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.
