Race The Wind
by Lauren St John
This is the sequel to The One Dollar Horse, and it's just as good! Lauren has such a natural ability to bring to life action and feelings, so you really do feel part of the story. She has a detailed knowledge of horse racing and showjumping, and her love for all things horsey comes across on every page. I've already read her Laura Marlin mystery Kentucky Thriller, and she returns to the Kentucky Derby in Race the Wind.
Casey has won at Badminton with her beloved horse Storm, and next stop is the Kentucky Three Day Event. But evil forces are out to block her path. Arrests, blackmail, troubled relationships - can Casey put everything to the back of her mind to become mentally strong to win the hardest horse championship so far? I hope another Casey and Storm story will be along soon - the Burghley Horse Trials beckons!
The Victory Dogs
by Megan Rix
From the author of The Great Escape (see my review) comes another beautiful story set in London during the Second World War.
Jack and Amy are the proud owners of 6-yr old collie Misty. Jack is preparing to go off to fight in the war and asks Amy to look after Misty for him. However, bombs start falling on London and Misty runs off frightened. She is also pregnant, due to give birth any minute. She is knocked over by a car and badly injured, but manages to find a safe hiding place in an underground station, where she befriends a cat called Sheba. The puppies are born and Sheba helps Misty look after them, as Misty's wounds are making her poorly and frail. Will the puppies survive war torn London, and will Amy manage to find them in time?
Yet again, another educational, moving story told with sensitivity and warmth. Megan's next book, The Bomber Dog, is out August 2013.
The Great Escape
by Megan Rix
Set during the start of World War II, the story follows the adventures of Buster (a Jack Russell), Rose (a collie) and Tiger (a ginger tomcat) as they escape the trauma of being put down and start a long journey from London to Devon, in search of their owners - 2 children called Lucy and Robert, who have been sent as evacuees to live with their grandmother.
An absolutely brilliant read, with many facts about the war which will be very educational for the 9-12yr olds. For fans of Michael Morpurgo.
Megan now has another book out with a similar war theme - The Victory Dogs.
Itch
by Simon Mayo
Itchingham loves chemistry and has an unusual collection of all the table of elements - well, nearly all of them. He keeps them in shoeboxes under his bed. He gets some items from a local dealer called Cake. One of the items (arsenic) which he secretly takes into school makes the whole class sick, resulting in the school greenhouse being closed down. Another item he buys off Cake has far deadlier consequences, and Itch finds himself the centre of unwanted attention from the police and some rather unsavoury characters across the world. How can he get rid of this deadly element that is causing such devastation?
A brilliant book for 11+ set in Cornwall. Just released is the sequel Itch Rocks. Check out my review!
Itch Rocks
by Simon Mayo
Wow! This was even better than the first, Itch! The adventures and thrills just kept on coming - a 400 page rollercoaster ride! You feel sorry for poor Itch having to go through so much terror - and pain! Loads more chemistry lessons, which is good for me as I was hopeless at it as a schoolchild. Such an original storyline for this series, I think that's why I enjoy it so much - no dystopia, no wizards, no vampires!
In this second instalment (and surely not the last?!) we find Itch, Chloe and Jack under close protection provided by MI5. Itch had buried Element 126 down a well under an old school in Brighton, but there are bad people around who are desperate to know its whereabouts - desperate enough to kidnap or even kill. The return of a couple of salubrious characters, and a moment's worth of slackness in MI5 protection, mean Itch and the gang find themselves yet again in mortal danger.
Mortal Chaos 'Deep Oblivion'
by Matt Dickinson
The second in the Mortal Chaos series. It follows much the same pattern as the first, but with different characters. A butterfly trapped inside an unfinished high rise office block in Sydney sparks off more disastrous incidents across the world. Not as much as a page turner as the first in the series, because the story pattern is no longer a novelty, but good just the same.
If you like this, also try The Last Minute by Eleanor Updale, reviewed below.
Mockingbird
by Kathryn Erskine
Caitlin suffers from Asperger's. She and her father are trying to come to terms with the loss of Devon, Caitlin's brother, who was killed at a school shooting. They both find a way of getting 'closure'.
Written by a lady who has a sufferer of Asperger's in her family, so can relate closely to it. However, I found I had little empathy for the characters. The father didn't seem to be very close to Caitlin, but that could've been the grieving process. Also, Caitlin has no friends - her classmates think she's a 'weirdo'. Surely she would've made friends during junior school in real life.
If Aspergers or autism interests you in a storyline, then also try The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence, and Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller (reviewed below).
