Midnight Pirates
by Ally Kennen
Gosh, what a lot of action in this book - jam packed! At first, I thought there was TOO much, it jumped around a bit too much, but it soon settles down into a good adventure. On the plus side too, it's set in Cornwall, so I could put a few towns in the map and knew whereabouts the author was setting the story.
Miranda and her brothers Jackie and Cal (cool surfer dude, with great surf-talk which makes you giggle) live in a hotel which is owned and run by their parents. The hotel is right on a cliff overlooking the beach and the kids just love it. However, the parents run into financial difficulties and have to put the hotel up for sale. They take a break abroad and send the kids to a boarding school for a few weeks while they're away. The kids never make it to the school - they run back to the hotel, phone the agents to tell them the house is off the market, and start to take in holiday-makers to keep the money coming in. Unbeknownst to them, some of the tourists are not who they seem and trouble is lurking on their own doorstep.
A great adventure for 9+. If you like Cornwall based adventure stories, then try Itch by Simon Mayo, Dead Man's Cove by Lauren St John, The Whistling Caves by Helen Moss, North of Nowhere by Liz Kessler and Fritha's Summer by Susan Morris.
Eleanor & Park
by Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor and Park are two teenagers at the same school. Eleanor is the new girl, slightly kooky, weird dresser, bright red curly hair, a little overweight, and Park is half Korean, nearly always in black, loves reading comics and listening to British indie music. Park is the only person who befriends her, to start with because he feels sorry for her, but then he realises they both like comics. He introduces her to his music as he discovers she knows no modern music, owns no records or any means of listening to music.
Eleanor is not forthcoming with much information about herself or her life, and we the reader know more about her than Park. She is one of 5 children whose father has left, but her mum has a new partner. Unfortunately, he is an abusive alcoholic, doesn't let anyone out the house to enjoy themselves, all the kids have to sleep in one tiny room, and Eleanor has already been kicked out the house once before for trying to stick up for her mum when he had a violent episode.
Eleanor and Park slowly start to fall in love, battling school bullies and Eleanor's troubled situation. But the abusive stepdad has not yet found out about it. What will happen when he does...
I didn't really warm to Eleanor at all, I was amazed Park put up with her depressive and weird behaviour, and I had too many questions about her home situation. Why weren't the police called at any point during the violent moments? Why is she so overweight if there is very rarely any food in the house?
Despite all this, I enjoyed the romance - I even shed a tear or two at times, and I hoped that they would make it through all the bad stuff.
If you like John Green, you'll like this.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
by Maria Semple
Brilliant, poignant, devastating, heart-wrenching, funny - I loved this book! This is full of frustratingly awful bullies like next door neighbour Audrey Griffin, untrustworthy do-gooders like admin officer Soo-Lin, and the poor troubled victim Bernadette Fox.
Bernadette is an award-winning architect, but stopped building after an incident which changed her life in more ways than one. She moves to Seattle with her husband and daughter, Bee, but yet again another incident occurs which results in her disappearance. Her life is told through correspondence put together by her daughter, who vows to find the truth behind her mum's disappearance, and find her again.
This novel is currently on the shortlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2013 (winner to be announced June 5th). It gets my vote.
Ghosts of the Forest
by Steve Backshall
This is the second in The Falcon Chronicles series (the first one was the excellent Tiger Wars - check out my review). There wasn't as much action in this one as there was the first, (saying that Sinter and Saker still get themselves caught up in many dangerous situations!) but it's still a great read. Steve really conveys his passion for every species on the planet - animal and plant - and his love for the conservation of both shines through strongly. In this story, Sinter and Saker battle to save the Borneo rainforests and the orangutan that struggle to survive in them as big tree felling companies cut down the trees for the palm oil that can be extracted and sold on. We are taken through Vietnam and Borneo with Steve's brilliant descriptive prose that brings everything and everyone to life, and makes you want to visit every single place mentioned. You'll definitely want to research the plights brought to your attention in his books, and Steve handily suggests some websites to check out.
If You Find Me
by Emily Murdoch
An emotional and hard-hitting story of kidnap and abuse.
Carey was taken away from her father by her mother. She was 6 yrs old at the time. Her mother told her that her father was abusive and that she was taking her away to protect them both. They go to live in a camper van in the forest. Carey is now 14 and has a new sister, 6-yr-old Jenessa. Their mother leaves them on their own for weeks at a time, saying she's going to town to get supplies. The girls learn how to fend for themselves, Carey teaches her sister how to read and write - Jenessa's favourite books are Winnie the Pooh, and they name the forest they live in Hundred Acre Wood.
One day, after their mother has disappeared for weeks and not returned, they have a visitor. Their father. He is accompanied by a social worker. They have received a letter from the mother saying she can't look after them anymore and giving custody to the father. So Carey and Jenessa leave the place they have known as home to live with a man who is practically a stranger, and who Carey believes may hurt them.
But during the stay with her father, his new wife and stepdaughter, Carey comes to realise that perhaps all she was told by her mother may not have been the truth, and all that they have suffered in the woods was not what 2 sisters should have been put through by their own mother.
Moving, tragic, tearful, horrific and yet joyful in parts, it is unbelievable how 2 young girls could have gone through so much. One event traumatised the young Jenessa so much that she became mute. Parts of the story are so upsetting it would be hard to recommend this to anyone under the age of 15. Thankfully, in stories like these, there is always one character that brings hope, and in this one it is Ryan who brings a sparkle into Carey's life.
As I've said in recent reviews, I am all dystopia'd out, so I love reading something a bit different. This was different.
If you like hard-hitting stories, try Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid.
Soldier Dog
by Sam Angus
Definitely an older read than The Great Escape (see above), both verbally and emotionally. This is the heart-wrenching story of young Stanley. He lies about his age to join the army and serve in the First World War to escape his mean father, but also to seek out his older brother Tom who is also a soldier. He trains as a dog-handler, and the dogs are used as messengers between dug out posts and the front line. Dogs are trained to run through bomb blasts and gunfire without flinching to return back to their trainer owner - even if their life depends upon it.
A real tear-jerker of a story, with one use of bad language.
Kentucky Thriller
by Lauren St John
Another brilliant Laura Marlin mystery. On a par with the first book, Dead Man's Cove, and better than the second, Kidnap in the Caribbean. This one takes Laura and her best friend Tariq to Kentucky and the world famous Kentucky Derby, a huge racehorse event. An attempt has been made to kidnap Gold Rush, aka Goldie, an American racehorse and an attempt to extort ransom money has been made. But Laura thwarts the attempt but is then involved with another mystery concerning another of the racehorse owner's horses, Noble Warrior. Yet again, the infamous gang, The Straight A's, turn out to be involved, and Laura and Tariq try to save the day.
Look out for the next in the series Rendezvous in Russia, published 1st August 2013.
Also check out Lauren St John's other fantastic fiction for children - The White Giraffe series, and The One Dollar Horse series. Lauren is definitely one of my favourite authors.
The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket
by John Boyne
Barnaby was born with a peculiar ability - to float! His parents were understandably shocked at this, but being normal people with normal lives and normal other children, they were angry with Barnaby for not being normal. They take drastic action. They cut a hole in the sandbags that Barnaby wears to keep him on the ground, and off he floats. One adventure after another comes his way, often starting out badly, but he always encounters people who, like hime, have been cast aside by their family for not being normal. Regardless of the terrible thing his parents have done to him, Barnaby still loves them and aches to return home. But when his wish comes true and it is discovered he may be able to be cured of his peculiar ability, he starts to wonder whether it is better to be yourself than something someone else wants you to be.
A beautiful and heartbreaking story of what 'being normal' actually means.
