Spring Reading

What can I say - it's been a busy time and I haven't had the time to comment as much as I would have liked - but nonetheless I have kept reading....

Some recommendations for a Good read...

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Set in the American colonies at the time of the revolutionary wars this is the story of Isabel and Ruth - and their slavery in New York. I found it gripping and involving - as well as feeling authentic and I felt I learned a great deal about how it might have been.

The Boy Who Fell Down Exit 43 by Harriet Goodwin. Not yet published I was lucky enough to have a proof copy. This is a new take on the boy who takes and drive away a car to escape his constant grief and guilt over his father's death - and though it deals with a hard subject - and dwells on death (most of the characters are ghosts in the Underworld) the ultimate story is both uplifting, humorous and fun - as well as being an adventure quest of sorts. A good debut novel.

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant. A thriller where the detectives are a slightly misfitting boy and girl in a small German town - where their classmates are going missing. Some of the adults are totally sinister. Another new talent - well worth reading.

Malice by Chris Wooding. I love the idea of this novel - which has graphic elements as well as the usual chapters but was disappointed that it was left on such a cliff hanger ending. A sinister comic - Malice- entices young people into it's terrifying world where they may perish in their attempts to escape...

Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret

As Shirley Hughes (illustrator and author) can be heard saying - it's a shame that children's books lost their illustrations over the years as children get to be more confident readers - a trend that graphic novels and this book do something to redress.

This book starts with a series of original drawings that slowly reveal the location of the story from a distant view of the world slowly focussing in to the railway station where the majority of thte action takes place. At over 500 pages this seems like a mammoth read, but as the book contains nearly 300 pages of drawings, photos and film stills the form of the book will encourage readers who may have never tackled a whole book before.

The story is of Hugo's fascination with an automaton - and through this how he finds out about his dead fathers fascination with old film - and discovers the true identity of the sinister old toy maker.