Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten MG Sequels I Can't Wait To Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

The Copper Gauntlet by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black (Doubleday Childrens, second in Magisterium series)

I read The Iron Trial without knowing what to expect, since both authors were fairly new to me. I was pleasantly surprised - I thought it was well-written, had good characters, and the intriguing twist at the end left me desperate to know what happens next.


Soul Splinter by Abi Elphinstone (Simon & Schuster Children's Books, second in Oracle Bones series) 

Horrendously long wait for this; it’s 2016, with book one Dreamsnatcher not out until February 26th next year. However I’ve been lucky enough to grab a proof of Dreamsnatcher and it’s a great debut, reminiscent in some ways of Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy with a brilliant heroine, Moll, whose bond with her wildcat Gryff will warm your heart. It also has fantastic comic relief in the shape of her friend Siddy and his pet earthworm Porridge The Second.


River Daughter by Jane Hardstaff (Egmont, second in Moss series) 

I feel dumb as I didn't even realise this was coming until a few days ago; I thought The Executioner's Daughter was a stand-alone. However I'm delighted to return to Moss's adventures; the first is an engaging read and I love Moss and boy thief Salter.


Knights Haddon #2 by Esme Kerr (Chicken House, second in Knights Haddon series) 

I think this is coming - The Glass Bird Girl was described as the first in a series, although it's frustratingly difficult to track down information on the sequel. I've been really saddened that few people seem to have read the first; it's a clever detective story, the adult suspects are very well fleshed-out (more so than the kids, actually) with believable motivations, and it's an intriguing setting, as the school tries to keep students as disconnected as possible from the outside world. (Is this just for concentration purposes? I have a feeling we may find out more about this side of things later in the series.) I don't think the cover (as gorgeous as it is) and blurb for the Glass Bird Girl did it that many favours, unfortunately - it looks historical to me; I was quite surprised by the contemporary setting when I picked it up.


Wild Boy #3 by Rob Lloyd-Jones (Walker Books, third in Wild Boy series) 

I have had at least 3 conversations over the past 10 days when I was asked to predict the breakout success of 2015 and replied by saying that I thought the third Wild Boy book would push the series into the very top ranks of children's literature. Now that Rob Lloyd-Jones has confirmed via Twitter he's currently working on something else, rather than book 3, I feel like a poor predictor indeed. However, he did mention he'd possibly return to Wild Boy after his current project is finished, and I'm too big a fan of the boy detective to drop him from this top ten just because it might be a while to wait!


Monster Odyssey #4 by Jon Mayhew (Bloomsbury Children's Books, fourth in Monster Odyssey series)

I've just finished the third in this series, The Curse of the Ice Serpent, and as always from Jon Mayhew, it's an exciting read full of twists, turns, great characters and horrifying monsters. With this series following the excellent Mortlock books, Mayhew is up there as one of the most consistently enjoyable series writers around - I definitely want to get back to Dakkar and Georgia's adventures soon.


Secrets of the Tombs #2 by Helen Moss (Orion Children's Books, second in Secrets of the Tombs series) 

Again, no real details yet but am hoping this will come next year. I marathon-read Moss's Adventure Island series earlier this year, getting through all 14 books in 12 days, and fell in love with them by the end of the third. If anything, The Phoenix Code, the first book in her new series, is stronger than her first Adventure Island was so I'm intrigued to see where she goes next with this mystery sequence.


The Pirate Stream #2 by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis (Orion Children's Books, second in Pirate Stream series) 

I don’t think there’s a title announced yet (if anyone knows, please correct me and I’ll edit!) but I already can’t wait for this as book one, The Map To Everywhere, is simply GLORIOUS. Most of my other absolute favourite recent reads have been tear-jerkers; after some great funny reads earlier in the year with Lobsters, Keep The Faith, Trouble and others I haven’t found anything quite to my tastes in that area for quite a while. However this made up for my long wait because it’s incredibly good fun; I read it with a smile on my face the whole way through. I adore the main pairing in it, the world-building is fantastic, and it’s cleverly plotted.  As keen as I am to read everything on this list, this is my absolute most-anticipated of them all.


Arsenic For Tea by Robin Stevens (Corgi, second in Wells and Wong series)

Murder Most Unladylike took most of my absolute best-loved things in books – boarding school, crime, diverse cast, 1930s setting – and put them together really well in a very enjoyable murder mystery. I think boarding schools are probably my second favourite settings for novels, with my overall favourite being country houses. Hey, look where the action’s moved to in this one!


Shield of Kuromori by Jason Rohan (Egmont, second in Kuromori series)

Sword of Kuromori was a complete delight – an engaging, pacy read with a fabulous central pairing, a touch more romance than in most MG reads, and a host of incredibly good fight scenes. Bonus marks for featuring better-rounded villains than the majority of books do, and an interesting collection of fearsome creatures from Japanese myths and legends. I can’t wait for the next in the series!