The Favourite Book of Eight-Year-Old Me

Everyone has their favourite books from childhood and one of mine was Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden. I used to borrow this as often as possible from the library and for reasons that I can't remember would take it back, return it then hide it on the wrong shelf in the hopes that it would still be there to take it out the the following week. Why I just didn't ask my parents to buy me a copy or keep it out and renew it is now a complete mystery to me. I fell in love with this book so badly but never owned a copy. Then I grew up and forgot all about it until recently when I wondered if it was still about. A quick search on the Internet revealed that a hardback copy had been released and I bought it but when it arrived it was missing the most important thing - the doll's house plans.

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. Miss Happiness and Miss Flower is about a girl called Nona who is sent from India to live with her aunt and uncle in England. The two dolls arrive at the same time from Japan and are also missing home and someone to take care of them. Bullied by Belinda, the youngest daughter of the family, the dolls give Nona an interest and gradually she starts to stand up for herself. She feels that she knows what the dolls are going through and begins researching how to make them a home. The dolls speak to each other too and their thoughts mirror Nona's. She's as concerned as they are that the house be correct and authentic. And so gradually she starts to feel part of her new family as the dolls gradually get the home they desire.

The best part of this book for eight-year-old-me though was definitely the plans at the back to enable you to build your own Japanese doll's house. This had young me absolutely entranced. As Tom, the eldest son of the family, makes parts of the house for her it is carefully explained in the back. I never had one, nor any Japanese dolls but this book was always part magic for me for that reason alone. Everything is described from how to make the screens to the drawing placed in the alcove. So when I found that the new copy didn't include the plans I went into a frenzy and searched across the interwebs until I found the right copy. Madness really as I'm never going to make the house but just the thought that without the plans I definitely couldn't was bad enough.

I feel I should apologise to all the other kids at my local library who never managed to take it out as I either had it at home or it was hidden in some corner.

This copy was printed in 1976, costs 45p and has no barcode! Also, bizarrely, the synopsis at the front of the book explains the entire plot, start to finish. I need to look at my other books from this era to see if this was a thing.

Timeriders by Alex Scarrow - And Overview

I managed to bully fellow thriller and crime and historical fan, Kate Atherton, into writing an overview of Alex Scarrow's TimeRiders for our Under 14's Only feature.  Apart from Darren, over at Bookzone 4 Boys, I have not yet met another more utter rabid fan of Mr. Scarrow's books than Kate;  to the extent where Kate's sheer force of will and love for these books, makes me want to stop reading everything I'm reading to indulge in these.  That is the power of word of mouth and good imaginative writing!  I suspect August will be the month I tackle these titles.

Three teens are given a choice in the seconds before their death – choose life and become a member of an agency so secret no-one knows its name or die for sure. But this is no normal life that they’re offered. All three will live locked within a time bubble, lodged under an arch in New York City during the two days of 10 and 11 September 2001. Their job is to watch for timewaves and ripples; evidence that something has happened to alter the past and so change the present. When that occurs, they must go back in time and fix it. So Liam (Titanic 1912), Maddy (plane crash 2010) and Sal (fire 2029) are recruited by the old man Foster and joined by a seven-foot support unit, Bob, an artificial intelligence and a killing machine that they have grown in a tube within their bubble.

Those are the bare bones of Alex Scarrow’s TimeRiders series. Four books have now been published (the last, The Eternal War, just a few days ago) but there are five more to come and each is mapped out, just as Scarrow knows exactly how long each book in the series will take. He charts the percentage of the book done as he writes. There is no limit to what Scarrow can do with this series of adventures. The world is literally his oyster. No allowance is made for a teen readership other than less swearing. No punches are pulled in the subject either. Terrorism, Nazis, gruesome time travelling mutations, executions, zombies, Stalin gulags, grotesque monsters and brutal robots are all hurled at our young heroes as they try to unpick time and put it right, with no certainty that they will ever make it home. Perhaps more frighteningly, sometimes the worst threat they face comes from their fellow human beings.

What makes these stories particularly compelling is not just the action and the pace, and each novel races along, but that many of the ‘baddies’ believe they are doing the right thing by the human race by shifting time from its present course. The world of the mid 21st century, with its piles of abandoned cars in Time Square and the flooding cities, is far from perfect.

The four novels develop the characters of Liam, Maddy, Sal and Bob – and Bob’s female equivalent Becks created for the second novel Day of the Predator – and it is each of these people who draw you in. It’s impossible not to feel for these youngsters, ripped in most cases from their families, and thrown into new times out of the most terrifying circumstances. They feel an excitement and thrill at each immersion in a time or place so far removed from their 2001 bubble but it’s always clear that their task not only ages them but it can also come very close to killing them. Once any of them have been immersed in a water tank and sent into the past, it is difficult to get them back. Windows open and close until, finally, if they miss the last opportunity six months down the line, the agent is instructed to kill Bob or Becks and retrieve their core of knowledge – their heads.

This six month period feels like a few hours to those in the 2001 time bubble trying to bring them back, but, for those lost in time, it means many days of trying to survive. Liam experiences weeks, even months in prison camps (Book 1), in prehistory stalked by dinosaurs (Book 2), fighting noble and bandit in the medieval forests of Nottingham (Book 3, The Doomsday Code) and, in the latest novel, battling to end the interminable American Civil War. And when they do finally make it back, they must watch the 9/11 disaster unfold every other day, relentlessly.

The characters that the teens encounter as they travel through time are wonderfully realised in their own right, whether they’re dinosaurs realising the possibility of their intelligence, medieval princes who are caught in a situation they cannot control and are aware that history will curse them or just everyday people who are caught out of their own time and have to be put back.

There are clues that connect the stories together and there are things to look out for (keep an eye on the shop where the heroes buy their clothes for their time travels). Other names pop up more than once and with them dire warnings of ‘The End’. It’s clear that as the books progress we will learn more about what that means.

What is the agency? Who is Foster? What is the significance of the teddy bear? What is the secret message trapped in Becks’ head? These questions and many others, along with the people who ask them, make Alex Scarrows’ TimeRiders a fascinating and riveting series of novels. The action never lets up and neither does the insight into the characters. Truly horrifying worlds are presented and yet the affection we feel for our teen warriors lightens the darkest moments and keeps us reading page after page and book after book.

***

This is the link to the superb TimeRiders website.  And this is Kate's (you star, thanks for the review) website where she reviews a great selection of books.

The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles) by Rick Riordan

Synopsis:

Carter and Sadie have nothing in common but their parents: their father Dr. Julius Kane, a brilliant Egyptologist, and their mother, a famed archaeologist who died under mysterious circumstances when they were young. The siblings barely know each other, but one night, their father brings them together at the British Museum, promising a ‘research experiment’ that will set things right for their family. His plans go horribly wrong. An explosion unleashes an ancient evil – the Egyptian god Set who banishes Dr. Kane to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Now orphaned, Carter and Sadie must embark on a dangerous quest – from Cairo to Paris to the American Southwest, to save their father and stop Set from destroying everything they care about . . .

Rick Riordan is a complete hero in my book. I love his actioners for boys (and girls) and think he is a very imaginative and creative writer. The Percy Jackson books really swept me away and I really liked the movie too - the look and feel of it was pretty epic. Also, the soundtrack rocked.

But I digress. My heart sank a bit when I read that he was doing books based on Egyptian mythology. It is SO done and most of it is done so badly, it's not even worth reading. But of course, this is Rick Riordan and I really should have known better.

It took me ages and ages to get into The Red Pyramid because of my own stubborness but once I overcame it, it went quickly and relatively smoothly.

When Carter and Sadie meet up after being apart for ages, it is clear that they don't know and don't really like each other. Carter had the opportunity to travel with his dad to various places all over the world whilst Sadie was forced to stay with her grandparents in London. The siblings see the other as having the more exciting or cool life: Sadie is jealous and resents Carter from escaping school and tedious routine, for getting to go on digs and adventures. Carter sees Sadie and is jealous of her time with the grandparents, of the stability she has had, of her education and her friends. Their animosity to each other raises trust issues when all they really should do is run, hope for the best, and have faith in each other.

It would have made for interesting dynamics had Sadie and Carter been stronger characters. It really pains me to say it, but I didn't like either of them, very much at all. Oh, I had empathy for them because of the scrapes they got into after their father's research went south, but I couldn't bring myself to think of them outside of the novel. It is an odd situation but I feel that if I am going to invest time in hanging around with a group of people for an extended period of time, I want to have a vested interest in them and like them. However, having put that across, I am now wondering that if I re-read it, and I focus on the story and their adventures more, I would be less bothered by Sadie and Carter?

The story is told in alternating chapters, between Carter and Sadie. In some instances the chapters crossed over a bit but that was no big problem for me, as it gave a slightly different perspective of events taking place. However, having said that, Carter and Sadie's voices were so similar at some points that it didn't matter whose chapter I was reading, and that made me feel a bit low about the whole experience.

The action and settings are wonderfully over the top, as are their helpers and hinderers along the way. You can tell that the author slowed down some parts to give his characters and readers a chance to catch up with matters, before he goes ahead and sling-shots them into another predicament or action set-piece. The story is very visual, relying on the reader's imagination and growing knowledge of Egyptian mythlology so that you can picture the images and glyphs etc.

I read this book last month, in June and it's taken me ages to get my words in order to write the review. I am very conflicted about The Red Pyramid. It is good storytelling but readers should know that it isn't Percy Jackson. It is still enjoyable but it there is a lot of backstory and history and younger readers may be put off by it. On the other hand, it may encourage readers to grab some mythology books and read up about the various gods and goddesses of Egypt. It really is a marmite book, I think. Probably the second one I've ever come across in the five years I've been reviewing. Some readers will love it, some readers will be pretty ambivalent about it.

Having said that, I am now thinking that the second book in the series will be where everything will kick off full blast. This has definitely been the scene setting, the character introduction, the backstory and the origin story all rolled into one. So perhaps this is the start of something grander and more epic than PJ? Who knows! Only time and book 2 will tell.

Published by Puffin, The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan is out now.

GingerSnaps, Cathy Cassidy

Synopsis:

Gone are the days when Ginger was an outsider, always on the fringes of friendship. She’s swapped puppy fat and pigtails for make-up and hair straighteners and never looked back – until now.

Ginger and Shannon are best mates, but when they befriend lonely Emily, everything changes. Even the saxophone-playing boy in the trilby hat can’t help – he’s part of the problem . . .

Are Ginger and Shannon drifting apart or can they stay best friends forever?

Gingersnaps (as the boy in the trilby calls the main character, Ginger) is a very thoughtful, well written and deceptively deep novel from the Queen of Teens, Cathy Cassidy. I've not read any of Ms. Cassidy's books but I am aware of how popular she is so it was difficult to see past that at first. Oh, for maybe the first paragraph!

The novel is fantastically readable and highly recommended - it follows the story of Ginger, once an ugly duckling, a freak, the girl on the side, the nerd, the one everyone at school made fun of or ignored entirely. Always sitting on the sidelines, looking in, wishing to be part of the bigger cooler group of kids.

Ginger's now a bit older, she's tamed her hair, learned how to use make-up to cover up her freckles and she's learned how to dress. She's not, in any way, a mean person, which I appreciated. Initially, you have the impression that she's pretty together but the cracks appear in her facade as she realizes that her best friend (who chose her by the way) does not approve of her budding friendship with the freaky funny boy wearing the trilby who plays the saxaphone - Sam.

Ginger struggles with her image, her friendship with Shannon and the new member of their small circle of friends, Emily. She is so scared she's going to revert to being the weird one, the one no one talks to, if Shannon starts preferring Emily to her, that she completely freezes up and decides to walk away from her budding friendship with Sam (whom I have a teeny tiny crush on as he is just so cool in his oddness). She then takes a long hard look at what Shannon expects from her as a friend, how sweet Emily is in reality and she realises that she's made some wrong decisions in her life. The moment things start changing for Ginger, you feel like clapping with glee. She's remained a nice person throughout, a bit of a pushover really, one who lets Shannon walk all over her. But then she seems to come into her own personality and she stands up for herself - not just to Shannon but also to the teachers (read the book, you'll understand) who in their well-meaning way, were trying to force her to do something against her will.

The book deals competently with a teenager's struggle to find their own identity in a world where everyone has to toe the line and not stand out. It also deals with how careful you have to be with your friends, old and new, along with being bullied and how to handle yourself in situations like that.

GingerSnaps is a treasure trove of wonderful writing, a good storyline and importantly, there is a lesson to be learned - stand up for yourself, be yourself and don't allow yourself to get bullied, even if it is under the guise of friendship and peerpressure.

I would recommend this to be read by both boys and girls of eleven years up - even if the cover might turn off some boys! - it is a fun read, with some brilliant jokes that had me grinning, an interesting main character in a dilemma which only she can solve.

If all of Cathy Cassidy's books are this fun, I may have to go out and myself the rest! She's definitely turned me into a fan.

This is Cathy's website (which is just insanely cute) and if you look under the Books section, you can read a sneak peak of GingerSnaps.

Airman by Eoin Colfer

I’ve not had a chance in the past to read any of Eoin (pronounced Owen) Colfer’s books but I know he is tremendously popular and a good writer. I approached Airman with bated breath, not sure what the expect and found myself swept off my feet in this Jules Verne / Alexander Dumas / William Golding type novel of hardship, self-realisation, revenge and obsession.

The main character, Conor Broekhart is born at the World Fair (1878) in a hot air balloon sailing over Paris. This introduction to Conor tells you immediately that our young hero is not going to be your run of the mill type of lad. His parents return with him to the small Saltee Islands, just off the Irish coast, where his parents are friends with and the subjects of King Nicholas Trudeau, sovereign of the Saltee Islands. King Nicholas is however a forward thinking monarch, ensuring that the islands are dragged out of their medieval ways into modern times, making them adapt to industrialization. This is not something certain of his subjects agree with! The money for the changes comes from the diamond mine on Little Saltee Island.

Conor spends most of his time with his best friend, Princess Isabella and his tutor Victor Vigny who is as obsessed as Conor is with flying – it is what their experiments are all about. Victor is a good friend of King Nicholas and they have an easy cameraderie. Marshall Bonvilain (good name, eh?) is the villain of the piece, the man who is keen to overthrow King Nicholas and take the throne for himself. Needless to say, he succeeds in his attempts, catches young Conor sneaking about trying to help his King and in an amazing about face, young Conor is trussed up as a traitorous soldier, renamed as Conor Finn and tossed in jail – and the story is set out that the real Conor died a hero, trying to save his King.

The story is wonderfully told with great skill and tremendous characterisation. Conor is highly intelligent, adapting to his new surrounding and his new persona. Old Conor was honourable and had a dream. New Conor is less scrupulous and with the help of a cellmate Linus Wynter he learns the ropes of prison life. A lot happens to Conor whilst he is in jail. He grows up and he becomes wise. He goes through an emotional time, thinking of his family, of the Princess Isabella, soon to be Queen Isabella, and what his future might have been. He instead focusses on who and what he is now, putting his past behind him. It makes for fascinating reading and I was dreading that it was going to be a dull period in the book, but the author uses his skill as narrator to bring the wider picture into play, so you don't JUST focus on Conor's dilemma.

I am not going to tell the whole plot, as it wouldn’t be fair. There are surprises and twists aplenty and it is truly a boys own adventure. Let me say this though: if you are keen for a historical romp, some brilliant storytelling about a young man seeking his revenge, and how your dreams keep you alive, Airman is that and more. As I mentioned earlier it has an old-world storytelling echo to it. It is The Count of Monte Cristo for younger readers. It is the romp of Princess Bride and it is the imagination of Jules Verne and HG Wells all rolled up in one. I will give this one of my newly created tags: – and encourage you to read it, just for the heck of it, because it is good clean escapist fun and it made me realise I need to definitely catch up with Mr. Colfer’s other works! I’d also hasten to add that I think this one will have cross-over appeal to adults as the world-building and storytelling is just excellent.

Airman’s just been published by Puffin in the UK so it is readily available to buy / borrow from a library. Find Eoin Colfer’s site here and the Puffin website here .

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan

Synopsis:

The gods of Olympus are alive in the 21st Century. They still fall in love with mortals and have children who might become great heroes, but most of these children meet horrible fates at the hands of monsters by the age of twelve. Only a few learn the truth of their identity and make it to Half Blood Hill, a Long Island summer camp dedicated to training young demigods. Such is the revelation that launches young Percy Jackson on a quest to help his real father, Poseidon, avert a war among the gods. With the help of Grover the satyr and Annabeth the daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction - Zeus’ master bolt. Along the way, they face a host of mythological enemies determined to stop them. Most of all, Percy must come to terms with a father he has never known, and an Oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend.

I relished reading this and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I knew some of the story, from having picked the books up previously in various shops and reading about them online and I was therefore absolutely thrilled when Puffin Books decided to send me the first three in the series to read.

Rick Riordan writes with supreme ease from the first person perspective as Percy. Percy is your average kid who tries to make it through the normal school day without getting into trouble, but it’s hard to do when your teachers try and do you serious damage. He manages to survive an attack by his maths teacher but something weird is going on...no one else seems to recall her ever teaching at his school! Things get a bit weird from there onwards.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s style of writing. It is humorous and witty and quite tongue in cheek. Percy never becomes a chore to read and his friends, Annabeth and Grover have been established for future books. I’ve not read any of the other covers of the series as yet, so I’m going in blind, but I hope they make a come-back, purely because there is a lot of good stories to tell.

I enjoyed the light touch the author had when it came to explaining who the deities were and why they were alive and well and occupying the Empire State Buidling’s topmost floor. It is a well researched book giving you an interesting ride through classical mythology along the way, without it impacting on the pace of the book. My favorite does have to be Mr. D, who runs the Half Blood Hill training school. Dumbledore can move over – Mr. D rocks. Literally.

It is interesting to watch Percy struggle to accept his status as a demi-god and to see how he deals with the quest they decide to send him on. I found it interesting to see how he coped with the various stages of the quest, some of it truly hilarious, and found his solutions to some of the problems that came his way as very clever – almost A-Team / MacGuyver clever.

The writing is tight and clear and as I mentioned earlier, I am hoping that Percy’s friends make a come-back because every hero needs sidekicks who mirror them in order to show their strengths and impart wisdom. I particularly appreciated the end of the novel, where Percy turns a tricky situation over to someone else, leaving them to decide the “out”. Naturally the repercussion is something he will no doubt have to answer for later on, but I thought it was a deft way to show the Percy’s growth as hero.

A fun read, littered with enough mythological creatures to satisfy Angela Carter herself.