Every Day is David Levithan’s amazing new book, out in NZ and Australia this month from Text Publishing. I love David’s books and Every Day sounds really interesting and completely different. I can’t wait to lose myself in the story.
Young Adult
Metawars: Fight for the Future by Jeff Norton
Sometimes it would be nice to be able to escape your own life and pretend to be someone else. What if you could connect yourself to a virtual world, where you could do exactly that and look completely different. You could have a different face, a different body, and you could even be a unicorn or a dragon. In this virtual world, everything is clean and bright, and you can work, shop and play. Enter the world of the Metashpere in Jeff Norton’s new book, Metawars: Fight for the Future.
Jonah Delacroix can’t stand the real world – so he lives most of his life inside a global computer-based virtual world called the Metasphere, where everyone is represented by an avatar. When he discovers the avatar of his dead father, and assumes his online identity, a series of events are unleashed that compel Jonah to race across the real world with a secret society to protect the freedom of all mankind…
Fight for the Future is the first book in Jeff Norton’s action-packed science fiction series about the fight for cyberspace. The real world has fallen into ruin and humans now spend most of their lives in the Meatasphere, a virtual world full of life and colour, where people work, go to school and socialise. There are two warring factions fighting for what they believe is right. The Millenials believe that the Metashphere should be controlled, but the Guardians believe it should be free. Matthew Granger, the creator of the Metasphere and leader of the Millenials has just escaped prison and will stop at nothing to take back his creation, one piece at a time.
The main character is Jonah Delacroix, a teenager who lives on a bus in the real world with his mum, but like most people, prefers to spend his time in the Metashpere. His father, who was once Matthew Granger’s personal pilot, was killed when a Guardian bomb blew up the airport. Jonah knows where his loyalties lie, but these loyalties are constantly tested in the story. Who do you trust when everyone thinks they’re right? One thing I really liked about the story was that there are no clear villains. They may seem like villains but they’re only fighting for what they believe is right. Matthew Granger’s character was really interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing how Jeff develops his character in the next book.
Metawars is a real boys story and the perfect book to hook reluctant readers. There are heart-stopping action sequences, spies, terrorists and cool characters. It’s sure to grab those video game addicted teens as they’ll understand the allure of wanting to be constantly plugged into the virtual world. To hook them in, all you need to tell them about the book is it’s like Alex Rider crossed with The Matrix. Once they’ve read Fight for the Future they’ll be hooked and eagerly awaiting the sequel The Dead Are Rising.
4 out of 5 stars
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My Most Anticipated October New Releases
Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Evening Spiker is recuperating from a freak accident in her mum’s medical facility. She is healing at a remarkable rate, faster than physically possible. As she grows closer to the hot lab assistant Solo, who seems to be hanging around a lot, she realises that things at Spiker Biotech are not quite as they seem. Joining forces, Solo and Eve uncover a secret so huge it could change the world completely. Spiker Biotech is about more than just saving lives. It’s about creating them.
All the Wrong Questions: Who Could That Be At This Hour? by Lemony Snicket
Author Lemony Snicket is a broken man, wracked with misery and despair as a result of writing A Series Of Unfortunate Events. He spends his days wandering the countryside weeping and moaning, and his evenings eating hastily-prepared meals. But what was he like when he was thirteen years old? Find out in the brand new series from best-selling author Lemony Snicket!
Zom-B by Darren Shan
When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B Smith’s racist father thinks it’s a joke– but even if it isn’t, he figures, it’s ok to lose a few Irish. B doesn’t fully buy into Dad’s racism, but figures it’s easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse that will surely follow sticking up for Muslims, blacks, or immigrants. But when zombies attack B’s school, B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors, making allegiances with anyone with enough guts to fight off their pursuers.
Maddy West and the Tongue Taker by Brian Falkner
Maddy West can speak every language in the world. When she is asked to translate some ancient scrolls, Maddy is excited. But the scrolls hide many secrets. Secrets that send Maddy on a wild adventure with a stowaway ninja, a mysterious monkey, a Bulgarian wrestler and a fiendish witch. And soon Maddy finds herself in deadly peril. Does Maddy have what it takes to save herself and her new friends?
The Crystal Code by Richard Newsome
Gerald, Ruby and Sam are meeting up with Alisha and Gerald’s Australian school friend Ox for two weeks of snowboarding in the mountains of California. It’s a dream vacation.
But soon after they arrive—by helicopter, with Gerald’s butler Mr Fry at the controls, of course—the private chalet is attacked. Gerald and the gang escape through a secret passage, only to be pursued on snowmobiles by men with guns across frozen lakes and into the path of a cascading avalanche.
Could this be the work of Gerald’s nemesis Sir Mason Green, recently escaped from prison? Or is someone else behind the attack? Does the old dry cleaning ticket Gerald found amongst Green’s belongings hold the key? And how does an invitation to join the secretive Billionaire’s Club land Gerald in so much trouble?
Join Gerald and his friends in the USA, the Czech Republic and a tiny island in Sweden for a new thrilling adventure. After all, with all that money, there’s got to be more to the story.
Every Day by David Levithan
Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.And then A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.
Can you love someone who is destined to change each day? YA superstar author David Levithan brings all his trademark insight to a novel that is edgy, romantic and page-turning. Every Day has a touch of the paranormal and a grounding in the real world.
The ACB with Honora Lee by Kate De Goldi
Perry’s mother and father are busy people … they’re impatient, they’re tired, they get cross easily. And they think that only children, like Perry, should be kept busy. On Saturday mornings Perry and her father visit her gran, Honora Lee, at the Santa Lucia rest home, but Gran never remembers them. ‘Who is that man?’ Honora Lee asks when Perry’s father leaves the room. After movement class is abruptly cancelled, Perry is allowed to go to Santa Lucia on Thursday afternoons. She discovers her Gran has an unconventional interest in the alphabet, so Perry decides to make an alphabet book with the help of Honora and the others. Soon everyone is interested in Perry’s book project.
Spook’s: Slither’s Tale
Far from the Wardstone, a new darkness is rising . . . Slither is a haizda mage who preys upon humans, drinking their blood to feed his dark urges. So when a local farmer dies, it’s only natural that Slither should want to feast on his lovely daughters. But then the farmer offers him a deal, and extracts from Slither a promise that will take him on a journey to the City of the Petrified Tree, to a fallen star-stone that holds great power, and straight into the path of Grimalkin, the Witch Assassin.
The Books of Beginning: The Fire Chronicle by John Stephens
It’s been six months since Kate, Michael, and Emma confronted the Dire Magnus, but the trail to their long-missing parents remains cold. Then Michael and Emma find a man who saw them ten years ago—three days after they disappeared. He knows about a map of a distant land, a place shrouded in mystery that may lead them to their parents. Meanwhile, Kate’s connection to the Book of Time is growing stronger and stronger, until a dangerous trick gets her stuck in the past, searching for a friend to help her. Only a perilous quest and a daring risk will help the children to harness the power of the Books of Beginning. But will it be enough to save them?
Ratburger by David Walliams
Things are not looking good for Zoe. Her stepmother Sheila is so lazy she gets Zoe to pick her nose for her. The school bully Tina Trotts makes her life a misery – mainly by flobbing on her head. And now the evil Burt from Burt’s Burgers is after her pet rat! And guess what he wants to do with it? The clue is in the title.
And these picture books…
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The Boy in the Olive Grove by Fleur Beale
Fleur Beale has written some great novels, both for children and young adults. My favourite books of hers are the award-winning Juno of Taris series. Fleur’s latest book, The Boy in the Olive Grove, is a about a girl living in present day New Zealand, whose past lives resurface and turn her life upside down.
On the night of her seventeenth birthday Bess Grey sees images of a witch-burning unfold in front of her as if in a movie. She also sees images from a different time — lovers, and the girl, she’s sure is — was – herself. When she meets Nick she recognises him as the boy. There’s an immediate connection. However when her father nearly dies from a heart attack there’s no time to brood as Bess tries to save her father’s business. She falls in love with Nick but her difficult mother interferes, forcing Bess to make the hardest decision of her life. She must decide whether to lose her mother or the boy she loves.
The Boy in the Olive Grove is a really unique story about a girl who is navigating the minefield of her family life, while trying to deal with the lives she has lived in the past. In the present Bess has a horrible mother who doesn’t seem to care for her at all, a protective brother who has just up and left her, a father who is ill, and a step-mother who she feels awkward around. When she has a visions of herself burning a witch at the stake and of a mysterious boy who she has strong feelings for, she gets drunk and nearly kills herself on the road. This only seems to be the beginning of her troubles, as she gets expelled from her boarding school and sent home to live with her mother. Her dad falls ill and Bess gets left to look after his struggling furniture business. She continues to have the visions and her step-mother sends her to a psychiatrist who helps her to understand these and come to terms with what they mean.
I found the story quite unusual (it’s quite different in a way from Fleur Beale’s previous books), but the more I read, the more intrigued I became and wanted to find out how it would end. Fleur Beale always gets inside her characters heads so we know everything that they’re thinking and feeling. Bess has so much to deal with, from her visions, to taking over her father’s business, and dealing with her horrible mother, but she deals with everything extremely well. I know I wouldn’t have been able to handle all that at her age! I love the relationship that Bess has with the men that work for her dad. After some initial skepticism they warm to her and she helps to boost their confidence. I love the way they call her ‘boss.’
The only thing I didn’t really like about the story was the scheming, vindictive bitch that was Bess’ mum. I don’t think I’ve met a character that I’ve hated quite so much as her, and she didn’t seem to have any redeeming characteristics. I’d really like to know if there are mothers out there that are really like her, because I couldn’t quite imagine a mother that could be as cruel and uncaring as she was.
If you like contemporary Young Adult fiction that stands out from the crowd, The Boy in the Olive Grove, get a copy now. If you’re a fan of Fleur Beale then this is one not to be missed.
4 out of 5 stars
You can read an extract of The Boy in the Olive Grove on the Random House New Zealand website.
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Metawars – whose side are you on?
In an unforgiving future, two warring factions – the MILLENNIALS and the GUARDIANS – are locked in a brutal battle over control of an online virtual world called the Metasphere.
Jonah Delacroix has always known which side he’s on – the same side as his dead father. But when he assumes his father’s avatar, he learns that things aren’t as black and white as he once believed. He’s catapulted into a full-throttle race through both worlds – but can he find the truth?
Metawars is a great new futuristic Young Adult novel by Jeff Norton. It’s a very cool, action-packed story, kind of like Alex Rider meets The Matrix. Metawars is out now in NZ from Hachette NZ.
Check out these great videos from the two factions of the story.
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Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield
I can only think of a handful of books, among all the books I’ve ever read, that I’ll carry around in my head and my heart for the rest of my life. Sometimes it’s the characters, the setting, or the feel of the book, and sometimes it’s the combination of all those things at exactly the right time. When I first read the synopsis of Vikki Wakefield’s latest book, Friday Brown, I had a feeling that it was going to be one of those books. As soon as I started reading it, I knew I wouldn’t be the same when I’d finished it.
I am Friday Brown. I buried my mother. My grandfather buried a swimming pool. A boy who can’t speak has adopted me. A girl kissed me. I broke and entered. Now I’m fantasising about a guy who’s a victim of crime and I am the criminal. I’m going nowhere and every minute I’m not moving, I’m being tailgated by a curse that may or may not be real. They call me Friday. It has been foretold that on a Saturday I will drown…
Seventeen-year-old Friday Brown is on the run—running to escape memories of her mother and of the family curse. And of a grandfather who’d like her to stay. She’s lost, alone and afraid.
Silence, a street kid, finds Friday and she joins him in a gang led by beautiful, charismatic Arden. When Silence is involved in a crime, the gang escapes to a ghost town in the outback. In Murungal Creek, the town of never leaving, Friday must face the ghosts of her past. She will learn that sometimes you have to stay to finish what you started—and often, before you can find out who you are, you have to become someone you were never meant to be.
Friday Brown is simply one of the most powerful, beautifully written stories I’ve ever read. It’s one of those stories that you really lose yourself in and emerge several hours later, with your heart aching and a sense of loss. You know that you’ll never forget the story, the characters, and the way they made you feel.
Vikki’s characters are always extraordinary and she introduces us to a menagerie of different characters in Friday Brown. There is a sense of mystery about each of the characters in the book, as they all seem to have something they’re hiding or trying to forget. I like the way that Vikki peels back the layers of her characters throughout the story and, even at the end, you still feel like you don’t know everything about them. Although we don’t see much of Friday’s mum, her and her family curse are quite an imposing figure throughout the book. Friday is forever running to escape the memories of her mother and the family curse that killed her. If there is one character that I wish I could meet in real life it would be Silence. He’s one of the most mysterious characters, but also the most loveable. He’d had such a tough life and I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything would be alright.
Apart from Vikki’s characters, I think the thing I liked most about Friday Brown was the mood of the story. From the first chapter, you get the sense that things aren’t going to end well. You know that the family curse is hanging over Friday’s head, and this adds a darkness to the story. You wonder if the curse will catch up to her or will she be able to break it.
Vikki Wakefield’s first book, All I Ever Wanted, was a stunning debut, but Friday Brown has really highlighted her incredible talent. I would rate her as one of my favourite authors, especially of contemporary YA fiction, and I can’t wait to read what she writes next. Whatever she does write, I know it will be incredible!
Friday Brown is a book that everyone should read, both teens and adults alike. You will fall in love with Vikki’s amazing story and make some extraordinary friends along the way.
5 out of 5 stars
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Interview with Ambelin Kwaymullina, author of The Tribe
Today I’m joined by Ambelin Kwaymullina, author of the fantastic new futuristic Young Adult series, The Tribe. The first book in the series, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf was released last month and if you haven’t heard all the hype about it you can read my review here on the blog. I caught up with Ambelin to ask her a few questions about her hot new series.
- What 5 words would you use to describe The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf?
Wow, it’s really hard to describe your own work! I guess I can describe what I wanted the story to be…although I think it’s really up to my readers to judge. Here goes:
Mysterious. Dramatic. Thrilling. Smart. Hopeful.
- What inspired you to write The Tribe series?
Mostly, it was Ashala herself. She is such a strong character, that it would have been impossible for me not to tell her story. From the beginning, the first line of the book has always been the same – ‘He was taking me to the machine.’ Those words followed me around for a few days before I began writing, lurking in my consciousness and demanding that I write more. Then, once I started writing, I had to keep going until I reached the end – I certainly couldn’t leave Ashala trapped in the detention centre!
- The Tribe has a spiritual connection to the land and the creatures that inhabit it which, I think, makes your story unique. Is this aspect of the story from your own culture?
Yes, it is. Aboriginal people, and Indigenous people from all over the world, have strong connections to our homelands and the ancient spirits of our peoples. Ashala’s world is very different to the one we live in now, of course – the tectonic plates have shifted, creating a single continent, and people no longer make divisions on the basis of race. But Ashala’s ancestors were Aboriginal, so I knew she’d have a deep love for the forest that she lives in. And I knew that her connection to country would be a source of strength and courage for her, the same as it is for Indigenous peoples now.
- Do you know how the Tribe’s story will end or will you wait to see how the story evolves?
No, I know how it ends. Many of the small details are mysterious to me, but I know where all of the Tribe will be, at the end of the story. And, for this particular story, I think that’s important. I don’t think I could tell it the way that it deserves to be told otherwise.
- Will we find out more about the abilities of the Tribe and where these came from?
Oh yes. I didn’t have a lot of narrative space to explore this in the first book, but as the series goes on, readers will find out much more about how all the different abilities function, and what their strengths and limitations are. There’s some tough times coming for the Tribe, too – so they’re all going to have to push themselves, and be able to control their abilities a lot better than most of them can now.
- How did you find the experience of writing a novel, compared to creating a picture book?
Harder! Much, much harder…also, with picture books, I’d gotten used to being able to pore over every single word until I was satisfied the text was completely perfect. It takes much longer to do that with a novel, which was something I hadn’t realised until I was hopelessly overdue on a deadline. I think, though, that writing picture books, where you have to tell a complete story in not a lot of text, did teach me to be more disciplined with words than I would have been otherwise. That was helpful. On the other hand, I am going to have to learn to restrain my perfectionist tendencies, or I’ll never get the second book done.
- What books would you recommend to anyone who enjoyed The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf?
There’s so much great dystopian fiction, and sci fi/fantasy fiction, for young adults – here’s some I’ve particularly enjoyed: Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series, Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn series, Veronica Roth’s Divergent series, and Moira Young’s Dustlands series.
The next stop on Ambelin’s blog tour is with Celine at http://forget8me8not.blogspot.com.au/.
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My Most Anticipated September New Releases
The Brain Sucker by Glenn Wood (NZ)
Lester Smythe has a black heart. He s invented a dangerous brain-sucking machine that removes the goodness from its victims, and he intends to use it to rid the world of all human kindness. But Lester didn t count on thirteen-year-old Callum McCullock and his two best friends, Sophie and Jinx. The trio vow to destroy the brain sucker. And nothing will stop them.
Around the World in Eighty Days, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
A newly illustrated edition of this classic tale by one of Australia s greatest children s book illustrators. Unabridged version.
Set out on a thrilling voyage with the quintessential English gentleman, Phileas Fogg. To fulfil a wager made at the Reform Club in London, Fogg and his newly appointed manservant, Passepartout, embark on the race of a lifetime to circumnavigate the globe in just eighty days! Travelling by steamboat, train, and even elephant, and with adventure around every bend, the intrepid duo find themselves rescuing a young Indian woman from sacrifice, escaping kidnap, and battling hurricane winds and all the while, tenacious Detective Fix of Scotland Yard is in hot pursuit, believing Fogg to be the criminal mastermind behind a Bank of England robbery. Rich in humour and excitement, Around the World in Eighty Days deservedly remains one of Jules Verne s most popular books. This handsome new edition brings together the complete and unabridged text with over 70 magnificent illustrations by the award-winning artist Robert Ingpen.
The Queen and the Nobody Boy: A Tale of Fontania by Barbara Else (NZ)
Hodie is the unpaid odd-job boy at the Grand Palace in the Kingdom of Fontania. Fed-up, he decides to leave and better himself in the South. But the young Queen, 12 year old Sibilla, is fed-up, too, because of gossip about her lack of magical ability. She decides to go with him, insisting he go north to get his mother’s bag back from the Emperor of Um’Binnia.
The Boy in the Olive Grove by Fleur Beale (NZ)
On the night of her seventeenth birthday Bess Grey sees images of a witch-burning unfold in front of her as if in a movie. She also sees images from a different time — lovers, and the girl, she’s sure is — was – herself. When she meets Nick she recognises him as the boy. There’s an immediate connection. However when her father nearly dies from a heart attack there’s no time to brood as Bess tries to save her father’s business. She falls in love with Nick but her difficult mother interferes, forcing Bess to make the hardest decision of her life.She must decide whether to lose her mother or the boy she loves.
Friday Brown by Vicki Wakefield
Seventeen-year-old Friday Brown is on the run—running to escape memories of her mother and of the family curse. And of a grandfather who’d like her to stay. She’s lost, alone and afraid.
Silence, a street kid, finds Friday and she joins him in a gang led by beautiful, charismatic Arden. When Silence is involved in a crime, the gang escapes to a ghost town in the outback. In Murungal Creek, the town of never leaving, Friday must face the ghosts of her past. She will learn that sometimes you have to stay to finish what you started—and often, before you can find out who you are, you have to become someone you were never meant to be.
Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
From the Newbery Medal–winning author of When You Reach Me
When Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building, he meets Safer, a twelve-year-old coffee-drinking loner and self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer’s first spy club recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: how far is too far to go for your only friend?
The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George
The first young adult book by a #1 New York Times bestselling author
Whidbey Island may be only a ferry ride from Seattle, but it’s a world apart. When Becca King arrives there, she doesn’t suspect the island will become her home for the next four years. Put at risk by her ability to hear “whispers”–the thoughts of others–Becca is on the run from her stepfather, whose criminal activities she has discovered. Stranded and alone, Becca is soon befriended by Derric, a Ugandon orphan adopted by a local family; Seth, a kindhearted musician and high school dropout; Debbie, a recovering alcoholic who takes her in; and Diana, with whom Becca shares a mysterious psychic connection.
Elf Boy and Raven Girl #1: Fright Forest by Marcus Sedgwick
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.
Metawars by Jeff Norton
In an unforgiving future, two warring factions – the MILLENNIALS and the GUARDIANS – are locked in a brutal battle over control of an online virtual world called the Metasphere.
Jonah Delacroix has always known which side he’s on – the same side as his dead father. But when he assumes his father’s avatar, he learns that things aren’t as black and white as he once believed. He’s catapulted into a full-throttle race through both worlds – but can he find the truth?
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Sally Gardner tells a story that is rich in drama and ideas as Standish Treadwell, an unlikely hero, takes on the vicious forces of the repressive motherland in a novel set in a bleak world that is redeemed only by the very human qualities of some of the survivors. Standish and his remarkable grandfather keep going, eking out a living after the disappearance of Standish’s parents. Standish struggles at school and is the victim of relentless bullying. But then he finds a friend in the newly arrived Hector. When Hector is taken, the only hope lies in Standish…Luckily, Standish has just the qualities that are needed.
Shrunk by F. R. Hitchcock
Jed ‘Model Village’ Perks discovers the ability to shrink things and gleefully shrinks some sheep, a few boats and… the planet Jupiter. But then he loses it. With the *accidentally* miniaturised school bully shouting up at him, Jed has to find Jupiter and return it to orbit before the earth collides with the sun.
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Fire in the Sea by Myke Bartlett
The wonderful people at Text Publishing (based in Melbourne) launched a fantastic new award for authors across Australia and New Zealand a few years ago, called The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing. This prize has introduced me to some of my favourite authors, including Richard Newsome and Leanne Hall. Last year they chose another very deserving winner of the prize, Myke Bartlett with his book Fire in the Sea, which has just been released.
Sadie is sixteen and bored with life in Perth. It’s summer, and lazing on the beach in the stifling heat with her cousins and Tom is a drag. Then something comes out of the sea.
Dark menacing forms attack an old man, leaving him for dead and Sadie wracking her brains to understand what she saw. Then there’s a mysterious inheritance, a strange young man called Jake and a horned beast trampling the back yard.
Sadie finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient conflict that is nearing its final battle, a showdown that threatens to engulf Perth and all those she loves in a furious tsunami.
Fire in the Sea is a story of gods, monsters, curses, immortality, war and the normal teenagers who get caught in the middle. Myke Bartlett grabs you within the first few pages and you get swept away in the story, not wanting to surface until you get to the very end. It’s one of those stories you want to devour all in one go because the writing is just so good and the action never lets up. There’s something for everyone in the story, from mythical creatures and body-swapping gods, to a genie-like demon who grants wishes and a lost civilization. There is plenty of violence and blood and guts to keep the guys interested, especially when the Minotaur is involved.
I love how Myke has weaved mythology into the story. I can see Fire in the Sea appealing those teens that have enjoyed the Percy Jackson series because of the way that Myke brings gods and monsters into the present day. Even though you don’t see the gods, you get the impression that they’re watching everything happen and will intervene if or when the time comes. The feel of the story also reminded me a little of Maurice Gee’s Under the Mountain.
Sadie is a strong, feisty heroine. She doesn’t seem to care what other people think of her and is prepared to do what she thinks is right to save the people she loves. She get caught in the middle of a war that they didn’t want to be involved in, but she handles the situation incredibly well.
The ending of Fire in the Sky left me wanting to read more about Sadie, Jake and the ancient ones, so here’s hoping Myke continues their story. If you’re looking for a fast-paced story, filled with action, adventure, fantasy and mythology, Fire in the Sky is the perfect book.
4 out of 5 stars
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My Most Anticipated August New Releases
Fire in the Sea by Myke Bartlett
Sadie is sixteen and bored with life in Perth. It’s summer, and lazing on the beach in the stifling heat with her cousins and Tom is a drag. Then something comes out of the sea.
Dark menacing forms attack an old man, leaving him for dead and Sadie wracking her brains to understand what she saw. Then there’s a mysterious inheritance, a strange young man called Jake and a horned beast trampling the back yard.
Sadie finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient conflict that is nearing its final battle, a showdown that threatens to engulf Perth and all those she loves in a furious tsunami.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked by Derek Landy
Magic is a disease.
Across the land, normal people are suddenly developing wild and unstable powers. Somehow infected by a rare strain of magic, they are unwittingly endangering their own lives and the lives of the people around them. Terrified and confused, their only hope lies with the Sanctuary, which is having problems of its own. Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are needed now more than ever – not only to find out what is causing the infection, but also to prevent the take-over of the Sanctuary by a consortium of international sorcerers.
And then there’s the small matter of Kitana. A normal teenage girl who, along with her normal teenage friends, becomes infected. Becomes powerful. Becomes corrupted. Wielding the magic of gods, they’re set to tear the city apart unless someone stands up against them.
Looks like it’s going to be another one of those days …
The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne
There’s nothing unusual about the Brockets. Boring, respectable and fiercely proud to be as normal as normal can be, Alistair and Eleanor Brocket turn up their noses at anyone strange or different. But from the moment Barnaby Brocket comes into the world, it’s clear he’s anything but normal. To the horror and shame of his parents, Barnaby appears to defy the laws of gravity – and floats. Little Barnaby is a lonely child – after all, it’s hard to make friends when you’re pressed against the ceiling all day. Desperate to please his parents, he does his best to stop floating, but he simply can’t do it. It’s just not who he is. Then, one fateful day, Barnaby’s mother decides enough is enough. She never asked for a weird, abnormal, floating child. She’s sick and tired of the newspapers prying and the neighbours gossiping. Barnaby has to go. Betrayed, frightened and alone, Barnaby floats into the path of a very special hot air balloon. And so begins a magical journey around the world; from South America to New York, Canada to Ireland, and even a trip into space, Barnaby meets a cast of truly extraordinary new friends and realises that nothing can make you happier than just being yourself.
The Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner
History is broken, and three kids must travel back in time to set it right!
When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the secret of time travel — a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring — they’re swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone disastrously off course.
Now it’s up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the Great Breaks . . . and to save Dak’s missing parents while they’re at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!
The Kill Order by James Dashner
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.
The Kill Order is the story of that fall.
A prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy, The Kill Order has been in the works since the completion of The Maze Runner. The story of civilization’s fall was kept under wraps and is the explication of the events that began this bestselling series.
The Invisible Fiends: The Darkest Corners by Barry Hutchison
Kyle’s dad is one of the most powerful invisible fiends, and he is everywhere. Really everywhere. In windows, through doors, on advertising billboards. Kyle just can’t escape him – and maybe he’s tired of running, anyway.
It’s time to fight …
This is Barry Hutchison’s conclusion to his brilliant Invisible Fiends series.
The Billionaire’s Curse series by Richard Newsome (new covers)
While this series isn’t new, Richard’s fantastic publishers, Text, have reissued the first three books in the series with new covers. I love the new covers and they’re sure to attract some new Richard Newsome fans. The fourth book in the series, The Crystal Code, is due out in October.
My Best Friends Are Books 