Murderous Envy

At last – a proper murder story for YA readers – no vampires, no werewolves, but just a little bit of something slightly spooky! I’m a long-standing murder story fan, and I was gripped from the first page to the last.

The book is Envy, the first in a series of thrillers about Port Gamble, or Empty Coffin, as its original name translates. The author is Gregg Olsen, an American writer with several novels for adults as well as real-life crime books to his name, who sets his books in an area he knows well, the Pacific north-west, and one probably little known to British readers. Here he makes full use of the rather British weather to create a damp, cool, dark environment in which dark deeds somehow seem so much more chilling!

Hayley and Taylor Ryan are twins with a special gift, which provides them with that little bit extra when they search out the real story behind crimes. We are promised that they will appear in more Empty Coffin stories, and the first chapter of the next instalment is tantalizingly added as a postscript to Envy. As five-year-olds they suffered the trauma of a coach accident on the bridge nearby their town, an accident from which killed some of their classmates, and which has scarred the community ever since. Ten years on, it appears that another survivor, Katelyn, has taken her own life, but the twins’ determination to find the truth uncovers some deeply disturbing incidents, and some even more deeply disturbed inhabitants of this sleepy town.

This is really good stuff, with a thrilling story and convincing characterisation, and it also has some serious messages underlying the narrative, about envy, about friendship, about revenge, about mental health and bullying, especially particular type of bullying which is on the increase among young readers: cyberbullying. The invasive nature of this, often totally unexpected, and preying on the hopes and fears of the recipients, makes it particularly vicious and private, and it eats away at the self-image of anyone who falls victim to it.

Knowing that his readership will spend much of their time glued to their computer and their smartphone, Olsen has a website devoted to Empty Coffin, and to Envy with additional material. There’s also a link to advice, discussion and resources about cyberbullying. He also outlines the real-life cases behind Envy, and links to find out more about those. I can’t wait for the next book, and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes a well-written mystery with a twist in the tale!

Envy is published in the UK by Splinter, ISBN 978-1402789571

With huge thanks to Bridget Carrington, Armadillo Reviewer, for this Blog contribution -ed

Halloween just happens to fall at one of the darkest times of year when it is also beginning to get cold and thoughts turn to warm crackling fires as well as fun and games around them, so what better way to entertain yourself this Halloween than with a selection of great books which can be read in the warm and in the light (if you so desire)!

To begin with we must cater for the youngest children who will be going to bed the soonest and will need a story to send them off happy into dreamland. The best book for this, in my opinion at least, is Mouldy Monsters (Campbell Books, 9780230753954) by AnnaLaura Cantone. This book takes the fear out of monsters, after all some of them are afraid too, and shows that most of them are also very silly! In addition to a funny story there are touch-and-feel elements on every spread - I love the ‘Mello Jello’s’ with their pink tutus and the ’Fuzzy McWuzzies’ with their blue fur, though by far the most popular with children is the green bogies from the ‘Booger Beloogas’!

Then comes the wonderful Debi Gliori who has provided us with just the title for sharing with toddlers. The Scariest Thing of All (Bloomsbury, 9780747599692) from its cover of purple hues and red spiky writing, with the exception of the cute bunny, one gets a sense of mystery before opening up to a bright and colourful meadow of long grass … Lots of larger than life scary things BIG spiders among them, are counterbalanced by a vibrancy and cute factor that is very reassuring. This book is the perfect read for little ones afraid of the dark and just a little scared this Halloween.

If you are story telling to a party of little ones then Elizabeth Baguley and Marion Lindsay’s Ready Steady Ghost (Oxford University Press, 9780192792648) is a good choice with its rhythmical text, swirly ghosts floating across blue pages and a very funny story about a ghost who isn’t actually much good at haunting!

Next come the younger readers who will adore the latest Horrid Henry and not only for its 3D moulded cover allowing curious fingers to prod the torch in awe! If you can believe it Horrid Henry has reached the grand old age of 20, he has a film, a TV series and now a very special book too. Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire by Francesca Simon (Orion Children’s Books, 9781842551356) finds Henry up to his usual tricks, scaring everyone, including himself, with some monstrously funny results. Read this one if you dare, for Halloween!

More advanced and older readers will love the second Bansi O’Hara title. Bansi O’Hara and the Edges of Halloween by author and Armadillo reviewer John Dougherty, (Random House, 9780440867920) may have been published back in April but is the perfect read this Halloween for its fast paced and frightening adventure story. Bansi is longing for a quiet life but life has other ideas and this adventure finds Bansi back in Faerie to rescue her mum from the Dead Cruach whilst trying to cope with Granny and Nora Mullarkey. One wonders which will be more difficult! A great adventure with lots of humour, the perfect cheering read for this Halloween.

So get your teeth stuck in to one of these great stories rather then a toffee apple this Halloween and you are guaranteed to have a great time!

Half Term Fun with Jacqueline Wilson

Fancy a good day out for half term then look no further than Seven Stories (if you are in or near Newcastle of course). For those of you in other parts of the country the website is packed with fun and there are of course always plenty of events taking place. The Internet is a great place to hunt for children's reading activities, or try your local library. In the meantime back to Seven Stories ...

Daydreams and Diaries, the Story of Jacqueline Wilson is the first ever exhibition dedicated to this author and her work. The good news is that there is plenty of time to see it as it runs until September 2012.

In this new exhibition Jacqueline herself (though sadly not in person) guides the visitor through her favourite stories, characters and daydreams as well as proividing an insight into her working process, providing inspiration for budding writers. See how ideas become text and find out more about working with an illustrator. This is a chance to sit and daydream as well as be inspired.

These wonderful pictures will give you a taster of what to expect ...

Jacqueline Wilson with 10 young people from the North East who took part in a Creative Writing project at Seven Stories.

Jacqueline Wilson relaxes in a replica of her 1950's bedroom.

Jacqueline Wilson in front of the Dumping Ground from Tracy Beaker.

Jacqueline Wilson and Nick Sharratt meet their fans in the set of Tracy Beaker at Seven Stories.

With thanks to Lauren Regan, Marketing and Communications at Seven Stories

Party Barefoot Style

Linda Newbery reports from the Barefoot Books party celebrating their move to new offices in Oxford.

Barefoot Books celebrated their move to Summertown, Oxford with a launch party on Friday (7th October), followed by a packed weekend of family activities. They've taken over a former Co-Op, architecturally mimicking the chapel next door, which in previous lives has been a bathroom showroom and an artists' shop and gallery. These are spacious premises which lend themselves well to their new role, with various nooks and corners for storytelling and activities, a cafe, and another floor upstairs with space to seat small or larger audiences. It's a bookshop with lots of face-out display combined with community and family centre, offering weekly activities including yoga for children and adults, drama, dance, crafts and of course story times.

The decor, both inside and out, is colourful, inviting and stylish - it would be hard to pass by without having at least a look inside. Lucky Summertown. See the website, www.barefootbooks, for details of books and events.

Back - Finally - Into History

I am very sorry that I ahve been away for so long, I had not realised the start of a new term would be quite so nusy. I ahve however not been away from books and if you have been following me on Twitter @Armadillomag, you'll see that I;ve been busy with my daily reading diet!

So what have I found to enthrall you all with today - some wonderful new titles fromBarrington Stoke. Having been asked to cover some history lessons at school last week - two on the Tudors and one on Victorian factories - I was thrilled to find in my post two new Barrington Stoke titles set in history.

Anne Perry is busy writing a series of time-slip or time-travel, depending on your preferred phrase, stories. The series begins with Tudor Rose in which the heroine, Rosie, finds she has been given a very special time piece, one that will send her back to the court of Queen Elizabeth, find her in the Queen's court assisting her as she stands firm against the Spanish Amarda.

Rose of No-Man's Land takes our heroine to the hospitals of Flanders in the First World War where Rose meets Edith Cavell, a nurse executed for her bravery and courage in helping soldiers escape.

The reader learns some interesting historical lessons, as does Rose, who also learns how to stand up for herself at school, learns courage and meets some of history's most important women in their darkest hours.

Exciting new fiction from an award-winning publisher and something for teen girls who may be a little reluctant to read, to really get their teeth into.

Philosophical Places

There has been a burgeoning of interest in philosophy for children in recent years, all part of the process of seeking to develop children’s thinking skills. Many of its advocates have argued for a fourth ‘R’ in the school curriculum in which Reasoning is taught alongside Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.

Stories are an important device for engaging children, not only do they provide enjoyment they also help children to begin enquiring and exploring philosophical ideas.

As a secondary school teacher I run a philosophy club and my group of philosophers all of whom started in Year 7, aged 11, seem to have grown up very quickly. Too young for Gaarder’s brilliant Sophie’s World and too old perhaps for the philosophical stories for children, Bernard Beckett’s Genesis and August are possibly the answer to my question of what can they read?

Genesis takes the reader to Plato’s Republic -- a post-cataclysmic world isolated away from the rest of humanity -- and puts them into a Socratic dialogue between a board of examiners and a young student - Anaximander. In the claustrophobic context of the examination, Anaximander questions the official history of the Republic and the role of her long-dead hero, the philosopher-soldier Adam Forde.

August puts the reader into a different philosophical rule, that of St Augustine’s City of God in another post-cataclysmic world. This time the dialogue is between Tristan, a philosopher struggling with questions of freewill, and Grace, a street prostitute, whose life is more of a question of survival. Trapped upside down in a car wreck, alone, hours away from daybreak and the chance of a rescue, August’s dialogue tells the alternating stories of their lives.

It is tempting to brand Genesis and August as ‘Philosophy for Teenagers’, but there is a subtle difference in resisting this and identifying these books as Young Adult Philosophy. The books are written to be accessible to teenagers, with the length of story and the choice of language. The dialogical format of the books and the pace of the story however requires a more patient reader and at times, important passages need to be re-read. In fact I want to re-read Genesis and August and refresh my knowledge of Plato’s Republic and St Augustine’s City of God to fully appreciate the subtly of the books. The philosophy is the foundations upon which the story is written, shaping the story rather than it being a story with some philosophical insights. Moreover the books, particularly August, include more adult content.

Unfortunately I do not have my answer for my teenage philosophy group. Some members I can identify as having the maturity to read and fully engage with Genesis and August. Others may not. Perhaps I am missing the point. Whether you are a child, teenager, young adult or adult, the joy of philosophy is always to read a story and ponder for any amount of time, whatever philosophical musing it stirs, great or small.

Genesis and August by Bernard Beckett are both published by Quercus.

Theodore Boone, Strattenburg’s youngest lawyer ...

13 year-old Theodore Boone comes from a family of lawyers. When he is not in school, and often when he should be in school, Theodore can be found in the town’s court rooms. His friends and even teachers ask him for legal advice.

The first book in the Theodore Boone series has deservedly attracted much praise. Brilliantly written both books have compelling plots and great characterisation. Taking crime fiction in a new direction, possibly even introducing a new literary genre - the legal thriller for teenagers. It is however the moral ambiguity in John Grisham’s writing which, for me, makes the stories refreshingly different from my own childhood reading material of great young sleuths like Nancy Drew and The Secret Seven.

In Theodore Boone’s self-titled debut novel for example, the perfect murder seems to have been committed in Strattenburg and a guilty man could go free. Theodore has to wrestle with his conscience, torn between keeping his promise to an illegal immigrant and ensuring justice for a murdered wife. Whereas in The Abduction, the latest novel, Theodore’s best friend April is kidnapped supposedly by a notorious criminal just escaped from prison. Theodore must find a compromise. Does he telling the police and his parents the truth in order to save April?

The moral ambiguity in the story is exemplified by Theodore’s uncle Ike. Ike had been a practising lawyer in the Boone family firm before committing a crime for which he served a prison sentence over several years. No-one will explain, to Theodore, why. Disbarred Ike makes a living as a tax accountant but likes to use his friends to keep himself in contact with the law, friends he describes as “closer to the street”. Characterised as an aging hippie, living alone and needing a caffeine fix every morning Ike is an unlikely, but fallen hero. He also seems to represent the slippery slope that Theodore himself could easily fall down: someone prepared to justify the means to satisfy the end.

Theodore Boone is a great new series, presenting young adults with a more complex and subtle understanding of the law. It is a game with rules, not necessarily to follow, but to be played.

Theodore Boone is out now, published by Hodder. Grab yourself a copy and be prepared for a thrilling read.

A further taste of history ...

Wow what a challenge! Have you decided which faction to follow? If not then I urge you to read Mary's book, David. It may help your decision but above all else it is a gripping read.

How do I follow an author who is such a talent? Well I love historical novels and David put me in the mood for reading some more so here is just a taster of some of the books I have been enjoying in the last week and that, with the summer holidays upon us, you may enjoy too.

First of all there was VIII by Harriet Castor, then came Wickedness by Deborah White, Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx by James Rollins and I have just finished Emerald by Karen Wallace.

Some of these names may sound familiar, others shouldn't as they are new to children's fiction! Harriet Castor is one, her brilliant and insightful portrayal of the young Henry VIII is a real eye-opener and a great page-turner too. This is a very exiciting concept, looking at historical figures and considering how their childhoods shaped their adult lives.

In Wickedness Deborah White brilliantly weaves past with present, 400 years separate her two heroines but they have much in common not least the mysterious Doctor an Egyptian mummy and a curse. An engaging read to look forward to.

Jake Ransom is no stranger to trouble having already battled the evil Skull King he now has to battle him once again in order to gain control of the Eye of Ra, save his sister and an ancient civilization. Just in case you are thinking that I have got stuck in Ancient Egypt too (it has certrtainly felt that way the last two weeks with my MA work) ...

Emerald brings me back to the Tudors and this time Elizabeth I, a plot to kill the queen, bear baiting and some good old traditional romance. Karen Wallace is a well established and well-known author but this, her first foray into historical fiction is fascinating and a brilliant read.

So get stuck into some great historical ficition and be prepared to be swept away!

Are you a Republican or a Medicean?

‘I am all in favour of a single ruler if that ruler can be a Lorenzo de’ Medici,’ he said at last. ‘But there are few men like him. Even his own son had none of his quality. So in general, yes, I’m now a republican.’

That’s what Michelangelo says to Gabriele, the hero of my book. And I think that’s what I believe too. I’m not in principle against the idea of a single unelected ruler, though it strikes me as dangerous, but democratically elected rulers can be terrible too. And it is possible to have a just and charismatic unelected ruler if you are lucky.

I must admit to having a bit of a crush on Lorenzo the Magnificent, the de’ Medici who was Michelangelo’s first patron. Yes, he was both ugly and unfaithful to his wife and he took a hideous and violent revenge on the conspirators who killed his brother and nearly killed him at High Mass in the cathedral in 1478. But he was the very personification of Renaissance Man – he could equally well write poetry as fence, ride a horse, talk to a philosopher ... How many monarchs or politicians are like that today? And he loved art and valued it and commissioned great works, like Botticelli’s Primavera and the Birth of Venus, as well as Michelangelo’s early marble reliefs.

The Republicans in my book are opposed on principle to families ruling a city just because they are the richest men around and I can sympathise with them too. For some of them – the frateschi – the great alternative to that kind of Plutocracy (= rule by the rich) was the teaching of Savonarola. He was a fiery preacher and Dominican friar, who held the city in thrall for four years with his passionate sermons and austere convictions.

I part company with him over the Bonfire of the Vanities though. All Florentines were encouraged to throw fripperies like jewellery and personal items of adornment into the flames, along with books, combs, mirrors and anything else that distracted them from the worship of God and encouraged personal vanity. But among these were what might have been great paintings and that I can’t forgive.

Just a few years afterwards, Savonarola himself was burned in the same spot, after being tortured and hanged. His followers in David are still mourning that event and it makes them dangerously fanatical. Trust Gabriele to get involved with them! When Michelangelo tells him what he thinks about politics in the passage quoted above, Gabriele says that he is a Republican too and although the sculptor says he has to think for himself, it is one of the themes of the book that you have to know what side you are on in Florence.

Gabriele ends up on both sides in a way and it is very nearly his undoing.

Follow Mary and find out more about her books here:

www.maryhoffman.co.uk

www.twitter.com/@MARYMHOFFMAN

www.facebook.com/maryhoffman.fanpage

www.bookmavenmary.blogspot.com

Perfect Picture Book Picnics

As my mother fondly calls them 'pic-in-ics' are the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors ... or as we learnt on Thursday evening at Walker Books picture Book Picnic they are the perfect way to enjoy any space for a picnic can be held anywhere, including in the lovely lofty space Walker Books are lucky enough to have in their building. So it was that librarians, booksellers, bloggers and representatives from many groups with an interest in picture books gathered on a balmy Thursday evening for Pimms, sparkles, nibbles, strawberries & cream, as well not forgetting the ice cream with a flake - traditional British picnic fare and of course we were in the company of some of Walker Books rising stars - Viv Schwartz and others, watching them sketch on the picnic grass, chatting to them about a new range of floor mats and more ...

It was the perfect way to spend a lovely evening, the perfect way to celebrate picture books and remind ourselves that just a a picnic can be held anywhere there is a picture book for any place and any time ... picinics are the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors ... or as we learnt on Thursday evening at Walker Books picture Book Picnic they are the perfect way to enjoy any space for a picnic can be held anywhere, including in the lovely lofty space Walker Books are lucky enough to have in their building.

So it was that librarians, booksellers, bloggers and representatives from many groups with an interest in picture books gathered on a balmy Thursday evening for Pimms, sparkles, nibbles, strawberries & cream, as well not forgetting the ice cream with a flake - traditional British picnic fare and of course we were in the company of some of Walker Books rising stars - Viv Schwartz and others, watching them sketch on the picnic grass, chatting to them about a new range of floor mats and more ...

It was the perfect way to spend a lovely evening, the perfect way to celebrate picture books and remind ourselves that just a a picnic can be held anywhere there is a picture book for any place and any time ...