Monthly Online Book Review and Listings Magazine

Crammed with page after page of great Christmas gift book ideas!

  December 2008 Issue

MICHELLE HARRISON: THE 13 TREASURES (Simon & Schuster PB) While visiting her grandmother's house, an old photograph leads Tanya to an unsolved mystery. Fifty years ago a girl vanished in the woods nearby - a girl Tanya's grandmother will not speak of. Fabian, the caretaker's son, is tormented by the girl's disappearance. His grandfather was the last person to see her alive, and has lived under suspicion ever since. Together, Tanya and Fabian decide to find the truth. But Tanya has her own secret: the ability to see fairies. And, after disturbing an intruder in the night, it emerges that someone else shares her ability ...The manor's sinister history is about to repeat itself ... There will be a Q&A with Michelle in the next issue, but let me just say that this is an unmissable treat. Combining the faery of Spiderwick with a truly nail-biting thriller, this is first rate entertainment for children (and adults) and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

ELEN CALDECOTT: HOW KIRSTY JENKINS STOLE THE ELEPHANT

Kirsty Jenkins adores the allotment her grandfather lovingly tends and, just before he dies, he asks Kirsty to look after it for him. But when horrible Mr Thomas from the council insists it must go to the next person on the waiting list, Kirsty is determined to find a way to keep her promise. After pleading with Mr Thomas and demonstrating at the council offices, Kirsty and her half-siblings undertake their most daring plan of all: to 'borrow' the stuffed elephant from the museum that Mr Thomas loves so much, in a last-ditch attempt to gain his attention and understanding. Perhaps this risky ruse might also shake Kirsty's dad from the quiet sadness he has fallen into ever since her grandfather died. A warm, funny and moving novel about family relationships, dealing with bereavement, green beans and marrows.

SIMMONE HOWELL: EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL

When Riley's Dad gets a new girlfriend, life turns upside down for Riley. She doesn't like Norma and Norma doesn't like her. But it is not until Riley finds herself shipped off to 'camp' that she realises just how bad things have become. Determined to continue on her path of bad behaviour and general obnoxiousness, Riley Rose is sure that she can turn this 'spiritual camp' upside down. And when she meets Dylan Luck, recent paraplegic, she thinks she has found a fellow troublemaker. What follows is a very surprising week for Riley. Truths are told and secrets revealed, and sex, cigarettes and booze prove to be a potent cocktail, but in the end Riley has learnt quite a lot about herself, Dylan and exactly why she appeared hell-bent on self-destruction.

VALERIE BLOOM: HOT LIKE FIRE

When de July sun hot like fire Den I have just one desire To run down to de shop an' buy a Kisko pop! A brilliant new collection from this wonderful performance poet. Her poetry is beautifully crafted yet full of energy and fun - her subjects range from global pollution to problems with maths homework and to the sad demise of pet frogs (he croaked of course). Her mixed use of standard English and dialect is a delight to read and hear. Children love reading and listening to her work!

AMELIA ATWATER-RHODES: PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY

Sixteen-year-old Erin Misrahe just wants to be like everyone else inher new school. But Erin has more to worry about than passing AP Chemistry or making friends. In times of stress, she has always been overcome by her alter ego, Shevaun, whose violent behavior wreaks havoc on those around her. Erin can never remember anything about these episodes, and she’s grateful to have been spared them for a while.

But when a protective friend comes back into Erin’s life, he insists that Shevaun is a vampire who actually exists apart from Erin. Shevaun has dangerous allies, like the handsome witch Adjila—and they’re determined to sever Shevaun’s connection to Erin once and for all.

ANNE CASSIDY: JUST JEALOUS

Elise has a crush. She's been infatuated with her best friend, Carl, for as long as she can remember. When he starts dating an American girl who's just arrived at their school, Elise thinks it will just be a short fling. When she realizes it's not, she decides she needs to take matters into her own hands...

Mary Hogan: Susanna Covers the Catwalk (Harper Collins Children's Books PB)

Susanna's months of hard work for her demanding Devil Wears Prada boss, Nell Wickham, are about to pay off. In her second ever assignment for Scene magazine, she'll be covering New York Fashion Week! So she's learned that grey is the new black, shorts are the new trousers and that there is actually a difference between a catwalk and a runway...All she needs now is a story. And that should be no problem for the girl who can get a story no matter what. After all, it can't be that hard to get backstage. Can it? I can't believe I just sat and read a book about the fashion industry - but then Mary Hogan's Susanna is such a sweet character, and this latest yarn is definitely the best yet. Susanna gets her story, but wait till you find out what her reward is!

TERRY DEARY: HORRIBLE HISTORIES HANDBOOKS - TRENCHES

The nasty bits at your fingertips! From foul food to coping with legions of lice, discover all the dire details of life in the blood and mud of the First World War trenches ... from both sides of the barbed wire. Want to know: • How your own wee could save your life? Another fantastic HORRIBLE HISTORIES book, this time about the WW1 trenches - this the way to learn your history!

RICHARD UHLIG: BOY MINUS GIRL

LES WANTS the girl. He thinks she’s amazing, exotic, perfect. But hedoesn’t know how to talk to her, kiss her, or make her realize that he’s the best and only guy for her in the whole wide world. Once he masters these things, she’ll be his! Easy-peasy, right? The gulf between dreamgirl and realgirl is explored and made somewhat less vast in this bawdy yet romantic not-quite-coming-of-age. Teens will relate to 14-year-old Les’s hilarious and squirmy longings, and the fulsomely awkward efforts he puts forth to make his real life match his fantasies. The story also portrays the perils of unexamined hero-worship, and the strength and humanity of people that may seem plain and boring, but who stand up for what is right when called upon to do so. It is a tale both hilarious and thoughtful, in which, to paraphrase the old Rolling Stones adage, one boy figures out that even if you indeed can’t always get what you want, if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need. The only problem I have with these stories for young adults is that they're slightly too - what's the word I'm searching for? - permissive, I think. In view of the strict censorship laws that exist in the USA< I'm surprised they allow this sort of thing for kids - mind you, it's an excellent story!

LIZ RUCKDESCHEL & SARA JAMES: WHAT IF...YOUR PAST CAME BACK TO HAUNT YOU

AS HALEY CONTINUES her junior year, choices abound. Until now, Haley’spast life in California has been mostly a mystery—but that’s about to change. Haley has some juicy secrets that are about to become public knowledge. Will they destroy her social standing—or will the faint whiff of scandal make her even more popular? It all depends on the choices you make in this popular interactive series. I was expecting a kind of multiple choice book, sorry, I don't get the concept behind this.

LISA PAPADEMETRIOU: DROP

DON’T WE ALL harbor the secret wish that we won’t have to work for it? That luck—be it a spin of the wheel, a hop of the dice, the right card at the right moment—might just choose to favor us, whether we deserve it or not? That universal desire, along with many others, is played out in the lives of three teens who hope to beat the house, and control their futures. Come meet: • Sanjay, who wants to be much more than the dutiful, hardworking immigrant’s son • Kat, who wants enough cash to run as far as she can, from her past and who she’s afraid she might become • Jerrica, who thinks she can foresee the cards, and maybe make them be what she needs them to be. Each is irresistibly drawn to gambling’s alluring flirt, and to entanglements with each other, and within themselves. Themes of obsession and other risky business fuel the pages of this fast-moving, provocative tale.

TIM THARP: THE SPECTACULAR NOW

SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually. Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.

ANNE McCAFFREY: BLACK HORSES FOR THE KING

An historical novel about Arthur - and his quest to bring the black stallions of Libya over to Britain as mounts for his knights in the fight against the invading Saxon armies. The first novel for young adults by award-winning author, McCaffrey, a science fiction and fantasy writer for adults. I've never personally rated McCaffrey that highly - and I certainly wouldn't trust her with the Arthurian legend - not the best version of the Arthur story, but I guess some people will like it well enough, especially McCaffrey fans.

VIVIAN VAN DER VELDE: NEVER TRUST A DEAD MAN

When Selwyn is accused of murdering his rival, Farold, he is sealed in the village burial cave with Farold, he is sealed in the village burial cave with Farold's mouldering corpse to await starvation - or worse. Worse comes along quickly in the form of a witch who raises Farold from the dead. Selwyn thought he disliked Farold when he was alive, but that was nothing compared to working by the dead man's side as they searched for the real killer.

JOHN DICKINSON: FATAL CHILD

He could see her, the woman the size of a mountain, weeping for a child lost. He could feel that weeping in his heart - all the loss and pain and darkness of the world, on and on, dragging at him like weights that pulled him into deep water. Atti is the Fatal Child. Beautiful and adored, she is troubled by a recurring nightmare of violence and betrayal. She can love no one and trust no one, and she wakes screaming in the nights. Driven by his love for Atti, Ambrose, son of Phaedra, gives up his wandering existence and takes the throne.This is the story of his kingship and his attempts to remove the curse of Beyah, the weeping goddess, from his land. For while Beyah weeps, she poisons hearts, and only when the weeping stops can peace be restored to the kingdom. Seen through the eyes of Padry, close advisor to the king, and of Melissa, maid to the queen, this is a passionate story of love and betrayal, power and sacrifice, hope and loss. Prophecies are fulfilled and story threads are concluded as Ambrose and his mother struggle to come to terms with their destinies. This is a fantastic series - everything is there in a microcosm of a world you can really believe in and buy in to. Three books in this series, and they're all wonderful.

RODDY DOYLE: WILDERNESS

A novel of mothers lost and found, Wilderness is part roaring adventure, part family drama - with a charm that's all Roddy Doyle's. While Tom and Johnny are on a husky safari in Finland, their half-sister Grainne stays behind to face the mother who abandoned her. But Tom and Johnny are too caught up in their adventure to think of home - until they find themselves lost in the snow, in a desperate struggle for survival... I've always been a bit wary of Doyle after the jokes made about him in Father Ted - and I think I was right to do so. Although the story is reasonable enough, I found the dialogue trite and contrived, as though Doyle was trying to reproduce what he hears in everyday conversations. I won't be tempted by an adult Doyle, I'm afraid, though he does, of course, have an enormous fan base.

TERRY DEARY: THE TERRIBLE TOMB OF TUTANKHAMUN POP-UP ADVENTURE

Prepare to be amazed as the nasty bits are revealed in this spectacular 3D awesome Egyptian adventure. Three action-packed rooms of pops and pull-outs follow master-thief Antef and his crew of criminals as they attempt to pull off the biggest tomb-robbery of all time and empty Tut's tomb of its finest treasures. Everything needed to capture a child's attention and keep him or her occupied for several hours. Egyptology is a fascinating subject and this treatment of it is absolutely right for children.

BRIAN SELZNICK: THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET

ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival dependson secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and her grandfather, Hugo's undercover life and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery. This is a book with a difference. First and foremost, it is a handsome book. Secondly, the drawings in it are superlative, and although thety occupy more than half of the book, they are an essential part of it. I was reminded of the groundbreaking SNOWMAN film. A fascinating story and a wonderful, beautiful package to be treasured for years and years.

Dorling Kindersley The Children's Bible

From the Story of Creation to the Book of Revelation, faithful retellings of scriptures from the Old and New Testament, combine with outstanding new illustrations and photography in this sumptuously decorated Bible to bring the characters, events and history of the Bible to life for your child. A lavish cloth cover makes this a special gift to treasure and cherish.