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. 

Books According to Dog and Owl - Piers Torday; illustrated by Tim Smart

This is the story of Girl, Dog and Baby Brother and their journey to discover the joy of books and reading.  

Oh my goodness, I don’t quite know where to begin with this book. Piers has managed to say so much in this one book about the power of reading and weave so many positive messages about reading within the pages that I feel everybody in the world needs to read it. It’s a book that quietly screams about the joy, power and benefits of reading. It’s a book that fills my heart and sings about all the things I’ve been saying in school for years (as so many of us have). It’s beautifully and sensitively written with wonderful illustrations that complement it perfectly. And once the book is finished, the tips pages are the icing on the cake, giving readers and their parents sensible and easy to follow suggestions on how to get into reading.

I could go on and on about how much I love this book, but I think it would be better for everyone to read it themselves.  As the National Year of Reading hurtles towards the end, Books According to Dog and Owl is the perfect book to help keep the reading momentum going and would make the perfect Christmas present.  I'll definitely be taking my copy into school and will be shout about it at every opportunity (as I do about reading!).

From the bottom of my heart, thank-you for writing this, Piers.

Read Me Like A Book - Anna James

Marianne Buxton is the most unbookish member of her family by a long shot; in fact her life revolves around music. But when her dream job in the music industry comes to an abrupt halt, she is desperate for work so drunkenly applies for a temporary job in an independent book shop. Shocked that the owner, Celia, gives her the job, she’s even more surprised when she discovers that there’s a secret doorway in the store and it leads her into the world of Pride and Prejudice.  But can this fictional world provide Marianne with what she needs to help put her life back together again?

Anna’s Bookwanderers series is one of my favourite middle grade series so I was incredibly curious and eager to read her first novel for adults.  If I had to sum up Read Me Like A Book in one sentence, I’d say that it's book wandering for adults with a whole delicious dollop of romance running through it. 

Marianne’s life is a bit of a mess really! She’s been sacked from her job for an accident that wasn’t her but she doesn’t feel she can reveal the truth as she is covering for the rock star she’s been having a secret affair with. With no job, she’s been forced to move back home where she once again has to share her childhood bedroom with her sister, Tess. Getting the job at Wildflower Books is a bonus but then she meets Jude who also works there, and it’s fair to say they get off to a very rock start: he’s very bookish and she hasn’t read a book in years; he can’t understand why Celia has given Marianne the job and is rather rude to her from the start. The secret door seems to be Marianne’s only escape but even there, things aren’t plain sailing… I mean, how exactly do you explain those sudden disappearances? (especially the one with Mt Wickham!) 

Read Me Like A Book is everything I hoped it would be and more: it’s a wonderful tale set in the most bookish of worlds about a character who is very real and relatable and is someone readers are going to love; it’s romance and regency splendour; it's heart-warming and funny; it’s utterly moreish and completely absorbing. Anna’s writing is beautiful and you will find yourself swept away in both worlds whilst desperately hoping that the book will never end.  Publishing on the 6th May, this will be a book you will fall in love with and a world you will want to return to (I sincerely hope there will be a return to Wildflower Books).  

The Chronciles of Whetherwhy: The Violet Rebellion - Anna James

Aurora Green is living a quiet life with her family on the outskirts of Saltgate where she helps to sell the fruit and vegetables from their farm; however, when she discovers that she can see Elio who is protected by a powerful invisibility enchantment, her life changes dramatically.  Suddenly, she is being tested for her magic early and is then whisked off to Downalong Cottage where she can hone her skills away from the queen who will be desperate to use her magic for herself.  It is here that she meets Beck and learns of the resistance which is desperately trying to protect Whetherwhy’s ancient magic .  But suddenly Aurora (known as Rory) and Beck find themselves at the centre of a dangerous situation, one where they will need to use all their skills to protect those around them.

It can often be tricky to pick up a book in a series when you read the previous books a while ago but the beginning of The Violet Rebellion perfectly reminds readers of what happened in the first two chronicles which is so helpful.

We begin the book meeting Rory who is quietly getting on with her life and isn’t looking for anything more; in fact having magic is the last thing she wants  and she doesn’t really realise she has it when she first meets Elio.  She’s thrust into this world but thankfully there are people there who can help her navigate her way through everything without ending up at Thistledown.  

As well as meeting new characters, it was lovely to catch-up with familiar faces.  As with book two, thirteen years has passed so seeing what has happened to people was interesting (but I won’t give anything away!) 

Anna is a master storyteller who has once again managed to seamlessly weave together adventure, danger and timeless tales with magic and skill that keeps readers enthralled book after book, and The Violet Rebellion is a brilliant example of this It’s book that will hook you in enchant you from beginning to end.  

And speaking of the end: Oh my goodness, the final words of the last chapter!  So poignant and so true. And then the epilogue summed up so much of what was racing through my mind!  I don’t mean to be rude but seriously, how long exactly am I going to have to wait for the final chronicle?  

Publishing on the 5th November, The Violet Rebellion is a book you need to read! 

Scythe - Neal Shusterman

Set in a dystopian future where war, crime, hunger and disease have all been wiped out, humans have become immortal. However, population levels still need to be monitored so the world doesn’t become overcrowded, which is where the scythes come in: men and women who have been chosen and trained to kill in order to maintain numbers.  Amongst this, Citra and Rowan are chosen to become Scythe Faraday’s apprentices; both will be trained but only one will become a scythe; the other will return to their old life. But as their training progresses, things take a dark turn and the one who doesn’t become scythe will have to ‘gleen’ (kill) the other as soon as they are ordained. 

First published in 2018, Scythe is a book that I have to admit, had passed me by. Now re-covered, I am incredibly pleased I have read it and wish I’d done so sooner.  This is a darkly compelling YA novel where people know that they could be ‘gleened’ by a scythe at any moment unless they have been granted immunity. Scythes have a quota they have to adhere to every year and must not show biased but this means that when a scythe turns up, you pretty much know that’s it. Because if this, scythes are feared and revered in equal measure.

Scythes have 10 rules by which they must live but we quickly see that these are open to interpretation and can be bent to a scythes will - not all scythes follow the code in the same way. 

Then you have the two main characters, Citra and Rowan, who are thrown into this world unexpectedly. At first, they train together but as their training progresses book progresses, they become parted and their training takes very different paths. 

The morality behind this story is something that fascinated me and the book leads to many questions about life and death that could be debated for many, many hours. I’d love to talk to others who have read this book.

The plot itself is gripping and certainly makes you think. My first read of half-term, I’m now heading straight to NetGalley where I know I can find Rising Thunder, the prequel to the series. It’s about to become my second half-term read!