Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14: Debate Club. Her father’s “bunny rabbit.” A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school. Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15: A knockout figure. A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston. Frankie Laundau-Banks. No longer the kind of girl to take “no”... [Read more]

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Review: Frozen Fire by Tim Bowler

“I’m dying,” said the voice. Dusty clutched the phone. She had no idea who this was. A boy about her own age, by the sound of him–fifteen, sixteen, maybe a bit older… When Dusty takes that call, her life becomes intertwined with that of the boy. Suspecting the boy might be nearby, she rushes out into the cold snow filled night to try and find him. She doesn’t meet... [Read more]

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Review: Ship Builder by Paolo Bacigalupi

Set initially in a future shanty town in America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth existence, echo the worst poverty in... [Read more]

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Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Who is the real Margo? Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life – dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge – he follows. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma,... [Read more]

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Review: White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

It’s summer. Rebecca is an unwilling visitor to Winterfold – taken from the buzz of London and her friends and what she thinks is the start of a promising romance. Ferelith already lives in Winterfold – it’s a place that doesn’t like to let you go, and she knows it inside out – the beach, the crumbling cliff paths, the village streets, the woods, the deserted churches... [Read more]

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Review: The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin

When Sunni Forrest’s stepbrother accidentally transports himself into a Renaissance painting, she and her friend Blaise set out to bring him back. They find themselves in a strange world of labyrinths, monsters and pirates. Can they evade their greedy pursuers? And will they ever find their way home? – Publisher’s Blurb As promised in my review with author Teresa Flavin, yesterday, here... [Read more]

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Review: The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine by April Lurie

With reviews like this one from Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on, how could I not pick this one up? And I seriously needed this book! For the last few weeks I’ve been in a serious reading slump, and for even longer than that, whilst I’ve read some brilliant books, it’s been a while since one kept me up late, demanding to be read. (Not withstanding, Monsters of Men, but that goes without saying!) The... [Read more]

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Review: Strange Words by Patrick Chamoiseau

Allow the strange words to work their secret magic, and above all, read these stories only at night. Remember I wrote them with the moon as my sole companion… – from the author’s introduction. With the above extract from the author’s introduction also printed on the front cover, how is a poor book fan supposed to resist? I obviously couldn’t when I visited the library... [Read more]

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Review: Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve

“Fever Crumb” is a stunning, stand-alone prequel to Philip Reeve’s brilliant science fantasy quartet. It is set many generations before the events of Mortal Engines, in whose dazzling world huge, predatory cities chase and devour each other. Now, London is a riot-torn, ruinous town, clinging to a devastated landscape and hiding an explosive secret. Is Fever, adopted daughter of Dr... [Read more]

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Review: Light Boxes by Shane Jones

“The most serious charge which can be brought against New England is not Puritanism but February.” ~ Joseph Wood Krutch, The Twelve Seasons Sometimes you really should judge a book by its cover, the publishers spend a lot of time and  money on them after all. And this one with its gorgeous cover by Ken Garduno is a perfect example. There I was on Saturday with a few minutes to spare... [Read more]

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