Fright Forest: Elf Girl and Raven Boy by Marcus Sedgwick

Synopsis

From the creators of the Blue Peter award-winning Funniest Book with Pictures "Raven Mysteries" team, this is the first in a humorous and magical adventure series, "Raven Boy And Elf Girl", perfect for readers of 8+ about Raven Boy and Elf Girl's magical, humorous and creepy adventures as they battle to save the world. Eep...the adventure begins! Raven Boy has short black spiky hair, amazing night vision and can talk to animals. Elf Girl is light of foot, sharp of mind and...elfish all over. She hadn't expected to meet Raven Boy; it's not that often someone falls out of the trees and squashes your home flat like Raven Boy did. Before they know it they are plunged into some very strange, creepy, altogether spooky and hilarious adventures as they save their world from trolls, ogres, witches and things that slither and slide in the fiendish forest.

Not having read a book for younger readers in a while this title caught my eye. It sounded quirky, fun and potentially full of humour so I was looking forward to getting started. Raven Boy was quite happily sleeping in a tree (his favourite place to be) when he's rudely thrown out and lands on Elf Girl's hut, squashing it flat. Elf Girl is understandably upset with him but they have barely enough time to argue when another tree is mysteriously toppled towards them. Something definitely strange, dangerous and awful is happening in the forest - Elf Girl's family have disappeared, trees are being uprooted everywhere and they're both hungry and alone. Through necessity at first they team up, despite the fact that they spend more time bickering than anything else!

However, as the story progresses they find out more about each other. Each scrape and near-disaster brings out their individual strengths and they start to work together as a team. However, they still bicker - mostly about what Raven Boy's real name is and whether Elf Girl actually knows how to use her family's magic bow or not. It becomes clear that there's no one else prepared to get to the bottom of the whole disappearing forest problem. Together they overcome awful foe; trolls, witches, monsters and more. Both of them have special talents including Raven Boy's ability to speak to animals which leads to the inclusion of wonderful Rat into their team.

Fright Forest is full of magic but also lots of unanswered questions. Where is Raven Boy's family? Why has he never celebrated his birthday? I loved this book. I adored Rat, the camaraderie between the two main characters, the monster at the witches house and the trolls. I can't wait to read the next in the series so I can find out more about them all. Also, a word about the brilliant illustrations by Pete Williamson (who also did the illustrations for the Raven Mysteries) - they're absolutely perfect for the quirky nature of this book. I think the drawing of the landlady is my absolute favourite with her mad hair and pipe. The humour is perfect too - I loved the moment when Elf Girl accidentally kicks Raven Boy's ice-encased body down a hill. A brilliant start to a new series and I'm looking forward to Monster Mountains.

Midwinterblood Blog Tour

Today we are part of Marcus Sedgwick's Midwinterblood Tour and although I've enjoyed all the other stops...I think that MFB's blogpost is slightly more special than the others because all three of us working on MFB love fairy tales, folklore and symbolism and this blogpost covers it all! 

Symbols, mythology and folklore


If it was up to me, I would write folk and fairy tales. Really. But I can’t, because it’s not up to me. Or rather, I could do if I wanted to, but no one would buy them. Rather like the short story, folk and fairy tales are generally considered hard to publish these days, and to sell, with a few notable exceptions such as Angela Carter’s reworkings. But they are almost my favourite kind of story, and so, ever since I became a writer, I have always tried to find ways of working elements of folklore into my books.

How? By using iconic images, words with deep resonance, patterns of storytelling and certain motifs which remind us, subconsciously at least, of those dark stories we all heard at a tender age. 
Midwinterblood is full of these things, my favourite two being the hare, and the moon. Each of the seven parts of the book takes place under the influence of a full moon, but unlike today, our ancestors had names for each of the twelve full moons of the year. More in touch with the weather, the landscape and the turning of the seasons than we are, most ancient cultures had names such as the Snow Moon, the Grain Moon, the Fruit Moon.


© Claire Barker c/o Elizabeth Roy Literary Agency

I took the ones I liked best from English and Norse calendars, recast them slightly, and it is these moons that shone down upon the protagonists of Midwinterblood. And the hare? Such a mysterious creature, little was known about it until relatively recently in our history, allowing all sorts of myths to be created around it. So when I was looking for a totemic creature for Merl to have in the book, the hare seemed perfect - fast, lithe, unknowable - and so a hare appears, as a child’s toy, as a carving, as the real creature, as a grieving lover transformed by a witch.

And if I can’t get away with writing new fairy tales, at least I can enjoy plundering our literary heritage to populate my books.

- Marcus Sedgwick – 11 October 2011

Exclusive Midwinterblood trailer & extract

MFB are really proud to host, as part of Viking week, a bit of an exclusive: Marcus Sedgwick's Midwinterblood trailer and an even more exclusive mini-extract from the new novel, only out on release in October.

PART SIX

The Vampire

10th Century – The Snow Moon

Then came the beginning of wonders on Bloed Isle!

We buried Tor in the long meadow, in a mound some way from the others, though with the proper rites, for his was royal blood after all.  There was a short silence then, a short silence of days, in which a fresh snow fell, quickly hiding the bare earth and stones of Tor’s grave, and it felt as if we had been blessed.

Blessed, because we could breathe again, put the blood behind us, and breathe again, blessed.

But we were not blessed, and the blood was yet to come.
I do not remember what happened first.

Whether it was a dog or a cow.

No. I do remember now. Strange how walking the journey once more brings back both shade and detail.

One day, someone came to the great longhouse, holding the carcass of a dog.

‘It went mad,’ they said. ‘It went mad and began to claw at the cattle. I had to break its back with a spade before it would stop.’

That was the first.

The day after, the cattle began to give a great lowing, a terrible moaning, an awful sound, as when they give birth, though the calf moon was still long away, across the other side of the darkness of winter.

The sound rose and fell, rose and fell all day, until we went into the meadows, and saw that the cows were all in the fold, the winter fold, nearest to which was Tor’s grave.

My father spoke.

He raised a hand to a cowherd, a young boy.

‘Manni,’ he said, ‘take them. Put them in another fold. That one, yonder. Do it now.’

Manni did as he was bid, and was almost trampled by the cows as they stamped their way from the one fold to the other. Once in the far fold they grew quieter, though still a great cry would come from them, a
sound that haunted us, throughout the black night.

In the morning came the first of the blood.

Another dog was dead, but not, this time, at his master’s hand.  It was one of the bitches. She was found by the midden, with her throat torn, and her blood taken.

Father ordered the carcass to be burned, not thrown in the midden.

Eirik and I looked at each other, our eyes gaping.

‘Why is he doing that?’ Eirik whispered to me.

I tilted my head to one side.

‘I do not know, brother. But I am afraid.’

Guest Review: The Dark Horse by Marcus Sedgwick

Synopsis:

A boy destined to lead his clan; a girl raised by wolves; a stranger with a sealed box. These are the elements of this powerful novel, set on a rocky northern coast in a distant time, in a small community who live in dread of the coming of the legendary warrior tribe, the Dark Horse. Told in part by the boy, Sigurd, himself, it is a dark and dangerous story of conflict and betrayal. With its strong sense of time and place and the magic of a primitive people, THE DARK HORSE again confirms the exceptional talent of Marcus Sedgwick.

The Dark Horse by Marcus Sedgwick ought to be read in the glow of a crackling fire whilst listening to the bluster of wind beyond the window. It is a tale that smells of the raw fish and animal skins of pre-history and yet is timeless in the telling; a tale that evokes barren landscapes, crashing waves, and the cruelty of winter. The cold seeps through every page, held at bay only by the light of the campfire and the skill of the storyteller.

Sedgwick’s language is sparse, but always evocative. His characters are three-dimensional, consistent and familiar, despite the far-away feel of the setting. But just like characters of the real world, each of the Storn have secrets and surprises for the reader.

By now you might be getting the hint that I really enjoyed reading this book! I was immediately drawn to the intriguing character of Mouse, with her ability to communicate with hounds and leap into the mind of a bird. And I came to love Sigurad for his bravery and warmth.

The narrative switches between first and third person, a risky strategy for any writer. At first I was only interested in the story as told in first person because it outlined how Mouse came to live with the people of Storn. I was less engaged by the third person. But as the story went on, and the narratives became entwined, I noticed the switch between them less and less, until I hardly noticed the switch at all. There is no doubt about it: Sedgwick is masterful in his handling of language.

As much as I enjoyed this book, my only fear would be is that this is the kind of story that adults’ love, and kids wonder what the fuss is about. The shortness of the chapters kept me turning the pages (a lot of them were only a couple of pages long) and I suspect would keep kids reading too. However, I think what kept me hooked was the beauty of the writing rather than the strength of the story. A week later, I can remember the characters and their world, but struggle to remember how the story ended.

All in all, I really, really enjoyed this book. I liked the fairly predictable twists and turns of the plot that had that had an almost mythic feel, and particularly enjoyed the lyrical beauty of the language. A perfect read for a cold afternoon in winter.

***

The above guest review blog post was brought to you by my friend Sharon Jones (@PoodlePowered on Twitter). Sharon and I met without realising it at the SCBWI Winchester Conference last year - we've been speaking on Twitter before the conference and then attended a few talks together at Winchester but not realised who the other person was till after the fact!
Yes, this happens in real life, not just romcoms from Hollywood.

When I told Sharon that I'll be hosing the Marcus Sedgwick Author Month she came close to being histerical and I roped her in to review something for us. I sensed a fellow fan.

This is one of the MS books that I've not read yet and I'm looking forward to indulging in reading it. I love Sharon's enthusiasm for the uniquely named Mouse who sounds anything but timid. I fully appreciate her remarks that some of the nuances may bypass the age-group it was intended for but then I also think that if one of the younger folk read it and liked it, they would no doubt revisit it when they are older and then fully appreciate the depth and scope of the story. I'll be sure to pop back with my own view(s).

So, thanks Sharon for this fantastic review! Sharon's a writer of YA fiction with a paranormal twist and you can find her website here.

Guest Review: Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick

I am so very pleased to have my buddy Sarah Bryars (she is Esssjay on LiveJournal and @Esssjay on Twitter) helping me review some of Marcus Sedgwick's books. As you can tell by the small little advert on the right hand side of the blog, January 2010 is "Marcus Sedgwick Month" on MFB.

Synopsis:

There is a magician called Valerian who must save his own life, or pray the price for the pact he made with evil so many years ago. But will alchemy and sorcery be any match against the demonic power pursuing him? Helping him is his servant, Boy, a child with no name and no past, and the quick-witted Willow, and watching their fortune, mapping their destinies ... is Fate.

Sarah says:

I first read this when it first came out and loved it at the time. When it came to re-reading it I discovered that I really couldn’t remember a great deal of detail except the feeling that the book gives you. It left me with the image of shadowy halls and dark, dirty streets. The story takes place on the days between Christmas and New Year but the celebration of this time doesn’t touch the inhabitants of the novel.

It starts with a magic show which sets the framework of the whole book. You feel as if you’re being shown one thing while the author’s sleight of hand is hiding the truth from you. Boy is Valerian’s assistant and slave. He can’t remember a great deal of his life before he lived with Valerian but is simply grateful for a place to sleep and the meagre food he’s given. Valerian is a character with few redeeming qualities. On odd occasions throughout, he treats Boy with kindness but moments like these are rare.

Valerian, who’s always troubled, has recently become more morose. He sends Boy out on endless errands and one of these leads to Boy witnessing a murder. On the other side of the city a girl called Willow discovers the dead body of the theatre owner where she works. Both Boy and Willow find each other in time to be arrested for murder and thrown into prison. Valerian rescues them and they are thrown together in a quest for a book that Valerian believes will save his life. This search takes the characters to suspicious inns, graveyards, underground canals and crypts.

Although I had little sympathy for Valerian I didn’t question Boys devotion to him. The alternative to the abuse Boy receives is the street, starvation and the opportunity to freeze to death. Willow is a wonderful character, she becomes the reader and asks the questions that Boy would never think of. She feels the need to take care of Boy (and Valerian to an extent). As the story progresses you get to watch their relationship develop in a touching way.

The story itself progresses at speed. There’s hardly any downtime and the characters ricochet from one event to the next. This gives the book a breathless quality that is exaggerated by the short chapters. Most of the action takes place at night. Other themes include grave digging, scientific discovery, taxidermy and the search for the book. I loved the gothic feel of the novel, you feel as if the characters’ lives are taking place out of the view of society in a secret world. It’s very seductive and secretive, the book is full of the unknown. Sedgwick is a master of world creation. The one that he’s created in The Book of Dead Days is so shadowy and alluring that it was far too easy to slip back into it again.

The final chapters do answer many questions but the very last few pages do leave you hungry for more answers and sets the reader up for the sequel; The Dark Flight Down. So, if you love the gothic and shadowy this book is for you. However, if you like something a little more flowery or glittery then leave this; it’s relentless in its bleakness and not for those with a weak stomach.

**

Liz says:

I recall reading The Book of Dead Days, having bought it from Ottakars in Bromley. I had carried it home like it was a trophy, made myself tea and sat down and read it in one fell swoop. Then I made Mark read it. This was quite a few years ago. I've been a fan of Mr. Sedgwick since then. Which is why I've decided to have Mr. S be the first of our "Author of the Month" authors on the blog for 2010.

Reading The Book of Dead Days I was struck by the strong imagery, the sense of place in the novel. I loved this dark city he created with its winding alleys and shadows that lurked. I loved the use of language and the style of his writing. How quickly he set the whole story up and how it just escalated from there, bouncing you along, come hell or high water.

You had to be a cold-hearted person not to feel empathy with Boy. Willow's treatment was equally harsh at the hands of her mistress and through both these two characters you experience a world that is dark, grim and yet, and yet, there is this vague hope of something less ugly just around the corner!

It has to be one of my all-time favourite Marcus Sedgwick books out there and having the chance to revisit it for the purpose of the Author of the Month has been good fun.

Author of the Month

Mark and I brainstormed a new idea towards the end of 2009. We wanted to do something different on the blog to highlight a few of our favourite authors throughout the year.

Subsequently we came up with the Author of the Month event for MFB. We'll still be reviewing as many books we can each month but each month we'll be getting a bit "intimate" with a chosen author.

We're kicking off in January with one of my personal favourite authors: Marcus Sedgwick. I've not reviewed him on the blog. I know - weird, right? Well it's because his work lies a bit too close to my heart. I'm a fan. Before I'm even a reviewer. I'm a reader and a fan. Which is why I've roped in a few other fans/readers/reviewers to help me out with Marcus's Author of the Month.

In an utterly selfish way, it helps me keep perspective of his writing and it reigns me in from turning into a slavering fan-girl and using too many exclamation marks like this!!!!

There will be comps, there will be interviews and reviews with the Author of the Month. And Mark and I hope you like this new feature on the blog!