(Courting
Magic was sent to me by the author, although I then bought it myself because I
loved it so much, so I’m not 100% sure whether I technically need to tell you
that. Just to be on the safe side, I will! Violet… was sent to me by the
publishers. Flora and Ulysses was bought from Foyles.)
Courting Magic by Stephanie
Burgis (Historical fantasy, beyond very highly recommended, Five Fathoms Press)
Regular
readers of my reviews know how much I love the Kat Stephenson books -
witch/Guardian Kat herself is perhaps my all-time favourite heroine, while the
characters who surround her are each brilliantly portrayed. To say I was
excited for the release of this novella, which sees Kat at eighteen and ready
to make her debut in society, is something of an understatement. But while I
knew it would be amazing, I'm not sure I was prepared for it to be THIS
amazing!
The story
sees Kat's sisters try to introduce her to high society only for a task given
to her by the head of the Guardians, an unsuitable love interest, and an old
friend with issues of her own, get in the way. It's a clever plot and an
exciting story, but the real strength is that Kat still has the best voice of
any narrator for years, and she's just as vivacious and exciting a character
now as she was in the superb original trilogy. Despite her age this is still
suitable for the MG readers who the first three books were aimed at - there's
off the charts chemistry between Kat and her love interest, but nothing
explicit, just really amazing romance to add to the book's other great points.
Speaking of relationships, the bond between Kat and her sisters, as they drive
each other crazy at times but are clearly absolutely devoted to each other, is
still one of the many highlights of the book.
I'm not sure
how well it will work for people who've not read the original three, but
really, why on earth WOULDN'T you have read the originals, as they're one of
the best MG series of the past few decades? (Susie Day's Pea's Book being their
only real challenger for me.) If you've not read them, grab them all as soon as
possible, and I'm confident you'll fall in love with them and be desperate to
read this one. If you have read them, I sincerely doubt that you need me to
tell you that this is a must-buy!
Violet and the Pearl of the Orient
by Harriet Whitehorn (author) and Becka Moor (illustrator) (7+ mystery, very
highly recommended, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books)
The new
family who’ve moved in next door to Violet Remy-Robinson seem rather odd. No-one
else can see this, but she’s convinced they’re up to no good – and when
neighbour Dee Dee Derota has a precious jewel stolen, Violet is sure they’re to
blame! Can she uncover the truth and save the day?
I've been
looking forward to this ever since meeting author Harriet Whitehorn a few
months ago at another author's book launch, so when it arrived this morning I
decided to read the first few pages to see if it looked like it would live up
to my expectations. I was completely hooked by the double page spread on pages
8 and 9 which introduce us to all of the characters by telling us their
favourite food, and which proves to be a perfect way to show us Harriet
Whitehorn's sense of humour and Becka Moor's completely gorgeous two-colour illlustrations.
It will surprise precisely no-one who knows me that my initial ‘few pages’
turned into reading the entire book straight through then spending twenty
minutes going back and looking at my favourite pictures again. (I only missed
three buses…)
Throughout
the book the two creators are a perfect match for each other - it's a well-told
story with a good plot and great characters, but Moor's artwork adds so much to
the book, especially in the way she makes the villains looks so horrible.
Even though
this is aimed at a slightly younger age range than the Sesame Seade books, it
reminds me of them a lot – a great heroine, an intriguing mystery, and
brilliant use of language. (I particularly liked the glossary at the back of
the book to introduce readers to words they may be unfamiliar with.) It’s also
absolutely beautifully published – it’s a gorgeous small hardback which is up
there with Wild Boy and the Black Terror (another fabulous mystery, although
one aimed at children a few years older than the target audience here!) as the best-looking
book on my shelves. I think the sheer quality of the production here will mean
it’s got great appeal to slightly older readers than the target audience, as
well – I can see younger secondary pupils picking this up because of how
stunning it looks; I’ve already recommended it to my mum, who works in the
English department of a secondary school, as being a brilliant way to get
reluctant readers hooked on a series thanks to the beauty of the book, the
pictures, and the inclusion of some challenging words with the aforementioned
glossary.
Hugely
recommended, there’s about six months until the next book in the series and I’ll
be counting down the days! (Although fans of Becka Moor’s wonderful artwork can
get more rather sooner than that as she’s teaming with Sesame Seade author
Clementine Beauvais for The Royal Babysitters, which features windsurfing
starfish, sextuplet toddler princes, and hummingbird cannons, and is out from
Bloomsbury next month.)
Flora & Ulysses: The
Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo (author) and KG Campbell (illustrator)
(MG superhero awesomeness, very highly recommended, Walker)
When an
unremarkable squirrel is hoovered up by an out of control vacuum cleaner, Flora
Belle Buckman steps in to save him. But the mysterious accident has given him a
new life, with super-strength, flight, and the ability to write poetry. As the duo start to make friends, Flora discovers happiness - but every superhero needs a nemesis. Will the pair be cruelly separated?
I’ve been
meaning to get this for ages after reading a fab review of it from Tanja on The Bookbag
and finally got round to it a few weeks ago when I visited Foyles on Jennifer
Bell’s last day working there and asked her to recommend me something. (Psst –
speaking of Jennifer Bell, you’re all as excited as I am about Ivy Sparrow, out
next year from Random House, yeah?)
She told me
this was one of the best children’s books she’d read in recent years and since
she has amazingly good taste in books, I had to get it. Of course, that DID
raise my expectations even higher, but I’m pleased to say that this absolutely
exceeded them! Told partly in prose and partly as a comic strip, this is
completely and utterly wonderful. To quote comic-book fan Flora herself, ‘Holy
Bagumba!’, this is a heck of a read.
Flora
herself, cynical, jaded, and upset with her parents, is a really sympathetic
main character, while the superhero squirrel is absolutely adorable, as is his
poetry. I thought all of the characters here were excellent, though – perhaps especially
the ‘villain’ here, who on the one hand is a formidable antagonist but on the
other hand clearly has good intentions deep down. It’s an utterly and
completely heart-warming read which completely deserves all of the praise it’s
getting.
No comments:
Post a Comment