Category: Recommended Age

Danger at Dead Man’s Pass by M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman, reviewed by Aysha

(This great book is a part of a series so if you like this book maybe consider reading the series! Now back to the book review!)

I loved this book! It’s in the area of mystery and adventure, that I like to read about and it tops the category.

It’s all about a boy called Hal who is a (train) detective along with his Uncle Nat. They are investigating Alexander’s Kratzenstien’s death in Berlin undercover. What’s spooky in this book is that there is an Old Kratzenstien curse at Dead Man’s Pass where Alexander was killed. Do you think that was the curse? (Well obviously I know if it was the curse or not but do you?) While Hal is there, Hal finds out more about Uncle Nat, could it be related to the death and the
curse?

This book is good for people who like Adventures, Murder and are 9+
Hope you liked the book review
See you next time!!!

Aysha’s illustrations blow us away every time!

About the book

Embark on a thrilling fourth adventure in the bestselling, prize-winning Adventures on Trains series – Danger at Dead Man’s Pass , from M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman, as Harrison Beck investigates an ancient family curse high in the German mountains. Illustrated in black-and-white throughout by Elisa Paganelli. 

A mysterious letter from an old friend asks Hal and Uncle Nat to help investigate a spooky supernatural mystery. Legend has it the Kratzensteins, a family of rich and powerful railway tycoons, are cursed, but there is no such thing as a curse, is there . . .?

Hal and Nat take the night train to Berlin and go undercover. From a creaking spooky old house at the foot of the Harz mountains, they take the Kratzenstein family’s funeral train to the peak of the Brocken Mountain. Can Hal uncover the secrets of the Brocken railway and the family curse before disaster strikes?

Danger at Dead Man’s Pass can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the Adventures on Trains series. Join Hal and Uncle Nat on more stops in this thrilling series with: The Highland Falcon Thief , Kidnap on the California Comet , Murder on the Safari Starand Sabotage on the Solar Express.

The Great Fox Illusion by Justyn Edwards, Reviewed by Rosa

This book is about a girl called Flick (short for Felicity) Lions. Her dad ran away so she entered a magic competition to win the thing that will get him back. It is set in the Great Fox’s house in Devon, he is a rich magician who has mysteriously disappeared. On the way she teamed up with Charlie, who is a real chatterbox sometimes. The ending is very, very unexpected, I loved it.

It took me no time at all to get into the Great Fox Illusion. The main character is truly brilliant, she is a one legged, girl magician. The way the author wrote made me feel sympathy for the characters on the other team, even though they were mean to Flick. Though this book wasn’t a thriller it had me eating it whole! 

This is the perfect mix of magic and adventure. I give it five stars. 

About the book:

Secrets and illusions abound as a group of young magicians competes for the prize of a lifetime in this gripping adventure, the first in an enthralling new series from debut author Justyn Edwards.

“Magic is about dreaming what is impossible and making it possible. It’s the innocent young mind in all of us that loves it. We want to be filled with wonder. We want to believe. I want the winner of this competition and the recipient of my legacy to dare to dream big.

So, let the Great Fox Hunt begin.”

Thirteen-year-old Flick Lions has won a place on a new television show, in which young people compete to win the legacy of The Great Fox, one of the world’s most famous magicians. But Flick isn’t interested in uncovering the Great Fox’s tired old magic tricks – she’s after something much more important. The magician destroyed her family, and this is Flick’s only chance to put things right.

Inside the Fox’s house is a secret that will change the world of magic for ever, and Flick will go to any lengths to find it.

Locked out Lily by Nick Lake and Emily Gravett, reviewed by Leontine

Locked out Lily is really good because the book makes you feel like your [sic] inside the book having the adventure Lily has.

Locked out Lily is a story about belonging and about accepting things about life.

Lily is a great main character, loyal, courageous and hard-working. By the end of the story Lily is prepared to do anything to save her family.

Lily’s adventure consists in learning how to claim back her house from devils with coal eyes and banishing them to protect her family from harm.

It’s a really amazing book and I think it’s good for all age groups.

About the book

A startlingly original, stunningly-illustrated modern classic about learning to face your fears from the multi award-winning partnership of Nick Lake and Emily Gravett. Lily just wants things to go back to the way they were: before she got sick, before her parents decided to have another baby. So when she’s sent away to stay with her grandmother while her mum has the baby, Lily is determined to go home.

But she doesn’t expect to find people in her house – people who look like her parents, but definitely aren’t … Together with some unlikely animal companions, Lily must face her fears and summon the courage to break into her own house, and defeat ‘The Replacements’ before the night is out.

Nick Lake’s atmospheric story of family and friendship is brought to spectacular life by Emily Gravett, twice winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal.

‘A book of such wit and flair and delight: the kind of book you finish and immediately begin again, so that you can live again alongside the characters’ Katherine Rundell, bestselling author of The Explorer  

The Great Fox Illusion by Justyn Edwards, reviewed by Niamh

The Great Fox Illusion is the first book from Justyn Edwards and the start of a new exciting series, featuring Flick Lions and the world of magic tricks.

13-year-old Flick takes part in a new television programme, where she pairs up with a boy called Charlie Lopez and competes against siblings Harry and Ruby Townsend to win the legacy of a famous magician, called The Great Fox. 

Everyone competing holds their own secret that makes winning the most important thing to them, including Flick’s search for the mysterious Bell System trick to bring her dad back.

I think The Great Fox Illusion is an amazing book, filled with excitement, mystery and an intriguing insight into the world of magic and magicians. It’s also very inspiring that the main character has a prosthetic leg and the story tells you about the challenges of having a disability.

I absolutely love that it explains magic tricks that happened in real-life as part of the plot. After reading about magician David Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty disappear, it inspired me to watch a video of the trick!

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysterious, adventure stories and learning new interesting things as they read. It’s a must-read for 2022 and I’m going to suggest it as a class book to my teacher because my friends would love it.

I’m really looking forward to reading the next books in the series and I think the next one should be called The Great Lion Illusion! 

Perfect for fans of: The Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie; Escape the Rooms by Stephen Mangan; and Escape Room by Christopher Edge. 

About the book:

Secrets and illusions abound as a group of young magicians competes for the prize of a lifetime in this gripping adventure, the first in an enthralling new series from debut author Justyn Edwards.

“Magic is about dreaming what is impossible and making it possible. It’s the innocent young mind in all of us that loves it.

We want to be filled with wonder. We want to believe. I want the winner of this competition and the recipient of my legacy to dare to dream big.

So, let the Great Fox Hunt begin.”

Thirteen-year-old Flick Lions has won a place on a new television show, in which young people compete to win the legacy of The Great Fox, one of the world’s most famous magicians. But Flick isn’t interested in uncovering the Great Fox’s tired old magic tricks – she’s after something much more important. The magician destroyed her family, and this is Flick’s only chance to put things right.

Inside the Fox’s house is a secret that will change the world of magic for ever, and Flick will go to any lengths to find it.

Loki by Louie Stowell, reviewed by Mia

I found the Loki book very funny. Loki was a god of Asgard but got sent to Midgard (Earth) as a punishment for being naughty.  I liked how the story was set up to be like a diary and how the diary kept on correcting him when it detected the lies Loki told.

The part where Valerie (someone at Loki’s school) thought they were aliens was the funniest, especially when Loki thought she knew that he and Thor (Thor got sent down to Earth to be Loki’s fake brother) were gods of Asgard. She thought they were aliens after seeing them slide into Earth, so Loki made up a story of his fake planet. I think this book is great! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

About the book

Wry, witty and very funny diary-style story packed with doodles and comic strips about the frustration trickster god Loki feels at having to live trapped in the body of a weedy eleven-year-old boy. After one trick too many, Loki is banished to live on Earth as a “normal” school boy. Forbidden from using his AWESOME godly powers, Loki must show moral improvement.

As he records his lies THE TRUTH in his magical (judgemental) diary, it becomes clear Loki hasn’t a clue how to tell good from evil, trust from tricks, or friends from enemies.

Unipiggle by Hannah Shaw, reviewed by Evie and Katy

This is a story about a unicorn pig you’ll Never Forget!

Read this book! It’ll make you want chocolate! – Evie

Unipiggle is very funny . My age group for it is Year 2- Year 4. They say that you have to be perfect but that is wrong. You can be who you want to be. I liked it because it is funny and I loved the illustrations.  My mummy also enjoyed it too! – Katy

Einstein the Penguin by Iona Rangeley and David Tazzyman, reviewed by Katy

My Mummy has a copy of this book with all the pictures (this was a proof copy-Mum) , which is good as the pictures were my favourite bit. The penguin is so cute, and I really liked the pictures of him. The penguin called Einstein comes to stay with some children and they have to find out where he has come from and why he is there. I am going to try and draw some penguins like the ones in the pictures because I like them so much.  

We think Katy did an amazing job with her penguin! Well done, Katy!

About the book

‘An outstanding debut. Funny and surprising’ The Times Best Books for Children 2021 ‘This debut novel is a delight . .. A joy to read aloud’ Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week

Perfect for all readers from 7 to 70, Einstein the Penguin introduces an unforgettable new character in a future-classic and fantastically funny debut for all the family to enjoy. Get ready to welcome the most extraordinary penguin into your own home…

When the Stewarts spend a sunny, frosty December day at London Zoo, they’re enchanted by one small penguin. At the delight of young Imogen and Arthur, Mrs Stewart insists the penguin “must come and stay with them whenever he likes.” But not one Stewart expects the penguin to turn up at their door that evening, rucksack labelled “Einstein” on his back… The family’s new feathered friend helps Arthur to come out of his shell and makes massive demands on Imogen’s amateur sleuthing.

But together they must find out why Einstein came to them and they must keep away from the mysterious white-coat man. And Einstein can’t stay forever, can he…? From stunning new writing talent Iona Rangeley, and illustrated with wit and brio by the award-winning David Tazzyman, this is a book that will be treasured for years to come.

When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando, reviewed by Abi

Themes: Knife crime, racism, LGBT, love, friendships, fostering

When fourteen-year-old Shaq is stabbed outside of a busy shopping centre in Manchester, three teenagers from very different walks of life are unexpectedly brought together. What follows flips their worlds upside down and makes Chantelle, Jackson, and Marc question the deep-rooted prejudice and racism that exists within the police, the media, and the rest of society.

Like Stars this is another hard-hitting book from Danielle but the focus of this one is knife crime in the UK, which is such an important topic to talk about and I haven’t read many books on it. Chantelle lives with her grandma and sister, their Mum abandoned them, and she is really smart but targeted a lot by a specific teacher who can’t even begin to imagine that she could be intelligent. Marc is a very talented artist, is openly gay and is currently being fostered. Jackson is smart, privileged and I think is the most affected when the knife attack happens because it’s so out of his ‘world.’

The book explores how these three strangers are affected by the knife crime they witness on a teenager they’re age and how it bonds them together. I really related to this book especially with Chantelle and school. I had teachers who seemed almost shocked with how smart I was and were always trying to find ways to kick me out of class or accuse me of doing something and as I was reading her storyline, I felt like I had a flashback.

I don’t want to giveaway too much and spoil it, but I will say there is so much deep-rooted racism and I’m so glad Daniele highlighted what happens in the UK to Black people. There is an assumption that racism doesn’t exist only in America and we know that isn’t true. I think this is a book that will really educate and trigger conversations.

About the book

A powerful coming-of-age story about chance encounters, injustice and how the choices that we make can completely change our future. The second YA novel from the critically acclaimed Danielle Jawando, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Gayle Foreman, Jennifer Niven and Nikesh Shukla. ‘Jawando’s writing is incredibly raw and real; I felt completely immersed’ Alice Oseman When fourteen-year-old Shaq is stabbed outside of a busy shopping centre in Manchester, three teenagers from very different walks of life are unexpectedly brought together.

What follows flips their worlds upside down and makes Chantelle, Jackson, and Marc question the deep-rooted prejudice and racism that exists within the police, the media, and the rest of society.

Praise for And the Stars Were Burning Brightly: ‘An outstanding and compassionate debut’ Patrice Lawrence ‘An utter page turner from a storming new talent. Passionate, committed and shines a ray of light into the darkest places – the YA novel of 2020!’ Melvin Burgess ‘One of the brightest up and coming stars of the YA world’ Alex Wheatle

When Shadows Fall by Sita Brahmachari, reviewed by Abi

This impactful tale is beautifully crafted from a variety of viewpoints, written in a mixture of prose, narrative verse and journal entries, woven together with evocative illustrations by Natalie Sirett.

While it is Kai’s story and his fall into darkness that is at the heart of the story, we also hear the voices of Orla, from the high-rise flats like Kai, and Zak from the big houses across the other side of the wilderness. This is the place where they spent most of their out of school time growing up and where they discovered and restored the bothy, which becomes the dramatic backdrop to astounding creativity but also danger, degradation, despair and near death.

We later hear from new arrival Omid who has faced trauma and loss himself, which helps him make the connection with Kai, whose family has fallen apart following the loss of his beloved baby sister Sula. Despite the best efforts of his friends, Kai falls in with a dangerous crowd, gets excluded and his self-destruction seems inevitable. But the bonds forged in their childhood ultimately prove stronger. Kai’s deep connection to nature and in particular to a pair of ravens, who have their own narration, and the creativity, which is sparked by Omid’s inspiring art, help to bring him home.

There are so many important themes in this multi-layered novel which speaks so powerfully about the importance of urban green spaces and community and the way society can fail to recognise the true value of things. This highly original novel perfectly captures raw adolescent emotions and fills the reader with empathy and understanding. Highly recommended.

About the book

Kai, Orla and Zak grew up together, their days spent on the patch of wilderness in between their homes, a small green space in a sprawling grey city. Music, laughter and friendship bind them together and they have big plans for their future – until Kai’s family suffers a huge loss. Trying to cope with his own grief, as well as watching it tear his family apart, Kai is drawn into a new and more dangerous crowd, until his dreams for the future are a distant memory.

Excluded from school and retreating from his loved ones, it seems as though his path is set, his story foretold. Orla, Zak and new classmate Om are determined to help him find his way back. But are they too late?A heart-breaking and poignant novel from award-winning author Sita Brahmachari, for fans of THE BLACK FLAMINGO, AND THE STARS WERE BURNING BRIGHTLY and POET X.

Rules for Vampires by Alex Foulkes, reviewed by Sophie

Gripping, comical and adventurous, presented all in one halloweeny sweet bucket.

About the book

Straighten your cape and sharpen your claws . . . being a vampire is harder than it looks!

The spookiest story you’ll read this year from Alex Foulkes, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie.

There are highs and lows to being a vampire. On one claw, you get cool powers like beastly strength and hypnotism and the ability to GRIMWALK. On the other claw, however, vampires are bound by the Vampiric Laws: rules to protect the balance between the worlds of the Living and the Undead. And unfortunately, 11-year-old Leo has just forgotten rule number one . .

The Rules for Vampires don’t tell you what to do when you make a ghostly enemy, or accidentally restart an ancient war. But Leo and her very unusual family are more than up to the job.

A monstrously funny and devilishly dark new adventure from debut talent Alex Foulkes, illustrated throughout by the award-winning Sara Ogilvie, Rules for Vampires is the series that fans of Lemony Snickett and Skulduggery Pleasant will devour for breakfast.Â