From the moment Horace F. Andrews sees the sign from the bus – literally a sign with his name on it – everything in his normal little life changes. An encounter with the House of Answers, a magically hidden warehouse full of mysterious objects and even stranger people, only leads to more questions. These people think he’s special – a Keeper of an incredible gift – although scientifically-minded Horace isn’t so sure he really believes in that kind of thing. But then a confrontation with an impossibly tall, thin, creepy and undoubtedly menacing man makes him think twice… Horace must now quickly begin to unravel the mysteries of this hidden…
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Dragon Detective: School’s Out by Gareth P Jones
Holly is desperate to be sleuthing with her partner-in-solving-crime, dragon Dirk Dilly, but instead she’s stuck at her exclusive boarding school for children of the rich and famous. She’s determined to escape, until she meets Callum, the son of the Prime Minister, who claims he was kidnapped by dragons a year ago and hasn’t been the same since. And when Dirk’s own investigation into dragon activity brings him to the school, the two cases collide. What if Callum isn’t as crazy as he seems? *** Having read some of Gareth P Jones’ books before, I was fully expecting lots of adventure and coolness from Dragon Detective: School’s Out. And it…
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44 Tiny Secrets – Sylvia Bishop and Ashley King
Betsy Bow-Linnet longs to play the piano like her world-famous parents but no matter how hard she tries, the notes never come out right…. This beautifully illustrated book shows the power of secrets, and how hurtful they can be. In a story thats well told and made me think and feel in all the right places. Aimed at 6-9 year olds, 44 Tiny Secrets is centred around a girl called Betsy who overhears the words ‘Terrible Disappointment’ from her mother and kicks her into a world of determination and more disappointment. While Betsy tries so hard to become something she’s not for her mother, she learns that its always better…
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The Shiverton Hall Series – Emerald Fennell
Shiverton Hall is a school with a sinister reputation, as its newest pupil, Arthur Bannister is about to find out. But the spine-chilling tales, evil spirits and unearthly noises are the least of Arthur’s worries. It’s his friends he need to watch out for… *** The Shiverton Hall series is currently made up of 2 books, set around Arthur Bannister and his move into Shiverton Hall school. He gets a scholarship there having never heard of the school and gets an odd feeling about it right from the start. The ghost stories start from his very first night and he is, at first, sceptical to say the least. But as…
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The Dreamsnatcher – Abi Elphinstone
“There are footprints in the snow, sudden marks picked out by the moonlight. They weave a path through the forest, round the ring of ancient oak trees and on towards the wooden hut. But there they stop, and the smoke curling out of the chimney is the only sign that anyone is inside. Seven cloaked figures sit round a table, their hoods pulled up despite the fire crackling in the grate. At first, they whisper together, their voices low and guarded. And then the whispers fade, heads drop and lips curl back.” Moll has been a member of Oak’s camp for as long as she can remember. Having no parents…
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The Map to Everywhere – Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis
“Hard to remember, difficult to notice. And not just like ‘doesn’t stand out in a crowd,’ like serios ‘its magic’-type stuff. The boy just slips out of the mind when not in front of you. Forgot why I was writing this report three times already- have to have the boy here right now just so I can finish this blixin’ thing without wandering away again. Origin of affliction: unknown.” Fin has always blended in and never been remembered. Having ran out on the orphanage when he was seven. He’s spent the years learning the tricks of the thief trade, and has become a Master Thief, an easy enough job for…
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Cakes in Space – Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre
“The trouble with space is, there’s so much of it. An ocean of blackness without any shore. A neverending nothing. And here, all alone in the million billion miles of midnight, is one solitary moving speck. A fragile parcel, filled with sleeping people and their dreams. A ship.” When Astra asks the Nom-o-tron for the ultimate cake she doesn’t realise that it might mean the end of the world for the space ship that her family is being carried to a new world on. She doesn’t realise that the ultimate cake will be a race of cakes that can eat their way through the space ships controls, and she doesn’t…
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A World Without Princes – Soman Chainani (The School For Good & Evil #2)
“There is an uneasiness that remains after your best friend tries to kill you. But as Agatha gazed out at her and Sophie’s golden Statues, towering over the sun-speckled square, she swallowed it away. ‘I don’t know why it has to be a musical,’ she said, sneezing from the carnations on her pink dress. ‘No sweating in your costumes!’ Sophie barked at a boy struggling in a ferocious plaster dog head, while the girl roped to him stumbled around in her own cuddly dog head.” Agatha and Sophie are back in Gavaldon, living out their happy ever after together. But Agatha is missing her prince. A brief moment brings about…
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Murder Most Unladylike – Robin Stevens
“This is the first murder that the Wells & Wong Detective Society has ever investigated, so it is a good thing Daisy bought me a new casebook. The last one was finished after we solved The Case of Lavinia’s Missing Tie. The solution to that, of course, was that Clementine stole it in revenge for Lavinia punching her in the stomach during lacrosse, which was Lavinia’s revenge for Clementine telling everyone Lavinia came from a broken home. I suspect that the solution to this new case may be more complicated.” Welcome to the Wells & Wong Detective Society. When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up the society they had…
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Prankenstein – Andy Seed
“Soapy Thompson woke up with a cucumber on his head. It was large and green and still attached to the bush. He blinked a few times and wondered why his bedroom was so bright and why the ceiling was made of glass. And the walls. Soapy sat up and rubbed his eyes. There was a family of woodlice in his hair and his left cheek was encrusted with grotty bits of compost. He was in the greenhouse. Why?” Someone is doing some hilarious pranks around Soapy’s town and he just wishes he could be involved. Yet his boring life could never be as exciting as shooting his granny off her…
