Cracks- New Book review!

Title: Cracks

Author: Caroline Green

ISBN: 978-1-84812-168-3

Price: £6.99

Cal lives a fairly normal if, unhappy teenage life. He lives with his mum and his unbearable new Stepfather Des and his son Ryan aka Pigface, goes to school with his best friend Amid and loves to impress the art teacher Miss Lovett with his paintings. This is his life, until the cracks start to appear. His world starts to change and transforms from ordinary into a nightmare as cracks appear on tables walls and the sky around him and he finds himself trapped in Riley Hall, the local young offender’s institution where he finds himself face to face with a boy who looks just like him. He knows he has been here before and that something terrible happened.

                This is when Cal wakes up in hospital in the year 2023 and is informed that an accident lead to another boys brain tissue being transferred to his brain in order to save his life and since then he has been in a coma. Trapped in a whirl of confusion, Cal no longer knows what to believe and doesn’t trust the doctors who say he has no family that they know of and keep him locked in his room under close surveillance.  He also refuses to believe that the life he has been living was someone else’s, a transmission of memory inside his head because he knows he himself has lived at Brinkley cross and is determined to find Amid and his mother, even Des in order to regain normality.

                He manages to escape from hospital, but soon discovers that the world in 2023 is very different. Constant suspicion of terrorist attacks has lead to heavy security everywhere and constant police interrogations as well as recurring ‘plaster bomb’ attacks. The regime is now in charge and they are determined that no one will trust anyone else in case they lose control. Cal meets Kyla and Jax who take him to a modern Fagin’s den full of runaway youths who steal for their keep. Among these new friend Cal finally begins to feel like he belongs again , however his hospital ant him back and he must run leaving his friends behind for their own safety. Can Cal ever find out who he really is and achieve a normal life, or will he be returned to the hospital and hooked up to a machine once again, forced to live the rest of his life through someone else’s memories.

                Incredibly exciting and action packed, Cracks is the new Hunger Games with a terrifying twist. Imagine waking up to discover your whole life is a lie? Everyone wonders at certain points whether our lives are computer games, controlled by greater powers and our world meaningless- this book takes it one step further by describing a boy whose entire life is lived through his mind and monitored by scientists. The world created in the future is a similar prediction to George Orwell’s 1984, and just as terrifying, yet with the hope of friendship love and family still remaining. Its an excellent novel whether you’re a sci-fan or not and will really get you thinking- beware; life can seem so normal, until the cracks start to appear.

7/10

Winter Damage... New Review by Katy Handley

Title: Winter Damage

Author: Natasha Carthew

ISBN: 9781408835838 (hardback)

Price: £10.99

                 

The book follows Ennor a young girl living in a deteriorating society were money is worthless, shops are closing down and everyone has nothing. These things are nothing new to Ennor however, with her father dying of cancer and drug abuse after the loss of their farm although she is now only 14 she was forced to leave school years ago in order to take care of the few remaining animals, attempt to provide the family with food and pay the rent while taking care of her sickly father and her younger autistic brother Trip. Her mother left them years ago to follow a religious path, and as bills pile up and food runs out Ennor feels she might be their only chance of surviving the winter. Her worries increase as she receives a letter about Trip being taken to an ‘institution’ and she decides to set off in search of her mother leaving her best friend Butch to take care of her father and brother. However Butch, abused and beaten by his father and consequently ill himself finds it difficult to take care of Trip and further problems occur when Ennor is lost on the more and ends up at the house of a strange woman who attempts to take her belongings. However the woman appears to know where her mother is and gives Ennor directions. But can she be trusted, and even if found, will Ennor’s mother even acknowledge the daughter she lost so many years ago? With the bitter cold of winter settling and the desperation of a society with no possessions or food growing, the moor is not a safe place for a young girl alone. However she meets Sonny a young strong gypsy girl who can fight, hunt and shoot and soon her good humour and outgoing personality grows on Ennor.

                Ennor is a girl who almost feels she has lost everything at many points in the book, yet on this path she also finds friendship and rediscovers the childhood she missed out on. She learns the meaning of hope and love and discovers that what she had been searching for had been with her along her journey.  Society and mankind is falling to pieces, as desperation leads to theft, ignorance and neglect, but from the dust rises up a new generation of hope for something better; for children never forget the joy of laughter. An inspiring story that captures the freezing cold of winter in order to symbolise the coldness of humans in a times of crisis- when each person is only concerned for their own survival. However the warmth of love and friendship thaws broken dreams and hearts and leads these children to something better than the life they left behind.

7/10

A Twist of Fortune Review

Title: A Twist of Fortune

Author: Barbara Mitchel Hill

ISBN: 978184939562

Price: £5.99

The award winning author of ‘Run Rabbit Run’ has produced a thrilling Victorian historical fiction novel. It follows the tale of Sam Pargeter who through a series of unfortunate circumstances ends up head of his family; his sister Eliza and little brother Alfie and responsible for finding them food and a home. This is no easy task for children in Victorian England however as everyone seems to be against them. However they decide to set off in search of their rich grandfather with their dog Patch and their favourite book Oliver Twist, hoping that he will help them.  It is a heart-warming story which does not conceal the injustice and brutality of the Victorian society towards children at the time. It also has some wonderful characters, including Charles Dickens himself and exciting villains. The children are forced to live in Devils Acre, an area of London crammed with criminals, misery and insufferable poverty, then are accused of murder and also end up trapped in a terrible school where the children sleep on stone floors and sweep chimneys. However there are also themes of family, bravery and strength in this book for children who had to grow up far too soon but are determined to find happiness and be reunited with their family. There is trouble at every corner for the Pargeter children and more importantly will their grandfather accept them, after disowning their father for marrying a poor woman? Will he even recognise them if they don’t have their father’s and Aunt Maud’s letters in mother’s silver box?

                The children’s adventure makes this novel a page-turner, but it also reveals a lot about living in Victorian England and their attitudes towards the poor as well as the effects of early industrialisation and the railways. It is also written convincingly in the style of a Victorian boy and we learn how Sam is forced to become the man of a family, even though starvation has given him the frame of a small boy, in order to save his younger siblings.  Yet the family always stick together, and with Sam’s careful planning and Eliza’s beautiful singing voice and Alfie’s innocent charm, perhaps the family might one day find happiness?

8/10

New Book Reviews!!

Title: The Extincts

Author: Veronica Cossanteli

Price: (out in May) paperback £5.99

ISBN: 978-1-908435-45

                This is a story about a young boy named George (he’s not named after St George, even though he lives in the town were the famous battle with the dragon took place, he’s named after his Grandfather). George feels he is far from ordinary, in fact when he sees a job advertisement for a job at Wormestall Farm, he feels he could be the ‘Right Person for the Job’ and it’s not just because he need the money for a new bike. But George could never have imagined in his wildest dreams the creatures he discovered at Wormestall which was certainly no ordinary farm. It may have pigs and cows, but they are extinct species or mythical creatures, not to mention there is a unicorn, an ichthyosaur (like a dolphin but with very, very sharp teeth)  and an old dragon with a wounded eye and a dislike towards Knights on horseback. They are very rare and seek sanctuary in Wormestall farm otherwise they would be sent to laboratories to be tested or put in cages for humans to view. Worse still there is Diamond Pye, the stepmother of Pruedence the new girl in Geroge’s class who also finds out bout Wormestall. Diamond Pye is an animal-stuffer, and when there are rumours that the wigglington worm has escaped (it is actually a basilisk named Mortifier). George has to help Mrs Linde and Lo, the keepers of Wormestall to bring back Mortifier before he turns the whole town to stone or eats a child (it’s not his fault though, he can’t help it), or is captured, bagged and stuffed by the Diamond Pyeso that she can win the Taxidermist of the Year award and the golden brain spoon. Meanwhile the evil taxidermist locks Prudence in a cage in order to make her confess the truth about the location of the weird and wonderful creatures, so George now must rescue her as well. Can he save the day?

                Hilarious and full of exciting animals you could never have imagined, all real extinct creatures, or taken from myths, ‘The Extincts’ is a fun book for younger readers and will have you imagining your own monsters that live in Wormestall Farm.

Title: After Iris; The Diaries of Bluebell Gadsby

Author: Natasha Farrant

Price: £6.99 (paperback)

ISBN: 9780571297962

                The Diaries of Bluebell Gadsby contain film footage, shot by the Cameraman, Bluebell herself, the film scripts of which are included in the book. The films all show Blue’s completely mad, but loving family; Flora, sixteen and would be married in some countries therefore old enough to do what she wants, Twig and Jasmine, the babes who enjoy pulling pranks and throwing tantrums, Blue herself and Blue’s shadow. Ever since the death of her twin sister Iris Blue has keenly felt the separation, like a missing arm or leg and she often images her shadow is Iris following her stil. However the rest of the family appear to have forgotten her and sometimes Blue herself feels invisible with her parents constantly travelling, Flora being overdramatic and attention-seeking and the babes constantly causing trouble.  Blue never gets the chance to talk about her problems in school; how she has no friends and how Dodi, who used t be her best friend and is now her worst enemy, treats her. The story begins with the arrival of the au pair, Zoran who immediately tries and fails to take control of the unruly family, then the arrival of another mysterious character. The grandson of their nextdoor neighbours Joss is sixteen and as wild and full of fun as they are and takes great delight in watching and playing tricks on the family. He also becomes friends with Blue however, listens to her, gets revenge on the bullies at school and always makes her laugh. Just when she realises she has fallen in love with him however she sees him kissing her older sister Flora. Is Joss really as great as he has made out to be? He seems to be even wilder than they imagined bringing Flora home drunk and bringing his loud, rude friends to the school play. Meanwhile the children all begin to feel resentment towards their parents for being constantly working or travelling so that they are never together as a family. Blue knows the real reason everyone is moving so fast and being so busy, even though they may not speak about her they are trying to hide their grief for the loss of Iris, just as Blue is by not speaking to anyone and remaining always on the other side of the camera.

                A wonderful novel containing the true meaning of family love and support for one another in times of difficulty and distress, this book also contains themes of growing up and heartbreak while also introducing moments of hilarious wit from the eyes of an intelligent sensitive 13 year old. The film scripts at the beginning and ends of the chapters are surprisingly effective and add to the vividness of the action within the book. You can almost imagine the novel as a film, and only at the very end does Flora take the camera and focus it on Blue’s face; she is laughing.

8/10

New Review! Midnight In St Petersburg

Title: Midnight in St Petersburg

Author: Vanora Bennet

ISBN: 9781780891590

Price: £12.99 (out soon!)

                Historical fiction in my opinion is massively underrated and, if well written, usually leads to thrilling interesting novels. Quite simply there are things which cannot be made up and part of the enjoyment, the wonder is due to the knowledge that these events actually happened. ‘Midnight in St Petersburg’ is such a novel and many would draw from it similarities with Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. It is very different however, and if the Russian classics seem daunting it’s n excellent introduction being written by an English author, but who has first-hand experience of Russia, having lived there for many years. Bennet has certainly done intense research and manages to not only incorporate the often unbelievable events of the Russian revolution but also the rumours among the people of Russia, the unanswered questions about the secrets of the monarchy. The reader also gains a sense of truly being a part of the Russian revolution, not merely an onlooker, and the beauty of the traditional, fascinating bourgeois society, with its aspiring musicians, artists, poets and the eccentric nobility as well as the brutality of the Russian Empire. Concentrated in St Petersburg it only give brief information about the effect of the revolution on the rest of Russia, however the events in St Petersburg were significant to the collapse of the Russian Empire.

                The events are incorporated into the storyline of a young Jewish musician Inna, who manages to escape Kiev after the assassination of the Prime Minister in 1911. The Jews were the prime suspects of revolutionary activity and fearing the violent brutal pogroms, Inna steals a passport and gets on a train to St Petersburg hoping to stay with her cousin Yash and bringing his violin. But the unrest in the streets of St Petersburg, her cousin is a revolutionary attempting to procure papers for an exiled man and not having papers herself, Inna is possibly in greater danger than she was in Kiev. However she manages to get a job in a violin shop and lodging in the household of the kind Lemans who also house Yasha. Her stunning beauty, charm and exquisite violin playing charms an Englishman Horace Wallick who introduces her to his favourite part of Russia; the glamorous Bourgeois and Inna flourishes among this new bohemian set of friends. Inna is in love, yet she is not sure if it is with her volatile passionate cousin, or the sophisticated, smart Englishman who cares for her greatly and could secure her safety in St Petersburg. Meanwhile the city is in turmoil as the Russian government starts to collapse and revolutionary feelings are growing, no one is safe. Inna meets the nortorious Rasputin who she knows as the kind Father Gregory, a Siberian peasant who has become an obsession of the aristocracy as some beg for his spiritual knowledge and advice while others slander him in the newspapers accusing him of womazing and drunkenness. She also meets the eccentric, outrageous Prince Felix Youssoupoff, who loves to disguise himself, as a peasant, as a poor worker even as a woman! The incorporation of real historical figures into a fictional sory works wonderfully well in this novel as Bennett uses them to provide other opinions of the causes and events of the Russian Revolution in fascinating detail. Horace Wallick was also originally a real person; the authors Great Uncle who lived in Russia before the revolution, forced to return to England, never got over losing his alternative, yet thrilling and luxurious lifestyle when the Tsar was on the throne. But what will Bennett’s ending hold instore for Horace? Inna is in possession of Prince Youssoupoff’s priceless Stradivarius violin which could be her safe ticket out of Russia on board the Dowager Princesses ship to Paris, but which man will she take with her?

                The Russian Revolution must be one of the most fascinating, thrilling topics of history and if you’re looking to broaden your knowledge on the subject or learn about it from scratch this is an excellent informative book with detailed information about historical figures and events. Alternatively if you’re just looking for an exciting storyline and interesting characters, you won’t be disappointed.

8/10

Can we drum up...Beat IT

Folks

a quick post...not via RM then!

Please read reviews..Katy Handley is a superb 17 year old from Merchant Taylors' Girls in Crosby, she has read and reviewed loads of great books..find yours..share and comment!

Also, Holly our 18 yr old Art A level student, Saturday girl has produced the most extraordinary mural..some posts on FB and Twitter and if by request we can email..
e me tonythebook@live.co.uk


She deserves a chance to work with a real author and produce a stunning book!

Also please encourage all to 'shop local' and buy real books from real bookshops..enough online is 'great', make real greater..we have signed copies of award winners and basically other brilliant books..come and see and buy!

dates for diaries...

SAT 6th April 1-2 come and meet Kevin Sampson and get his 'The Killing Pool' awesome noir crime with a bit of rhyme in deep Liverpool.

TUE 7th May a World Book Night extraordinary event at Liverpool Town Hall...with John Boyne!
Tickets only £2 and he will talk/read/take questions and sign copie sof his amazing new gothic ghost tale
'This House is Haunted' we will have backlist too.

tried to be quick so be quick to share and respond

adieu

Coming soon...

Title: We Need New Names
Author: Noviolet Blubayo

ISBN: 9780701188030

Coming June 2013!

This book will change your life. Set in a shanty town on the outskirts of Budapest this is an emotional, terrible, enchanting story about a young girl named Darling. She lives with Mother of Bones and her Mother as her father is away traveling to make money for them, she remembers what it was like to have a nice house, clean clothes and pretty toys before the time when their country was taken over and their houses destroyed leaving them with worthless money and few possessions. She is also keen to remind the other children that she has a rich auntie in america who she will live with one day. However her and her friends Bastard Stina Godknows Chipo and Sbho have more pressing matters to attend to. They are off to steal guava fruits. Guava fruits from the rich houses that will temporarily full their empty stomachs but have the unfortunate side effect of painful constipation.

However this is book is not miserable angry or bitter; it displays the determination and strength of a beaten down race who did anything to escape their dying country but never relinquished its culture or their love for it. Through the mind of a child Blubayo successfully captures images through words in a unique and enchanting manner. I have read few books where I actually sense feel and experience the story and the setting as I do in "We Need New Names". Also worth mentioning is he authors skill in creating a change of tone and manner of the narrator as she grows from a child to an adolescent with her own strong opinions, often intervening with chapters speaking for all African people who have been forced to leave their country behind. I can't recommend this book enough; it really will change your view on life.

9/10