Today we hear from Bookbabbler Connor…

Mean Streets: The Chicago Caper – Graham Marks

Trey’s dreams of becoming a hot-shot detective like his hero, Trent ‘Pistol’ Gripp from Black Ace magazine, look like they might be coming true. The mysterious ‘accidents’ and late-night phone calls at his Gramps’s ranch in Kansas certainly needs investigating. But then school starts and it looks like case closed. But little does Trey know that his vacation snapshots have caught on film a top-secret plot. Like every good Private Investigator, trouble seems to follow Trey wherever he goes… and this time it’s tailing him all the way home to Chicago and onto the city’s meanest streets.

Mean Streets: The Chicago Caper has action and adventure. A great storyline, and if you have read I Spy (by the same author), then you will love this!

This book is one of the most interesting I have read. Trey is in this story from I Spy, but he has a new friend called Alex.  Trey goes on a mission to rescue Alex who has seemingly been kidnapped. With car chases and gun fights amongst its 300′s pages, you will read this book many times before you get bored of it.  The storyline is gripping all the way through and I stayed up late reading it over the course of a week.

Thanks, Connor, and thanks to Usborne Children’s Books for sending it to us.

Today Wendy reviews the first in a new series of educational books for younger readers..

A Roman Rescue – K A Gerrard

I would describe this book as a graphic novel rather than a story book. The illustrations are comic like and the text is in speech bubbles.

The story features Charlie and his dog, Bandit and as there is a sub heading ‘A Charlie and Bandit Adventure’ it would suggest that there are going to be a series of adventure books. In this first adventure Bandit falls into a hole and Charlie falls in after him and they are transported back to ancient Rome. Charlie is befriended by a young Roman named Cosmo who helps him search for Bandit. In return Charlie helps Cosmo win a chariot race. After winning the race Charlie and Bandit fall through another hole and return home. There is a nice twist at the end when Charlie meets his new neighbours who have moved there all the way from Rome with their son Cosmo!

The text is scattered with facts about ancient Rome and is educational in a subtle way and is a good introduction to ancient Rome. There is a section at the end called Charlie’s notebook which contains useful facts about ancient Rome.

I was surprised that both my 3 and 5 year old liked this book and that it kept both of their attention as it’s longer than books that we would normally read. I think this was helped by the witty way that it written and all the illustrations. My 5 year old liked all the facts and wanted to know about Rome and was happy to read the book on her own. I will certainly be keeping my eye out for the next book in the series.

Thanks, Wendy, and thanks to Templar for sending us a copy.

Today we hear from Luke…

Code Lightfall and the Robot King – Daniel H. Wilson

Code Lightfall is an ordinary kid. Apart from the name, of course. Then one day he tumbles down a hole and ends up somewhere far from ordinary –  a land of robots. Now Code must battle through poisonous rivers over uncrossable seas to save both the robot world and his own as he sets out on an amazing adventure. But as the only human in a land of hostile robots, will Code make it alive?

The book follows the story of a quiet  sixth grade schoolboy called Code Lightfall who during a school trip to Mek Mound has an amazing adventure. The previous year his grandfather John Lightfall had disappeared at Mek Mound and despite searching for a whole year he had never been found. Whilst on the trip Code befriends a small robotic, metallic bee type creature which he names “Peep”. He follows the creature through the hollow of a tree into an underground world  run by robots called Mekhos. The underground world is being ruled by the evil Robonomicon which is destroying all the robots and holding Codes grandfather as hostage in its large metal tentacles. Code and Peep with the help of Gary (an automatic slaughter bot invented by Code) have to go to the celestial city to try and save Mekhos, his grandfather and all the other robots.

To tell you more would ruin the story. I found this book to be very enjoyable and actually felt some compassion towards the robots and their plight. The chapters are short so it makes for easy reading. The story reminded me of Alice in Wonderland initially with the hollow tree, but that’s where the similarity ended. An excellent book with a wealth of interestingly named robots. Kept me guessing until the very end. Highly recommended.

Thanks, Luke, and thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for sending us a copy.

Rockoholic’s out this month, so we’ve been catching up with author Claire Skuse…..

Who were your favourite authors as a child?

As a child I was given a very expensive gift set of Beatrix Potter books and I loved them lots. My favourite one was The Tale of the Pie and the Patty Pan, probably because I had no idea what a Patty Pan was, and still don’t to this day! I also liked the idea of eating lots of lettuce and falling asleep under some warm grass cuttings, ala The Flopsy Bunnies, so this was also a favourite. Other favourites included anything by Roald Dahl, a book called The Garden Gang, which I think was written and illustrated by a very young girl, and I had two gigantic Enid Blyton treasuries which I remember reading when I had measles and they made me feel better, or at least stopped me picking at my spots for a while.

You work in publishing, so what prompted you to start writing?

I started writing my first novel when I was seventeen and for about eight years I was sending it back and forth to agents. I was told you had to have an agent to get anywhere. Fifty agent rejections later, I realised that perhaps it wasn’t just about finding the right agent, it was about improving my writing. That realisation took me to Bath Spa University where I did a BA in Creative Writing and an MA in Writing for Young People. Just after completing these courses, I applied for work experience at Chicken House Publishing and, joys of joys, managed to secure a permanent position as Publishing Assistant. This was already the job of my dreams so I did feel I was pushing my luck a bit in asking them to read the manuscript that I had written for my MA, but I showed them anyway, they really liked it, and my dreams came true in March 2010 when Pretty Bad Things, was published!

Tell us about your new book, Rockoholic…

Rockoholic is about a teenage girl called Jody who has really lost her way in life. She doesn’t have a great relationship with her family, has failed most of her exams and has just experienced the loss of her beloved grandfather. Her only salvation is her favourite band, American rock outfit The Regulators, with whom she is obsessed. Jody finally gets the chance to go to one of their concerts, but has a truly terrible time of it. She queues up all day outside the venue, but misses the entire show when she faints in the crowd. She wakes up in the First Aid area, just as she is about to lose all hope, and her hero, Regulators’ lead singer Jackson Gatlin, walks in to do a meet and greet with the fans needing first aid. In a fit of desperation / concussion / adoration, Jody kidnaps Jackson, and takes him back to her house. But as the story progresses and Jackson’s diva-like personality shines through, it is clear that having a secret rock star in your garage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

How did the idea for Rockoholic come to you?

I went to an MCR concert at Cardiff Arena in 2007, when I was 26, and I should have known better at this age I guess, but such was my obsession for this band at the time, that I queued up all day long outside the venue in order to get on the front barrier for the gig. It was a miserably cold day, during which I starved and dehydrated myself so I wouldn’t need the toilet, and in the end I didn’t even get on the front row. I got pulled out of the mosh pit after the support act due to exhaustion and watched the entire show from the side of the stage – a position I could have easily got into had I just turned up at 9:00 at night! I bought every piece of merchandise for the band I could afford after the gig – hoody, posters, badge sets, pencils, hat, t-shirts, but it just never felt like I’d had the night of my dreams – the night I had expected. There was this great feeling of loss and missed opportunity and I got to thinking, what did I actually expect? Some of the lead singer’s spit in my eye? Bodily contact with one of them? The band to see me in the crowd and want to take me on tour with them? And this quickly became an event I would cringe at every time I thought about it, so I thought ‘Well, I can carry on cringing, or I can turn this into Book 2. So hopefully I made the right choice!

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m always a little wary of saying too much online about what I’m working on next, especially as I’m heavily into the first draft at the moment and it’s quite fragile, but if you meet me at any book-related events this year I’ll happily tell you more about it!

Share 3 of your passions with us…

MCR – of course
My books – Pretty Bad Things, Rockoholic, the hush hush book 3!
Comics and graphic novels – when I get time to read them

Rockoholic excited??! Well, we’ve got a signed copy of Rockoholic for one lucky Bookbabbler. To be entered into the draw, comment on this post, retweet it or Facebook ‘like’ it. We’ll pick a winner at 7pm Thursday (UK only) – good luck!

Today we hear from Vjollca..

The Wombles at Work – Elisabeth Beresford

There has been a huge festival and no end of rubbish has been left behind – everything from sunglasses to shoes, drinks cans and bottles. Who would have thought humans could leave so much behind, not bothering to recycle? The Wombles have their work cut out for them …

I wanted to read this book because last summer I went to my Mum’s old village, Kelbrook, where one of the Wombles books was written. The book was very funny, exciting, interesting and fun. I think it is suitable for children aged 6-10 years. The Wombles teach us in a fun way to care for the planet. The best bits are the ending where we find out which Womble has won the Gold Medal for the fight against ‘Pollu’ and the surprise appearance of another Womble.

Thanks, Vjollca and thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for sending us a copy.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Liz…

Glee: Foreign Exchange

Can Rachel Berry rock a beret? McKinley High goes international and invites a French glee club to town – ooh la la! In this hilarious culture-clash story, Kurt gets an entourage, Finn falls for a new girl, and Puck realizes that some suave moves are lost in translation.

In this second original novel, you’ll get more mash-ups, more show-mance, and more Sue in a brand-new story officially approved by the creators of Glee.

Glee Original Novels – they’re almost as exhilarating as a slushie in the face!

Glee: Foreign Exchange is a great follow up novel to Glee: The Beginning, and focuses on the arrival of French exchange students arriving at McKinley High. The book starts off with Mr Schuster announcing that members of a French Glee Club from Lyon will be attending McKinley for a week. Everyone is looking forward to meeting the new students, and their arrival stirs up a lot of excitement. Kurt meets his fashion soulmates, Tina connects with a shy artist and Rachel meets her French counterpart; Celeste, the beautiful star of the glee club in France. With new friendships and new rivalries, can the two glee clubs work together to pull off their best performance yet?

I really liked Glee: Foreign exchange; the story is set halfway during season one and is a great addition to the Glee series. There were some hilarious laugh-out-loud moments in this book, and one of my favourite bits was when Puck was struggling to get the attention of Rielle, a French girl who didn’t seem to be interested in him. It was so funny watching him fail and not understand why – the line “Did his charm somehow not translate into French?” cracked me up! Sue Sylvester was her usual rude and demanding self, and her comments about Mr Schu’s hair just kept getting better and better. Brittany had a few of her famous one liners, and I also liked seeing jealous Quinn and Rachel get frustrated over Celeste, who all the boys seemed to be taking an interest in. If there’s one thing about Glee, it’s that the drama never gets boring.

Overall, Glee: Foreign Exchange was a fun, light-hearted book, perfect for fans of the Glee series. The next book, Glee: Summer Break is out in July, and is sure to be another fab read!

Thanks, Liz, and thanks to headline for sending us a copy – it’s in our shop now!

Today we hear from bookbabbler Emily…

Skate School: Going for Gold – Kay Woodward

Capturing the glamour, heartache and triumphs of Olympic figure-skating, this stunning new series whisks readers off to – quite literally – the coolest boarding school on earth. Frankie’s made it to the Olympics and she’s going for gold. It’s a dream come true. Frankie and her team mates enjoy the buzz and excitement of the opening ceremony, but all too quickly Frankie realizes that the competition is going to be fierce. And there’s one competitor who will stop at nothing to win – even if that means making false accusations about Frankie about a stolen lucky mascot. The pressure is on. Frankie could leave the competition empty-handed and with her reputation in tatters unless she clears her name. Can she keep a cool head and then skate to perfection when it matters most? A gripping new boarding school series with added ice, ‘Skate School’ combines ambition, competition, friendship and fun.

Skate School is a seriously good book. Frankie lives for ice-skating, and has her heart set on becoming a star. So it’s a dream come true when she’s talent-spotted at her local ice rink and whisked away to train for the Olympics. But Frankie learns that Skate School isn’t just world-class, it’s also ultra-tough, and her competitive classmates are so cool they’re practically sub-zero.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is impossible to put down. My personal favorite part would be when her rival Scarlet was suddenly trying to find proof that Frankie didn’t steal the skating school’s best pupil’s mascot. That was surprising. The book keeps surprising you all the way through, that is a good aspect of a book. Kay Woodward is exceptionally good at writing books. I picked this book because it sounded fun, a skating school! I will rate this 9 out of 10. This is the best book that Bookbabblers have given me. I would say that this is a girl’s book, for ages 10-13. This was such a fab book!

Thanks, Emily, and thanks to Usborne Children’s Books for sending us a copy.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Jess…

In the Bag – Jim Carrington

Joe and Ash are best friends. Ash is the leader, Joe the one who follows. Then one night after a party, Joe and Ash come across a holdall, seemingly abandoned by the side of the road. They open it up …and find GBP20,000 in cash. Of course they’re going to hand it straight to the police. Aren’t they? Or is all that money just too tempting? Whoever has lost it won’t notice if a bit goes missing, will they? And that is precisely when the trouble starts …Jim Carrington has already established himself as a fine writer for teens with his debut novel, Inside My Head. With In the Bag, he shows how horribly easy it is for two teenage boys to make a car crash of their lives, through an unlucky combination of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and making a handful of wrong decisions.

I absolutely loved this book – it is great. If you like action and adventure this book is for you. It is very easy to get into and it is definitely nonputdownable. But I would recommend that children under 10 years old do not read it because it has quite a lot of harsh language. I rate this book five out of five because I enjoyed it so much. Thank you Jim Carrington for writing it and I would like to read more of his books.

Thanks, Jess, and thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s books for sending us a copy.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Jessica…

Amy Wild Animal Talker: The Lost Treasure – Diana Kimpton

Welcome to the wonderful world of Amy Wild, an entire island just squeaking and squawking with animal magic, where one little girl has a very special secret – she can talk to animals! When Joy the magpie uncovers a buried ring she gives it to Amy in case it belongs to one of the Islanders or might be valuable. Imagine Amy’s excitement when she learns the ring isn’t just gold, but Roman, and could be part of a larger hoard of ancient treasure! But as news of the discovery spreads, the Islanders start digging in the hope of finding the lost treasure…uprooting the animals’ homes in the process. Amy knows the only way to help her furry friends is to find the treasure herself – but can she do this without revealing the secret of her magic necklace? Ever wondered what your pet is really thinking? Animal-lovers everywhere will be instantly enchanted by this Dr. Doolittle for a new generation.

This book is called Amy Wild Animal Talker and the Lost Treasure. I thought from the title and front page it would be about Amy Wild finding something special, but actually it was about Amy’s friend the magpie who found a roman ring and gave it to Amy. The characters seem very friendly. My favourite bit was when Amy found a mole and the mole told her that there was silly gold in the middle of his mole hill. That was the roman treasure. I found it very interesting and I really enjoyed the reading it. The pictures are simple but really pretty and each page number has a cute paw print around it. This book is a must for animal lovers and I would definitely tell my friends to read this book!

Thanks, Jessica and thanks to Usborne Children’s Books for sending us a copy to review. It’s in our shop now!

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Anna..

Learning to Scream by Beate Teresa Hanika

It has been an aim of mine to explore youth fiction written in other languages that have been translated into English. So when I was offered the opportunity to review Learning to Scream I knew I had to read it. Translated from German by Katy Derbyshire, Beate Teresa Hanika has produced a remarkable story of first love. However, I must warn you it is not a light read despite its intended young audience. Learning to Scream deals with horrifying child abuse and the way in which it restricts a young girl’s life as she is plagued with fear and guilt.

For many people I think this will be an eye opener to some of the real problems society faces and the impact of these on children. The story is not too graphic and I think it is a book that will give young adults at least an insight into the injustices that some people really do have to endure. It was not an easy book to read but it is one that will stay with me for a long time. Hanika has a way with words that challenges the reader to reaffirm their moral standpoint and really consider, deeply and honestly, problems that most would rather steer clear of.

Malvina is a strong girl but at just thirteen she has heavy weights on her shoulders. Her Granddad abuses her, her Gran whom she loved enormously has passed away after a long fight with cancer, her mother suffers from persistent migraines and her father won’t even give her the time of day. Apart from her best friend Lizzy she has nobody to turn to. These other factors make it more understandable why she doesn’t reveal what is happening to her. For there isn’t anyone she can tell.

Screwy, a boy from the estate, becomes her rock as the book progresses and it makes sense why. He loves her and she knows that she can trust him with almost anything. Their blossoming friendship and relationship is at the heart of this book. It’s sweet and sensitive but more importantly deep and reliant. Their joining in difficult times shows how it’s simply human nature to make the best out of the most horrendous situations. The two characters, Malvina and Screwy, are two of my favourites because they have such depth. Their emotions and feelings are presented to us so openly and truthfully that you really can emphathise with both in so many ways.

I really would urge you to read this book. It’s not enjoyable exactly but the message it provides is indispensable. This story shows the importance of trust; Malvina’s parents are too scared to trust their daughter and for this they pay highly. Ultimately Learning to Scream deserves accolades because it puts into words, so subtly and with such delicate care, a serious subject that most of us are too afraid to even acknowledge.

Thanks, Anna and thanks to Andersen Press for sending us a copy.