REVIEW: Cuckoo Song - Frances Hardinge

GENRE: Supernatural YA

PAGES: 416
PUBLISHER: MacMillan

FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 4 Stars
 

SUMMARY

The first things to shift were the doll's eyes, the beautiful grey-green glass eyes. Slowly they swivelled, until their gaze was resting on Triss's face. Then the tiny mouth moved, opened to speak. 'What are you doing here?' It was uttered in tones of outrage and surprise, and in a voice as cold and musical as the clinking of cups. 'Who do you think you are? This is my family.' When Triss wakes up after an accident, she knows that something is very wrong. She is insatiably hungry; her sister seems scared of her and her parents whisper behind closed doors. She looks through her diary to try to remember, but the pages have been ripped out. Soon Triss discovers that what happened to her is more strange and terrible than she could ever have imagined, and that she is quite literally not herself. In a quest find the truth she must travel into the terrifying Underbelly of the city to meet a twisted architect who has dark designs on her family - before it's too late ...

 

REVIEW

I had been meaning to read this for a long time, and as soon as I picked it up I couldn't put it down! It's such a unique and haunting novel, each character is well defined and the journey Tris goes on is really interesting and moving.

 

I would recommend this to anyone who likes something a little extraordinary, or Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

 

-Gem.

REVIEW: Mountwood School For Ghosts - Tony Ibbotson

GENRE: MG/Supernatural
PAGES: 272
PUBLISHER: Macmillan
FORMAT: Hardback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY

Fredegonda, Goneril, and Drusilla are Great Hagges, much more important and much rarer than regular old hags. They think that ghosts these days are decidedly lacking and that people haven't been scared of ghosts for years. So one day they decide that something needs to change - it's time for these ghosts to learn a thing or two about being scary. And what better way to teach them than to set up their very own school for ghosts?

REVIEW

A wonderful book that combines mystery, mayhem and ghosts! A trio of terrifying hagges decide to set up a school for ghosts to train them in all things ghastly, and they become embroiled in the life of Daniel and Charlotte as they try and save their homes. It's funny, clever and brilliantly written, the descriptions are so vivid I could see exactly what was being described. Perfect for 7-12 year olds.

- Gem.

GUEST REVIEW: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

GENRE: Supernatural
PAGES: 352
PUBLISHER: Quirk
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here - one of whom was his own grandfather - were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow - impossible though it seems - they may still be alive...

REVIEW

When I first saw this book I was like meh because I didn’t really pay much attention to the fact that the little girl’s feet are not touching the ground. The cover alone is awesome yet creepy and I think it sums up the context of the book quite well although it might not make sense until you read the content. 

I must admit at the beginning (in the first few pages) I was a bit sceptical about the book because I thought it would be some story about an orphanage and I wanted a more exciting book to read. SO this book proves to me that I need to stop judging books until I have finished them otherwise I get the wrong impression completely.

The circumstances that take Jacob to Wales are terrible but it takes him on an adventure. A main idea in this book surrounding the children is kind of suffocating in a way, like they are in a prison and they are never going to be let out. If you have read it, you know what I’m talking about. 

I HATE the ending to this book. It is a good ending to a book and it leaves me wondering but in this case I just want to know what happens next. I LOVE good endings but when it leaves me with so many questions and I don’t have a next book available so I can know what happens I get frustrated.

So all in all, great book, Ransom Riggs = great writer. You should read this book. The characters are all definitely peculiar and I also like the use of images in this book.

If you need a book to read I recommend this one or if you have read this one then go read a trilogy written by Ransom Riggs‘ wife, Tahereh Mafi (who wrote the Shatter Me trilogy-an amazing trilogy- a must read.)

Shatter Me, Destroy Me(novella) , Unravel Me, Fracture Me(novella), Ignite Me.

Get reading!!!!

- Makayla

REVIEW: Banished - Liz De Jager

GENRE: Supernatural
PAGES: 304

PUBLISHER: Atlantic Books

FORMAT: Paperback

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

Kit is proud to be a Blackhart, now she's living with her unorthodox cousins and sharing their strange lives. Especially since their home-schooling includes spells, fighting enemy fae and using ancient weapons. But it's not until she rescues a rather handsome fae prince, fighting for his life on the edge of Blackhart Manor, that her training really kicks in. With her family away on various missions, Kit must protect Prince Thorn, rely on new friends and use her own unfamiliar magic to stay ahead of Thorn's enemies. As things go from bad to apocalyptic, fae battle fae in a war that threatens to spill into the human world. Then Kit pits herself against the Elder Gods themselves - it's that or lose everyone she's learnt to love.

REVIEW

WOW! I loved this book so much!

Kit was a fantastic character; fesity, funny and very loyal and determined to protect Prince Thorn. I was captivated from the outset, the plot drew me in instantly and it was a brilliant fantasy novel. There is a quote in the book, "Everything you can imagine is real" and this is the perfect summary for this book; every kind of thing you could possibly want in a fantasy novel is done to perfection. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but all I will say is that I was really excited reading this book, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the 2nd book! Now please!!!

- Gem

REVIEW: Wake - Amanda Hocking

GENRE: Supernatural
PAGES: 356

PUBLISHER: Tor
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 3.5 Stars

This review refers to an uncorrected advance edition.

SUMMARY

Beautiful. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen to be part of their group. Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty, and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always been the water. She craves late night swims under the stars, where she can be alone yet belong to the sea. Lately she's had company. Penn, Thea, and Lexi spend their nights dancing, singing, and partying on the cove - and one night Gemma joins them. When she wakes up groggy on the beach the next morning, she knows something has changed. Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. As she uncovers the truth about her new mythical powers, Gemma is forced to choose between staying with those she loves or entering a dark world brimming with unimaginable secrets.

REVIEW

I love Amanda Hocking's writing, it immediately draws me in and I suddenly realise I've only got 50 pages left of the book as I've become so absorbed in the story.

Although it's pretty obvious what is going on straight away, the plot is intriguing and the characters are interesting. Gemma becomes tangled up with a new clique, her sister, Harper, is not happy about this and slowly but surely the new clique's hold over Gemma becomes more and more.

It reminded me of the film The Lost Boys - but instead of male vampires it's female mermaids! What's not to love! 

If you want an easy to read, enjoyable novel that's not the same as all the mainstream YA books out there, this is definitely the book for you. And if you haven't read the Trylle Trilogy, read that too!

- Gem.

REVIEW: Department 19 - Will Hill

GENRE: Adventure, Fantasy

PAGES: 496

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins Children's

FORMAT: Galley

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 3 Stars

SUMMARY

In a secret supernatural battle that's been raging for over a century, the stakes have just been raised - and they're not wooden anymore. DEPARTMENT 6 IS THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT 12 is MI5, DEPARTMENT 19 IS THE REASON YOU'RE ALIVE. 

When Jamie Carpenter's mother is kidnapped by strange creatures, he finds himself dragged into Department 19, the government's most secret agency. Fortunately for Jamie, Department 19 can provide the tools he needs to find his mother, and to kill the vampires who want him dead. But unfortunately for everyone, something much older is stirring, something even Department 19 can't stand up against...

REVIEW

Department 19 is the coming of age story of Jamie Carpenter, descendant of John Carpenter - valet to the legendary Abraham Van Helsing. When Jamie's dad is shot by men in black, his mother is kidnapped by Alexandru, one of the 3 oldest vampires in the world. While trying to get her back Jamie is introduced to Blacklight, Department 19 of the British government, that deals with the supernatural dangers in the world. Unfortunately someone keeps giving away Jamie's whereabouts...

I really wanted to like this book. It has absolutely everything that I love: Dracula, Vampire, Frankenstein and a good bit of gore. But it really fell flat. I wrote my dissertation partly on Dracula and Frankenstein so I think there are grounds for arguing that I am just grumpy because of how much Department 19 takes liberties with the original stories. I think that if you were excited to read the classics after this you might have a bit of a shock. However, had those classics be written today perhaps this is what they would be like. I liked the idea of something major coming out of Dracula's world, even with the little addition of Vlad Tepes' background, but I have read reworkings that work so much better than this.

Boys and girls who love grizzly gore will love this and it's actually pretty disturbingly violent in places (like shoving a grenade in a mans mouth) so its definitely not for the younger readers. I felt that the characters weren't particularly fleshed out, I didn't associate or really care about any of them. I don't recall seeing one female Operator and would loved to have one of the descendants being a kick-ass girl. When Jamie is given his quick training at Blacklight it felt a little like 'Tron' and would transport well to the big screen. In fact a lot of the imagery is very bright and good, both the descriptions and the settings - I loved the village in Scotland in particular. However the rest of the description was overloaded with military terms and I became bored very quickly with it. There was very little emotion apart from "I miss my mom" and "your dad was my best friend". 

I found myself skim reading towards the end. I didn't care if Jamie ever found his mother. It's aimed more at YA boys who love constant action. I have to admit I was intrigued by the internal leak situation and finding out the truth about Jamie's dad but it didn't play out in a way that really kept my concentration.

I really wish I had more to say about this that was positive because its an absolutely brilliant concept. There are a lot of people that will find this fun and interesting and actually for people who have hated the classics you might find something more accessible here.

- Bex.

Sister Assassin - Kiersten White

GENRE: Contemporary/Supernatural
PAGES: 302
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

She never chose her deadly gift but now she's forced to use it. How far would you go to protect the only family you have left? Annie is beset by fleeting strange visions and a guilty conscience. Blind and orphaned, she struggles to care for her feisty younger sister Fia, but things look up when both sisters are offered a place at Kessler School for Exceptional Girls. Born with flawless intuition, Fia immediately knows that something's wrong, but bites her tongue...until it's too late. For Fia is the perfect weapon to carry out criminal plans and there are those at Kessler who will do anything to ensure her co-operation. With Annie trapped in Kessler's sinister clutches, instincts keep Fia from killing an innocent guy and everything unravels. Is manipulative James the key to the sisters' freedom or an even darker prison? And how can Fia atone for the blood on her hands?

REVIEW

Sister Assassin follows Fia, a special girl who's unfaltering instincts make her a dangerous weapon, and Annie, her blind sister who has visions of the future. They're both virtually imprisoned in a school, their special abilities being manipulated by the Foundation that set up the school on the pretense of helping girls with their talents. Their are other types of special abilities in their world, such as Feelers, who can feel the emotions of anyone around, but they only affect women. Fia is used as an assassin, killing enemies of the Foundation, and on the last mission she decides the unthinkable - she is not going to kill her target. The problem is that the Foundation are using Annie as leverage over Fia and she knows that by not killing the boy she is risking Annie's life. However, in saving him she may have given herself the opportunity to escape from people who are holding her, but it will come with sacrifices.

I loved Sister Assassin. Simple as that. It has stuck in my head ever since I read it and I couldn't tear myself away. The writing is perfect, bittersweet and beautiful; it's simply poetic. Fia's perfect instincts mean that her imposed occupation as assassin forces her to go against every feeling she has and then leaves her to deal with the devastating emotional consequences. She is constantly heart broken. Beaten down by everyone in her life she lives for the soul purpose of supporting her blind sister, whom the Foundation have promised to work on ways to give her back her sight.

The narrative shifts between Annie and Fia, and shows just how hard it is when your life is tangled up in someone elses. There are flashbacks, fleshing out their life at the school showing just how trapped they are. Fia cannot trust anyone - everyone uses her for their own end and yet she is one of the most interesting characters that I have ever read. I love how feisty she is and was absolutely heartbroken every time I thought she and James were finally making headway, only for her to be let down. There's so much about bodily and mental damage that it was hard to read in places. But I was completely swept away in her story, and even though it is almost as much about Annie as it is Fia, I couldn't help but follow Fia. She is so self sacrificing and every time I think she will give in, she doesn't. She finds hope and fights on.

I hope this is just the beginning of something big, because it deserves to be. I know there is so much more to come, although just as I couldn't predict the events in this book, I have no idea where the rest of the series is going to go. There were times I found myself holding my breath and reading bits over and over just because the writing was so simple but so, so perfect. I honestly loved it that much that I feel like my reading has peaked ridiculously early this year. It's very dark, and not suitable for the younger readers but I think I will be a great crossover title.

- Bex.