Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

“It was like swimming under the stars, like sleeping outside, like climbing a tree in the dark and seeing the view. It was scary and safe and peaceful and exciting, all at the same time. It was the way I felt when I was with him. Like a well-ordered universe.”

******

Emily’s best friend Sloane disappears, almost without a trace – the only thing left behind is a to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that wallflower Emily wouldn’t normally do, and definitely not without her best friend. But what if completing the list could bring Sloane back?

Emily and Sloane are best friends but somehow Emily is always in the background. Sloane is the confident one and always does the talking. She is cool, stylish and funny. When Sloane leaves town without warning, Emily feels that her life will not be the same again. In a way she is right but it is not something to fear. Sloane has written a list of tasks designed to bring Emily out of her shell and so a story unfolds of a girl learning how to live life to the fullest and leave anxiety behind. Dancing until dawn, sleeping under the stars and hugging someone called Jamie… Emily is about to make amazing new friends and wonderful new memories.

If you read one book during summer then make it this one. Emily’s journey and transformation is inspiring and heart-warming. At first she doesn’t think she will cope without her best friend by her side but Sloane’s list shows her that she has the confidence and ability to accomplish anything she sets her mind to. Since You’ve Been Gone is fun, romantic and full of characters you will fall in love with. If you enjoy this one then make sure you read Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by the same author as well. Morgan Matson is Queen of the Summer Read and needs to write more books now, please, thank you.

 

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

“Flora was out there somewhere. He would find her. She would find him. They would find each other. And then he would write her another poem. This one would be about little fishes and humming in the dark of night.”

******

Flora Belle Buckman, a natural-born cynic with a penchant for comic books and a skill for avoiding her mother’s idiotic high jinks, looks out of the window one day to see her neighbour vacuuming up a squirrel. 

“Holy Bagumba!”

But that is just the beginning…

This story starts with a tragic accident. Flora witnesses a squirrel being sucked up into her neighbour’s vacuum cleaner and when she saves him a new friendship is born. Flora names the squirrel Ulysses and she realises that the vacuum cleaner incident has given him superpowers. A tale of a poetry-writing, eccentric and amazing animal unfolds. Just like any good superhero story though, things turn gritty very quickly. Luckily, Flora’s favourite comic (Terrible Things Can Happen To You) has taught her well and when Ulysses goes missing she knows exactly what to do.

You will struggle to find a book lovelier than this one. Flora is the most wonderful cynic and Ulysses is cute, strong and lovable. The comic-style sequences and eccentric squirrel poetry make this book memorable and fun to read. It’s a fantasy book but Kate DiCamillo writes about some sensitive issues too. Flora’s parents are divorced and she believes her mum is out to get her. By the end of the story though, relationships are mended and Flora finds that she can live happily with her mum after all.

A very funny and sweet book full of eccentric characters. Kate DiCamillo writes wonderful stories for children and after reading this one you won’t look at squirrels in the same way ever again.

Neil Gaiman wisdom.

A very lovely and inspiring lecture on why reading is so important.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming

 

Laura.

Quiet.

I have moved to London for new book adventures and I have spent most of my free time unpacking boxes and figuring out how to navigate my way around the Underground.

I have of course found the time to read lots of wonderful books and I’m really excited about all the fantastic YA titles out there at the moment. Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell and The Manifesto On How To Be Interesting by Holly Bourne will all be reviewed soon.

Lovely books.

Happy reading.

Laura.

Witch Child by Celia Rees

“The chant started with just one person remarking, in a quiet voice almost of wonder, then it spread from one to another, until all were shouting with one voice, like some monstrous howling thing. To float was a sure proof of guilt. They hooked her, pulling her back to shore like a bundle of old washing. they did not want her drowning, because that would deprive the people of a hanging.”

******

Pages from a journal are loosely sewn into a quilt. A quilt that lies undisturbed for more than three hundred years until it is carefully taken apart for cleaning and out of its folds falls a powerful and moving story. The story of Mary – the granddaughter of a witch. 

Mary has to escape England when her grandmother is killed for being a witch. Her journey takes her by sea to a settlement just outside of Salem but her new home does not stay safe for long. Mary must tread carefully to blend into the background but in an extremely religious settlement, suspicion of witchcraft is high and it is only a matter of time before people come knocking at her door.

This is a wonderful historical novel written in the form of a diary. There is no place more famous for witchcraft than Salem and in this novel we see just what can happen when suspicion rules. The story isn’t full of historical facts but you really get an idea of what it was like to live as a Puritan in the New World. Witch Child is full of strong, inspiring female characters and Celia Rees writes with so much passion you will become absorbed in Mary’s world.

Perfect for young adults wanting something a little different to read and suitable for younger readers looking for something a bit more mature than what they might usually find in the 9-12 section. There is a sequel too, so if you enjoy this one you can read more about Mary’s story from the eyes of another character in Sorceress.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

“The tenor-tolled clock sang darkly in the valley, six or seven, for they had lost track of time. And as the echoes faded into the buzz of the distant square, both Sophie and Agatha made a wish. That one day from now, they’d still be in the company of the other. Wherever that was.”

******

Every four years two children are stolen away from Gavaldon, never to return. Most children fear being taken to the School for Good and Evil. But not Sophie. She has dreamt all her life of being a princess and believes the school could be her chance. Her best friend Agatha has other ideas. When the two girls are taken, things don’t quite go to Sophie’s plan. Because sometimes, the princess and the witch don’t look like they do in fairytales.

If the Grimm brothers had written Harry Potter the result would be very similar to this. In this book we see good, beautiful people entering the School for Good where they learn how to be Princesses or Princes. Ugly, nasty people are taken to the School for Evil where they learn how to be wicked witches or monsters. The aim is to eventually be in their own fairytale. Sophie, the most beautiful girl in town, has been preparing all her life for the School for Good. Her best friend, Agatha, seems more destined for the School for Evil but when they enter the school they find their fortunes reversed. It becomes apparent to the characters that Sophie may be the most beautiful girl in town but she is ugly inside and more suited for the School for Evil than everyone first thought. The two girls soon find themselves in their own fairytale but who is good and who is bad?

We’re so used to beautiful Disney Princesses and ugly wicked witches, but this story makes us judge beauty and ugliness from what a person is like inside. Sophie is, to be honest, quite an unlikeable character. She is selfish and rude.  She only thinks about herself. Agatha, however, is thoughtful and caring. She sees the good in Sophie all the way through the book even though their friendship is tested to the limits. They bring out the best in each other and it turns into quite an emotional read.

I loved this book. Magic plays a part in the story, although it is not as prominent as it is in Harry Potter. It’s all about the creation of fairytales and learning how to trust and forgive others even if they have done horrible things.  It’s dark and actually quite spooky in some parts, but it is well written and exciting. The School for Good and Evil is the first in a new trilogy so we can look forward to more from Soman Chainani. I can’t wait.

 

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

“I pull her closer, breathing her in. Strawberry shampoo. Baby powder. She rests her head on my chest and my heart swells. Regardless of how I feel about myself, I’m so happy for her, I could burst.”

******

What happens in the woods, stays in the woods…Carey is keeping a terrible secret. If she tells, it could destroy her future. If she doesn’t, will she ever be free? For almost as long as she can remember, Carey has lived in a camper van in the heart of the woods with her drug-addicted mother and six-year-old sister, Jenessa. Her mother routinely disappears for weeks at a time, leaving the girls to cope alone. Survival is Carey’s only priority – until strangers arrive and everything changes.

Carey and her sister, Jenessa, have been abandoned by their mother in the woods and they’ve been fending for themselves hoping she will one day return to rescue them. It’s their father who saves them from this life though and when he takes them home and introduces them to a new family and normality they find it very hard to fit in. Carey can’t forget the terrible things she had to do in the woods and Jenessa won’t speak. A dark, harrowing story gradually unfolds and we find out exactly how horrific their time in the woods was.

This is an extremely dark story, yes, but Carey is one of the strongest characters you will find in YA fiction at the moment. The sacrifices she makes for her younger sister, and the love they feel for each other, will make your heart burst. It’s a familiar theme and we see it in The Hunger Games with Katniss and her sister, Primrose. Carey wants to protect her sister from the horrors in the woods and she shows us that hope can be found even in the darkest of times.

Emily Murdoch deals with some very difficult subjects with compassion and truth. This book proves that YA fiction is so much more than vampire love stories. An unforgettable, extraordinary book for young adults.

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

 

“Charles had hair the same colour as the banister, and eyes that had magic in them. He had inherited his house and all his clothes from his father. They had once been beautiful, razzle-dazzle Savile Row one-hundred-per-cent silk, and were now fifty per cent silk, fifty per cent hole. Charles had no musical instruments, but he sang to her; and when Sophie was elsewhere, he sang to the birds, and to the woodlice that occasionally invaded the kitchen. His voice was pitch-perfect. It sounded like flying.”

******

Everyone tells Sophie that she was orphaned in a shipwreck. But Sophie is convinced her mother also survived. When no one believes her, Sophie sets out to prove them wrong. On the run from authorities, Sophie finds Matteo – a boy who walks tightropes and lives in the sky. In a race across the rooftops of Paris, will they be able to find her mother, before it’s too late?

It’s really difficult to put into words exactly how much I enjoyed this book. Katherine Rundell has given us a magical and heart-warming story that every child should have in their collection. This books is winning all kinds of prizes and it completely deserves it.

Sophie is rescued from a shipwreck by a lovable, eccentric man called Charles. Sophie loves him but she is convinced that her mother is still alive even though everyone is telling her otherwise. Charles tells her to follow her heart and their search for the missing mother leads them to Paris where Sophie makes friends with Matteo, a boy who lives on the Parisian rooftops. The only thing Sophie knows about her mother is that she used to play the cello, so when they hear beautiful cello music being played on the rooftops it can mean only one thing.

This is a really wonderful story written in a fabulous Lemony Snickett style. What really makes this book perfect is the relationship between Charles and Sophie. Charles is a beautiful character who reminds me of the BFG. His philosophy in life is to never ignore a possible and it’s probably a philosophy we could all adopt in our own lives. He provides all the love Sophie needs and encourages her to follow her dreams and trust her own heart.

A story like this, full of so much magic and hope, can only leave you feeling satisfied and lovely inside. It’s my favourite book of 2014 so far, and I can’t wait to see what else lies inside Katherine Rundell’s imagination.