Archives by Tag 'Young Adult'
Review: ‘Wildwood Dancing’ by Juliet Marillier
For the past few years, the Old English Thorn and I have spent New Year staying with some lovely friends of ours in Edinburgh. We play lots of games, eat lots of food, drink lots of dubious concoctions and generally have a marvellous time. Even so, there are always times when you just want to [...]
Review: ‘The Prince of Mist’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Usually, I never go anywhere without a book, but on the recent bank holiday Monday I inexplicably found myself in Bournemouth with three and a half hours to kill before that evening’s Bellowhead concert and no book with which to attack them. It’s probably because I travel everywhere by train so I’m used to needing at [...]
Review: ‘The Circle Cast’ by Alex Epstein
Stories of King Arthur and the characters around him have been a large part of my reading diet for as long as I can remember. I’ve read classic retellings, obscure retellings and a desire to discover the early retellings is what led to me becoming an unemployable medieval English postgraduate. They’re stories that have become [...]
‘The Final Reckoning’ by Robin Jarvis
I’ve recently mentioned how much I enjoy Robin Jarvis’ writing now that I’m reading his Deptford Mice Trilogy as an adult, and The Crystal Prison ended on such a cliffhanger that I had to go on and read the final book in the trilogy, ominously entitled , soon afterwards. In The Final Reckoning the mice find themselves [...]
‘The Crystal Prison’ by Robin Jarvis
I remember reading Robin Jarvis’ Deptford Histories Trilogy when I was younger and being utterly, deliciously terrified by them. They were books that I would only read with my back placed firmly against a wall so that I could be absolutely sure that nothing was sneaking up behind me waiting to grab me. I’ve never [...]
‘The Christmas Mystery’ by Jostein Gaarder
Title: Author: Jostein Gaarder. Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan. Illustrated by Rosemary Wells Published: Phoenix, 1998, pp. 247. Originally published in Norwegian 1992 Genre: Fiction Blurb: A young boy finds a faded, home-made Advent calendar in a bookshop. A piece of paper falls out of the first window on which is written the first part of [...]
‘The Running Foxes’ by Joyce Stranger
Title: Author: Joyce Stranger Published: Corgi, 1967, pp. 142. Originally published 1965 Genre: Young adult fiction Blurb: The magic is of foxes running wild over the Cumberland hills, of an otter cub adopted by a poacher, of young hounds caught in a badger-run, and of dour, lakeland farmers who hunt on foot and are out-witted [...]
Review: ‘Twist of Gold’ by Michael Morpurgo
Title: Author: Michael Morpurgo Published: Egmont, 2001, pp. 300 Genre: Young adult historical fiction Blurb: Sean and Annie have fled the potato famine in Ireland for America, leaving their dying mother behind. They are the only O’Brien children to have survived their family’s suffering. The worst is not over as they embark on a hard [...]
Review: ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ by Brian Selznick
Title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret Author: Brian Selznick Published: Scholastic, 2007, pp. 533 Genre: Young adult historical fiction Blurb: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks — like the gears of [...]
Review: ‘Sophia Scrooby Preserved’ by Martha Bacon
Title: Sophia Scrooby Preserved Author: Martha Bacon Published: Puffin Books, 1971, pp. 220 Genre: Children’s historical fiction Blurb: ‘My little panther’, Nono’s father called her, but he didn’t get the chance to say it for long. Her African village was destroyed and she first lived in the bush then was sold as a slave, given [...]