Savage Island is a deeply clever account of secrets, lies, family and friendship under strain set amidst a high stakes Duke of EdinburghXgeocaching treasure hunt perfect for teens who may have begged to watch Squid Game, but parents are hesitant to expose to that level of violence.
Just look at that cover. I mean how was I suppose to resist, I did try for about a year then caved and treated myself for my birthday. A cosy gorgeous adventure where a young witch must prove herself and solve problems with a gaming feel and Japanese infused world building this book is an … Continue reading Eva Evergreen; Semi Magical Witch by Julie Abe
Across September we have been reading or rereading Kidnap in the Caribbean by Lauren St John, the second story in the series which finds young Laura Marlin on a dream holiday cruising into a nightmare as the Straight As strike back.
You may have guessed that I’m a huge fan of Vashti Hardy’s writing and she’s a wonderful person too ! The Puffin Portal is the sequel to her first collaboration with Barrington Stoke The Griffin Gate, a tale that blends the Hardy-verse of STEM steeped societies and steam punkery into it in accessible form for … Continue reading The Puffin Portal Vashti Hardy illustrated by Natalie Smillie
The most beautiful twin books came through my door last Saturday from O’Brien Press. Caitriona Sweeney’s dreamy watercolours swirl around a modern fairytale firmly orientated in Galway and available in Gaelic too. A Galway Fairytale or Síscéal Ó Ghaillimh tells the tale of Séan and Gráinne’s journey into Galway market to buy their mother a … Continue reading A Galway Fairytale/ Síscéal Ó Ghaillimh by Caitriona Sweeney
If I could only say one thing about His Royal Hopeless I would say imagine a Disney- Pixar movie but in book form- it has all the magic, the layered storytelling and jokes and growth of those animated movies imagine Onward with a dash of Luca and a frosting of Frozen meets a dollop of … Continue reading His Royal Hopeless – Chloë Perrin
No Man’s Land is a bitingly clever speculative fiction that flips the perspective of books like When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit which feature living under the rule of fascism and fleeing as a historical distant ‘other’, or those about a modern refugee children coming to Britain as a socio-cultural ‘other’ instead here in Joanna Nadin’s … Continue reading No Man’s Land- Joanna Nadin
Lily and the Fae 