When I first read about Anne Fine’s new book, The Devil Walks, I knew it would be an amazing book. Anne Fine described it “as a venture into 19th-century gothic” and it sounded like the kind of dark, creepy story that I’d love.
The Devil Walks is the story of Daniel, who has been hidden away from the world for most of his life by his reclusive, disturbed mother. However, this changes one day when a stranger takes Daniel from his home. This stranger, Doctor Marlow, takes Daniel into his home, where he is embraced by his family. Meanwhile, shocked by her son’s kidnap, Daniel’s mother is taken to an asylum where she hangs herself. The house where Daniel spent his life is sold, along with everything his mother owned to pay her debts. Daniel’s only inheritance is the one possession that Daniel takes with him from the house; his mother’s dolls house that is modeled on the house she grew up in, called High Gates. In the dolls house are a family of dolls, including a stick-thin woman who looks remarkably like his mother. During one of his games with Dr Marlow’s daughter, Sophie, they discover another doll, hidden in the house. This doll is two-in-one, at one end a mischievous looking boy, and the other end a man with ‘green eyes that gazed out with a more piercing look and the thin smile had curdled into something sourer.’ The more time they spend with this doll, the more it’s wickedness creeps into their lives. Just when Daniel is settled into his new life, Dr Marlow tells him he is being sent to live with his only surviving relative, his Uncle Severn at High Gates, the house that was the model for his dolls house. Daniel is not sure what to make of his uncle – one moment he’s cheerful and the next he is pounding his fists on the table in anger. As Daniel explores the house and the grounds, he discovers the terrible truth about his family and the sinister dolls house that his uncle will do anything to get his hands on.
The Devil Walks is one of the most spine-tingling books I’ve read in a long time. Days after finishing the story it’s still stuck in my head and I keep going back over the story in my head. The story is so dark and mysterious that I was hooked right from the very first page. Anne Fine’s beautiful writing made me feel like I was right there with Daniel through the whole ordeal, from being hidden away in that dark house, to the labyrinth of rooms at High Gates. I think the reason I liked the story so much was that it had everything that I love about Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s gothic stories, like Shadow of the Wind and Prince of Mist. The Devil Walks is definitely one of my highlights of 2011 and I highly recommend it.
Contact jumps straight back into the story of Jordan, Luke and Peter, three of the inhabitants (or prisoners) of the town of Phoenix. It starts off right where the first book, Arrival ended with Luke, Peter and Jordan hearing the ring of a phone and running off to find out who the phone belongs to. You learn in the first book that the phones and internet don’t work in Phoenix so it’s strange to hear a phone ringing. This mysterious phone sets off a string of events that Luke, Peter and Jordan get caught up in. The people who are in charge of Phoenix discover that the three of them are snooping around, so their principal gives them tasks to keep them busy. This doesn’t stop them investigating the plans of the Shackleton Cooperative to bring about the end of the world, and as they uncover more secrets they find themselves fighting to save themselves and the ones they love.
Meet Sophie, the one girl who will save the world. Sophie is different from the other girls in her class at school who like to play games about fairies or giggle about girls. Her favourite things are action films, taekwondo, sports, adventures, bikes, and skateboards, and when she grows up she wants to be a stuntwoman.
It’s no secret that I think 
I was reminded of this quote while I was reading a wonderful book by debut Australian author, Vikki Wakefield. Her book, All I Ever Wanted is the story of Mim, who is growing up in the suburbs. She knows what she wants and where she wants to go – anywhere but home, with her mother who won’t get off the couch and her brothers in prison. She’s set herself rules to live by, like ‘I will finish school, I will not drink alcohol, I will not be like everybody else, and I will not turn out like my mother.’ However, things aren’t going to plan; drug dealers are after her, her best friend isn’t talking to her, and the guy she likes is a creep. Over the nine days before her 17th birthday, Mim’s life turns upside down.
When Luke and his mum move to the town of Phoenix, out in the middle of nowhere, Luke knows straight away that something isn’t quite right about the place. There are no cars, no phones and no internet. All the houses look the same and the only way to get around the town is to walk or bike. The town was especially built by the Shackleton Cooperative, the mysterious company that offered Luke’s mum a job, and their security officers roam the streets. A coded message brings Luke together with Peter and Jordan, and when they decipher the message they realise they’re in serious danger. Someone is plotting to wipe out the human race in 100 days and Phoenix suddenly becomes the safest and most dangerous place on earth. When Luke discovers a note in his backpack inviting them to a secret meeting at the Phoenix Airport, they hope that they’ll get some answers. However, their meeting at the airport gives them more questions than answers and as they hunt for information about Phoenix and the deadly plans, the more dangerous it becomes for them in the town.
My Best Friends Are Books 