Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend - Lizzie Huxley-Jones

 

Vivi is about to move from a remote area of Wales to central London and on the morning of the move she sneaks out very early to head to the lake where she thinks she can hear a mysterious voice calling her.  The lake is one she is familiar with as she swims there often, but this time she is confronted by a terrifying monster and she only just manages to escape (with help from Dara, the sword Excalibur and Gelert, a ghostly dog who can talk).  Shell-shocked, Vivi returns home, and she and her mums make the move to London where she begins a new school.  So imagine her surprise when she bumps into Dara on her first day.  It turns out that Dara and Vivi were destined to find each other as part of a group who share the soul of magical legends.  But when children start going missing, can Vivi use her new ability to control water (along with help from her friends) to save them and protect the world from the monsters?

This is a book the combines myths with modern-day England and Wales in an adventure that will grip readers.  It's an immersive read that will transport you from London to Unlands in the blink of an eye.  

Vivi and her friends make four incredibly strong main characters and, even though it takes them a while to trust each other and let their guards down, they will be adored by readers.  I loved the representation within the book with neurodiversity, LGBTQ+, disability and different ethnicities all woven in.  It is important for children to be able to see themselves in books and to understand that they can be heroes, and Vivi Conway and her friends will show them that in great dollops.  

Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend is a spellbinding story of courage, adventure and being your authentic self.  Publishing on the 1st June, I can't wait to take this book into school.

Global - Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, Giovanni Rigano

Global tells the story of two very different children: Yuki and Sami.  They live very different lives; Yuki in the Arctic and Sami in the Bay of Bengal.  However they have one thing in common: they are both suffering at the hands of global warming.  Sami has lost his parents when they were swept away during a cyclone and now he and his grandpa struggle to make ends meet, catching very little in their fishing boat.  Yuki has realised that global warming has resulted in polar bears and brown bears crossbreeding to create grolars.  Concerned for their future, Yuki is determined to do something to help them.

I have a confession to make: Global is the first graphic novel I have read!  I have another confession to make: it won't be the last!  I loved everything about this book and gobbled it up in one  go this morning!  The combination of stunning illustrations and story-telling had me spellbound.  Throw in the dual story, which switches every chapter, and you have yourself a winning combination.  Not only does the book tell the story brilliantly, but it also perfectly highlights the plight of the world and the global crisis we are in the middle of.  These two children may be far removed from those I teach in Newcastle, but I know that their story will touch everyone who reads it and will make them think.

Global is going into school with me tomorrow and I guarantee it will be snatched (politely!) out of my hands within seconds of my class seeing it.  I also guarantee that it will generate some important and interesting covnersations. 

Out now, Global has officially convert me: I am a lover of graphic novels!

The Wall Between Us - Dan Smith

 Anja and Monika are cousins and best friends living in Berlin in 1961.  They play together every day and why wouldn't they, they live across the street from each other - only 46 paces; Anja's counted them.  But then, one night, Anja wakes to a commotion and finds soldiers unrolling barbed wire along the street, cutting it in half.  And shortly after, a wall goes up there as well.  Suddenly, the best friends feel so far apart and can only signal to each other from their bedroom windows, but that has to stop as well for fear of retribution.  In the blink of an eye, the girls' worlds have been changed forever, with Anja living in West Berlin and Monika in East Berlin.  Life becomes very different for them but one thing remains the same: their longing to see each other.  So when Anja realises that Otto, her cat, can make his way to Monika, then surely she can too.  

The Wall Between Us is a very cleverly told story, using diary entries, letters, newspaper articles, and prose effectively.  From the very first page, you know what's going to happen, you just don't know where and how, and interestingly this made the book all the more gripping for me.  As the book unfolds, things become clearer and I found myself willing things to change; hoping that the thing I know is coming, isn't really and I've got it wrong somehow!  

This feels like a very different book for Dan, using several styles of writing to move the plot along.  This helps us to hear from both Anja and Monika and to get both sides of the story.  There is an innocence in the diary entries and the letters that the girls write and I really liked that; they are, after all, only 12 years old (well 12 2/3 and 12 1/2).  At a time when there was no social media and lives were lived more simply, the girls don't fully understand the implications and the danger of what is really happening.  They hadn't lived through WWII and don't fully understand the fall out and the reasons for the wall.  However, within their innocence, there are some powerful messages about friendship, family, trust and love.  Despite their youth, they manage to convey the unsettling reality of what is happening and the danger of the situation - the fact that this is based on real-life events, makes this all the more scary.  

The book certainly open up reader's eyes as to the Cold War, and I can't think of another children's book that is set during this time.  I love reading books set in WWII and I'm fascinated by the time period, (indeed, Dan has written three: My Friend The Enemy, My Brother's Secret & Nisha's War); however, I know very little about the Cold War (although I do remember watching the wall come down on the news).  The thought of friends and families being separated like that breaks my heart and Dan really explores this very effectively.  The desperation for some people to escape at any cost; the need to be guarded about everything you say and do, even in your own home; the fear of doing the wrong thing would be exhausting and that comes across well through the story the girls tell.

If I put my teacher's hat for a moment, I can see The Wall Between Us making a fascinating class read: the discussion and the writing opportunities would be amazing.  

I could go on and on about this book and those who know me will know that I'm already a huge fan of Dan's work.  He is great at writing gripping reads which are difficult to put down.  And The Wall Between Us was definitely that; however, in a very different and wonderful way.  I don't know whether it was the idea that this is based on real history or that I knew at least some of what was coming; perhaps it was the use of different styles of writing - or maybe it was a combination of all of those things, but The Wall Between Us left me moved and with a serious book hangover.

I can't promise you won't cry at the end of the book (I certainly did), but I can promise that this is a book you will love and you will be thinking about long after you finish reading it.

The Wall Between Us publishes on the 8th June and is a book that deserves to be pre-ordered and shouted about at every opportunity - I know it's what I'll be doing. 

Finding Bear - Hannah Gold

Although April has been home from Bear Island for some months, she is finding settling back into her old life difficult.  With a house move came a new school and she is finding it a struggle to make friends with class mates who don't understand her passion for saving the polar bears.  She spends her time waiting for emails from Tör but, when she receives one that says a bear has been shot in Svalbard and it may be her friend, Bear, she is distraught and uses all her powers of persuasion on her father who finally agrees to take her back.  She quickly realises that winter in the Arctic is very different from the summer, which is when she and her dad were there.  Temperatures are freezing and conditions more dangerous and, to add to that, her friend Lisé at the Polar Institute is away on a field trip.  Luckily, their hotel owner knows somebody who would be able to take them into the wild, providing she thinks they are tourists looking to see the Northern Lights.  April and her father agree but the trip doesn't quite go to plan and April must use all of her courage and face her fears if she is to find and help Bear and survive.

I'm ashamed to say that I was late to the party with The Last Bear: it was a book that I needed to read but others just seemed to get in the way (sorry Hannah).  Twitter friends kept telling me I should read it and so, I finally bought a copy and, oh, I fell in love with it!  It was so captivating and completely stole my heart.  Needless to say, I was kicking myself for not having read it earlier!  So, when I discovered that the sequel, Finding Bear, was available for early reading (thank-you NetGalley!), I jumped at the chance to read it - I most defintiley wasn't going to make the same mistake twice!).  So on Saturday morning, before the coronation, I began reading.  And oh, I wasn't disappointed (apologies to the King whose coronation very quickly became a background event!).  

April is clearly struggling to get used to being back in England and is finding the change difficult (a new home, new school and a new girlfriend for her dad).  She spends every moment she can thinking of Bear and the emails from Tör are a life-line for her.  So when she hears about the shooting, she knows she has no choice but to go back: her friend needs her.  I think she thought returning would be just like her last trip, and she gets a shock when things are different: she isn't on Bear Island for a start and it's winter which makes conditions much more dangerous.  It is evident that she is an incredibly driven person but this leads to problems, not least of which is a lack of the correct equipment.  I don't want to give anything away, but April finds herself in a situation that would terrify even the hardiest adult and it's her stubbornness and her unconditional love for Bear that drive her on.  

As the plot unfolded, I found myself on the edge of my seat, willing April on and hoping she would find Bear.  The book is brilliantly written and the tension unfolds in a different way to that of an adventure book (I hope that makes sense): it's the anticipation and the vivid descriptions of the landscape and the conditions that build the suspense, and you are driven to keep reading in the hope that Bear will appear on the next page, or the next ... I simply couldn't put the book down.  

I am very much someone who craves sunshine and warmth so the idea of heading to the Arctic is not my idea of fun; however, seeing the Northern Lights is on my bucket list so reading descriptions of this felt spectacular and, despite the conditions, I wanted to be alongside April through every step of her journey.  Hannah's writing, made sure I was there though every twist and turn.

The Last Bear stole a little bit of my heart, and Finding Bear is now nuzzled alongside it, claiming a bit more: it's the perfect sequel.  It's a beautifully told story of one girl's undying love for her friend and her absolute determination to help him.  Publishing on the 28th September, I cannot wait to see Levi Penfold's illustrations and am pre-ordering my copy today. 

Finn Jones Was Here - Simon James Green

 

Eric has just lost his best friend, Finn, but despite attending his funeral, Eric is convinced that he is still alive, especially when messages begin appearing from Finn (who was the biggest prankster Eric knew) which lead Eric on an epic scavenger hunt in the hopes he will find his best friend waiting for him at the end.

During the second lockdown, The Life of Riley was the first book I read to the whole school in our live, daily reading sessions.  The sessions were highly anticipated and thoroughly enjoyed (apparently whole families would listen in and laugh along!), so when Finn Jones Was Here arrived for me I was so excited that it was promoted to the top of my tbr pile... and it didn't disappoint.

We first meet Eric as he attends Finn's funeral along with his mum ... both dressed as unicorns!  However, it very quickly becomes apparent that everybody else is dressed in black.  Mortified, Eric's mum is obviously unhappy but Eric is able to produce the funeral invitation he was sent with the dress-code on it - an invitation, it would appear, that only he has received.  Then, just before the funeral begins, he is handed an envelope which contains a message from Finn, telling Eric that he isn't to do the reading he has been practising, but should do the one Finn has written in the envelope (one that can only be read by ultraviolet light which has been installed in the pulpit) ... oh, and he can't tell anybody Finn is making him do this.  As you can imagine, the speech is not what you would usually hear at a funeral!  Cue then, the start of the scavenger hunt, one that Eric can't tell anybody he is on, except Cooper, whom Finn has persuaded to join Eric for the adventure.  Because that's what this is: it's an adventure for Eric, one where he is almost permanently outside his comfort zone, cracking codes and trying different things, all in the hopes that his friend will be waiting for him at the end.  

This is a funny book that is full of giggles and laugh out loud moments (dancing unicorn at a funeral anyone?!) but one that has a serious thread running through it.  I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to lose your best friend when you're a child, but I know that it would have a profound effect on anybody in that position (and don't get me started on what Finn's family will be going through: there aren't enough tissues in the world for that).  Grief hits everybody differently and there is no right or wrong way to deal with a situation like this.  Eric has clearly (and very understandably) not come to terms with having lost his best friend and there are reasons for that which become apparent as the book unfolds.  I love that this is a story that shows children that it's ok to grieve in your own way; that it's ok to find death difficult, but it's also ok to laugh about things that happen.  The memories that Eric retells show the bond the pair had and allow the reader to get to know Finn (who sounds like he was the most epic friend!), and will also remind readers that remembering the good times after somebody has died can be a help.  

I have to give a shout out to Cooper who takes on the role of side-kick in the scavenger hunt and does so with style.  It can't be easy becoming Eric's friend at a time like this but his compassion and patience is a lesson to us all - he's a good guy.

Enhanced by wonderful illustrations by Jennifer Jamieson, Finn Jones Was Here is a triumph of a book.  It's one that will make you laugh and it will make you cry (and boy did I cry!).  It reminds us that friends should be treasured; that memories are wonderful things and that there is no right or wrong way to grieve.  This is a book that I will remember for a long time.  Oh, and is the reason why I will never look at a seagull in the same way again!

Serpent of the Sands - Vashti Hardy

 

After her adventures with Maudie and Arthur Brightstorm, Gan has returned home to the Citadel but longs for adventure instead of carrying out her duties with with her uncles, Batzorig and Temur.  But then they get word that envoys from Lontown are on their way and it is assumed that they are part of the HAC (Human Authority Collective) who hate the sapient animals that Gan and her friends and family are determined to protect.  Things don't get easier for Gan when she discovers that her Uncle Temur is extremely ill and isn't getting any better.  Refusing to accept this, Gan decides to go in search of the elusive Serpent of the Sands whose healing garden is legendary in childhood stories.  Despite Batzorig's refusal to let Gan go, she sneaks away on the sky-ship she has been making, along with a sapient called Slink and Thorn, a boy who helped her as she was leaving.  Together they begin the journey of a life-time but, the further they go, the more secrets are revealed.  Can they do the impossible and find the Serpent of the Sands and save Temur?

I've been a huge fan of the Brightstorm series since the first book was published and so I was thrilled to hear that this book with Gan at the helm was being released.  Gan is a conflicted character as she yearns for adventure but knows that she is destined to become Queen, something she doesn't want as she doesn't believe she will do a good job.  She is strong and feisty with a determination that just keeps on shining through, but I also liked that she learned about herself along the way - she is somebody I know readers will admire and I love that she shows readers that it's ok to follow your dreams.  I also loved Slink who makes a wonderful sapient companion.  Thorn, is a rather mysterious character in many ways: determined to evade the shadowgrabbers and make a better life for himself, he has escaped and stumbles upon Gan right when she needs him.  Together, they make a great team.

Serpent of the Sands is a wonderful adventure full of surprises and with an ending that will set your heart racing.  I was thrilled to be back in this world and to discover Nadvaaryn alongside Gan.  Whilst this could be read as a stand-alone book, I highly recommend you reading the Brightstorm series first.  Publishing on the 11th May, Serpent of the Sands is an immersive read that will leave you wanting more.

Oh Maya Gods!

Vesper is Elliot Hooper's daughter and together they live on the farm where her father grew up.  However, the farm isn't doing well and they struggle for money.  Vesper helps out as much as she can but things can be tricky.

Vesper loves her Aunty Virgo but isn't fond of her son, Aster, so when they come to stay, the pair agree to fake their friendship to keep their parents happy. When they head for a walk, they agree to go their separate ways with Vesper heading to Stonehenge where she feels she can relax; however, the strange voice she can hear seems to be luring her in, and when she touches one of the stones and heads down the stairway that appears, her actions could change the world forever.  The question is, can things be sorted out before it's too late?  (ie before next Wednesday!)

There is only one thing better than discovering that Maz Evans is writing a spin off of the Who Let The Gods Out? series, and that's discovering a copy of the first book, Oh Maya Gods!, waiting for you when you get home from work!  I could tell you that I took off my coat and calmly opened the parcel once I'd got myself sorted, but I'd be lying!  The truth is that I squealed and tore the envelope in an excited frenzy before hugging the book and promoting it immediately to the top of my reading pile (the gods had clearly conspired as I'd finished a book the previous evening and had yet to start a new one!)

The book opens with Vesper playing football and you immediately discover that she is a feisty, determined character with a serious stubborn streak (not unlike Elliott at that age but rather removed from the father she knows).  She clearly carries the weight of being adopted as well as the financial struggles of her father and the farm.  However, she seems to have absolutely no knowledge of what Elliott and her Aunt Virgo got up to as children... not for long though!  In contrast to Elliott who has remained on the farm and is forging a steady life, Virgo has travelled the world, bouncing from job to job and her son, Aster, has never been to school.  The polar opposite to Vesper, Aster loves books and to read; Vesper feels he is snooty and doesn't play by the rules, and she would happily never see him again but she adores her Aunty Virgo so she prepares to put up with Aster during their visit.  However, as things take a rather dramatic turn, the pair discover they need to learn how to get on with each other - after all, the entire world depends on it!

Oh Maya Gods! this is a fast-paced, exciting story that is utterly unputdownable.  It is full of humour that will have you laughing out loud (did my laughing get me caught having a sneaky read in my office whilst eating lunch last Friday?  Absolutely it did!) but also comes with depth and some deeper messages woven into the plot (Maz is always very good at doing this).  You'll be pleased to see some familiar faces appear in the book ('Double bosh and an extra portion of boom!') as well as a host of new gods to get to know.  There's a trip to the Maya underworld, a star-studded performance and an ending that left me with my mouth hanging open - I loved every single minute and was torn between gobbling it up a superspeed and not wanting the book to end! 

My meagre human words are really not doing this book the justice it deserves so I'll simply say that this is Maz at her god given best.  Oh Maya Gods! is super optimal and mega bosh with a huge helping of celestial sass thrown in for good measure.  Publishing on the 28th September, this is an epic book that is demanding to be pre-ordered and I can't wait for the next one!