Bookbabbler Emily has reviewed The Witch of Turlingham Academy for us…

Summary from Goodreads
It’s not easy being the only day girl at Turlingham Academy: Sophie misses out on all the midnight feasts and late night gossip. And when new girl Katy turns up it feels like she’s bewitching all of Sophie’s friends! Katy’s no witch, but there is a witch at Turlingham. Katy comes from a long line of witch hunters whose job is to stop evil magic. Sophie is going to help her – anything to get Katy out of her life and get things back to normal. But what she discovers means nothing will ever be normal again!

When I first saw this book, I thought that it would be great. Now, I am pleased to say that it lived up to expectations. The main character, Sophie is the only day girl at the Academy, plus her mum is the headteacher!

Despite not being able to have midnight feasts and share secrets in the dorms, Sophie still has friends in the school. Well, only until new
girl Katy joins their year and she is left out.

This was a very good book, in fact, one of the best books I have ever read. I could not find anything negative to say about it! My favourite character is Erin because she is a well thought out character, and she suits the story. I think this would appeal to girls age 12-15 .

Thanks Emily and thank you to Atom for sending us a copy to review.

Frances Hardinge is one of my favourite authors, so I was very excited to receive an early copy of her latest novel ‘A Face Like Glass’.

‘A Face Like Glass’ is a story unlike anything I have read before. It follows Neverfell, a young girl who lives in the cheese tunnels of the underground city of Caverna. Caverna is a city deep underground, which functions with its own leader the ‘Grand Steward’ and an army like group of ‘Enquirers’ who keep the peace. The court is made up of different Masters of Trades, such as Grandible the Cheese Master and Maxim Childersin, one of a number of Masters’ of Wine. There are also Facesmiths who create different faces for people (each person is born with a ‘blank’ face and must learn different expressions). I was fascinated by the facesmiths, who made the different faces and the ‘Putty Girls’ who had to display them to potential clients. Having different faces indicates the class that characters belong to. The drudges are working class inhabitants of Caverna and only possess one generic type of facial expression, whilst those higher up the social scale were able to buy different ‘faces’ to suit the occasion.

Neverfell is an outsider who is desperate to escape from her mundane life in the cheese tunnels. However, she is not prepared for the world of Caverna that she finds. Neverfell’s origins are at once evident, as she cannot hide her expressions. Soon, she is swept up into the politics and drama of the court, but who can she trust?

I loved Neverfell’s character, especially as she sees the good side of everyone and is so loyal. I also really liked Erstwhile’s character. Erstwhile is a drudge, but he befriends Neverfell and will do anything to protect her. The Kleptomancer plays a huge part in this story and is a fascinating character. This is a story full of surprises and twists and turns that will leave you desperate to find out what happens next. It is beautifully written and transports the reader to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.

Hardinge’s imagination has run wild and left the reader with a fantastic adventure to devour. I loved this book and would highly recommend it. The cover is stunning too!

Thank you to Macmillan for sending us a copy to review.

Frances Hardinge is our May Author in Residence. Read our interview with Frances here: http://bookbabblers.co.uk/2012/05/interview-with-frances-hardinge-author-of-a-face-like-glass/

Bookbabbler Wendy has reviewed Mike the Knight – Meet Mike! for us…

Mike is a knight so brave and so bold. He’s daring and strong but not very old. As the name suggests this book is about meeting Mike the Knight, his friends and the land of Glendragon. It is based on the television series and is the first in a series of books tied in to it.

The graphics in the book are bold and bright and are based on screenshots from the series and there are lots on each page so it is a great book to look through as well as to read. My children had not watched the show but were still interested in the book as it goes through each character, explains about the land of Glendragon and gives a snapshot into some of the adventures that they have had too. So I am sure viewers of the series will love it.

The book is nicely written in a simple style that is ideal for early readers too and my 6 year old loves reading it to her brother with him enjoying all the pictures.

Thanks Wendy and thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending us a copy to review.

The Hunt was an action-packed ride that was both creepy and nerve wracking.

17 year old Gene lives in a world where humans, or hepers, are near extinct. They have been eaten, devoured, by the more dominant species. And to blend in and hide his true nature, Gene must disguise every clue that if discovered, would mean certain death. For Gene walks among them, pretending to be one of them. He salivates at the sight of a heper on TV. He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t blush. He scratches his wrist instead of expressing amusement or excitement.

But then he is chosen to be a contender in the Hunt. Every decade there is a government sponsored hunt for hepers. They are released from the dome in Savannah where they are studied and the hunters give chase. Gene must figure out every possible escape. There is no way he can be a part of the hunt, he would be discovered…and then hunted himself.

I sat on the edge of my seat as I read this book. It was fever pitched and all out terrifying at points. The Hunt was brilliantly written, placing the reader in the middle of the action alongside Gene, terrified to sweat or give away a clue about our own nature.

Readers will devour this book, be greedy for more and scared to put it down. This is one for all the people who said vampire novels were over done and unoriginal. That may have been true, but now there is The Hunt.

Thanks Pamela and thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending us a copy to review.

Bookbabbler Pamela has reviewed Uglies for us…

We first meet Tally a few months before her sixteenth birthday. Tally can’t wait, for her birthday will bring about the operation she has waited her entire life for, and in turn, it will reunite her with best friend, Peris.

At the age of sixteen each person goes through with the operation to make them Pretty. Tally, and everyone else in Uglyville, has spent their lives ugly. But soon she will cross the river to New Pretty Town and be just as gorgeous as everyone else there. She will spend her days having fun and playing with all the high-tech gadgets she can get her hands on, and spend her nights at the best parties.

But with three months between Peris’ birthday and hers, Tally knows the wait will be even more excruciating. After returning from a risky visit to New Pretty Town to see Peris, Tally meets a girl named Shay. Shay likes all the same things as Tally and shows her other tricks to pass the time whilst waiting to become Pretty…only Shay doesn’t want the operation. She wants to leave the city and find Smoke, a place where everyone is still ugly, and totally free.

While Uglies was a great read and very easy to fall into, it was also deeply disturbing. Tally herself is a very flawed and superficial character to begin with. She is known as Squint to her friends. In Uglyville you are known by the nickname that highlights your biggest flaw than your actual name.

Shay is Tally’s counterpart. Where Tally doesn’t like to take the biggest risks, Shay laughs in the face of danger and openly taunts the rules that regulate their lives. Where Tally sees an ugly face, Shay sees the face she was born with. Tally dreams of being in New Pretty Town. Shay dreams of being free.

It was a pleasure to watch Tally grow as a character, to lose her selfish and superficial nature and become more considerate of others. As the protagonist of the story she kept it moving easily enough. There were enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing and while I feel a few of the bigger plot points could have been developed further, the story didn’t lack anything because of it.

This book will certainly get readers thinking and the author has certainly hit on a very serious note. We are left with an agonising cliff hanger that will ensure everyone rushes out to grab the second in this thought-provoking dystopian series.

Thanks Pamela and thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending us a copy to review.

I’ve always enjoyed reading about the legend of King Arthur, so I was quite excited to receive a copy of Sword of Light by Katherine Roberts.

This is a King Arthur story with a twist, as Arthur’s secret daughter takes centre stage. Rhianna Pendragon’s parentage has been kept so secret that even she doesn’t know who her parents are. She has been raised in the magical realm of Avalon, but always knew that she was different to those there. When Merlin arrives in Avalon with King Arthur’s body it is up to her search for the sword of light and bring it back to Avalon to save Arthur.

Rhianna sets out for the human world with her best friend Prince Elphin and two magical horses. However, there is someone else also searching the sword of light and Rhianna and Elphin find themselves trying to reach the sword before the evil Prince Mordred gets there.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it is quite fast paced and keeps you wanting to find out what will happen to Rhianna and Arthur. I am looking forward to reading the next instalment in this series and would highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Templar for sending us a copy to review.

Unrest is one of those books that I instantly knew I would love. The plot follows seventeen year old Elliott, who is recovering from a near death experience after being a victim of hit and run. Despite physically recovering from the accident, he has found himself experiencing some strange goings on. The flat where Elliott lives with his father is haunted by a lady who killed herself. Suddenly, and terrifyingly, she begins to appear to Elliott in the night trying to tell him something. What makes this even scarier is that Elliott is leaving his body when this happens.

Elliott gets a job at Past Lives, a haunted street museum where he is determined to find whether he can really see ghosts. It is here that he meets Ophelia and the two begin to get close. However, his out of body experiences seem to get worse and there seems to be a connection with Ophelia too.

I really liked Elliott and Ophelia, they were both troubled characters but still came across as likeable and approachable. Harrison’s descriptions of the out of body experiences were horrifying and so well told that they seemed real.
Unrest is an amazing, spine chilling read that feels eerily real. There are a lot of twists to the plot and a huge surprise at the end of the book that I really hadn’t been expecting.

This is, without a doubt, one of the best books that I have read this year. I can’t wait to read more from Michelle Harrison.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy to review.

Bookbabbler Jonathan has reviewed Road to London for us…

Road to London is set in late Elizabethan England and is about a young boy called Thomas Munmore. Thomas’ father wants him to become a scholar so he sent him to school where he spends all day learning boring things like Latin. Thomas, however wants be like the famous actor and play writer, William Shakespeare.

When Thomas is invited by Master Kemp to come to London and join the Chamberlin’s Men (Shakespeare’s troupe) he runs away. The journey is not easy but soon he meets Alice, a pretty young girl who is badly mistreated by the people at the inn she works for. They get to London and with Alice’s help Thomas finds the Chamberlin’s men and asks to join them. He soon meets Mr Shakespeare himself. All seems to be going well when Alice tells him that she has apparently discovered a plot by the Spanish to kill the Queen! Suddenly things start getting a lot more complicated.

My favourite character is Mother Trowte because she is funny and although she always seems a little stupid,she knows what to do in a crisis and her plans always have a habit of working out. I liked this book because it was amusing and had just the right amount of action and suspense.

Recommended for fans of historical fiction.

Thanks Jonathan and thanks to Andersen Press for sending us a copy to review.

Bookbabbler Pamela has reviewed Goddess Interrupted for us…

Goddess Interrupted begins six months after the conclusion of The Goddess Test. After leaving Henry for the summer, Kate spent her free months with James touring Greece, soaking up the sun and culture. But she is eager to return to Eden…and to Henry. Unfortunately the fevered reunion she fantasised about wasn’t to be. Instead of the husband she left behind, she is confronted with the cold and distant man who had all but given up on life. But Kate doesn’t give up easily. And Henry will realise her feelings for him. Even if a titan stands in the way of their happiness.

As a big fan of The Goddess Test, I had high hopes for this book. And thankfully it lived up to every one of them. Kate’s voice is realistic and easy to identify with. The reader feels like they make the journey with her. They worry with her over Henry’s feelings and his chilly nature. When Kate comes to the realisation that she didn’t know as much about the other gods and their natures as she initially thought, the reader feels just as shocked and naïve.

Goddess Interrupted had me glued to the page. I couldn’t put it down as I fretted over what would happen next as Kate leads us through the story. As well as an emotional journey, we are also taken on an actual one. With vivid descriptions that places the reader right in the thick of it, we cower at the gates of Cronus’ prison, melt at the feet of Adonis…and wilt at the sight of Henry.

I enjoyed the whole cast of characters, from Eva’s flirtatious nature and Diana’s motherly affection. And even though I felt totally threatened by her, I even liked Persephone…but none are more enjoyable than Henry. With that being said, I cannot wait to be reintroduced to them all for book three.

Thanks Pamela and thanks to Mira for sending us a copy to review.

The Fury is the first in a new series from Alexander Gordon Smith. It follows three teenagers, Brick, Cal and Daisy, who find themselves the victims of a strange phenomenon where everyone the come across – even their own family – is trying to kill them.

Brick, Cal and Daisy are an unlikely trio who are brought together under terrifying circumstances. As they meet with more people who are like them, they realise that they must find out the cause of what is happening. However, the truth turns out to be scarier than any of them could have imagined.

This is a fast paced, action packed book that will leave you on the edge of your seat. It reaches out to primal fears and leaves you both desperate and scared to know what will happen next. There are a lot of gory scenes that made me feel goose pimply and a few characters that I did find quite frightening – especially Rilke and her brother Schiller.

A fantastic novel that I highly recommend. I can’t wait to read the next installment!

Thank you to Faber for sending me a copy to review.