's definitely different: darker and more hazardous which means it fits perfectly in the town of Hazard.

Horror In Hazard once again combines thrills with humour, danger with daring in a book that is unputdownable. 

Twelve Minutes To Midnight - Christopher Edge

Penelope Tredwell is the successful author of the stories in The Penny Dreadful, the magazine that she owns; however, in Victorian Britain 13 year old girls weren't supposed to do such things so Penelope hires Monty to act as her pseudonym Montgomery Flinch.

One day, the magazine receives a request from Bedlam, the local asylum, where patients are waking every night at 12 minutes to midnight.  Stumped as to why this is happening, they turn to the mystery writer to help solve the problem.  Using Monty as cover, Penelope (posing as his niece) begins to investigate.

This is a great Victorian mystery set in the heart of London with a strong, feisty and doggedly determined girl at the heart of it all.

Combined with a dastardly villain and a host of accompanying critters to make your skin crawl, this is a page-turner of a book.  1/2 way through, things take a sinister turn and, just when you think the mystery's been solved and you can't think of how the story can last another 1/4 of a book - bam!  The plot thickens!

Mystery, adventure, daring and just a drop of science in this page-turner from Christopher Edge.

The Mask of Aribella - Anna Hoghton

 

Aibella's life changes forever the day before her thirteenth birthday when flames shoot out of her fingers.  Then, when trying to escape, she and her friend, Theo, are caught in a dense fog on the waterways of Venice and Theo is bitten by a skull.  Panicking, Aribella fears the worst for her friend until a cloaked gentleman by the name of Rodolfo comes to her rescue.  Curing Theo and returning him home, Rodolfo then takes Aribella to a magical and very secret organisation which just happens to be a very beautiful hotel in the centre of Venice.  Here Aribella meets others who, like her, have their own special powers and she begins to learn how to control her new-found ability.  However, something isn't right and Venice and its residents are in danger - can Aribella and her friends come to the rescue in time?

I really liked Aribella and her conflicting emotions: the bravery of wanting to save her friends and help her father, mixed with her self-doubt in her new-found skills and her desperate need to fit in.  I suspect that there are many who read the book who will identify with this.

There's a glamorous feel to this book (set in Venice, the opulent hotel, the masks, the gondolas...) which contrasts well against the sinister mists and skulls, the threat to Venice and a mysterious death - it all makes for a delicious story that will keep you guessing and will make putting the book down virtually impossible!