Performance Capture Studio Founded by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish secure rights to “The Bone Season” and “Animal Farm”London, England – October 22, 2012 – London-based performance capture studio The Imaginarium has secured the film rights to the highly anticipated book series The Bone Season, by Samantha Shannon as well as the film rights to adapt George Orwell’s seminal novel Animal Farm, it was announced today by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish, founders of The Imaginarium.“The dystopian world created by Samantha in The Bone Season series offers a fantastic setting for a truly extraordinary and thrilling narrative,” said Serkis. “We are honoured that she chose to collaborate with us in the adaptation of her work.”“Samantha has created a compelling and unique world and a gripping story crafted to span a series of novels. The Bone Season offers the opportunity to create a dynamic franchise with global appeal,” adds Cavendish.Scheduled for publication on August 20, 2013, by Bloomsbury, The Bone Season was acquired during the London Book Fair in a pre-emptive bid by the publisher."Samantha Shannon is an extraordinarily talented writer. The Bone Season is a startling combination of a unique literary voice, a fully conceived, terrifying parallel world and a narrative pace that grips like a vice,” said Alexandra Pringle, Bloomsbury editor-in-chief.“I am thrilled to be working with The Imaginarium,” said Shannon. “Their name had me from the start: a place devoted to imagination. There is a strong, visual sensibility to my writing process and I am very excited by the creative possibilities for how The Bone Season could translate from page to screen. I am confident that all the members of the Imaginarium team are as passionate about the book as I am and I look forward to working with them to make this project a reality.”In addition to The Bone Season, The Imaginarium has negotiated the rights for a feature film adaptation of George Orwell’s classic tale, Animal Farm.“Both The Bone Season and Animal Farm are perfectly suited to the Imaginarium,” said Cavendish. “With Animal Farm, we will reinvent this iconic story for a new generation, using the unique storytelling techniques offered by performance capture. The acquisition of these two projects marks an exciting time for all us at The Imaginarium.”Serkis and Cavendish will serve as producers on The Bone Season; Serkis will direct and act in Animal Farm and produce along with Cavendish.The Imaginarium is represented by CAA and Larry Taube, Principle LA Entertainment; publishing and films rights for The Bone Season and Ms. Shannon were handled by David Godwin Associates, UK (DGA, Ltd.)."We are delighted to officially announce our involvement in bringing this classic yet controversial fable to life, hopefully allowing it to resonate for our times with a combination of a fresh perspective, real emotional heart, a great deal of humor and satire," said Serkis. "By utilizing performance capture, a deeply talented and committed cast of actors will be able to explore and fully inhabit Orwell's fairy tale world where 'some animals are more equal than others.' "ABOUT THE IMAGINARIUM STUDIOSEstablished in 2011 by actor/director Andy Serkis and producer Jonathan Cavendish, The Imaginarium harnesses the power of performance capture to fuel a new generation of storytelling in film, television and videogames. The Imaginarium’s central London studio base acts as magnet to the international film community as well as providing a development and production base for writers, filmmakers and creative visionaries from all over the world. www.theimaginariumstudios.comABOUT THE BONE SEASONThe Bone Season begins in 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of London. Paige is a clairvoyant, and in this future world, clairvoyance is forbidden and Paige is committing high treason. Attacked, kidnapped, and transported to Oxford, a city that has been kept secret for two hundred years, she meets Warden, a Rephaite with dark honey skin and heavy-lidded yellow eyes. He is the single most beautiful and frightening thing she has ever laid eyes on—and he will become her keeper.ABOUT SAMANTHA SHANNONBorn in 1991, Samantha Shannon was raised in West London, where she started her first novel at the age of fifteen. She is currently studying for a degree in English Language and Literature at St Anne’s College, Oxford. The Bone Season is the first in a projected series of seven novels.ABOUT ANIMAL FARMFirst published in 1945, George Orwell’s allegorical tale Animal Farm has been hailed by TIME magazine as one of the best 100 English-language novels (1923-2005), is currently listed at number 31 on the Modern Library List of the 20th Century’s best novels and was awarded a retrospective Hugo Award in 1996.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Film News: The Bone Season
Samantha Shannon's The Bone Season isn't released until next August but has been snapped up by Imaginarium:
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Amazon Kindle Bargains
I've just come across a few bargains in the UK Kindle store. Not sure for how long they'll be this cheap!
Ali Cronin - Girl Heart Boy: No Such Thing as Forever (Book 1) 49p
Ally Condie - Matched 99p
Lauren Conrad - Sugar & Spice £1.49
Lots of Simon & Schuster bargains:
Lots of Simon & Schuster bargains:
Fury by Elizabeth Miles (Kindle Edition -8 Sep 2011) - Kindle eBook
When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle (Kindle Edition -26 Apr 2012) - Kindle eBook
Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson (Kindle Edition -4 Aug 2011) - Kindle eBook
The Demon's Lexicon (Demons) by Sarah Rees Brennan (Kindle Edition -18 Feb 2010) - Kindle eBook
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry (Kindle Edition -3 Mar 2011) - Kindle eBook
Stitches by Daniel Waters (Kindle Edition -15 Aug 2012) - Kindle eBook
- £1.99 Kindle Edition
- Available for download now
Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles (Kindle Edition -27 Oct 2011) - Kindle eBook
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles (Kindle Edition -10 Nov 2011) - Kindle eBook
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Cover Theme - Girl in Blue
The levitating girl in blue is such a striking image, I'm not surprised it's popular:
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Review: Passion by Lauren Kate (audio book)
Notes: May contain spoilers for the previous books in the Fallen series.
Review: Passion is the third book in the Fallen series about Lucinda (Luce) Price and fallen angel Daniel. Lucinda's soul has had many previous incarnations but each time when she and Daniel have fallen in love, Luce has died around the age of seventeen. This time around she's still alive; she's broken the curse it seems. Passion explains more about the creating and breaking of the curse.
At the end of Torment, Luce was fleeing for her life and from her situation by diving into a shadow (an announcer). In her current life she is now able to control the announcers and travel through them in time. In Passion, Luce visits several of her previous lives going deeper back in time. She meets a small (flying) gargoyle called Bill in one of her announcers and he joins her and offers guidance (as well as period clothing).
Luce's quest is to see how much and why Daniel loves her and also to break the curse once for and all and she has to witness 'herself' dying again and again.
Meanwhile Daniel and an assortment of Angels, Demons and Nephilim are searching for Luce through time, meeting their own selves at times, until finally Daniel goes back to the beginning...
Passion answers some of the questions about Luce and Daniel and hints at why she is so important to both the Angels and Demons. We find out about the Fall and how Cam ended up on the opposite side to Daniel and though the story doesn't end on quite the personal cliff-hanger of Torment it sets up a mighty global problem to be resolved in Rapture.
I enjoyed Passion more than I thought I would as it seemed like it would be a bit repetitive with Luce going to a time period and Daniel would miss her by a few hours and so on, but enough different information was revealed at each stop to keep the attention. Bill is a humorous character and made things more entertaining. I did prefer the non Luce bits though which revealed more about Daniel and his colleagues. There was one icky part which involved beheadings which I thought was a bit scary!
Justine Eyre continues her excellent performance of this series with readily identifiable voices for the main characters.
I'm eagerly awaiting the library's purchase of the audio book of the final book, Rapture.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Free eBook: The Revenge of the Praying Mantis
For a limited period only, Jane Prowse is giving away an ebook of The Revenge of the Praying Mantis at her website.
"Free eBook giveaway only available until Hattori Hachi has reached at least one person in every country in the world..!"
Hattie Jackson is just an ordinary fifteen-year-old - until her mother disappears and Hattie's life is turned upside down. With the help of her friends Mad Dog and Neena, Hattie discovers the truth about her mother's 'other life' and the role she must now take on to defeat a terrifying army of evil Ninjutsu warriors, led by Praying Mantis - the most deadly assassin of all ...
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Review: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
Review: I've been so looking
forward to reading The Age of Miracles after the publishing
deal was announced and it didn't disappoint.
The story is told in
retrospect by Julia who tells the reader about what happened when she
was 11 and the year following it. Set about ten years in the future,
it is revealed by scientists that the earth's rotation is slowing.
Just a few minutes at first but with no obvious cause and the days
continue to lengthen. Initially the world copes by sticking to living
in the day sleeping in the dark but then a decision is made to stick
with a twenty-four hour day, “clock time”, ignoring the
light/darkness issue. A splinter group forms of “real timers” who
try and stick to the sleep/dark, live/light routine which causes
discontent. The “slowing” begins to affect the plants and animals
and then humans...
Meanwhile Julia's life
undergoes significant milestones – the change in friendships, the
possibility of first love, loss and loneliness and disappointments.
The Age of Miracles
is an adult fiction book which can be read by teenagers, no problem
but will appeal more to an older audience I think, one that has had a
few years of life experience and to whom age eleven is a nostalgic
while ago!
It has a conversational
and matter of fact tone which draws you in and you just want to read
a bit more. There is a science-fiction backdrop but this is a
coming-of-age story and the things that happen to Julia may have
happened without the catalyst of the slowing but the danger the earth
and the human race is in, ups the pressures on everyone.
I really loved The
Age of Miracles and it's one that's stayed with me. I look forward to seeing what Karen Thompson
Walker writes next.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Published in October 2012
Here are some of the teenage/YA titles that are being published in the UK in October 2012. I will put a link to this post and previous and subsequent "monthly" lists in my sidebar. January's list is here, February's is here, March's is here, April's is here, May's is here, June's is here, July's is here, August's is here and September's is here.
I have tried to identify all the British authors which I hope will be useful to those doing Kirsty's British Books Challenge at The Overflowing Library (please let me know of any errors or omissions).
I have tried to identify all the British authors which I hope will be useful to those doing Kirsty's British Books Challenge at The Overflowing Library (please let me know of any errors or omissions).
This is still a work-in-progress so I'll continue to update it during the month.
Gennifer Albin - Crewel (18th, Faber and Faber, pb)
Stefan Bachmann - The Peculiar (20th, HarperCollins, HB)
Cyn Balog - Starstruck (9th, Ember, pb)
Holly Black - Red Glove (4th, Indigo, pb)
Malorie Blackman - Untitled (25th, Doubleday Childrens, pb) British Author
Cylin Busby - Blink Once (11th, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Kate Cann - Witch Crag (4th, Scholastic, pb) British Author
PC & Kristen Cast - Hidden (16th, ATOM, HB)
Cassandra Rose Clarke - The Assassins Curse (4th, Strange Chemistry, pb)
Harlan Coben - Seconds Away (11th, Indigo, HB)
Kresley Cole - The Poison Princess: The Arcana Chronicles (2nd, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, HB)
Lauren Conrad - Fame Game: Starstruck (16th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, HB)
Susy Cox - The Dead Girls Detective Agency (20th, HarperCollins, pb)
Ali Cronin - Girl Heart Boy: Rumour Has It (4th, Puffin, pb) British Author
Sarah Crossan - Breathe (11th, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Sean Cummings - Poltergeeks (4th, Strange Chemistry, pb)
Steven Deas - The King's Assassin (18th, Gollancz, pb) BA
Joseph Delaney - The Spook's Blood (25th, Bodley Head, HB) British Author
Paul Dowswell - Eleven Eleven (11th, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb) BA
Catherine Fisher - The Obsidian Mirror (4th, Hodder Children's Books, pb) BA
Becca Fitzpatrick - Finale (25th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, HB)
Michelle Gagnon - Don't Turn Around (20th, HarperCollins, HB)
Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl - Beautiful Redemption (25th, Puffin, pb)
Susan Gates - Viridian (11th, A & C Black Publishers Ltd, pb) British Author
Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate - Eve & Adam (1st, Egmont, pb)
Anthony Horowitz - Oblivion (4th, Walker, HB) British Author
Stephen Kelman - Pigeon English (11th, Bloomsbury Publishing, pb) British Author
Krystyna Kuhn - The Crash (4th, ATOM, pb)
Theo Lawrence - Mystic City (11th, Corgi Childrens, pb)
Jonathan Maberry - Flesh & Bone (25th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, pb)
Gemma Malley - The Killables (11th, Hodder, pb) British Author
Simon Mayo - Itch (25th, Corgi Childrens, pb) British Author
Stephenie Meyer & Young Kim - New Moon Graphic Novel Part 1 (30th, ATOM, pb)
Christopher Ould - Knock Down (1st, Usborne Publishing Ltd, pb) British Author
Christopher Paolini - Inheritance (25th, Corgi Childrens, pb)
James Patterson - Daniel X: Armageddon (18th, Arrow, HB)
Kathy Reichs - Seizure (11th, Arrow, pb)
L B Schulman - League of Strays (1st, Amulet Books, HB)
Sarah Shepard - Ruthless (4th, ATOM, pb)
Sarah Shepard - Twisted (4th, ATOM, pb)
Sarah Shepard - Hide and Seek (11th, ATOM, pb)
Gena Showalter - Alice in Zombieland (5th, MIRA Ink, pb)
Joss Stirling - Seeking Crystal (4th, OUP Oxford, pb) British Author
Tamara Ireland Stone - Time Between Us (25th, Doubleday Childrens, pb)
Linda Strachan - Don't Judge Me (31st, Strident Publishing Limited, pb) BA
Lydia Syson - A World Between US (4th, Hot Key Books, pb) British Author
Chris Wooding - The Iron Jackal (4th, Indigo, pb) British Author
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Review: Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
Review: Uncommon Criminals is the sequel to Heist Society, a series about Kat Bishop, a fifteen-year-old thief with principles. Since Heist Society, Kat has been on her own doing a fe jobs which involve re-stealing stolen property and returning it to its rightful owners. Returning to New York, her best friend (and soulmate if she'd just realise it!) Hale is not happy with her but they soon have a new job. They are approached by the rightful owner of the Cleopatra Emerald, which is soon to be displayed in New York, leaving its home in Europe and asked to steal it back for her.
One of the family's rules is not to try to steal the Cleopatra but Kat decides to do it anyway, despite the fact that it's cursed) and is supported by her “crew” of Hale, cousin Gabriella and IT whiz Simon.
The mission to steal the Cleopatra goes both well and badly and the fall-out leaves Kat uncertain about herself and her ability to lead. The adventure then takes them to Europe and in particular Monte Carlo, showcased in the famous Grace Kelly/Cary Grant film, the appropriately named, To Catch a Thief* where they have to plan and execute their most difficult heist so far.
Uncommon Criminals has some exciting and breathtaking set pieces and some progression in the Kat-Hale would-be romance but it is also about Kat and her chosen path. She sees how she could become and that she is fallible. There is plenty of humour and twists and turns in this fast-paced romp and I'm looking forward to Perfect Scoundrels which is out in the UK in February 2013.
*showing on Film4 on Sunday 23rd September at 5.05pm.
*showing on Film4 on Sunday 23rd September at 5.05pm.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Review: Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris
Review: It's the end of the summer holidays and seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner has just finished her last life-guarding shift. When she gets to her car, she find it's been graffitied and two tyres are slashed. She knows it's the work of the ex-girlfriend of Janelle's maybe boyfriend Nick.
Mid phone-call to her best friend and neighbour Alex, Janelle is run over by a truck coming from nowhere. She dies. For a few seconds. Then Ben Michaels heals her, though he later denies it and no-one will believe her. Ben Michaels has been in her classes for years but why has she never noticed how smart and gorgeous he is, until now?
Janelle's father and uber X-Files fan is a high ranking FBI agent in San Diego and Janelle and Alex often secretly go through his files at home. While she is trying to find out information on her accident - where did the truck come from with its unidentified and dead driver - she discovers that what is probably a bomb counting down, with 24 days left, and the FBI cannot disarm it.
Janelle and Alex do their own research into the bomb and a series of deaths from radiation and Janelle also gets closer to Ben and his two closest friends and finds out their secrets.
A shocking incident raises the stakes for Janelle and it becomes difficult for her to know whom she can trust...
It's best not to know too much about the plot going into Unravelling. If I had to give it a strap-line, I'd say very loosely Veronica Mars meets Roswell, with a strong female lead investigating together with a romance of the intensity of Roswell's Max and Liz (as well as a similar beginning to their romance). As well as it being an action packed race against the clock, there are a couple of heartbreaking and unexpected moments which really got to me. The guideline on the back is 13+ and maybe I'm overreacting but this could be quite an upsetting read for some teenagers. I rattled through Unravelling; there are quite a few short chapters amongst the longer ones which keeps the pages flipping over. There are plenty of surprises and Janelle is a great character, clever, witty and capable and I loved her relationship with Ben.
The sequel, Unbreakable is scheduled for April 2013 and I'm looking forward to it.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Buying Iron's Prophecy
The latest Iron Fey novella, Iron's Prophecy by Julie Kagawa has just been released as an ebook. It's listed as book 4.5 in the series on the official website.
Meghan Chase is finally getting used to being the Iron Queen, ruler of the Iron Fey. Her life may be strange, but with former Winter prince Ash by her side at last, she wouldn't have it any other way.
But when they travel to the Summer and Winter courts' gathering for Elysium, the oracle from Meghan's past returns with a dire prophecy: "What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them."
Now Meghan faces a devastating choice that may determine the future of all fey--and her and Ash's unborn child...
But when they travel to the Summer and Winter courts' gathering for Elysium, the oracle from Meghan's past returns with a dire prophecy: "What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them."
Now Meghan faces a devastating choice that may determine the future of all fey--and her and Ash's unborn child...
It's available on Kindle and Epub and I've just bought an Epub copy for 79c at Harlequin (and I'm in the UK).
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Published in September 2012
Here are some of the teenage/YA titles that are being published in the UK in September 2012. I will put a link to this post and previous and subsequent "monthly" lists in my sidebar. January's list is here, February's is here, March's is here, April's is here, May's is here, June's is here, July's is here and August's is here.
I have tried to identify all the British authors which I hope will be useful to those doing Kirsty's British Books Challenge at The Overflowing Library (please let me know of any errors or omissions).
I have tried to identify all the British authors which I hope will be useful to those doing Kirsty's British Books Challenge at The Overflowing Library (please let me know of any errors or omissions).
This is still a work-in-progress so I'll continue to update it during the month.
Ilsa J Bick - Shadows (27th, Quercus, pb)
Gina Blaxhill - Forget Me Never (27th, Macmillan Children's Books, pb) British AuthorGwenda Bond - Blackwood (6th, Strange Chemistry, pb)Libba Bray - The Diviners (18th, ATOM, HB)Sarah Rees Brennan - Unspoken (13th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, pb)Tanya Byrne - Heart Shaped Bruise (27th, Headline, pb)Meg Cabot - Underworld (27th, Macmillan Children's Books, pb)Tera Lynn Childs - Sweet Venom (1st, Templar, pb)Cassandra Clare - Mortal Instruments 5: City of Lost Souls (6th, Walker, pb)Lauren Conrad - The Fame Game (27th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, pb)Kim Curran - Shift (6th, Strange Chemistry, pb)Keren David - Another Life (6th, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, pb) British AuthorJames Dawson - Hollow Pike (6th, Indigo, pb) British AuthorJoseph Delaney - Spook's: Slither's Tale: Book 11 (27th, Bodley Head, HB) British AuthorChris d'Lacey - The Fire Ascending (6th, Orchard. pb) British AuthorRosemary Edghill & Mercedes Lackey - Dead Reckoning (13th, Bloomsbury Childrens Books, HB)Jim Eldridge - The Deadly Game: The Malichea Quest (13th, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb) British AuthorCandace Fleming - On the Day I died (27th, Corgi Childrens, pb)Mark Frost - The Paladin Prophecy (27th, Doubleday Childrens, pb)Elizabeth George - The Edge of Nowhere: Saratoga Woods (13th, Hodder & Stoughton, HB)Alan Gibbons - Raining Fire (6th, Indigo, HB) British AuthorMichael Grant - BZRK (3rd, Electric Monkey, pb)Maya Healy - Between Heaven and Earth (6th, OUP Oxford, pb) British Author
Charlie Higson - The Sacrifice (20th, Puffin, HB) British AuthorColleen Houck - Tiger's Destiny (Tigers 4) (4th, Hodder & Stoughton, pb)Sophie Jordan - Firelight (6th, OUP Oxford, pb)Sophie Jordan - Vanish (6th, OUP Oxford, pb)Niall Leonard - Crusher (13th, Doubleday Childrens, HB) British AuthorErika McGann - The Demon Notebook (3rd, O'Brien Press, pb)Kirsty McKay - Unfed (6th, Chicken House, pb) British AuthorSophie McKenzie - Missing Me (13th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, HB) British AuthorKaren Mahoney - Falling to Ash (27th, Corgi Childrens, pb) British Author
Melissa Marr - Carnival of Souls (4th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, pb)
John Marsden - Darkness Be My Friend (27th, Quercus, pb)Colin Mulhern - Arabesque (1st, Catnip, pb) British AuthorJames Patterson - Confessions of a Murder Suspect (27th, Arrow, HB)Lauren Oliver - Pandemonium (27th, Hodder, pb)
Terry Pratchett - Dodger (13th, Doubleday Childrens, HB) British AuthorC J Redwine - Defiance (6th, ATOM, pb)Ilkka Remes - Operation Code Breaker (6th, Andersen, pb)Darren Shan - The Saga of Larten Crepsley (4) - Brothers to the Death (27th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, pb)Darren Shan - Zomb-B (27th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, HB)Jessica Shirvington - Entice (6th, Orchard, pb)Cara Lynn Schultz - Spellbound (7th, MIRA Ink, pb)Neal Shusterman - Unwholly (27th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, pb)L J Smith - The Divide (The Secret Circle) (6th, Hodder, pb)Maggie Stiefvater - The Raven Boys (19th, Scholastic, pb)Cate Tiernan - Darkness Falls (13th, Hodder, pb)Kat Zhang - What's Left of Me (27th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, pb)Susan Waggoner - Neptune's Tears (1st, Piccadilly Press, pb)Sara Zarr - How to Save a Life (1st, Usborne Publishing Ltd, pb)
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Review: The Flip Flop Club: Whale Song by Ellen Richardson
Review: Whale Song is the second in the Flip Flop Club series set on Sunday Island (which I think is probably off Cornwall) following on from Charmed Summer.
The local newspaper is offering a prize to whoever first photographs the Northern Bottlenose whale. So best friends Tash, Elly and Sierra want to win and get up super early to go out in Tash's dinghy, Mojo, taking Mojo the dog along too.
As they are nearing the Western Isles one of Sunday Island's notorious freak storms comes from nowhere and leaves the girls stranded on a small island with only the food and water they were carrying. Will they get rescued before the end of the day or will they have to camp (much to home-comforts-loving Sierra's disgust)?
Whilst the girls are waiting for rescue they're not idle and end up having some memorable experiences with some of the sea's residents and solving an old mystery regarding the disappearance of Sunday Island's most famous person.
Whale Song is action-packed and quite scary at the beginning as the girls wrestle with the huge waves. The girls (and Mojo) do wear life-jackets (see this post by Helen Moss!). They are very resourceful: constructing flags, a makeshift raft and fire (using the glass in a pair of binoculars).
As before, as well as the story (154 pages), there is the first chapter of the next book (Midnight Messages), quizzes and other activities, plus some facts about whales.
The next two books in the series come out in 2013: Midnight Messages (January) and Star Struck (May).
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Poster Time - Wake
The most recent YA book I've spotted getting the poster treatment at train stations is Wake by Amanda Hocking:
A very enticing cover, especially to this land-locked Midland-er!
A very enticing cover, especially to this land-locked Midland-er!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset follows on very shortly after the novella, The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, which is also included in this UK print version.
It's a steampunk Victorian England and Finley Jayne, is a sixteen-year-old who has two sides to her personality, a timid one and a 'dark' one which makes her super-strong, fast and fearless and appears when she is threatened. When the son of the household she's currently working for threatens her virtue, her darker self takes control and leaves him badly injured on the floor. Fleeing, she collides with a velocycle being ridden by Griffin King, the Duke of Greythorne. Finley is knocked unconscious and taken to the Duke's home which he shares with the super-intelligent Emily and the super-sized Sam.
It seems that Griff and his gang secretly help to protect the Queen and currently they are on the trail of the Machinist who is stealing objects from museums but also turning machines deadly; Sam has had to be "rebuilt" after an encounter with a rogue digging machine.
Finley has the choice: to stay with Griff and trust him or run, again...
The mystery of Finley's two natures is fairly swiftly explained but she is still an unknown quantity and is trusted in various degrees by the group. A violent confrontation between her and one of the gang ultimately seals her fate.
The Girl in the Steel Corset is an enjoyable read, there is a mystery (though not too taxing), some fighting, lots of gadgets and a love triangle developing, as Finley is drawn to both the "good" Griff and the "bad" Jack Dandy, a young crime lord.
The characters, including several strong female roles, are ones you are interested in and the story overall is intriguing. My only reservations are, first, the writing as I sometimes had to reread a sentence; at times there is a clipped-ness to it, a lack of punctuation and a wandering point of view and secondly there's the issue of the occasionally less than British sounding-ness of the characters. I'm not sure how many Victorians would say "We good?" and there is a rather inappropriate use of a swear word that rhymes with banker that must have a different use in the US.
Nonetheless I sped through it and look forward to The Girl with the Clockwork Collar.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Review: Airhead: Runaway by Meg Cabot
Review: The following contains spoilers for the the first and second parts of the Airhead trilogy: Airhead and Being Nikki.
Runaway is the
final part of the Airhead trilogy and picks up a few days
after the end of Being Nikki. The Em Watts version of Nikki
Howard has been imprisoned by Brandon Stark along with the real Nikki
Howard, her mum and her brother in Brandon's beach house in South
Carolina. The real Nikki Howard has a secret that will bring
Brandon's dad, the CEO of Stark Enterprise to his knees leaving the
door open for Brandon to take over. She will spill the beans if she
can have her own body back something which Brandon apparently agrees
to.
In leaving with
Brandon, Em was forced to tell Christopher, her long-time friend and
boyfriend-to-be (she hopes) that she didn't love him so she's very
surprised when he turns up to rescue her. However things don't go to
plan and he leaves without her. A second rescue attempt is more
successful and the group return to New York.
With the gang
reassembled, Em has to work out the significance of Nikki's
information and work out how to ruin Stark as well as preparing to be
the Stark Angel on national tv in a diamond bikini set. And make
Christopher love her again...
Runaway is an
exciting thriller with strong female leads who are complemented by
the male characters, with their technology knowledge, to form a
strong team. Em is brave to the point of foolhardiness in her pursuit
of the truth but is also, finally, prepared to ask for help. Runaway
sees Em comfortable with her new self at last. There are some great
secondary characters including Lulu, Em's best friend with her own
special skill set and Nikki's brother Steven who uses his brawn as
well as his brain when necessary. It's a shame that the series has
ended as I enjoyed spending time in Em's world however the series is
wrapped up neatly and all mysteries solved.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Guest Post: Caroline Lawrence
If you follow my other blog, Euro Crime, you'll have seen this already but as Caroline is talking to current crime writers about their favourite children's books then it fits nicely into both blogs.
I'm very pleased to welcome Caroline Lawrence to Teenage Fiction for All Ages. She has guest-posted before about her favourite character from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and I have reviewed the first of her Western Mysteries, The Case of the Deadly Desperados (which is now out in paperback) and I have the second book, The Case of the Good-Looking Corpse in my tbr.
(The links in the article below are to the author's bibliography on the Euro Crime website.)
I'm very pleased to welcome Caroline Lawrence to Teenage Fiction for All Ages. She has guest-posted before about her favourite character from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and I have reviewed the first of her Western Mysteries, The Case of the Deadly Desperados (which is now out in paperback) and I have the second book, The Case of the Good-Looking Corpse in my tbr.
(The links in the article below are to the author's bibliography on the Euro Crime website.)
Adult Crime Writers' Fave Kids' Crime Books
I was recently invited to attend Crime in the Court at Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court - not a ‘court’ at all, but a charming pedestrian alley two skips and a hop from Leicester Square. Full of antiquary book shops, old post card dealers and other such quainteries it even has its own website and Twitter account.
Goldsboro Books, owned by David Headley and Daniel Gedeon, specialize in UK first editions, especially crime novels. I first began signing stock for them a dozen years ago when my first Roman Mysteries came out and they were working out of their own homes. Now they have a posh shop where a real murder was once committed. They had a notion to host a drinks’ party wherein fans could meet authors and vice versa. Thus Crime in the Court was conceived.
On Tuesday 3 July 2012, about sixty authors, agents and faithful fans were invited to arrive at 6.30. In theory it was to be wine and canapés on a balmy summer evening. In reality it was grey and drizzling. But crime writers are not easily discouraged, nor are their fans!
By 7.00 the alley was seething with literary types. I don’t drink and being an author of kids crime books I knew hardly any of the 'grown up' crime writers, so in order to break some ice I went around asking the illustrious writers to name the first crime book they read as a child. Although I only spoke to a couple of dozen, they were all good sports and played along. (Crime writers really are among the nicest people in the world.)
As you might expect, many of those I canvassed claimed the early influence of authors such as Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & Dorothy L Sayers.
Erin Kelly told me that her seminal book was The Body in the Library, by Agatha Christie. She read it aged twelve and it changed her life. My pal Sophie McKenzie was also twelve when she read Christie’s 4.50 from Paddington at her aunt and uncle’s house. Sophie writes crime for Young Adults and her first adult crime book is out in September. Kate Rhodes (author of Crossbones Yard) loved all of Agatha Christie’s oeuvre and Elly Griffiths specifically remembers adoring Murder on the Orient Express.
Charlotte Phillips devoured Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew series, about the feisty American high school student sleuth. My pal Lauren St John, author of the Laura Marlin Mysteries for kids, seconded Nancy Drew but also mentioned John D MacDonald and Alastair McLean as early influences. (Not too early, I hope!)
Adrian Magson, author of the Inspector Rocco crime series set in 1960s France, got started reading Leslie Charteris’ The Saint books at the tender age of 8. He liked the crime and admitted that "the girls didn’t hurt".
Barbara Nadel, author of more than a dozen books about Çetin İkmen, a chain-smoking and hard-drinking cop on the Istanbul police force, remembers The Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton. Not really crime, she admitted, though there was often a mystery.
Mark Billingham read The Godfather and Jaws the summer he was fourteen, and loved them both. This was before either came out as a film. He told me they were hugely influential on his decision to become a writer.
You don’t often think of Roald Dahl, Dodie Smith and Beatrix Potter as crime writers, but they are.
Simon Toyne, author of Sanctus and The Key, loved Danny the Champion of the World, by Roald Dahl. He particularly relished the drugging and stealing of the pheasants by placing sleeping pills in raisins. (Kids, don’t try this at home.)
Alison Bruce, author of the DC Goodhew series, praised Dodie Smith’s 101 Dalmatians with its child kidnap and extortion.
Platinum blonde noir-writer Laura Wilson loved A Fierce Bad Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. The way he took a carrot without asking gave her a frisson she never forgot.
Matt Hilton cited a coming-of-age crime novel called Ginger, and also the adventures of Willard Price.
Chris Carter author of the L.A.-based Robert Hunter mysteries, remembers a Portugese book roughly translated The Crime Genius.
Western-loving Mike Stotter devoured the Adam Steele series of Western crime novels by George G. Gilman. (I hope they weren’t as horridly violent as Gilman’s more recent books!)
When Penny 'Tideline' Hancock was eight or nine, she read The Young Detectives by R.J. McGregor and relished the secret passages, etc.
Finally, Goldsboro co-owners Daniel Gedeon & David Headley shared their picks. Daniel’s favourite kids’ crime author was the overall winner Agatha Christie, and David’s fave crime book was oft-chosen Danny the Champion of the World. And mine? Nancy Drew, the coolest, cleverest, most independent girl I had ever met.
* * *
Caroline Lawrence writes three history-mystery series for kids, The Roman Mysteries, The Roman Mysteries Scrolls and The P.K. Pinkerton Mysteries. Her latest P.K. Pinkerton Mystery for kids 8+ boasts a dozen shootouts, three corpses and one forking in the Wild West town of Virginia City.
Many thanks to Caroline Lawrence and Orion Childrens for arranging this.
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