A book review: Dark Inside

Title: Dark Inside

Author: Jeyn Roberts
Published: Macmillan Children's Books (2 Sep 2011)

Synopsis: Moments after several huge earthquakes shake every continent on Earth, something strange starts happening to some people. Michael can only watch in horror as an incidence of road rage so extreme it ends in two deaths unfolds before his eyes; Clementine finds herself being hunted through the small town she has lived in all her life, by people she has known all her life; and Mason is attacked with a baseball bat by a random stranger. An inner rage has been released and some people cannot fight it. For those who can, life becomes an ongoing battle to survive - at any cost! Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen - now it's our turn!

From Amazon.co.uk

This book certainly got me thinking. Before I was even a quarter of the way through I started to examine all the disaster films I have ever seen, and being born in the 70's that makes quite a lot. But my quest was to identify what made me enjoy them, or like the absolutely dreadful Deep Impact made me want to cheer with joy as practically all the mains got blown or washed away. That's right you got it, character. You have to care that Robert Neville in I am Ledgend makes it, hell you even have to shed tears when Sam the dog dies (What? Sorry, you didn't know that?) And then there is one more element that has to be just right. There has to be some little glimmer of hope. Now be it Sean of the Dead or 28 days later, each of these films raised the stakes so it seemed like there was no way out and then provided a little bit of hope. The Road by Cormac MacCarthy also does this brilliantly. So after analysing the disaster genre - and let me get this straight, I've got a pretty wide ranging definition of this genre - I felt I could then get to grips with this book.

 

Star parts: And Roberts pretty much sticks to the formula. It's a nice sunny day, nobody suspects anything can possibly go wrong, then boom bad things start to happen. The first chapter is particularly interesting, because something bad has already happened, but we are so in Mason's head, taken over by his feelings of grief and numbness, that we don't even realise that bad things are happening. Then Aries is on the bus, what can go wrong on a bus?  Well, (touch wood, despite two years in Mexico and always being in a car or asleep when there were tremors), I don't know what an earthquake feels like, but Roberts description is brilliant. Clementine's nightmare is even worse because she finds herself completely alone and by the time we get to Michael we just know that the beep is going to hit the fan. Throughout the book Roberts action and horror scenes didn't miss a beat, but in true disaster style, at different points throughout the book the characters are saved through selfless acts of kindness. Yay. 

Black clouds: The biggest problem I had was that I didn't find the characters different enough. Aries was in a group whereas Clementine was mostly on her own. Likewise Michael was mostly in a group, whereas Mason mostly went solo. I also found that having the four characters was maybe one too many. The chapters tended to follow a formula, so that by the fourth character the element of surprise was gone. OK, then you may have heard this beef before, but this is part of a series, so although there was that element of hope at the end, the bigger thing, the 'nothing', for me it wasn't addressed enough. 

 Do I recommend it: I think I may have mentioned that as a teenager I overdosed on Clive Barker and Stephen King, so I think Roberts has hit upon what teenagers like to read and she's written it well. So if you are a teenager who likes to read scary, zombie (who are not zombie's) like thing than this is the book for you. Me, I just get scared *runs away screaming waving my hands over my head* 

Oh hang on *runs back from the far distance pretending nothing happened at all*. Before I go, I'd like to say a big thank you to Becky at The Bookette as I won the book at her blog giveaway. 

A book review: Reckless

Title: Reckless

Author: Cornelia Funke
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (September 14, 2010)

Synopsis: For years, Jacob Reckless has been escaping to a hidden world. But tragedy strikes when his younger brother, Will, follows him through the portal. Now Will is infected with a curse that is quickly transforming him into a ruthless killing machine, with skin made of stone. 

In a land built on trickery and lies, Jacob will need all the wit, courage, and reckless spirit he can summon to reverse the dark spell before it's too late.

from get-reckless.com

Star parts: Now unless this is the very first time you have visited this blog, you should know that I'm a bit of a Funke fan. So with that in mind I am going to try not gush and give this book an objective review. I've also read some stuff about this book and there are a few things that are different. For a start Funke wrote this one straight into English (unless I'm mistaken) with the help of her translator. Also Lionel Wigram gave her the idea and she wrote it. Straightaway this book has a different feel to her others. The language seems sparser and more direct and to the point. The chapters are shorter and we're straight into the story and the premise of the series. Jacob Reckless' father is missing and as he searches his father's study for clues, he discovers a mirror that transports him to another world. Boom. The next chapter leads us straight into the premise of this book. Jacob's brother Will followed him into the mirror world and is turning into a Goyl. Through the next chapters Funke builds the world introducing us to the history of the Goyl, and the Empress while carrying the story forward. 

Jacob is built as a rounded, if flawed character. He loves his brother, and he comes across as a bit of a super man in the mirror world, yet the fact that he abandoned his family so often is always present. His reasons for doing so are explored and it makes him a less than perfect hero. 

Will's girlfriend Clara was another character I really liked. When she ends up in the mirror world, everything is so different for her that she could fall apart, yet the hardships make her a stronger person and in a way this book is her journey in becoming that stronger person. I hope we'll see more of her. 

The story is really compelling, but unlike her other books, the second book is built into the first. While this book has an arc of its own and had a satisfying end, there WILL be more to come and there are several avenues as to where the second book will go. 

As well as the the characters I've mentioned above, Funke has done one of the things that I feel she does very well. She takes stock fairy tale characters, goblins, fairies and dwarfs and gives them her own unique take. It's a world that is at once familiar if we've read Grimm's fairy tales and yet very different. 

Black clouds: Ok, the brother Will is turning into a Goyl the whole way through the book, but I didn't feel like I got to know him very well. If anything he seemed a bit stony (haha - OK crap joke). Likewise, there were not many dimensions to Fox and I would like to get to know her better too. So, as kind of main characters I felt they could have been explored just a little bit more. 

The other thing that I supposed could be a minor quibble, but which bothered me no end is that I found all the mains too old. I spent ages, and I mean ages working out how old Jacob was. I don't want to spoil the book, but in my opinion for a YA book I found him bordering on old, yet he acted very much as a teenager, so I found that a bit difficult. 

 Do I recommend it: Can I gush now? Basically, I couldn't put the book down. I fell in love with Jacob *blushes* which is a bit embarrassing as I'm old enough to be his mother (just about) and I curse all those women who fall/fell for him in the book. I was satisfied with the end of this book, but I'm also rather excited that there is another on the way. So, yes, yes, yes I do recommend it. 

A Memory: Terracotta Turtle

Siena, Italy

As part of World Book Day yesterday, the authors over at The Edge are doing a book giveaway. Each author is giving away one of their books. Now, I'll be straight up and say that I want to win, but it would seem a bit strange if I had no competition, so go over to this post over at The Edge and follow the instructions to have a chance of winning books by Miriam Halahmy, Keren David, Bryony Pearce, Paula Rawsthorne, Sarah Grant, Savita Kalhan, Katie Dale and Dave Cousins (more about him at a later date to be announced).

A wee break

Last week was half term and time for a wee visit to London. Now I may have mentioned this before, but the Frog and I regularly joke/jibe/moan about my addiction to the computer and technology in general.  I will straight up confess that I am a little addicted to Facebook and check every day what my cousins three times removed that I've never met before have have been up to. And then there's Zuma blitz, although I have got much better with that addiction since I realised I could bank my unused lives.

Anyway, apart from the dreaded FB, I also read blogs, write this blog and well, write.  Dropbox, Scrivener and Word are like my personal holy trinity and being without them is a like leaving a little bit of myself behind. But you know you can always pick things up on the mobile version of Dropbox, except last week I didn't. I left EVERYTHING at home.

It was torture. The second we got on to the Eurostar I was surrounded by MacBooks. The bubba announced at the top of her voice that 'Mummy has that computer' and I felt compelled to explain that I had left it at home. A complete stranger left me in charge of his when he went to the toilet and I may have stroked it for a few moments.

As the train raced away from Paris, my mind kept shooting back to the little words I had left unattended at home and I tried to lose myself in someone else's. And then we arrived in London. We went to the park, we went shopping, I bought a bunch of books. We went to see the dinosaurs at the Natural History museum. We went to see The Muppets. The bubba somehow managed to find another French/English little girl in the soft play area. We went to the Tate Modern and contemplated Tacita Dean's Film. I think I made a breakthrough with my camera and even took a few pictures on the A setting before panicking and going back to the automatic setting. In general we had some fun, even though the words were always on my mind.

But sometimes you have to let the words go. Sometimes you get so close to them, you can't see them anymore. They mean nothing and tell no story. And I find it really hard to do, but for five days I did it. And I went back to them and every awkward phrase, bad bit of punctuation and silly bit stood out like a sore thumb. It was time to make those words sing.Sometimes, it's good to have a wee break.

Now I was going to leave you with a photo of the pile of books that came back with me, but I've had no time. So here's the list: Beware of the Frog by William Bee, Jack and the Beanstalk by Stephen Tucker and Nick Sharrat, Slinky Malinky by Lynley Dodd, Dinosaur More by Henriette Stickland, Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke, Operation Eiffel Tower by Elen Caldecott, David by Mary Hoffman and 15 days without a head by Dave Cousins (more about that soon).

And finally. This shop opened after I left home, but it's there right at the top of the street where I grew up. Do you think this means something?

A book review: Unhooking the moon

Title: Unhooking the moon
Author: Gregory Hughes
Published: Quercus Publishing Plc (29 April 2010)
Synopsis: Meet the Rat: A dancing, football-playing gangster-baiting ten-year-old. When she foresaw her father's death, she picked up her football and decided to head for New York. Meet her older brother Bob: Protector of the Rat, but more often her follower, he is determined to find their uncle in America and discover a new life for them both. On their adventures across the flatlands of Winnipeg and through the exciting streets of New York, Bob and the Rat make friends with a hilarious con man and a famous rap star, and escape numerous dangers. But is their Uncle a rich business man, or is the word on the street, that he something more sinister, true? And will they ever find him? Hughes has created a funny, warm, unique world that lives and breathes. Like I Capture the Castle, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Curious Incident, Hughes' story and characters will resonate for many and for years to come.

from Amazon co.uk

Star parts: OK where to start. Well for a start the book made me laugh out loud. And what were the bits that made me laugh the most, well probably the bits that should have had you crying such as the funeral scene. And the climax, which involves some pretty awful people, and is totally exciting, and still hysterically funny. 

The characterisation is great, the Rat and Bob really come alive, their voices are authentic and they way Bob deals with his sister is, in my mind, really realistic. 

The story also carries you away. You want the kids to succeed and you want everything to turn out alright for them, even though I knew that at every turn things could go so dreadfully wrong. Each time they pull through something completely ridiculous happens, yet the story is so well written that it doesn't matter what Hughes comes up with next. 

Black clouds: The thing is, that it's not a black cloud. There are no faults with the book, it's just that it didn't end the way I wanted it to end. In the end despite the far out situations these kids go through, the ending isn't Disney saccharine sweet, it's realistic. I'm not saying I like Disney endings, I just grew to love these characters all of them, the Rat, Bob, the con man, the rap star, the Italian. I just wanted them all to be alright and in real life, that doesn't always work out, does it?

  Do I recommend it:  Well first of all, a little back story. I read this to see if it was suitable for a 5th grade class. The Rat is always going on about 'goddamn pedophiles', and the books deals with some pretty hardcore issues, so I sent the book along to the high school library as it seemed very YA to me. Now if you find it in the high school library read it, because it's brilliant. And if you don't have access to our library, just get hold of it and read it anyway. 

A Book Review: The Prince of Mist

Title: The Prince of Mist
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Published: Phoenix, 2011
Synopsis: 1943. As war sweeps across Europe, Max Carver's father moves his family away from the city, to an old wooden house on the coast. But as soon as they arrive, strange things begin to happen: Max discovers a garden filled with eerie statues; his sisters are plagued by unsettling dreams and voices; a box of old films opens a window to the past. Most unsettling of all are rumours about the previous owners and the mysterious disappearance of their son. As Max delves into the past, he encounters the terrifying story of the Prince of Mist, a sinister shadow who emerges from the night to settle old scores, then disappears with the first mists of dawn . . . Originally published in Spain as a young adult novel, THE PRINCE OF MIST is a mesmerising tale of mystery, romance and adventure.
from Amazon.co.uk
 
Star parts:  This book scared the bejasus out of me. I went through a phase as a teenager where I read a lot of Stephen King and Clive Barker. The two of them made me decide that I preferred the real world with all its real horrors than what their imaginations could whip up, so basically I don't do horror anymore. And evidently I didn't realise this was scary when my LOVELY crit partner leant it to me. I put this as a star part because although I am a complete wimp now, Zafon gets it just right. He creeps you right out so that you have to snuggle closer to your cat/loved one/pillow and then he moves us right out to something that we can deal with like a brother and sister relationship, when they both realise that they're moving into adulthood and can stand each other again. That is explored brilliantly. There's a bit of 'lurve' action (I always went through a bit of a Mills & Boon phase and that has possibly left more scars than King and Barker) and it didn't make me go 'yeurghK'. It's not totally scary though. There's obviously the element of a good old mystery tale, where we need to find out who did what and how it will all end. 

 Black clouds: It's been a while since I read it, but I'm left with this feeling of certain things left unanswered, not big things, but little niggly things. We also never quite know where the story takes places, which for some reason bothered me. When you're reading in translation I always wonder about stuff, and maybe that's why it so bothered me.


 Do I recommend it: Bien sur! OK it's scary and all, and I don't do scary, but Zafon can tell a story and create such an atmosphere that you can almost feel smoke curling around your feet and your stomach tense up as Max opens the gate...

Who started your dream?

As part of Rach Harrie's 3rd Writer's Platform-Building Campaign I've joined a bloghop organised by Cat Gerlach that explores what and who got us started on this writing journey. There are eleven bloggers in this little circle, if you follow the links at the end of the post you should get to visit them all.

Oh! Silly me, I almost forgot! As well as finding out about our writing influences, there are also PRIZES! That's right prizes. The more blogs you visit, and the more comments you leave, the more chance you have of winning a query crit, a 500 word crit, an e book by William L. Hahn, there are 2 YA novels for grabs, and finally a 30 and 25 page critique.

So without further ado, who started my dream?

About four years ago, I went from writing for a hobby, to 'You know, I think I may just take this seriously'. The authors/writers who helped me reach this decision were one small wee colleague that I had the good luck to be closely working with, and a small group of bloggers who commented regularly on this good ole blog. Their names are: Rhian Saadat (an execellent mentor if ever there was one), Kate Bousefield, Debi Alper, Nicky Schmidt, Seamus Kearney, Derec Jones, Maht Wells, Marie Syemou and Jefferson Davies. These guys were supporting and lovely in a way that helped me make the most terrible writing mistakes ever, while still giving me the confidence to carry on.

But why did I then start writing children's? Well another colleague leant me Skellig by David Almond and I was completely blown away. I was big into Magic Realism at the time and after I read another of Almond's books Heaven Eyes I decided I was reading the best Magic Realist ever.

A kid in my class passed along Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. The kid's book review had not convinced me I would like the book, but I gave it a go despite the animal characters. I really liked it, but reading The Thief Lord shorly after a visit to Venice was just amazing. then there was Inkheart and how my heart bled at the end of Inkspell. So, in case you haven't guessed I'm big into Funke!

And last but not least, who put the steam into punk? Well in my opinion it was Philip Reeve and Mortal Engines. Shortly after reading that book I cancelled my summer holiday and sat down and wrote for two months solid, joined SCBWI... and... no, there's no happy ending, YET. Still a lot of hard work to do and a lot to learn.

Meanwhile, if you want to here about other influences and great books, you can go one way along the ring by going to Robyn Campbell's blog (yes, she of the interview) or you could go the other way by tootling along to M.G. Higgins blog. And remember to comment (before the 23rd, which is when all the comments will go in a big hat).

Firsts: No Use Crying by Zannah Kearns

Today I'm a bit excited to announce the first in a series of posts where new authors get a chance to spread the news about their debut novel. First up on Firsts is Zannah Kearns. Her debut novel NO USE CRYING is out today in the UK. So if you would like to find out why you should buy the book, what it's like to go from an unpublished novelist to debut author and how important it is to tweet, read on.

Zannah, your debut novel NO USE CRYING is out TODAY, Why should we add it to our to be read lists?

What a question! Because if you all buy it then my publishers will be more inclined to keep me on?! Because I do actually believe it's a book 'with heart'. The characters are like dear friends, and I hope you might fall in love with them, too. It's funny, heart-warming, and raises some interesting areas of discussion: when does a secret become a lie, how is our identity formed, how do we forgive - ourselves as much as others - how do our relationships evolve as we change/grow?

Wow! There are some big themes there; very intriguing themes might I add.  Can you tell us a little bit about your story now. How did you go from unpublished writer to debut author?

 

I've loved books all my life, but only started taking the idea of writing seriously at University when I took some creative writing modules. I think until then it had felt like a bit of a guilty secret, just too unrealistic. I was fortunate that my parents funded me through an MA after university, so I did Creative Writing then, and whilst I went on to do 'normal jobs' for a while, I kept on writing and I think that's what proved to me it was what I really wanted to do as I kept going. 

 

I had one of those fortuitous moments that will make aspiring authors want to kick me in the shins (we're way too nice to do that Zannah)- my friend asked to read my manuscript and then a month or so later she texted to ask if I'd mind if her sister read it 'as she's a literary agent' (can she be my friend too?). My friend had already shown it to her sister who liked it and wanted to follow up, but that was the first time I heard about it. I do reassure myself that there is more to it than luck though, as my agent wouldn't have said yes if she didn't think she could actually sell it, and the publishers have no connections to me! But I think it probably got me an initial 'real reading' from someone who gets hundreds of manuscripts landing in her mailbox every single day, so I was certainly fortunate.

 

OK, so apart from being lucky (although you did have a finished MS there), what are the three things that have helped you the most in your writing journey?

Learning to take criticism. That particularly came about through my MA - having work critiqued so frequently. I'm not precious about my writing - if someone says a bit needs changing, I listen, and I know if I feel particularly attached to a phrase or scene, it's probably self-indulgent and needs to go!

 

Learning that I have to make the time... I had a year when I was 'between' jobs a little while back, and I probably wrote less that year than any other. I think life informs art, and maybe especially writing. Nothing is wasted in that way, so being a full-time mum of two small children doesn't have to hinder my work.

 

Amazing people. My agent and editors (and all at Frances Lincoln) are passionate about their work, and highly skilled. I have huge confidence in their expertise, and they have made the whole process of getting No Use Crying ready for publication a thoroughly enjoyable one. They have definitely made my writing better.

 

What advice would you give to unpublished writers?

First, enjoy stories. I think there are times when I've become more obsessed with the idea of being published, or being 'a writer' than simply taking delight in my imagination and the creative process. If I now never get published again, I'd still write because I love it. 

Next, it's all about the re-writing. It is liberating to let your first draft be however rubbish it's going to be, but to just get the words down on the page, and then there's something to work with. Re-write, re-write, re-write. You'd be surprised by how much something can improve with multiple drafting!

Don't send out your work too soon! The amount of info online - from getting submissions to their top-notch standard, to how to write query letters, to every other tiny little detail you might need to know is all there to be able to send out your work to its best possible advantage. But doing all that research can distract from getting the story where it needs to be - it's all about the story!

 

I do agree that it's all about the story. And the Frog too, he's always telling me to get on and write, but there is some good stuff online. Well, for a start we met on Twitter, in fact, we've only ever met on Twitter. How important is it to Tweet?

 

Clearly writers still make it these days who aren't on Twitter. But it's undoubtedly fun and useful. I love the buzz of other writers and bloggers sharing their projects (even just to say how much they have done that day, or how the whole day has been sabotaged by little Tommy's mumps). And there are some amazing authors on there who are so ready to share their advice and encouragement. I think if you follow the right people, then it's a thoroughly positive booster for the lonely writer's journey. 

The place to start is with Nicola Morgan's e-book TweetRight. I saw it as a series of posts on her blog Help! I need a publisher! which is full of fantastic advice for aspiring authors (I second that, Nicola's posts helped me take my first tentative steps on Twitter and now I'm interviewing debut authors). That's what got me started on navigating Twitter, and then you receive this amazingly friendly welcome from lovely people like you! (Why thank you) I think it has been useful for networking and promotion, but there is so much more to it than that.

 

Lastly, for a bit of fun three random facts about Zannah Kearns. 

 

1) My favourite smell is my children! They are only 2.5yrs and 4.5 months - and they smell like malted biscuits, all sweet and milky, and I love how they smell with suncream on, and when they're soapy-clean after their baths... Sometimes obviously they smell of other, less delightful things, but we won't worry about that... (No let's not, I've just been through a very traumatic potty training summer).

 

2) I am slightly addicted to two tv series - Gilmour Girls and West Wing. They are very warm and funny, and you can feel slightly intelligent watching West Wing (except if someone asks me what's actually happening as it quickly becomes clear I haven't a clue!) The dialogue in these series is superb,so really when I watch them it counts as research, you know...

3) I spent a year after school living in Chantilly, just south of Paris (to give a French connection!) It's a beautiful racing town, with a chateau that was used in a James Bond movie - Goldfinger, I think. The duke who built the chateau thought he was going to be reincarnated as a horse (so the story goes) so he built stables even larger than the chateau! When we visited the stables, we whispered to each horse in turn, 'Are you the duke?' None confessed.

(You did say random, right?!)

 

I did say random and I'm rather embarrassed to say that I have never been to Chantilly. So with that confession I shall begin to wrap up this First First. If you have been convinced to buy NO USE CRYING you can do so through the Frances Lincoln website or the Amazon link below. 

 

If you want to find out more about Zannah Kearns there is a NO USE CRYING page on facebook and there's even more info over at Zannah's website: http://zannahkearns.com/

August British Book Challenge 2011: The Book of Dead Days

Title: The book of dead days
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Title: Orion Children's, 2004

Synopsis: The days between 27 December and New Year's Eve are dead days - days when spirits roam and magic shifts restlessly just beneath the surface of our everyday lives.There is a man, Valerian, whose time is running out, who must pay the price for the pact he made with evil so many years ago. His servant is Boy, a child with no name and no past; a child he treats with contempt, but who serves his master well and finds solace in the company of his only friend, Willow. Unknown to any of them it is Boy who holds the key to their destiny. 

Star parts:  I feel like I read this forever ago, but it's just that I've had a bit of reading spree since I read it. So without further ado, the star parts are... all of it. There we go totally unbiased, unjudgemental reviewing here. Go on, go and read it if you haven't already. All right I'll tell you a bit more. Well straight away Boy (who is the main character by the way) starts off in a sticky situation, but the situation he's in at the beginning is nothing compared to the situation he finds himself in by the end of the night, or the next day or the day after that. Things just keep getting worse for Boy and Valerian keeps getting darker and darker. 

One of the things I liked about Sedgwick's crafting of character is that nobody is completely evil and the good guys aren't completely good. Boy has his flaws. We are never quite sure about Kessler and right till the end I wondered if Valerian might act differently. Willow is probably the only character who is what she is.  

Another thing I really liked about the book is that some things seem completely fantastical, but are eventually revealed as trickery, whereas other things remain completely fantastical.

The plot is amazing and the pacing just right. So...

Black clouds: There's a sequel and I haven't read it. 
 


 Do I recommend it: I totally do, whole heartedly and without doubt. 


This is the tenth book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge.

July British Book Challenge 2011: The Blackhope Enigma

Title: The Blackhope Enigma
Author: Teresa Flavin
Published: Templar publishing, 2010

Synopsis: When Sunni Forrest’s stepbrother accidentally transports himself into a Renaissance painting, she and her friend Blaise set out to bring him back. They find themselves in a strange world of labyrinths, monsters and pirates.

Can they evade their greedy pursuers? And will they ever find their way home?
 
Star parts:  So after saying that I wasn't really into YA, here's another. Someone once made a flippant comment about illustrators 'having no idea how to write'. From what I've read of Flavin's blog I would say that she considers herself an artist and the words on the page paint such vivid pictures. From the Tower to the inside of the painting and the different layers of it, everything was so vivid. I was constantly amazed by Flavin's imagination. She has created a world full of intrigue and wonder and it kept me turning the pages again and again. The characters are put through the mill again and again and again. Each of the characters change in some ways along the way, and the ending forces Sunni to make some tough choices.

Black clouds: We were plunged straight into the action (which I like), but I think I'd liked to have known who Sunni and Blaise were before the life changing experience, but that's more a little wonder rather than anything significantly annoying.

Do I recommend it: Oh absolutely. I loved it. I loved all the characters, good and bad. The little hint of possible future 'lurve' action was intriguing, but didn't detract from the story. I just really, really loved it and The Crimson Shard is out in October, so I'm quite excited about that too.

This is the eighth book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge.  Still got two more reviews to do before I'm all caught up, although I may have finished THE GOOD MAN JESUS AND THE SCOUNDREL CHRIST by then. I'm not sure what I'm thinking about that book at the moment, but I'll save my views for the review. 

Also, just in case you aren't paying attention to the Twitterverse or Blogosphere, we're in the middle of ABBA's first ever online literary festival. If you didn't get a chance to catch anything today, don't worry because it will always be there. I think my highlight of today was Mary Hoffman and Anne Rooney's conversation. I hope they don't mind me saying this, but I loved the fact that the camera was off centre and that it was so 'not' professional and yet they really put across their passion.

July British Book Challenge 2011: Firebrand by Gillian Philip

Title: Firebrand
Author: Gillian Philip
Published: Strident, 2010 
Synopsis: It’s the last decade of the sixteenth century: a time of religious wars in the full-mortal world. But the Sithe are at peace, hidden behind the Veil that protects their world - until their queen, Kate NicNicven, determines to destroy it. 

Seth MacGregor is the half-feral son of a Sithe nobleman. When his father is assassinated, and Seth is exiled with his brother Conal to the full-mortal world, they vow not only to survive, but to return to reclaim their fortress and save the Veil. 

But even the Veil’s power can’t protect the brothers when the brutal witch-hunts begin…  
From Strident Website
 
Star parts:  I don't think I'm a big fan of YA. You know teenagers are just so awkward and troublesome and they think they're so grown up and know it all and they mess up so much. Really, who wants to read that? But I love fantasy and I'm planning on writing one, and it will probably be YA, so in the spirit of reading around the genre Firebrand ended up in my to-be-read pile. And really Seth MacGregor is one of those annoying teenagers, he's in love with the girl who will never have him. He takes ages to recognise the girl who is in love with him. He does stupid, stupid stuff. He's proud, he's a softie, he's all those things that teenagers are. In addition he's this kick ass fairie that can go into people's minds, fight like you wouldn't believe. He has this amazing horse thing and finds and rears two super cute wolves. Even when he is in big, big trouble he goes back for the wolves. How can you not begin to like him? Firebrand kind of crept into my mind, and instead of staying at my bedside I found myself sneaking a read whenever I could. You know, I think I really rather liked it.


Black clouds: And to be perfectly honest when I started reading it, I wasn't at all sure that this was going to be the case. I found the first half of part one a little overly descriptive, with not enough action for my taste, but that was soon forgotten. The other little niggle was that there were times when I wasn't totally sure what was going on. I didn't quite get all the ins and outs of the political shenanigans that were going on at the beginning. But by the second half of the book I was really into it and now...

Do I recommend it: Yes, and Bloodstone the second book in the trilogy is out in August and one of those beautiful wolves is on the cover. Oh and did I mention that Seth is a tad on the vain side as well?

This is the seventh book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge. I've had a look at the Challenge rules, so I've done the Winston Churchill bit, but I'm heading for the Royal Family. Kudos to those who are going for the 50 reads in one year - Phewy.  Now I need to get on with the other reviews, The Blackhope Enigma, Puddle Goblins, The Book of Dead Days and I'm in the middle of reading THE GOODMAN JESUS AND THE SCOUNDREL CHRIST.

Writing on Wednesday: A New Challenge

I have to say that after NaNoWriMo I wasn't really looking for another challenge. After all, I do have my wip grant challenge, but that is getting a bit lost in the rewrite. I realised (skip this bit if I've mentioned it before) that I quite like action, but by starting with the action there was no build up of the friendship between Ella and Morgane. Also, a part of Ella's character that I deemed important was completely ignored in the first draft. In building up the friendship and putting the swimming back in, the story is now wandering off (over dramatic off stage horror scream).

So, as I was saying I wasn't looking for another challenge, but this one just jumped out at me. I was reading Lucy Coates blog over at Scribble City Central and she mentioned casually that she was going to take part in a book challenge. Oooh, I thought. She introduced new readers to Becky of the The Bookette blog and the concept of the challenge. So, then I tootled over to The Bookette blog to have a look and this is what I found...

The British Book Challenge

The BBC (hee hee) is a reading challenge where bloggers sign up to read books by British writers throughout 2011.

The books can be in print or out. Old or new titles. They can be from any genre and for any age.

The idea is for British bloggers to read 12 titles by 12 British authors over 2011 and to review one of the books each month. I will be an International Friend what with not living in Blighty any more and I choose to take part in the Royal Family challenge (the other option was Winston Churchill and 6 books, but that doesn't strike me as much of a challenge). There is also a chance to earn a crown if you read 50 books, but where I think I can do 12 easily, I think I may have to resort to cheating to achieve 50 (e.g. picture books of the sort: Is that Bunny Blue Ears? NO! Is that Bunny Blue Ears? NO!) 

The thing is that I can also use this challenge to help me. One piece of advice that Lynne Garner gave away for free the other day was: 

well [you] should research other books already published in the same genre, who has published them, why [your] book different?

So, I shall try to do that.Now what shall I read? Well, I will be looking to Becky's site for some recommendations for a start, followed by Celia Rees recommendation of the independent online magazine: Armadillo, which is full of children's book news, reviews and interviews. I found it very useful yesterday and may have picked my next class reader. In fact maybe that's what I will start with: The Ogre of Oglefort. I don't know if Eva counts as she was born in Vienna, before ending up in Devon, but there we go, tis my choice. Now I just need to get it before January!

1. January : Shadow Forest by Matt Haig 

2. January: The Memory Cage by Ruth Eastham 

   3. February: Ravenwood by Andrew Peters 

   4. March: The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh

   5. June: Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher

   6. June: The Demon Collector by Jon Mayhew 

   7. July: Firebrand by Gillian Philip 

   8. July: The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin 

   9. July: Puddle Goblins by David Melling

   10. August: The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedwick  

   11. August: The good man Jesus and the scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman