A new book by Anh Do is like Christmas in my library. The kids are always excited, whether it’s a new Hot Dog, a Ninja Kid or a Wolf Girl. It has been especially his Wolf Girl series that has hooked the kids at my school, with one teacher reading aloud the first four books to her class last year. That same teacher decided to try Anh’s latest series, Skydragon, with her class this year and they are hooked on this series now. Having just read the first book myself, I can see why. Anh Do certainly knows how to hook readers – lots of action, tension and cliff-hanger endings. I didn’t expect to enjoy this series as much as I did but book I was at the end of the book before I knew it. Luckily it wasn’t too long to wait until book two, Fly Free, which releases this week.
Fly Free picks up straight after the end of book one, so you’re thrown right back into the action again. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry, and Agent Ferris is REALLY angry! Skydragon has evaded him and the National Service, but he’s determined to track her down. Readers are allowed a minute to catch their breath, before Amber is running for her life and trying to hide from the agents. After falling from a tree, Amber injures her ankle, but luckily her insect friends have her back. Amber can’t shake the thought that Firefighter is someone she knows, and she returns to her adopted family in search of answers. It isn’t long though before she is on the run again. While the National Service are tracking down Amber, Reggie (also known as the Firefighter) is being forced to carry out dubious missions for Agent Ferris. Skydragon and Firefighter’s paths cross but will they discover the truth about each other?
Fly Free keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering whether Amber and her insect friends will defeat the bad guys. The story jumps between Amber and Reggie, so we get their different perspectives. The pace of the story is swift, so young readers certainly won’t get bored.
James Hart’s illustrations are a really important part of what makes this series so engaging and appealing. His illustrations are on just about every page and show readers how epic Amber’s powers are. James and the design team have done a fantastic job on the cover for Fly Free too. It will certainly jump off the shelf! I especially love the foil used for the insect wings.
I have kids queuing up to get their hands on Fly Free and I know they won’t be disappointed. This book has another cliffhanger ending, which leaves you desperate for book 3!
I’m a huge fan of Christopher Edge. Many of his previous books have had a science theme, from inter-dimensional travel to the laws of the universe. His characters, and the unusual situations they find themselves in, stick with you. Christopher’s latest book, Space Oddity, has all the things I love about his stories, with a good dash of humour mixed in.
Jake is always being embarrassed by his dad. Whether he is breakdancing at the school disco or making a surprise appearance as a rubbish Darth Vader at his school production, Jake’s dad just can’t seem to stop doing silly things. When Jake’s dad tells him that the two of them are going away for the weekend to spend some quality time together, Jake can’t think of anything worse. His dad takes him to a Dads and Kids Weekend Adventure, where they will spend the weekend doing fun activities together. However, when his dad embarrasses him in front of the whole camp, Jake is ready to pack it in and go home. Then, his dad tells him who he really is – an alien who crashed to Earth twelve years ago. Thanks to a special device, Jake’s dad has been able to disguise himself as a human and blend in. But, when Jake fiddles with the device, he inadvertently signals the Cosmic Authority. They appear out of nowhere and abduct his dad, taking him back to his home planet. Jake’s dad may be super embarrassing but he is still his dad, and Jake will do anything to get him back.
Space Oddity is an intergalactic adventure with a whole lot of heart and humour. There is something in this story for everyone, from stinky aliens and killer robots, to alien technology and a giant out-of-control Lego spaceship. It’s a story about family and the lengths that we would go to for the ones we love, even if they are super embarrassing. It’s part science fiction, part adventure, but there are also plenty of laughs. I especially loved the range of ways that Jake’s dad has embarrassed him in the past. It’s a slightly younger story than most of Christopher’s other books, but a great way to hook kids into this amazing author.
Jake is a really relatable character, whose voice I loved. Most readers will have a family member who can be embarrassing, so they’ll understand how Jake feels. Jake’s dad hasn’t been able to explain why he gets things so wrong, and when he tells Jake the truth, Jake has trouble believing it. Jake does actually love his dad though, and he can’t bear to think about losing him forever. Jake puts his own life in danger in order to try and save his dad.
The fantastic Ben Mantle has created the cover illustration and illustrations throughout the story. Whenever I see one of his covers I always pick it up, and his cover for Space Oddity is spectacular. The cover designer, Steve Wells, has added some nice touches, with the raised title and the shiny, textured bits on the spaceship.
Space Oddity would be a brilliant read aloud or class set for Years 4-6. It’s funny and action-packed, so it will engage everyone.
I love children’s graphic novels that have some real depth to them, both in story and illustration. Graphic novels like the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi and This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews tell you a fantastic story, with gorgeous art, but you know that the story you’re reading is only a small part of the world. The first book in Tim Probert’s new graphic novel series, Lightfall, is one of these graphic novels. The Girl and the Galdurian is one story from Irpa, but Tim’s world is so detailed that you know there is much more of this world to explore. This first book has me hooked and desperate for book 2.
Bea lives deep in the heart of Irpa, with her adopted grandfather, Pig Wizard. Their home is Salty Pig’s Tonics and Tictures, where people come to buy remedies and elixirs. Pig Wizard is old and forgetful, so he must leave reminders for himself everywhere. Luckily he has Bea to help him, and she gathers ingredients that he needs from the land around them. While gathering ingredients in the woods one day Bea meets Cad, a member of the Galdurians, a race thought to be long-extinct. Cad is looking for Pig Wizard in the hopes that he can translate an ancient scroll, so he follows Bea back to Salty Pig’s. When they arrive they discover that Pig Wizard has left to perform a duty that he has neglected. Bea and Cad go in search of him. Along the way they meet some interesting characters who both help and hinder them. There is also a sinister presence that is stepping out of the shadows and there is something they are desperate to get their hands on.
I love everything about The Girl and the Galdurian, from the story and the characters, to the artwork and the design. Tim has both written and illustrated the story, so the text and illustrations are seamless. The story flows really well, cutting smoothly between Bea and Cad’s journey and the other, darker thread of the story. It is a beautifully designed and produced graphic novel, with thick, quality paper and vivid inks (its smells of quality too). Bea and Cad are lovable characters, who already feel like your best friends by the end of the book. I would follow them anywhere.
Tim’s fantasty world of Irpa is richly detailed. You feel like Bea’s story is just scratching the surface of what is going on in this complex world. As this is the first book in the series, we learn bits of details about Irpa and its history, but there feels like there is so much more to explore in future books. I love the details that Tim puts into the illustrations. These details tell you things about the world, without explicitly explaining what they are or what they mean. As you’re reading you’ll see creatures in the background or ruins of a building poking through the ground.
Tim’s illustrations are sublime! He takes us through a variety of landscapes throughout the story and my mouth dropped open in awe at the different landscapes he has created. I would love to have prints of some of the bigger panels all over my house. Tim’s battle scenes are also epic, especially when they involve giant crabs. I also love the colour palette that Tim has used, which highlights the difference in the light of Irpa. The wordless scenes, with the sinister creatures, are quite creepy, and set the tone for the story.
I can’t wait to introduce the kids at my school to this graphic novel. I know that it is going to be incredibly popular, especially with those kids who love Amulet. It’s a similar epic fantasy story, set in a world that is rich in detail. This is a must-have for primary and intermediate school libraries. I am desperate for the second book and I know kids will be queuing up for it too.
I absolutely loved the first book in L.D. Lapinski’s The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series. A story about travelling to different worlds through suitcases is my kind of story (you can read my review here). After Flick and Jonathan’s first adventure, I was desperate to go back to Strangeworlds and see where they went next. The second book in the series, The Edge of the Ocean, has just been released and it was everything I hoped for, and more.
After arriving back home quite late from her adventure in the City of Five Lights, Flick is in a whole heap of trouble with her parents. She is grounded for the whole of the summer holidays. After bumping in to Jonathan in the supermarket Flick comes up with a plan to get back to Strangeworlds. Jonathan receives an urgent summons from Pirate Queen Nyfe, so Jonathan and Flick travel to the world of The Break. This is a world of ocean and islands, pirates and mer-people, but it is shrinking by the day. Magic is being taken from their world and bits of it are breaking off and disappearing. Queen Nyfe has summoned Jonathan in the hope that he can help the inhabitants of The Break escape before it is too late. When the suitcase is stolen from Flick they know that they need to retrieve it, otherwise no one will escape this world. Flick, Jonathan, and Avery must figure out how to save everyone, from the inhabitants to their ships, using just a small suitcase.
The Edge of the Ocean is a brilliant sequel, that adds depth to the story arc, while being a rip-roaring, page-turner of a story in its own right. It’s a story of a rescue mission, filled with adventure, mystery and magic. Like any rescue mission there are risks but Jonathan, Flick and Avery do anything they can to alleviate these. One of the things I loved most about the first book was Jonathan and Flick hopping through suitcases to show Flick new worlds. I was worried that there wouldn’t be much of this in this book, but I wasn’t disappointed. They still visit plenty of worlds while trying to find a new home for the inhabitants of The Break.
L.D. Lapinski ensures that her cast of characters is diverse and I really like that. Her characters are unique and interesting, and I love how you learn something new about them with each book. Jonathan is transgender, which was hinted at in the first book. I don’t think it is explicitly stated that he is transgender, but L.D. Lapinski has talked about this in interviews. It is also hinted, in this book, that Jonathan is gay (he has a slightly embarrassing interaction in the supermarket with a guy he knows from college). Flick develops feelings for Jonathan’s cousin Avery in this book (Avery feels the same) and it’s possible that their relationship could develop in the next book. I love the way that these details about the characters are just part of who they are, rather than it being explicit that they’re transgender or gay. There will be readers that hugely identify with Jonathan or Flick because of their identity and those who just love the characters because they’re brave, adventurous and funny.
Families are an important part of this book too. Flick’s family were scared and worried when she when she returned late from the City of Five Lights in the first book, and they ground her to keep her at home. Flick is then conscious that she can’t do the same thing again and let them down. Jonathan has been looking for his missing father for months, with no sign of him. The Pirate Queen gives him some information that leaves him distressed. Flick and Jonathan are themselves a little family, as they are part of the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, and Jonathan’s cousin, Avery, joins them on this adventure. Without giving spoilers, there are also some intriguing family connections revealed in this book.
The ending of The Edge of the Ocean was incredibly exciting and made me desperate for the third book. I can’t wait to see where L.D. Lapinski takes us next!
These are the rules that the Smidgens live by. Smidgens are exactly like humans…just tiny. The Sprout family live in the House, a maze of rooms carved into a stone wall, accessed from a network of tunnels, called the Tangle. They were once part of a community of Smidgens who lived here, but now they are the only ones who remain. They take food and items that they need to survive from the Big Folk. Gafferty Sprout and her little brother, Gobkin, are on their way back home from a mission to get a deep-fried chip for their dinner when Gafferty his chased by a mysterious creature. Gafferty falls through the tunnel, to a forgotten section of the Tangle and discovers a book that will lead her on an adventure to parts of the world she could only dream about. However, the sneaky and sinister Claudia Slymark and her Seekers are hunting for Smidgens. Claudia believes the Smidgens know the whereabouts of a magical object that she needs to find, and she will do anything to get her hands on it. With the help of some unexpected friends, Gafferty and Gobkin must foil her plans.
The Smidgens is a rollicking adventure about the tiny humans with big hearts. There is something in this story for everyone, from nail-biting chases and clever disguises, to vile villains and teeny heroes. David hooks you from the first page, with our heroes’ quest to get a deep-fried chip for their dinner, and you can’t help but be whisked away with the Smidgens and their adventures underneath the feet of the Big Folk. I was fascinated with The Borrowers as a kid, and I would often wonder if there really were tiny people living in the walls. The Smidgens will fascinate a new generation of readers in the same way, and make them wonder if they might be real.
There are a couple of things that I really love about The Smidgens. The costumes that the Sprouts wear are really clever. Gafferty and Gobkin have special costumes that they wear when they go out in to the world of the Big Folk, to help camouflage them. Gafferty is a spider and Gobkin is a fly, so that if Big Folk see them, they’ll just think that they are pests, rather than tiny humans. I also really love the Seekers in the story, and the parts that they played. The inclusion of them in the story was unexpected and added an interesting aspect. You’ll have to read the book to find out who they are and what part they play.
Seb Burnett’s illustrations are marvellous, especially his cover for the book. It certainly grabbed me, with Gobkin’s guilty face as he takes some cake, and Gafferty swinging across the cover with a big smile on her face. Seb gives us glimpses of the world of the Smidgens, from the house that they live in, to the costumes that they wear. I especially love Seb’s depiction of Claudia Slymark and her Seekers, as he has really highlighted their nastiness.
The Smidgens is the first book in this new series, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next. This would make a great read aloud for Years 4-6, as it will grab everyone’s attention. Be prepared to read ‘just one more chapter’ though, as David is very good at leaving you hanging.
I have to admit that I’ve never really enjoyed spy stories. I have plenty of kids at my school who love Alex Rider and a few who are really keen on the Cherub series, but I’ve never really been able to get in to them. Maz Evans’ Vi Spy: Licence to Chill is a completely different kind of spy story though, and one that is a whole lot of fun.
Valentine Day (or Vi for short) lives with her mum and her Nan, both of whom are famous secret agents who are now retired. When Vi was born, her mum (Easter) gave up her life of espionage in order to keep her daughter out of harm’s way. Easter, who now calls herself Susan, is about to marry Vi’s teacher, Mr Sprout. However, Vi’s dad has other plans. Her dad, Robert, also known as the supervillain Sir Charge, hasn’t been around for most of her life, but now he suddenly wants to be a part of it. Her dad tells her that he is turning over a new leaf and becoming a good guy and Vi wants to get to know him. Her mother is furious and wants Vi to have nothing to do with him. Vi knows what she wants – to go to the prestigious spy school, Rimmington Hall. Villains and heroes alike are after a dangerous piece of technology called Neurotrol and Vi knows that if she finds it, that will be her ticket to Rimmington Hall. With her parents distracted with their own problems, Vi must get her hands on the Neurotrol to prove she is worthy of becoming a spy.
Vi Spy: Licence to Chill is an entertaining thrill-ride of a book, with plenty of laughs along the way. This is a spy story unlike any I’ve read before, as it pokes fun at spies and villains. There is something in this book for all readers, from flatulent supervillains with stinky feet and super-spy grannies with gadgets galore, to dance-fighting parents and secret agent waiters. Maz Evans has clearly had a lot of fun writing this book!
I was laughing almost the whole way through this book. There are just so many funny moments, such hilarious characters and great dialogue. My favourite part of the book is Chapter 5, where Vi’s dad takes her to the cafe. While they enjoy their gelato and catch up, assassins are trying to take out Robert. The waiter is in the background, knocking out ninjas and diffusing dynamite, while Vi and Robert are clueless to what is happening. My favourite characters are the Ex-Villains Improvement League, a bunch of supervillains who are trying to go straight. There’s Doctor Doppleganger (a two-headed villain who argues with himself), Dimitri (the vampire), Auguste (the clown), and my favourite, Siren (the femme-fatale with a flatulence and body odour problem). The dialogue between these characters makes up some of the funniest parts of the story.
Vi is a great character who is super-relatable. She’s been sheltered her whole life, thanks to her over-protective mum, but now she has a chance to prove that she can look after herself. She is desperate to become a spy, and her mum’s reluctance just makes her even more determined. I love the relationship that Vi has with her Nan and the relationship that grows between her and the Sprouts.
Vi Spy: Licence to Chill is the first book in this new series and I’m excited to see how Vi grows as a spy. I’m also looking forward to seeing how Maz will make me laugh next.
There are lots of great series available now for newly independent readers to choose from. There are books about monsters, fairies, horrible boys, unicorns, stinky dinosaurs and much more. Something there isn’t a lot of for younger readers is mystery books. This is where Maureen Crisp’s wonderful Monsieur Charles’ Circus Quest series comes in.
Monsieur Charles’ Circus Quest follows a circus troupe who have been together for many years, but believe this year may be their last together. In the first book in the series, The Playbill, they receive an invitation to the circus conclave (a gathering of circus troupes) from The Puzzle Master. However, they must solve the clues to discover its location. Monsieur Charles has said that if they received the invitation this year, it would be his last as head of the circus, which would mean the circus would split up. Everyone agrees to do anything they can to solve the clues and try to save their circus. Last year, the clues were stolen, so this year it is up to Kestrel to keep the clues hidden and safe. Meanwhile, Stanley, one of the circus workers, is being paid by a shadowy figure to make some accidents happen to try and shut down the circus. Kestrel must work together with his brother Peregrine and his friend Skye to solve the clue and figure out where to find the next one. The second book, Magician’s Moustache, follows Monsieur Charles’ circus as they travel to the island of Papenton to perform and try to solve the second clue.
Monsieur Charles’ Circus Quest is a clever and fun series for younger readers. It’s a series that gives younger readers a taste of mystery and adventure, but at a level that they can understand. Kids will enjoy trying to solve the clue in each book and figure out what exactly the clue means. Maureen has written the books in such a way that you don’t find out the answer to the clue until the next book. That way you have to read the next book to find out if you’re right. I was a bit stumped by the clue in book 1 but when I started book 2 it was clear straight away.
There is something in the books for all readers, whether they want mystery, adventure, laughs, suspense, or interesting characters. I’ve read the first two books in the series but I need to know what happens to the circus so I’ll be hunting down the other books. There are currently five books in the series, with another five planned. You can buy them from The Children’s Bookshop in Kilbirnie or from Wheelers.
I’m a huge fan of First Second, as they publish some of the best graphic novels for kids. My favourite kids graphic novel, Jen Wang’s The Prince and the Dressmaker, is published by them, as well as Best Friends and Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham. I ordered Dungeon Critters, by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter, for my school library just because it sounded fun and the cover looked cool. After reading it though, I can say it’s so much more than that. In fact, it almost knocks The Prince and the Dressmaker off its top spot, it’s that great.
The Dungeon Critters are a tight-knit gang of animals who go on adventures together. There’s Juniper (or June) the dog, Rose the cat, Prince Chirp the frog and Goro the snake. Between them they have magic, brute strength and cunning to help them fight for what’s right. After defeating a necromancer, an invitation discovered in his belongings leads the Dungeon Critters to The Baron’s ball. The Baron is Prince Chirp’s life-long arch nemesis and Chirp knows that he is up to no good. The gang decide to crash the party and look for clues. With their fancy disguises and fake identities they go to the ball, but Juniper gets mistaken for royalty. She keeps The Baron distracted while the rest of the gang search The Baron’s mansion. With proof in hand that The Baron is up to something, and The Baron’s mansion in flames, the gang head off in search of answers. Just as they start to get some answers, Prince Chirp is summoned back to the palace for ‘The Event’ that his parents are hosting. While at the palace disaster strikes and Juniper is arrested and put on trial. Friendships are tested as members of the Dungeon Critters find themselves on opposite sides of the trial. It is then up to their friends to uncover the truth and help their friends when they need it the most.
I absolutely adore Dungeon Critters! Everything about it is wonderful, from the story and the characters to the humour and the artwork. Everything gels together perfectly to make a graphic novel that is hilarious, action-packed, super-sweet and full of diverse characters. You can tell, even before reading about their process at the back of the book, that Natalie and Sara worked closely together to combine their storytelling talents to create this book. The story flows really nicely throughout the book, as does the artwork. I laughed so hard while reading this book! Natalie and Sara’s comedic timing is spot-on and there are puns galore.
I loved every one of the characters, whether they were the heroes or the villains. They all have a lot of depth to them and history that is revealed throughout the story. Rose and Juniper obviously have some history together (as you can see from the first part of the story) and you discover more about their relationship as the story progresses. There is a fierce rivalry between Prince Chirp and The Baron and its fun to watch this play out. The standout character for me is Goro. He is a gentle giant who is always there when the gang need him, but he’s sensitive too. I loved learning more about him and his boyfriend, Horseboy. I laughed so hard though when the gang’s stuff gets stolen and Goro has to borrow a teeny, tiny shirt.
The artwork is completely stunning, from the character designs and the colouring, to the way that the story flows on the page. Every character, from the main ones to the minor ones (who might appear just once) has its own personality. They’re all really expressive too, so it’s easy to tell their emotions and intentions. The colouring also helps to set the tone and highlight emotions. I like the way that the colours used help to draw your eye in a particular direction, especially when there is a lot happening on a page. Another thing I really like about the colouring is the way that light has been used to throw shadows on faces, whether that is to show villainous intent or determination.
It is the layout of the artwork and the flow from one panel to the next that really makes this graphic novel stand out for me. Natalie and Sara use lots of different layouts throughout the book and your eye is drawn to different parts of the page each time you turn the page. Some spreads have a background image, with lots of smaller panels layered over the top. Another spread might have one thread of the story happening in the background of the page, with another thread of the story playing out in panels down the side. One of my favourite sections of artwork is when Rose and Chirp are setting off the booby traps under The Baron’s mansion. Chirp effortlessly jumps and dives through the lasers, while Rose (being a cat) sees the lasers and tries to pounce on them.
I seriously love Dungeon Critters! I hope Natalie and Sara have more ideas up their sleeves because I need more of the Dungeon Critters in my life. I think I would probably read anything that Natalie and Sara create together.
Dungeon Critters is great for ages 9+ and would be a great addition to a primary, intermediate or high school library. It’s also a must read for any adult who enjoys a graphic novel with magical adventures and a whole lot of laughs.
At a time when countries have their borders shut and travel has pretty much been shut down, thankfully we still have books to transport us to different places. The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski is a book bursting with worlds for readers to explore. In the first book in L.D. Lapinski’s new series we meet Flick and Jonathan Mercator and discover the wonders of the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, where you travel to different worlds through suitcases.
Felicity (or Flick as she prefers) has just moved houses and towns. Sure, she has her own bedroom now, but her parents are still as busy as ever and she gets dumped with her baby brother when she would rather have time to herself. While exploring her new town she discovers a dusty and dilapidated shop with a tired sign saying ‘The Strangeworlds Travel Agency.’ When she steps inside she discovers a dusty space filled with dozens of suitcases, stacked in slots on the walls. While exploring the shop she meets Jonathan Mercator, the custodian of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency. After Flick displays a special magical ability, Jonathan invites her to join The Strangeworlds Travel Agency. Flick soon discovers the joys and dangers of travelling to other worlds through the suitcases at Strangeworlds, and Jonathan asks for her help. Jonathan’s parents were also custodians of Strangeworlds, but after his mother died, Jonathan’s father was distant. Jonathan’s father has been missing for a couple of months and Jonathan has been looking for him, with no luck. Jonathan and Flick set off for the City of Five Lights, where they hope to find some answers to the disappearance of Jonathan’s father. When they get to the City of Five Lights though, something is wrong with this world. People and places are disappearing and The Order of Thieves have set a plan in motion that could not only destroy Five Lights but also put all of the worlds in the multiverse in danger. Jonathan and Flick get split up and must do everything they can to navigate the dangers of this world and save their own.
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency is an action-packed, multi-dimensional adventure, filled with magic and tinged with a hint of darkness. I love the idea of travelling to other worlds through suitcases and the complexities of this (having to make sure you pull the suitcase into the world with you so you can get home). L.D. Lapinski has made the idea of multi-dimensional travel feel fresh and exhilarating. Much like time travel, travelling to different dimensions is never as straight-forward as you at first think, and L.D. Lapinski has explored this well. The story becomes quite twisty as it progresses and the mix of the travelling between worlds and Flick’s abilities make the story quite complex. You get to the end of the story feeling like you have just scraped the surface of multi-dimensional travel and there are quite a few questions for L.D. Lapinski to answer in further books. We don’t really know what has happened to Jonathan’s father or what Flick can do with her abilities. There are so many possible worlds for L.D. Lapinski to explore in future books and we’ve only seen a handful in this book.
L.D. Lapinski’s characters are complex and relatable. Different aspects of Jonathan and Flick’s personalities have been explored in this book, but there is more to uncover. While we know what Flick’s life has been like before she stepped into the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, she is quite a different person by the end of the story. She used to be unsatisfied with her quiet life but now it is full of magic and adventure that she couldn’t have imagined. By the end of the story Flick is just starting to understand her abilities, so there is more for her to explore about herself. Jonathan is quite a mystery at the start of the story, and while we get to know more about him, I don’t feel like we have the full story. He has obviously been affected by losing his mother and then being abandoned by his father, leaving him not very trusting of people. He keeps secrets from Flick and this affects their relationship. I’m looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops in further books.
Natalie Smillie’s phenomenal cover draws you in and invites you to jump into a Strangeworlds suitcase. Natalie shows readers that they’ll experience an out-of-this-world adventure, filled with treasure, strange creatures and unusual lands. Kids are sure to be drawn to this book on the shelves.
I’m desperate to get back to The Strangeworlds Travel Agency and dive into some more suitcases! Luckily I don’t have to wait too long as the second book in the series, The Strangeworlds Travel Agency: The Edge of the Ocean, is due out in April.
I love a good sci-fi book for kids and Jennifer Killick’s Crater Lake is one of the best. I read it during lockdown here in NZ last year and it was the perfect book to get lost in during that time. It was a book that gripped me right from the start and I didn’t notice time passing around me while I read it. If you haven’t read it already you absolutely should and you can read about it here in my review. It is such a great book that I was super excited to hear there was going to be a sequel. Crater Lake: Evolution is coming in May and I was lucky enough to read it early through NetGalley, thanks to Firefly Books. You need to add this book to your TBR pile (along with the first book) because you’re not going to want to miss it!
Crater Lake: Evolution follows on several months after the events of the first book. Lance and his friends have started at different high schools and they have drifted apart. Lance has become friends with Karim and Chets is jealous of their friendship. Karim’s mum works at the university for XGen, which is giving their town renewable energy and super-fast Wi-Fi. Their town is the first SMARTtown in the country. Just when Lance thinks that life is back to normal, an explosion at the university sees the forces from Crater Lake taking hold in his town. These aren’t the same forces as before though. They have evolved into something more dangerous. Lance has to try and get the gang back together again, to work through their differences and save their families themselves. If they don’t stop the evil force’s plans in their town, the rest of the world will be next.
Crater Lake: Evolution is a thrilling, nail-biting sequel that I devoured. I thought Crater Lake was an amazing story but Evolution is even better! The action is fast-paced and there were times I found myself holding my breath as I wasn’t sure how the characters were going to get through. Chapter 13 is one of the most terrifying scenes I’ve read in a children’s book! I can’t spoil what happens but it sent chills down my spine. It is incredibly creepy but such fantastic writing, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s the sort of book that I guarantee would capture a whole class of Year 7/8 students because it’s so gripping.
Many of the characters from the first book are back in this book but there is a completely different dynamic. The characters have made new friends but some have also felt the pressure to be a different person at high school. I really liked the way that Jennifer developed the characters but also how she threw them together so that they had to deal with their issues and talk about their emotions. The interactions between the characters adds some comic relief into the story, with some good jokes at the expense of some of the least likeable characters.
The ending is particularly satisfying and it feels like things are wrapped up nicely. But are they? If I know anything from reading Crater Lake it’s that there is always the possibility that there are loose ends that haven’t been completely dealt with. I would certainly like more adventures with the Crater Lake Crew.
If you’re looking for a perfect read aloud to start the school year for Years 6-8, I highly recommend the first book in the series, Crater Lake. It’s a nice alternative to Holes but with a similar sense of mystery and great character development.
My Best Friends Are Books 