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! 

The House of One Hundred Clocks - A. M. Howell

When Helena's father, a clock-winder, accepts a new job, they have to move to Cambridge and move into the house in which he is to work.  However, when they arrive, they discover many more clocks than they'd expected; in fact, one hundred clocks of all shapes and sizes fill the rooms, and it's Helena's father's job to keep them running, for if just one of them should stop, not only will he lose his job but also everything they own.

Very quickly, Helena, along with her parrot, Orbit, discovers that all is not as it seems and there are secrets lurking, but can she work out what they are before the clocks stop ticking?

A great story that builds to an exciting finalé (I read the last third of the book in under 2 hours!).  There are plenty of questions posed to keep readers guessing and characters who aren't quite as they may seem.  I liked the strength of the female characters and the message that girls can do whatever they want - the links to STEM are also a great message to send out. 

The House of One Hundred Clocks is a book about friendship and remembering the importance of family.

A Girl Called Justice - Elly Griffiths

After the death of her mum, Justice Jones is sent to Highbury House Boarding School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk.  Having been home-schooled by her mum, Justice finds everything strange and different to begin with; however, she quickly discovers that there has recently been a death at the school, one of the servants, and decides she needs to investigate.  She thinks there's a murderer on the lose - can she resolve the mystery in time?

What a great character Justice is - strong (despite desperately missing her mum), determined, brave (despite her fears) and she always has the perfect way of responding to those who aren't nice to her.  I think she's a character that many children will want to emulate.  This is a book that will make children want to go to boarding school (despite the cold bathrooms, terrible meals and murders!) and is perfect for fans of the Murder Most Unladylike series as well as the Scarlet and Ivy series.

Mallory Vale & Maggoty Skull In The Castle of Horrors - Martin Howard

Mallory, Maggoty and Aunt Lilith meet Majika deVinckel, a famous stage magician, when she invites them to her magic show.  At first, it appears as though Majika just wants to get to know Mallory but then explains that she needs Mallory to help her rob a museum and steal the contents of a sealed box that will help Majika strengthen her magic.  Mallory agrees in exchange for information on how she can speak to her dead parents; however, Majika tricks her and steals Mallory's necromancy.  Can Mallory regain what she's lost before it's too late?

I have a serious soft spot for this serious, Maggoty in particular (you can read my previous reviews here: Curse Of Maggoty Skull; The Beast From Beneath), so the arrival of The Castle of Horrors in time for spooky season was perfectly timed. 

Once again, Maggoty provides the laughs throughout the plot but his constant chatter is halted somewhat once Mallory can no longer hear him.  Desperate to speak to her parents, Mallory will do anything to achieve her dream, including robbing a museum.  The plot subtly and carefully shows the ways grief can affect children and also shows how Mallory copes with the major change that suddenly happens in this book and how resilient she can be.    

Martin manages to weave death and magic in a deliciously creepy but delightfully funny way, with just the right amount of darkness.  Pete Williamson's illustrations that are peppered through the book are, again, the perfect accompaniment to the plot, adding to the darkness.  Mallory and Maggoty are one of my favourite literary couples and I can't wait to see what awaits them next. 

Life Hack - S. J. Wills

 

Playing Apocalypta is something Jay loves to do, so when he finds the ultimate cheat code (Life Hack), he jumps at the chance to get ahead of everybody else; however, Jay slowly starts to realise that something is wrong.  Wounds he received in the game start appearing on his actual body; his friend has vanished; and his world begins to look exactly like the post-apocalyptic world from inside his computer game.  The only thing Jay can do is to uninstall the cheat code, but this could be the most dangerous challenge yet.

I'm a huge fam of S. J. Wills books (you'll find reviews for the Bite Risk series and Python on my blog) so discovering that she had written a book for Barrington Stoke put the biggest smile on my face!

Jay's world revolves around his favourite game but things really do take a very dark turn when he installs the cheat code.  Things happen slowly at first, so he doesn't realise what's happening, but the more things change, the more he realises that something is very wrong.  In a world where playing computer games is an everyday occurrence for many, this book subtly reminds readers of the dangers of installing unknown elements onto devices, as well as the dangers of becoming too consumed by a game.  Although this is a sci-fi book, it felt scarily believable in paces and is a completely gripping read.

At 71 pages, the book packs a punch and Life Hack is a book I know will be in demand as soon as it hits my office library in school. 

The Young Queens - Sally Nicholls

The story of the 6 wives of Henry VIII is a well-known one but The Young Queens gives us a unique insight into the lives of these young women before they each became queen. Divided into six short stories, the book allows readers to see the lives of these famous women as teenagers and how they came to be married to Henry VIII. 

An insightful, thoroughly researched book, each story gives us an insight into the life of girls and women at this time, not just the future queens.  It also shows us the relationship between each of the wives and the ways they were linked together, something I hadn't realised.  In addition, the book gives us an taste of court life and the shenanigans that went on behind closed doors. It wasn’t all chaste and proper!  The book is firmly in the YA category with adult themes tackled, including women from the age of 12 having to consider what is expected in the marital bed and as well as considering pregnancy. 

I also feel the book gives us a different perspective of Henry: someone who is clearly pandered to by his people, who gets his own way and whom nobody stood up to. 

Publishing March 2027, The Young Queens is a compelling piece of historical fiction that will fascinate YA readers.