Category: Children Upper KS2

The Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson

On By @f33lthesunIn Children Upper KS2, Disability, Historical, Mystery, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This blog appears to be turning into a Victoria Williamson fan site. The Whistlers in the Dark is the third of Victoria’s books I have recently reviewed, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams and Norah’s Ark being the other two. All three are very different and also highly recommended reads. Spoiler alert…there will be a fourth very soon!

Anyway, on with this one…

Blurb

Scotland, 158 AD, is a divided country. 

On one side of the Antonine wall, thirteen-year-old Felix is trying to become a good Roman soldier like his father. On the other, twelve-year old Jinny is vowing revenge on the ‘metal men’ who have invaded her Damnonii tribe’s homeland.

At the Damnonii’s sacred circle of standing stones, her planned attack on Felix goes badly wrong, awakening a legend that threatens to bring fire and destruction down on them all. Can Jinny and Felix overcome their differences and soothe the stones back to sleep before it’s too late?

The Whistlers in the Dark is an historical fantasy for Middle Grade readers. Set at the Roman fort in the author’s hometown of Kirkintilloch, it tells the story of friendship overcoming the desire for revenge and leading to forgiveness.

Based on the historical records of the Antonine wall and the tribes of Central Scotland, it brings these together with Scottish legends of standing stones going walking at night to weave a tale of courage and adventure.

Review

Once again, as she did so effectively in Norah’s Ark, Victoria Williamson uses alternate chapters to tell us the story from two characters’ points of view. This means we can more fully empathise with both Jinny and Felix as they negotiate the difficult relationships with each other and those around them.

Their difficulties with one another, whilst stemming from their respective cultures, become increasingly worse because of decisions they make that then have unintended consequences on each other, themselves and those around around them.

Neither Jinny nor Felix has life easy, those around them having ingrained attitudes towards them (due to their previous behaviour and, in Felix’s case, who he is related to) and treating them accordingly.

Once again, the author does not shy away from confronting difficult themes, instead creating a story that brings them to the fore, prompting thinking and discussions around growing up, bullying, belonging, trust, grief, disability, respecting the culture of others, invasion and beliefs.

As well as developing well rounded characters, Williamson also breathes life into the children’s eerily spine chilling belief that they have awoken the ancient stones causing the stones to walk, intent on causing them harm. You will have to read the book yourself to find out how this impacts on the characters and their thinking.

A special mention to the superbly evocative cover by Elise Carmichael (@elisecillustr8).

Thank you to @ScotStreetPress and @The_WriteReads for the ARC for the purposes of this review.

Scareground by Angela Kecojevic

On By @f33lthesunIn Children Upper KS2, Fantasy, Historical, Mystery, Spooky, Suspense3 Comments

Blurb

Roll up, roll up, the Scareground is in town!

Twelve-year-old Nancy Crumpet lives above a bakery and her life is a delightful mix of flour, salt, and love. Yet her mind is brimming with questions no one can answer: Why did her birth parents disappear? Why can she speak with the sky? And why must she keep her mysterious birthmark hidden?

Everything is about to change when the Scareground returns to Greenwich. Nancy is convinced it holds the answers to her parents’ disappearance. Nancy and her best friend Arthur Green meet the fair’s spooky owner, Skelter, and discover a world full of dark magic and mystery. Nancy must confront her greatest fears to get to the truth. But is she ready for all the secrets the Scareground will reveal?

Review

This is a strong debut by Angela Kecojevic, bringing us a story steeped in family secrets, traditions, friendship, differences and a few scares thrown in for good measure.

The author has built a world around the Victorian era we know, bringing a sense of fear and dread to it by adding in illusions (or are they just tricks) that mess with your eyes and your mind, whilst Nancy and Arthur dig deep to brave the dangers and face their fears to get to the bottom of Nancy’s links to Skelter Tombola and the Scareground.

Nancy’s relationship with/to the sky is an added element that we are never quite sure is an advantage or will bring her more peril.

Whilst the ending brought some answers for Nancy, there is definitely more to her past and her special abilities than revealed here, leaving the door wide open to further speculation and hope that there will be a second novel on the way.

Special mention must also go to the map at the start…I do love a book map.

Thank you to @NeemTreePress and @The_WriteReads for an advance copy in exchange for this review.

The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson, illustrated by James Brown

On By @f33lthesunIn #Mystery, Children Upper KS2, Fantasy2 Comments

Blurb

In a strange little village called Witchetty Hollow, eleven-year-old Florizel is the first to run into the curious visitors who’ve come to open a brand new Daydream Delicatessen and sack-baby factory.

At first, it seems the daydream confection and cheap sack children are the best things that could have happened to the poor folk of the Hollow – after all, who has the money to rent their child from Storkhouse Services these days? But after a few weeks, Florizel starts to notice something odd happening to the adults of the town. First, they seem dreamy, then they lose all interest in their jobs and families. Soon they’re trading all their worldly goods in the newly-opened Pawnshop for money to buy daydreams. With no money for rent payments, the children of Witchetty Hollow are being reclaimed by Storkhouse Services at an alarming rate. Florizel needs to act.

Review

This is a dark, sinister story that made my skin crawl at times but it is ultimately filled with hope.

Victoria Williamson has cleverly created a deeply creepy, Grimmesque fairy tale world, covering themes of greed, addiction and capitalism alongside those of friendship and community suitable for young readers (9+) that will have them fearful for Florizel and Burble but also page turning hopefully to find out what happens next.

There is a wide range of characters, from mostly good to downright wicked, in particular the child repossessing “nurses” who are just as ominous and scary as the infamous child catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Illustrations by James Brown

The dark and light of the story is reflected in the descriptions. The Dream Delicatessen and Pawnshop evoke scenes bursting with colour and sparkle, in stark contrast to the rest of the town, which is shrouded in gloom and despair. James Brown’s black and white illustrations capture the drama and atmosphere perfectly.

In Scotland, dressing up at Hallowe’en and visiting other houses is called guising. The fear inducing Gobbelino guisers, in their cloaks and masks, made me reminisce about a childhood Hallowe’en where someone (a friend of my parents) came guising to our house in a huge coat and mask and, to this day, I still do not know who it was. This story is as creepy as I felt that night.

Thank you to Tiny Tree Books and The Write Reads for a free digital copy of the book for review purposes.

Punch by Barbara Henderson

On By @f33lthesunIn Children Upper KS21 Comment

This is not a new book, it was published in 2017. I discovered it by chance, having seen a different book on Twitter and following a link to the publisher’s website (@cranachanbooks https://www.cranachanpublishing.co.uk/ ). Being Scottish, with a fascination for Victorian times and also Punch and Judy, I obviously ordered it. I also ordered some other books, but that is for another blog.

Punch tells the story of Phineas, an orphan living in 1889 Inverness under the volatile guardianship of his “Uncle” Ewan. He is sent on a nighttime errand, which ends with the town market halls being set on fire. Falsely accused and justifiably scared of the reaction of his guardian and the police, Phineas goes on the run.

He forms unlikely alliances with an escaped prisoner and a family of travelling entertainers on his journey, which includes encounters with a dancing bear and Queen Victoria. He learns new skills, including becoming a puppeteer. He also has a bounty on his head, wanted for arson. Can he clear his name? Can he resolve his issues with his turbulent past? How he became orphaned is haunting him. This and way he was treated by his guardian means he struggles with trusting his new companions. Are they on his side or biding their time to turn him in for the money?

Barbara Henderson has written a gripping story based on a true event (the market halls in Inverness did burn down). The strength of this story is in the characters: their backstory, their relationships with each other, how they support each other to make sense of what has happened to them and how they finally resolve misunderstandings of their own and other people.

Themes of broken families, living with a bullying adult, friendship and trust run through the story, as does compassion, hope and love. When I took a break from reading, I was thinking of Phineas and his predicament and I wanted to get back to it as soon as possible…the sign of a very good book. I plan to read more of Barbara’s books.

The cover art, which I love, is by Corinna Bahr.

Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep by Philip Reeve

On By @f33lthesunIn Children Upper KS21 Comment
Cover art by Paddy Donnelly

It is always a good sign when a book starts with a map.

One of the amazing things about Philip Reeve is his ability to create and write about such vastly different worlds in such a way that they come alive on the pages, are usually characters that affect the storyline and live on in your head for a long, long time.

That the same person created and wrote Mortal Engines, Railhead, Larklight (amongst others) and now Utterly Dark is a magical mystery to me. But I am so happy that he did.

Utterly Dark is a foundling, washed up on the shores of the Autumn Isles and taken in by Andrewe Dark, the mysterious Watcher of Wildsea. When her guardian walks into the ocean one day and drowns, Utterly is thrust into the role of Watcher… can she keep the island safe from the threat of the terrifying Gorm? Unforeseen mysteries lie beneath the ocean’s surface. Adventure beckons, and Utterly will unearth astonishing secrets about the sea, her parents and life itself. Wildsea will never be the same again…

I read this in one sitting…always the sign of a good read.

Reeve has created characters with depth, with a backstory in lore, sea witches, sea and land magic and unbelievers.

As Utterly grows, develops friendships and trust in those around her, and learns of her surroundings, the Hidden Islands, the role of the Watcher, the history of Wildsea and its inhabitants over the generations, she struggles to understand her role in what is happening. The sea, its power, mystery and stories invade her dreams. She feels she is being watched all time time and wonders why.

The sea around Wildsea is alive, takes lives and sometimes offers bodies back to the land, is full of mysterious water dragons, Men o’ Weed and other lorish creatures. Why is it so interested in Utterly? Who should she believe…the written logs of her adoptive father (The Watcher)? Her uncle who moved away from the island many years ago and has forgotten the pull of belief in the folklore? Her new friends Aish and Egg (who refuse to touch or go near the sea)? The sea witch, Thurza Froy, who lost her husband to the hidden depths?

Relationships are at the heart of this story and what ultimately help Utterly when she has a choice to make. I think we can all relate to that.

P.S. I grew up crushing eggshells before throwing them away. I still do it. I had been told that if I didn’t, witches would sail to sea in them and sink boats. Uncle Will obviously got told the same story!

From Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep by Philip Reeve

Thanks to NetGalley and David Fickling Books for the eARC.

Adam-2 by Alastair Chisholm (due out 5 Aug 2021)

On By @f33lthesunIn Children Upper KS2, Young AdultLeave a comment

Adam-2, a robot, has been locked in the basement of a lost building for over two hundred years, following a daily routine – until one day he is discovered by two children, and emerges into a world ruined by a civil war between humans and advanced intelligence. Hunted by both sides, Adam discovers that he holds the key to the war, and the power to end it – to destroy one side and save the other. But which side is right? Surrounded by enemies who want to use him, and allies who mistrust him, Adam must decide who – and what – he really is.

Over the past few years, there has been a distinct lack of Sci-fi books for children. Thankfully, this situation is changing. This is Chisholm’s second, and is even better than his debut in this genre, Orion Lost, which was excellent.

Adam-2 is told from two points of view – the robot, Adam-2, and one of the humans, Linden. It is good to finally read a story with a non binary main character (using the pronouns ze/hir), who is integral to the plot.

Adam-2 is not like the other robots, he can think and imagine scenarios, not just follow programmed orders. He can learn and apply his knowledge. He is also immune to the EMP charges that the humans use to temporarily disable robots they fight against. Adam-2 has to work out what has happened to create, and prolong, the long term war between the humans and robots and find a way to end the war to bring peace.

There are various themes throughout – war/peace, friendships, family, trust and the rights and wrong of developing AI. Via Linden, and the influence hir mother (and her death) has on hir, we witness the struggle to work out the right path to take and also the power of telling stories, both to the teller and the audience.

I enjoyed Adam-2 and thoroughly recommend it. 5 star plus.

Thanks to NetGalley and Nosy Crow for the eARC.

Girl 38 by Ewa Jozefkowicz

On By @f33lthesunIn Children Upper KS2Leave a comment

Girl 38 is three stories in one. Kat finds herself, as a teenager, feeling lonely and realising her best friend since nursery is actually very controlling, bullying her into things she does not want to do.

As an escape from this, Kat creates comic strip stories set in the future about Girl 38, a strong, brave character. People in her life provide her with inspiration for the qualities, both good and bad, of the comic strip characters.

At the same time as a new boy joins her school, annoying her best friend, Kat finally meets and begins a friendship with the elderly Polish lady, Ania, who lives next door.

Ania begins to tell Kat about her search for a friend in World War II, a story that includes jumping from a train, sewers and grim determination. Kat, without telling Ania what is happening in her own life at the time, reflects on Ania’s experiences and makes links to her own situation.

As the tale unfolds, will Kat find inspiration and courage from Ania’s experiences to finally stand up for herself? Will she find the right ending for Girl 38?

This is one of those books that has been on my tbr pile for too long. I cannot believe I did not read it before now.

The author deals with the difficult subjects of control, bullying and the occupation of Poland in WWII with aplomb. There are themes of moral courage, bravery, friendship, hope and finding light in the dark, which Ewa Jozefkowicz tackles with a sure touch, enabling the readers to enjoy the story whilst also contemplating the impact people in your life have.

The stylish cover illustration, by Anna Hymas, beautifully depicts the three stories told in the book.