Friday, July 30, 2010

Don't Cry - Cover Theme

I'm really looking forward to Hear the Dead Cry by Charlie Price which is out in a few days:

The cemetery I know best is Forest Grove. I spend most of my time there. That's where most of my friends are ...The ones my age and the children, they almost all need someone to talk to. They weren't ready. They'll tell you that. Murray doesn't have many friends at school. A quiet loner with a troubled family life, he spends all his time down at Forest Grove cemetery, speaking to the dead and listening to their stories. When he hears a terrified new voice pleading for help, Murray is convinced it is Nikki, a popular young cheerleader who went missing over a month ago - but who will believe him? And where is the body? Together with Pearl, the daughter of the cemetery groundskeeper, Murray must struggle to uncover the truth in a town full of secrets.


The cover does bear a certain similarity to Captivate by Carrie Jones:

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Free Audio Book of The Hunger Games

Until 1 September, two free audio books will be available every week to download from Sync. This week's selection is:

From 7/29 - 8/4,

THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins (Read by Carolyn McCormick)
Download Courtesy of Scholastic Audiobooks

THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson (Read by Carol Jordan Stewart)
Download Courtesy of BBC Audiobooks America


There are no geographical restrictions on The Hunger Games. You have to download a small piece of software (Overdrive) before being allowed to download the mp3 files.

Download it here.

Dark Hearted - cover theme

Here are three titles published in 2010 with a similar style cover, but with very different story ideas. I'm looking forward to reading them all.

Update: Just added the next Carrie Ryan, published in 2011. (I cannot get them to line up properly!)




Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Davitt Awards 2010 - YA Shortlist

The longlists for the Australian Sisters in Crime’s 10th Davitt Awards (criteria: crime/mystery fiction by an Australian woman) have been announced. The list for the Young Adult category is:

Goldie Alexander: Hedgeburners: An A~Z Mystery**
Catherine Jinks: The Reformed Vampire Support Group*
Catherine Jinks: Genius Wars**
Justine Larbalestier: Liar**
Gabrielle Lord: Conspiracy 365 – January* review
Isabelle Merlin: Cupid’s Arrow*
Isabelle Merlin: Pop Princess*
Moya Simons: The Walk Right in Detective Agency – Bad News for Milk Bay
Moya Simons: The Walk Right in Detective Agency – On the Case The Walk
Moya Simons: Right in Detective Agency – Mischief Afoot

*published in the UK.
**published in the US.

Read more about each title here.

The winner will be announced on 28th August 2010.


The 2009 shortlist and winner can be found here.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (April 2010, Simon & Schuster Children's, ISBN: 1847387225)

First Line: Felicia Miller was crying in the bathroom. Again.

Review: Hex Hall is the first in a series from debut author Rachel Hawkins.

Sophie Mercer has known that she's a witch for many years but her inability to keep a low profile has meant that her and her mum have lived in a lot(!) of places. Her latest spell - a love spell to help a bullied class-mate - goes magnificently wrong and so Sophie is sent to reform school - Hecate (Hex) Hall which is on an island off the Georgia coast - along with other misbehaving witches, fairies and shape-shifters ie Prodigium.

Her room-mate Jenna is the only vampire in the school and is suspected of murder by the rest of the school as Jenna's previous roomie, Holly, was found drained of blood with two neat holes in her neck. Jenna was cleared of the attack but mud sticks. Sophie has a run in with the three strongest witches - Elodie, Anna and Chaston aka The Trinity - who need her to join their coven and when she refuses they make life difficult for her. Then there's Archer Cross whom (nearly) everyone has a crush on but - would you know it - is going out with queen bee, Elodie. Throw in a formidable but actually quite friendly head-mistress, Mrs Casnoff, a spiteful defence teacher, Vandy and a persistent ghost and Sophie will have her work cut out to fit in and keep out of trouble, two things she usually finds herself unable to do.

Hex Hall sets the series up nicely. Sophie is a great character - funny and self-deprecating and with an unusual background which will play a big role in the future books. Archer looks to be a good match for her but he has secrets - which I look forward to discovering. I enjoyed Hex Hall very much, I raced through it and was was completely thrown by one of the big revelations at the end. There's magic, romance, witty dialogue and the introduction of a worthy enemy for the Prodigium - what more could one ask for? Well the sequel, immediately, but alas it's not out until 2011.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Library Loot (58), purchases & review copies

A couple of library books, some purchases and some unexpected (and 1) requested review copies:

Library


Doctor Who: Nuclear Time by Oli Smith
'My watch is running backwards.' Colorado, 1981. The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in Appletown - an idyllic village in the remote American desert where the townsfolk go peacefully about their suburban routines. But when two more strangers arrive, things begin to change. The first is a mad scientist - whose warnings are cut short by an untimely and brutal death. The second is the Doctor...As death falls from the sky, the Doctor is trapped. The TARDIS is damaged, and the Doctor finds he is living backwards through time. With Amy and Rory being hunted through the suburban streets of the Doctor's own future and getting farther away with every passing second, he must unravel the secrets of Appletown before time runs out...

Doctor Who: The King's Dragon by Una McCormack
They called it Enamour. It turned minds, sold merchandise, and swayed elections. And it did its job far too well...' In the city-state of Geath, the King lives in a golden hall, and the people want for nothing. Everyone is happy and everyone is rich. Or so it seems. When the Doctor, Amy and Rory look beneath the surface, they discover a city of secrets. In dark corners, strange creatures are stirring. At the heart of the hall, a great metal dragon oozes gold. Then the Herald appears, demanding the return of her treasure...And next come the gunships. The battle for possession of the treasure has begun, and only the Doctor and his friends can save the people of the city from being destroyed in the crossfire of an ancient civil war. But will the King surrender his new-found wealth? Or will he fight to keep it...?

(Strangely the third book in the set, The Glamour Chase by Gary Russell isn't even on the library catalogue.)

Bought


I took advantage of waterstones.com half-price offers on "dark romance".

By Midnight by Mia James
April Dunne is not impressed. She's had to move from Edinburgh to Highgate, London, with her parents. She's left her friends - and her entire life - behind. She has to start at a new school and, worst of all, now she's stuck in a creepy old dump of a house which doesn't even have proper mobile phone reception. Ravenwood, her new school, is a prestigious academy for gifted (financially or academically) students - and the only place her parents could find her a place, in the middle of term, in the middle of London, on incredibly short notice. So she's stuck with the super-rich, and the super-smart ...and trying to fit in is when the rest of the students seem to be more glamorous, smarter, or more talented than she is, is more than tough. It's intimidating and isolating, even when she finds a friend in the conspiracy-theorist Caro Jackson - and perhaps finds something more than friendship in the gorgeous, mysterious Gabriel Swift. But there's more going on at Ravenwood than meets the eye. Practical jokes on new students are normal, but when Gabriel saves her from ...something ...in the Highgate Cemetery, and then she discovers that a murder took place, just yards away from where she had been standing, April has to wonder if something more sinister is going on. ..and whether or not she's going to live through it ...More on the Ravenwood series can be found at www.ravenwoodmysteries.com


Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
In "Shiver", Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in "Linger", they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping dangerous secrets. For Sam, it means grappling with his werewolf past ...and figuring out a way to survive the future. But just when they manage to find happiness, Grace finds herself changing in ways she could never have expected...

The Ultimate Teen Book Guide ed Daniel Hahn, Leonie Flynn
Following the success of the Ultimate Book Guide 8-12, people have been crying out for this guide to the best teenage books around. Again this is the only reference you'll ever need - covering everything that might interest teen readers, from those just starting secondary school through to readers looking for something more adult and challenging. The book covers classics through to contemporary young adult titles, best-sellers to cult fiction and graphic novels. We've got personal recommendations from top teen and adult authors including Anthony Horowitz, Meg Cabot, Philip Pullman and Jonathan Coe. Following the format of the previous guide, each entry is cross-referenced to other books that readers are bound to enjoy and there are readers' polls and special features on a variety of topics.

Review


The Glass Collector by Anna Perera (February 2011, Puffin)
A contemporary, edgy story set amongst the Zabbaleen, a rubbish recycling community in Cairo, the story is a testament to the power of humility, love and support in the cruelest of circumstances. Fighting a war against greed, poverty and exploitation, 15 year old Aaron scrambles to pick out broken glass from the mounds of debris littering the streets of the city. Finding it increasingly impossible to live with his inherited stepfamily, the only pleasant side to his hard life is emptying the rubbish from the perfume shop where plain glass is replaced by glorious pink, purple and gold hued shades that endlessly entice him. However, with change beginning to creep into the Zabbaleen, Aaron’s circumstances become steadily more difficult and increasingly dangerous. Will he be able to find the strength to not only change his own life, but to change the lives of those he loves too?

Wereworld Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling (January 2011, Puffin, UK debut)
‘YOU’RE THE LAST OF THE WEREWOLVES SON. DON’T FIGHT IT . . . CONQUER IT.’ When the air is clear, sixteen year-old Drew Ferran can pick up the scent of a predator. When the moon breaks through the clouds, a terrifying fever grips him. And when a vicious beast invades his home, his gums begin to tear, his fingers become claws, and Drew transforms . . . Forced to flee the family he loves, Drew seeks refuge in the most godforsaken parts of Lyssia. But when he is captured by Lord Bergan’s men, Drew must prove he is not the enemy. Can Drew battle the werecreatures determined to destroy him – and master the animal within?

Dead Man's Cove by Lauren St John (published 5 August, Orion Childrens)
When orphaned Laura Marlin moves from a children's home to live with her uncle in Cornwall, she longs for a life of excitement just like the characters in her favourite detective novels. A real life adventure is on hand as she is deposited at her uncle's spooky house . . . Why does her uncle, Calvin Redfern, forbid her to go to Dead Man's Cove? What's the truth about Tariq, the silent Indian boy who lives with the flamboyant Mukthars? Who is J? Who has left the message in a bottle for Laura to discover? Mysteries abound and who better to solve them than Laura Marlin, ace detective? Accompanied by her trusty companion, Skye, a three-legged husky, the dog she's always wanted, Laura's adventures begin.

Being Billy by Phil Earle (January 2011, Puffin, UK debut)
Faces flashed before my eyes. And for every face there was a time that they had let me down. Each punch that landed was revenge, my chance to tell them I hadn’t forgotten what they did. Eight years in a care home makes Billy Finn a professional lifer. And Billy’s angry – with the system, the social workers, and the mother that gave him away. As far as Billy’s concerned, he’s on his own. His little brother and sister keep him going, though they can’t keep him out of trouble. But he isn’t being difficult on purpose. Billy’s just being Billy. He can’t be anything else. Can he?

Friday, July 23, 2010

Publishing Deal - Kit Berry

A press release on Booktrade announces a publishing deal for self-published author Kit Berry:

Gollancz, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of The Orion Publishing Group, is delighted to announce that the highly successful self-published author Kit Berry, and her acclaimed STONEWYLDE series, will be joining the Gollancz YA list in 2011.

Hidden away in the heart of Dorset, STONEWYLDE is a self-sufficient, closed community, in tune with the natural world and resources around them. It's an idyll, an Eden of ancient woodlands, standing stones, and traditional rural crafts and traditions, and it's protected and ruled over by the Magus of Stonewylde, a powerful, charismatic, handsome man dedicated to his people. For Sylvie, a young girl dying in hospital, Stonewylde could be more than a paradise: it could save her life . . . but for all the harmony of this world, there is something dark lurking at its heart. The magic of Stonewylde could save her . . . but at what price?

The first four Stonewylde novels, MAGUS OF STONEWYLDE, MOONDANCE OF STONEWYLDE, SOLSTICE AT STONEWYLDE and SHADOWS AT STONEWYLDE will be available from Gollancz in 2011.

Read the whole article here.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Read Immortal - online and free

HarperTeen has made Immortal by Gillian Shields available to read online, in full, at their website.

The book is already available to buy and the sequel, Betrayal, is out on 3 August (US)/15 August (UK)..

Synopsis:

Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness.


Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Publishing Deal - Laini Taylor

I missed the news about this publishing deal online but I then read about it in the print version of The Bookseller. The plot details are a bit vague in the report below but it all sounds very intriguing:

Hodder & Stoughton has bought a "hotly pursued crossover novel", tentatively entitled, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

... "Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a magnificent book, which grabbed me from the opening page, and had everyone at Hodder completely enthralled. The book’s macabre fairytale feel is incredibly inventive and original, and the fantasy is wonderfully creative yet extremely accessible.


[...] It’s a brilliant novel, with a feisty heroine who [...] will resonate with readers young and old, male and female."


Hodder will publish in hardcover next autumn and will support the launch with "a large-scale, sustained and innovative consumer campaign". Little, Brown Young Readers US also fought off "stiff competition", winning the novel at auction. It will be published with a big launch next autumn.

Read the whole article here.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Publishing Deal - Kevin Wignall

I received a press release from Egmont today, concerning a new vampire series from Kevin (K J ) Wignall:

Egmont Press is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Mercian Trilogy from acclaimed author Kevin Wignall. The books are Kevin’s first for the teenage market and will be published under K.J. Wignall to differentiate them from his adult novels.

The first book, entitled Blood, will be published in Autumn 2011. It tells the epic story of Will, a vampire in danger from an unknown dark force. In the thirteenth century, Will was destined to be Earl of Mercia, although he never lived to inherit his title. In the centuries that follow, Will leads a lonely life, learning to deal with whatever the present day throws at him, always searching for answers but never finding any. Until this time when he wakes from a twenty year slumber, hungry for the blood that sustains his undeath and he finally gets a glimpse at why he exists. He does indeed have a destiny, and an enemy, and his fate is entwined with that of Eloise, a girl he is drawn to but can never have….

Stella Paskins, Egmont’s new young adult publisher, bought World English Language rights, including ebooks and audio, from Sarah Molloy at AM Heath: “Never believe anyone who says vampires are dead – they always come back!” she commented. “I found Blood a refreshingly different take on a vampire at large in the twenty-first century. It’s beautifully written and utterly compelling from page one. I can hardly wait to set it loose on the world!”

2010 Prime Minister's Literary Awards - shortlist

The Australian Government's 2010 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists have been announced and they now include a young adult selection. The YA shortlist is:

* Stolen by Lucy Christopher
* The Winds of Heaven by Judith Clarke
* Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God by Bill Condon
* The Museum of Mary Child by Cassandra Golds
* Swerve by Phillip Gwynne
* Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen
* Beatle meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams

You can read more about each title on the Literary Awards website.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Trailer Thursday - Boy vs Girl

Boy vs Girl by Na'ima B Robert is published today in the UK by Frances Lincoln Children's Books. I've just added it to my July releases listing.

Farhana swallowed and reached for the hijab. But then she saw with absolute clarity the weird looks from the other girls at school, and the smirks from the guys. Did she dare? And then there was Malik... What should she do about him? Faraz was thinking about Skrooz and the lads. Soon he would finally have the respect of the other kids at school. But at what price? He heard Skrooz's voice, sharp as a switchblade: "This thing is powerful, blud. But you have to earn it, see? Just a few more errands for me..." They're twins, born 6 minutes apart. Both are in turmoil and both have life-changing choices to make, against the peaceful backdrop of Ramadan. Do Farhana and Faraz have enough courage to do the right thing? And can they help each other - or will one of them draw the other towards catastrophe?

Watch the trailer below:

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Publishing Deals - Crewe & Meadows

Two more publishing deals, this time from Publishers Weekly:

Megan Crewe's THE WAY WE FALL, in which a 16-year-old challenges her fears, finds a second chance at love, and fights to keep her family and friends safe as a deadly new virus devastates her island community, to Disney-Hyperion, at auction, in a three-book deal, for publication in Winter 2012.


Jodi Meadows's trilogy, beginning with ERIN INCARNATE, about the only girl who is new in a world where everyone is perpetually reincarnated, and her quest to discover why she was born, and what happened to the person she replaced, to Katherine Tegen Books, at auction.


Winter 2012 sounds a long way away...

Publishing Deal - Jessica Warman

From yesterday's Booktrade:

Egmont Press is delighted to announce the acquisition of Pretty Deadly, a truly thrilling murder mystery story by American author, Jessica Warman.

The novel, described as a meeting of The Lovely Bones and Lynda La Plante, will be published in trade paperback in October 2011 for a young adult market.

It tells the gripping story of young, beautiful Elizabeth Vachar, a teenage girl who dies under mysterious circumstances in small town America.


Her clique of popular 'good kids' are in shock as they wake to find their friend dead, facedown, in the murky water of the docks. But Liz hasn't gone anywhere. She's still around to witness the aftermath of her death. And it soon becomes clear that there's far more to her family and so-called friends than met the eye when she was alive . . .


Read the whole article here.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Lauren Laverne on Daily Bacon

Lauren Laverne, whose first YA novel Candypop came out in May, was on Richard Bacon's Radio 5 show last week:
Lauren Laverne tells us why she thinks 6 Music was saved and reveals how similar the character in her new book - Candy Pop and the Broken Biscuits is to her.
The programme can be listened online for two more days or you can download the podcast for later listening.

Join fabulously funny (undiscovered) rock chick, Candy Caine on a rollercoaster ride to the world's biggest music festival. A sharp, comic teen series from uber-cool presenter Lauren Laverne. Misunderstood musical genius Candy Caine - age fifteen - knows she's destined for a bigger life beyond her small-town existence. And now Mum is marrying The World's Dullest ManTM it's time to put plans into action and achieve world domination with her band, The Broken Biscuits. Oh - and find her real dad, who will most definitely be cool and, of course, will verify her own super specialness. With a battered old guitar and some supernatural assistance, can Candy get her life on track and her new band on the road to greatness? Candy Caine is the hilarious new creation of debut author Lauren Laverne - a writer who's been there, done that and customised the T-shirt.

Review: The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (May 2009, Orbit, ISBN: 1841497118)

First Lines:
When the door to my cell clicked open, the first thought that flitted through my doped-up brain was that Liz had changed her mind and come back.

Review: NB Includes spoilers for The Summoning.

The Awakening
is the second in the Darkest Powers series which began with The Summoning. The main character is Chloe Saunders, a fifteen-year-old necromancer. At the end of the last book, she and her fellow supernaturals, were on the run from their group home, Lyle House; the two girls were captured and the two boys escaped. Chloe and Rae have been taken to a warehouse facility where they are prisoners along with Tori, who hadn't tried to run off.

It's not long before Chloe is able to find out information about the source of her and her friends' abilities and manufactures a situation in which they escape and reunite with brothers Derek and Simon. Four of the teenagers go on the run, with the sole aim of finding a friend of Derek and Simon's dad who may be able to help them. The Awakening covers their journey and we get to see bonds and unexpected alliances form between group members whilst being hunted, and Chloe tries to avoid raising the dead.

As with The Summoning, I enjoyed the book very much. I felt completely at ease with the writing and I was gripped throughout. There's plenty of action, including some scary moments, especially if you don't like bats, but the main focus of The Awakening, I felt, is that of character development. You get much more of a handle on the personalities than in the first book. The next part, The Reckoning, is now out and I can't wait to see how all the threads are drawn together.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Review: Shadows by Amy Meredith

Shadows by Amy Meredith (April 2010, Red Fox, ISBN: 9781849410519)

First Line:
The ghost slipped between the two pine trees, moving silently, not even leaving footprints in the pine needles on the ground.

Review: Shadows is the first in the Dark Touch series and in which we are introduced to Eve and Jess, two BFFs living in the Hamptons who are just starting high school. Over the summer there have been two significant new arrivals to the community: blonde Luke, the not so angelic son of a preacher-man and Mal the smouldering new resident at the old rock god's mansion.

Along with hot new boys, a new element is in town - many of the female residents are having nightmares and spouting about demons before being carted off the the psychiatric hospital.

Eve has become extremely clumsy of late but what is causing all her electrical equipment to go on the fritz and did she really melt her own lipstick when she got upset? When Eve's dad reveals some secret family history, the pieces begin to fall into place and it seems Eve is the only one who can save the town's sanity.

I really enjoyed Shadows. It's a bit of a cross between Buffy and Sex in the City with its mix of the supernatural and designer labels. There's action and romance, fashion and shopping and setting it in the Hamptons means there are very few appearances by the parents who are too busy working, to be at home. Shadows sets up Eve and other main characters and the plot is resolved but with a hint of a storyline for the next book. One thing I found refreshing about this book is that the girls eat and they eat pizza and ice-cream and hot chocolate without any reference to calories! I'm looking forward to The Hunt which is due out in August.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Publishing Deal - Colin Mulhern

The Bookseller reports on a publishing deal for Colin Mulhern:

Catnip has bought world rights to a debut novel for teenagers by Colin Mulhern.


Clash is a thriller about two boys, one an underground cage-fighting champion and the other a talented artist, whose lives collide.


Clash will be a lead title for Catnip, which will be published in March 2011.

Read the whole article here.

Summer Reading Suggestions in USA Today

A recent article in USA today lists the following ten YA novels as some of summer's hottest books:

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
2. Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
3. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
4. The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi
5. The Summer Before (The Babysitters Club) by Ann M. Martin
6. It's a Book by Lane Smith
7. Guys Read: Funny Business edited by Jon Scieszka
8. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
9. For the Win by Cory Doctorow
10. Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Read the whole article with plot summaries here.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Library Loot (55) & review copies

This week's library loot and review copies including a bumper bundle from Andersen Press and L A Weatherly's Angel!

Library





Review



Review: Rift by Beverley Birch (audio book)

Rift by Beverley Birch and read by Clare Corbett (April 2008, Whole Story Audio Books, ISBN: 9781407422725)

First Lines: Ella turned her head, listened. Only the faint tick of her wristwatch in the heavy silence, and the boy's quiet presence. Darkness, thick and hot.

Notes: Rift was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2008.

Review: Rift is set in an unnamed African country and four children and an adult have gone missing near Chomlaya Rocks. All are British except for one local boy and all are connected to a student camp at the base of the rocks. The children are there to learn and help out with some construction and the adult is Charlotte (Charly) Tanner a journalist who is doing a feature on their experience. Two days after the disappearance from the camp, one of the boys, Joe, is found but he has no memory of recent events. When Charly's sister, fourteen-year-old Ella, flies out to join the hunt for her sister she is taken to Joe's room in the hospital. Ella and Joe are then taken under the wing of the newly promoted, kindly Inspector Murothi and they accompany him back to Chomlaya. The pressure is on Murothi as the extreme heat and scarcity of water means the missing people cannot survive for long and the case is very high profile. All possible searches, by air and foot are being undertaken by a country which can ill-afford the expense.

Murothi meets the camp leader - the detestable Miss Strutton - as well as some of the other teachers and students and he is soon convinced that the answer to the disappearances lies within the camp, not outside.

Methodically, the story of the disappearances is pieced together, through new interviews and old interview transcripts, through old emails from Charly to Ella, from student journals and finally flash-backs from Joe as his memory slowly returns. The ending is stunning and not at all what my criminal mind was expecting.

I loved, loved, loved this one. I wanted to just listen to all six cds at once but I made myself eke out the pleasure over several days. I only came across it because my library (where I work) has just bought it and I picked it up, read the blurb and was intrigued. The complete disappearance of the four people is a mystery that completely holds the attention - where can they be and what has happened to them? The sense of place is amazing. I could picture the camp, the rocks really clearly and feel the heat. Ella is a likeable and strong character who holds up well under the circumstances. I would love to see Inspector Murothi return in another novel, teenage or adult. I loved his character: a gentle, wise policeman with great empathy for Ella and Joe.

Rift explores the group dynamics that occur when a a mixed group is taken away from their normal environment and the leader does not behave as one would like them to. By the end of the story, changes have occurred and at least one 'rift' has begun to heal.

Clare Corbett narrates Rift exquisitely. Her children sound like children and her men sound as if a man has taken over the narration. She separates the many students by giving them regional accents and provides completely believable French and African accents, where appropriate, for the non-British adults. It's all done brilliantly well and I can't recommend this audio book highly enough.

(A sample can be listened to on the Whole Story website.)


Thursday, July 1, 2010

Published in July (UK)

Here are some of the teenage/YA titles that are published in the UK in July. I will put a link to this post and previous and subsequent "monthly" lists in my sidebar. Title links go to amazon.co.uk. Please let me know of others to add to the list.

Releases by month so far:
January, February, March, April, May and June.

Ian Beck - Pastworld (5th, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Kevin Brooks - iBoy (1st, Puffin, pb)
Megan Cole - Fortune (8th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, pb)
Eireann Corrigan - Accomplice (5th, Chicken House, pb)
Bree Despain - The Dark Divine (5th, Egmont Books Ltd, pb)
Paul Dowswell - The Cabinet of Curiosities (5th, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, HB)
Eve Edwards - The Other Countess (1st, Puffin, pb)
Teresa Flavin - The Blackhope Enigma (1st, Templar Publishing, pb)
Claudia Gray - Hourglass (8th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, pb)
Keith Gray(ed) - Losing It (8th, Andersen Press Ltd, pb)
Matt Haig - The Radleys (5th, Walker, pb)
Shannon Hale - Forest Born (5th, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Alyxandra Harvey - Blood Feud (5th, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Cathy Hopkins - Million Dollar Mates (8th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, pb)
Tonya Hurley - Ghostgirl: Lovesick (8th, Headline, pb)
Mia James - By Midnight: A Ravenwood Novel (20th, Gollancz, pb) UK debut
Gareth P Jones - Space Crime Conspiracy (5th, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Margo Lanagan - Tender Morsels (1st, David Fickling Books, pb)
Una McCormack - Doctor Who: The King's Dragon (8th, BBC Books, HB)
Sophie McKenzie - The Rescue (8th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, pb)
Benjamin J Myers - Bad Tuesdays: Blood Alchemy (1st, Orion Childrens, pb)
Sheila A Nielson - The Forbidden Sea (1st, Scholastic, pb)
Alyson Noel - Shadowland (1st, Macmillan Children's Books, pb)
Louise Rennison - Withering Tights (8th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, HB)
Na'ima B Robert - Boy vs Girl (15th, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, pb)
James Rollins - Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow (1st, Orion Childrens, pb)
Gary Russell - Doctor Who: The Glamour Chase (8th, BBC Books, HB)
Marcus Sedgwick - White Crow (1st, Orion Childrens, pb)
L J Smith - Vampire Diaries The Return: Shadow Souls tv edition (1st, Hodder Children's Books, pb)
L J Smith - The Night of the Solstice (1st, Hodder Children's Books, pb)
L J Smith - Heart of Valour (The Night of the Solstice) (1st, Hodder Children's Books, pb)
L J Smith - Forbidden Game Bind-up: The Hunter; The Chase; The Kill (8tht, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books , pb)
Oli Smith - Doctor Who: Nuclear Time (8th, BBC Books, HB)
Lili St Crow - Jealousy (29th, Quercus Publishing Plc, pb)
Maggie Stiefvater - Linger (21st, Scholastic, pb)
Daniel Waters - Passing Strange (8th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, pb)


Trailer Thursday - Ghostgirl: Lovesick

Tonya Hurley's third Ghostgirl book, Lovesick, will be published in the UK on 8 July and in the US on 12 July.

Before she can rest in peace, Charlotte Usher must return to the tragic site of her death: high school. Once there, her assignment is to help a designated teen solve a personal problem in time for the all-important prom. But no one explained what happens if you fall in love with your class project. Charlotte would die (again) for love but facing the all-too-familiar feeling of invisibility may be too much for her to swallow.

Watch the trailer, below:

The accompanying song is written by Tonya Hurley and sung by Polly Scattergood.