Storm Child - Ele Fountain

Maya is clearly happy with her life.  Although her family are struggling to make ends meet, she has a good group of friends and loves Penrose Bay. However, after her dad is involved in a fishing accident, her parents decide that things are just getting too much and decide to close up the house and move to the other end of the world. They have plans to make a new start in paradise but will everything workout as they expected it to?

Everything changes for Maya and the upheaval must be incredibly difficult for her, especially after her dad's accident. As well as getting used to a new home on the other side of the world, she has to get used to home schooling and not having friends around her, and she misses surfing, the thing she enjoys most.  She can't even call her friends back home because of the time difference. Meeting Kalani gives her a life-line but they are two very different people with different lives. 

Ele is always good at weaving environmental messages into her books, and Storm Girl is no exception. The descriptions of the island sound idyllic at first: wonderful sunshine, outside living, beautiful scenery, living on fresh fruit and fish... it sounds wonderful; however, as you move through the book, you learn that this isn't the case. .. readers will understand the impact that waste can have and how far rubbish can travel. Ele writes this deftly into the plot but in a way that will impact the reader. 

Storm Girl is another brilliant book from Ele. Family, friendship and finding your way weave together perfectly with environmental messages in a book that will make a perfect summer read when it publishes on the 4th July.

Spy In The Jam Factory -Chrissie Sains

Scooter and Fizzbee are back and the adorable alien and her best friend are continuing to create their unusual jams, a wonderful mix of alien invention and human imagination.  However, some of the new jams have created some problems for the villagers (children floating away, vegetables growing to huge proportions...) and Fizzbee's popularity is taking a hit.  Scooter is determined to show the village how wonderful she is, however Agent Fleur De Vious of the Alien Intelligence Agency has other ideas and is determined to make Earth an alien-free place.  

I was very excited when Spy In The Jam Factory arrived, along with my very own Fizzbee (who will have pride of place in my office next week!) and the book zoomed to the top of my reading pile.  I adore Scooter and Fizzbee's inventions and jamtastic creations and the mishaps had me chuckling.  The book is full of humour and warmth, adventure and jammy antics that readers will love.  

Both Scooter and Fizzbee have been firm favourites for me since book 1.  Scooter has always been a proud advocate for cerebral palsy and I love that there is information in the back of the book about the condition to educate readers. His inventions and ways of getting around are brilliant (especially RALPH). And I love that the message about being proud to be different shines through.

Fizzbee remains adorably cute but she is missing her family. She has always been a character in have loved and her sense of right and her desire to always do the right thing is adorable but really shines in this book.

I have to mention Fleur who makes quite the villain and her ruthless determination made for a page-turner of an adventure.

Once again, Jenny Taylor's illustrations make a visual feast and really help to add to the story in the best way.

Spy In The Jam Factory is a fitting end for Scooter and Fizzbee and I have adored this series.

Sister Spirit - Efua Traoré

Sixteen-year-old adopted Tara has questions - about who she is, where she belongs, why she has dreams...

When her nightmares darken, fear swarms like a flock of ravens and she traces her visions to the ancient Olumo Rock in Nigeria.  It is a sacred place, full of magic, myth, and where whispers of the past linger.

Travelling from England and enrolling in a boarding school at the foot of Olumo, Tara begins a journey to seek the truth of her roots and the spirits that pursue her. 

Tara's nightmares are fundamental to the story and what drive her on. Terrifying and compelling in equal measure, the dreams are described in their own chapters throughout the book and allow readers to piece together alongside Tara what is happening.  She is driven by her desire to understand her dreams and their hidden meaning and that is what leads her to Nigeria; at first with her adoptive father and then, after that, at the boarding school.

As the dreams become more frequent, Tara begins to question herself and I know she feels helpless at times, but there is a huge strength within her and her determination is clearly evident. 

The relationship between Tara and the girls she meets at the boarding school is well explored, not only the friendship she quickly forms with Bisi, but also the relationship with Lola.   Although life at the school sounds strict, the descriptions will allow readers to feel as though they are alongside Tara at all times.   

African myth and legend combine with friendship and romance in this YA thriller with a ghostly twist.  With rich descriptions of Nigeria and a journey of self-discovery, Sister Spirit is a book that shows us not to judge people, that friendship is important and that finding yourself can be the key to unlocking your freedom. 

Sister Spirit publishes on the 11th April.

Fablehouse: Heart Of Fire - E L Norry

 

Heather and her friends in care at Fablehouse hope they've found their forever home, alongside courageous knight Pal.  The children's magical powers are growing - but Heather is struggling to control the fire at her fingertips.  The suspicious attitude of the local community only fans her flames.  And her friendship with Arlene is tested by the arrival of newcomer Rose.  As the threats ranged against Fablehouse increase, can Heather control the fire raging within her to protect the friends who've become her family?

Having loved Fablehouse when I read it last year (you can read my review here), I was thrilled to be heading back to see how Heather and her friends at were getting on.

At first, things seem to be going well: Pal is settled into his new role at the home and Heather and the others are enjoying the outdoor space that Fablehouse affords them; however, the unexpected arrival of an inspector and the continued negative opinions of the locals towards the occupants of Fablehouse soon unsettle things, and Miss Isolde is visibly shaken by the idea that the home may have to close.  Amongst all of this, Heather is desperately trying to control her new-found magic.  Whilst the others seem to be managing their skills without any trouble, Heather's ability to create fire in her hands is causing all sorts of problems and is infuriating Heather (which in itself causes problems).   When Rose arrives, Arlene instantly feels a bond with her, but is she everything Arlene feels she is?

With Pal convinced that the Questing Beast has arrived from King Arthur's England to trouble everyone, magic and myth are once again interwoven into the book and provide intrigue and excitement.  With the book being based on historical facts, the injustice of 1950s post-war racism is explored in a way that readers will understand which is important. 

With characters that show courage in the face of adversity, and a plot that will intrigue and entice, Fablehouse: Heart of Fire is a wonderful read and reminds us that family is what you make it to be. 

Fablehouse: Heart Of Fire publishes on the 25th April. 

Shipwrecked - Jenny Pearson

Sebastian and his two best friends (Étienne and Lina) are spending the summer at a Climate Avengers Summer Camp in Tonga.  However, when an evening of beach games turns competitive, it's Sebastian who dares three of the other camp mates (Lukas, Benedict and Francesca) to a boat race... a boat race that goes terribly wrong and lands Sebastian, Étienne and Lina stranded on a desert island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Once the shock (and anger in Lina's case) wears off, the trio need to work out how they are going to survive and figure out how on Earth they are going to get themselves rescued.

I'm a big fan of Jenny's books and anybody who reads my blog regularly will know that I love the way she is able to make readers laugh (you may also remember that my son nearly disowned me on a train in Italy due to my uncontrollable laughter at Operation Nativity (you can read the review here) so when the arrival of Shipwrecked coincided with the Easter holidays, clearly I abandoned everything in favour of curling up with the book.

I can categorically tell you now that Shipwrecked is a wonderful story full of hope, love and determination with a host of brilliant characters, both human and animal.  Jenny's ability to weave humour with serious messages is, once again, brilliantly done, and I already know that there is going to be a fight for this book on the first day of next term: my class will be VERY excited when they see it!

Sebastian is a great character who is clearly very competitive (it's what got him and his friends into this mess!).  With his mother living on the other side of the world, it's just him and his father, and he feels the need to prove himself to his father, to ensure that his father is impressed with what he is doing.  Unfortunately, it never seems to end well (case in point: ending up stranded on a desert island!).  He makes me laugh throughout the book with his competitive nature and the things he does to prove himself, but I also wanted to give him a big hug so many times.  Lina, on the other hand is a very focussed and determined person whose strength and determination are to be admired.  Her leadership skills, I'm sure, saved them several times, but it was her desire to learn lessons from Lord Of The Flies that I loved the most about her: it's a book I remember reading on holiday before we studied it in school (thankfully, I had no need to use it as part of my survival!).  However, it was Étienne who stole my heart.  He is kind and gentle and so very determined to just be himself and I adored that about him.  His love of nature and his determination to continue to be a Climate Avenger was admirable but it was his constant naming of animals they encountered that really made me smile!  Giuseppe was a joy to get to know and Tarquin was gorgeous (just please don't tell him I thought of him as I ate my turtle shaped emergency sweets!).

With coconut trees causing friction burns and jellyfish stinging bottoms, Shipwrecked is a hilarious set of instructions on what to do if you ever end up Shipwrecked.  With each chapter named as a survival tip, the book is guaranteed to make sure you have everything you could possibly need to survive Sunrise Island.  Add in baby turtles, pirates and and the world's greatest goat, and you have a recipe for the perfect summer read.

My proof copy doesn't have the illustrations yet but I'm desperate to see what they will be, especially knowing where they will be positioned (coconut trees versus bottoms and post-jellyfish recovery both spring to mind!).

Publishing on the 4th July, Shipwrecked is an utter joy of a read.  Full of laughs and mishaps, it's a story that will fill your heart with joy and even make you shed a tear (Jenny is very good at making me laugh and cry simultaneously!) and absolutely needs to be pre-ordered.

Soulmates And Other Ways To Die - Melissa Welliver

Good News: We alll have a soulmate.

Bad News: Your soul bond means you feel their pain before you've even met.  And if your soulmate dies ... you do too.

Control freak Zoe is determined to stay alive - and single.  She carries a survival kit for every eventuality, but even she can't prepare for a match with Milo Spencer, a boy who lives for recreational danger.  It's time to find a cure...

I thoroughly enjoyed My Love Life And The Apocalypse when I read it last year (you can read my review here) so the chance to read another YA end of the world romance by Melissa Welliver wasn't something I was going to turn down.  The Easter holiday is the perfect excuse for me to curl up with chocolate and lose myself in a book, and I certainly lost myself in this book, devouring it in under a day!

Soulmates And Other Ways To Die is set in a dystopian future, in a world where everybody has a Kin Twin, somebody who is their soulmate.  People don't know when, or if, they will discover their soulmate but they know that the Kin Twin mutation is visible when people are in close proximity to their soulmate, which is how teenagers Zoe and Milo discover their connection.  It's Zoe who is injured following a near-miss which means that Milo also feels her pain and injuries.  However, the news doesn't go down well: Zoe is intent on remaining single and safe (she and her mother are survivalists) and Milo loves to court danger.  On the surface, Milo and Zoe are two very different people. In fact, until the accident and the announcement brought them together, Milo hadn't even realized Zoe was in the same classes as him. However, now they have been thrown together, will the connection prove true?  

Kin Twin sounds like the perfect way to ensure successful marriages and finding your happy ever after, but there's a down side: when your soulmate feels pain, so do you; when your soulmate passes out so do you; when your soul mate dies, so do you. As a result, the death rate in the UK has doubled which is why people like Zoe and her mum have become survivalist. They are uber-conscious about everything they do and are completely risk averse.  But then there are rumours of a lady known as Madame Scissors who has a cure that can sever the bond. Milo and Zoe set off to try to find her and to break their bond, but this could put them in even more danger than they could have possibly imagined.

The premise of the book is incredibly thought-provoking.  How would you feel if you knew you would die if your soul mate died? Is that OK if you know and love them? What if you've never met them? What if they pass out whilst you're driving which causes you to crash and die? How do you know your feelings for your soul mate are real?  

This is a love story with a difference and is perfectly entwined with the sci-fi/apocalyptic theme.  Zoe and Milo are wonderfully relatable characters and readers will enjoy getting to know them through the dual narrative. With touches of humour woven into the fast-paced plot, the book is difficult to put down.  

Out now, Soulmates And Other Ways To Die is guaranteed to make you think and make you smile - I loved it. 

Villains Academy: How To Win The Gruesome Games - Ryan Hammond

Bram and his friends are back and this time the five founders of Villains Academy are rising from their graves to oversee the Gruesome Games, a series of three events which test the talents of first-years and give them the chance to show their pranking talents. With the winners getting to add their names to the Book of Bad, it's a day that could change the lives of the winning team, especially as their families are there to watch proceedings. 

It's always a joy to return to Villains Academy as this is a series I have loved since reading the first book on my way home from the Simon and Schuster brunch last year where I heard Ryan talk (You can read my reviews here: Villains Academy ; How To Steal A Dragon), so I was absolutely thrilled when How To Win The Gruesome Games arrived on Friday.  Needless to say, it completely skipped the tbr pile and I began reading it immediately.  

The plot is full of laughs, pranks and antics that will have readers giggling and cheering as the games unfold.  And the addition of families in this book (they arrive to watch the games) helps readers to gain more insight into the members of The Cereal Killers which I loved.  This time, I felt it was Tony I got to know more about but I still have a soft-spot for Bram and his insecurities; he constantly battles with his desire to fit in.  And, of course, Mardybum will forever be my favourite teacher!

With friendship at the heart of this series, I love the way Ryan weaves messages into the humour and the antics, and does so so subtly that they are almost subliminal: sticking together, helping each other out and working together as a team all feature but it's Ryan's messages about being an individual and not being afraid to be who you are that really stood out to me (page 193 in particular made my heart sing and I am proud to say I'm a loser!)

I also want to mention how much joy I get from Ryan's illustrations which are just stunning and add so much to the book.  Some of his full page illustrations could easily become prints in their own right ... now there's an idea, Ryan!  

Villains Academy: How To Win The Gruesome Games publishes on the 25th April and is a badass book that needs to be bought and enjoyed.  I was thrilled and honoured to find my name in the acknowledgements; it's always a pleasure to shout about this wonderful series and I'm already excited to find out what's instore next for Bram and the rest of the Cereal Killers.