These 2 books are quick, easy reads. Crime thrillers for teens centred around the basic human concern of 'who am I really'?
Girl Missing begins with 14 year old Lauren wondering about her birth family. She is bickering non-stop with her adoptive parents and brother and thinks that maybe she has another life someone where she belongs and feels special.
As Lauren looks into her adoption and starts asking questions she quickly realises that something does not add up. Could she be a missing child? Was she stolen from her birth family?
The action & drama escalates. We have run-aways, kidnapping, attempted murder and plenty of thrill and spills.
Sister Missing continues the story 2 years later.
This story felt more contrived and convenient. But McKenzie uses the same fast-paced, thrilling techniques so you don't have too long to ponder the improbables.
The heart-breaking part was when I googled the images for the covers to insert here. My screen filled with photographs of smiling young girls - all missing - all with heart-felt please from their families to come home.
Recommended for good 11+ readers.
The end of the world is nigh!
According to the latest crop of teen books to hit my radar we don't have long to wait. Will it be a mutant virus? A nuclear dome? Or in the case of Ashes - electro-magnetic pulses that destroy every electronic system, fry healthy brains, and change other brains for better or worse.
Hormonal teenage brains get zapped into zombie, flesh-eating creatures. Older, diseased brains are suddenly cured, sleep-deprived brains are spared and some brains become super-sensitive.
Alex is a special case - a teenager with a brain tumour, prone to nightmares. She develops a super sense of smell. Tom is a returned soldier suffering from post traumatic stress and Ellie is only 8.
I wasn't that keen to get started on this book - zombies and love in the wild isn't usually high on my priority list. But thankfully Ashes is so much more than that. It is a great addition to the Armageddon genre.
I raced through each drama and catastrophe and let out an audible "aarghhhh" when the book finished on a cliff-hanger leaving all the loose ends flailing about madly. Book 2 is not due for another 6 months, but we can be prepared by checking out Bick's blog here.
My only hiccup with the book was the number of clumsy accidents that the 3 main characters had. Bick obviously used this device to add suspence and drama. I just found it frustrating.
I'm not sure where to start with this one.
I almost gave up after the first few chapters - I felt they were unnecessarily obtuse and difficult. But Sally Gardner's reputation made me pick it up again a few days later.
And I was hooked. A memory story will always suck me in and one written as beautifully as gracefully as this one is just icing on the top. But it's not an easy read.
This story is tragedy with a capital T. We have messed up childhoods, war, betrayal, abuse, neglect, death and a father who loves his daughter so much he wants to build a machine that will erase all the bad memories and leave her with only the happy ones.
The sadness that pervades this story is ultimately redeemed by the power of love. Love comes to the rescue, love overcomes and loves leads the way forward out of the haunting mess created by the memory experiments.
The Double Shadow is a challenging fable for mature readers. It is not an easy book to categorise. It is historical fiction as it is set during the period of time between the 2 World Wars and the memory experiments play around with time as well as memory. But strictly speaking this book stands alone - and mercifully it is a story sans vampires, wolves or dystopian drama!
Emerald is Philippa Gregory for older teens. This is more substantial than the usual bodice-ripper - packed with lots of historical drama and a character that you believe in.
Set during the later years of Queen Elizabeth I reign, we have a story of intrigue, treason and of course romance.
I raced through this story. It was light-weight, but thoroughly enjoyable. The perfect read for a rainy, lazy weekend.
And it has a fanatastic cover! Wouldn't we all love a sumptious gown like Emerald's?
If you're interested in Karen Wallace click here to read more about her other books.
I started off feeling a little uncertain about this book although the back blurb ticked many of my boxes - mystery/adventure Enid Blyton style, set in Balmain, local author etc.
But maybe that's why I was a little uncertain. A story set in my local area - the streets & parks I walk each day fictionalised - actually made me feel a little off-kilter.
Once I let go of my proprietary feelings though I was hooked.
I was reminded of my childhood and the way I would get sucked into a Blyton story - racing through it to find out what the mystery was and how the problem was solved.
So maybe my only problem is this obvious use of the Blyton formula - 4 children (2 boys, 2 girls) a spooky house and caves, someone who wants to run away, buried treasure, a kidnapping or 2, a chase and a dog! The Adventurous Four all over again.
However Walsh used all these ingredients to make a splendid adventure, full of charm and suspense.
And now I've seen the fantastic cover for the first time and I think that Walsh is onto a winner.
Highly recommended for 10+ readers.
It's no secret that I enjoy Emily Gravett's books, it's just that some are better for reading aloud than others. This is one of those.
The whole premise is about a parent (dragon) reading aloud a bedtime story to the little one again...and again...and again! I wont give away the delightful and slightly startling ending as one tired, cranky little dragon doesn't get its way.
I read it out loud to my 2 story-time groups this week and they loved it. You can have a lot of fun with just one simple word and your voice & body language.
I suspect I will be reading this book again!
The action & drama escalates. We have run-aways, kidnapping, attempted murder and plenty of thrill and spills.
