Review: Maggie Sparks and the Monster Baby by Steve Smallman

 

Maggie Sparks and the Monster Baby by Steve Smallman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is such a fun read. I’d say it’s for children around 5-8 years old. It features a mixed-race family of witches, and we see what happens when Maggie is jealous of her new baby brother and decides to cast a spell on herself to make her cuter too. The spell backfires in both a hilarious and poignant way, but we see how much the parents still love Maggie.
It’s a short read, and the illustrations are great.I particularly liked Bat the Chameleon, Maggie’s pet.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

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Review: THE LAST BEAR by Hannah Gold

 

The Last Bear by Hannah Gold
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In this instant literary classic about friendship, forging your own path, and doing what’s right, debut author Hannah Gold inspires fans of Pax and A Wolf Called Wander to make a difference in any way they can.

There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to a faraway Arctic outpost.

But one night, April catches a glimpse of something distinctly bear shaped loping across the horizon. A polar bear who shouldn’t be there—who is hungry, lonely and a long way from home.

Fusing environmental awareness with a touching story of kindness, The Last Bear will include full-page black-and-white illustrations as well as a note from the author with facts about the real Bear Island and the plight of the polar bears. 

--

Every now and again, you read a book, and it feels like being wrapped in a warm hug from someone important. It feels beautiful and significant, and you know it's going to have a long-lasting effect on you. This was that book.

I haven't that much middlegrade before, but I'd seen the author posting beautiful photos of this book on social media, so when I saw I could get a signed copy from Waterstones, I jumped at the chance. And this book was amazing.

April and her father get the chance to live at the Arctic when he gets located there for his job. While he's busy shutting himself away for work, April explores the island--and finds a polar bear, a bear who know one else knows is there.

April's a complex character. She's somewhat friendless at school and prefers being on her own. She feels abandoned at times by her father who is swamped in work--and indeed, working seems to be his coping mechanism for dealing with the death of April's mother. April is, in turn, still processing this, and we can really see how her life experiences have shaped her.

April and the polar bear build an almost magical friendship. Both are lost and isolated, and they come to trust each other greatly. The bear is hungry and April feeds him, providing him with her food. But of course, this friendship has a time limit on it--not only are April and her father due to return home at the end of his work, but this secret friendship can't last once food has run out, and there's also the threat of others finding out about the bear and removing him.

The ending of this book is bittersweet. I felt sad--I wanted things to go another way--but it also felt right. It was the right ending for the book, and I'm sure it'll teach a lot of children some very important life lessons too.

This book also says a lot about the environment and the devastating effects of global warming on the melting ice caps and the animals this affects, such as polar bears. There's just so much in this book.

It's a really important read.

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Review: MY CAT CALLED RED by Jane Lightbourne

 

My Cat Called Red by Jane Lightbourne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Red is an extraordinary cat. When he turns up on Robin’s doorstep one night the little boy doesn’t realise how magical the cat’s powers are.

For Red has a magic purr. But he’s been on a journey, a search for his forever home, and with all the danger and the excitement that has accompanied that, he’s come to lose his purr.

How?

The troubled Robin won’t rest until he knows Red’s story.

And so his grandfather tells it to him.

Mid-grade chapter book My Cat Called Red is a heartwarming adventure story by author Jane Lightbourne, about friendship and courage in the face of danger, featuring the magical cat Red and the purr that transforms children’s lives. The ebook topped the Amazon Hot New Release charts when it first came out and has been an Amazon category bestseller in several categories, reaching the number 2 spot in the UK and number 1 in Australia across its categories. Designed for children aged 8 to 12, My Cat Called Red is a modern classic that will appeal to all ages.

A percentage of profit from sales of the first edition of the paperback will be donated to the National Literacy Trust.

--

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. I hadn't heard of this writer before, but I'm a sucker for animal stories and children's stories/middlegrade so I requested this book as soon as I saw it and was delighted to receive a copy.

This tells the story of Robin, a troubled boy following his mother's death, and how he's sent around various relatives until he lives with his grandfather. There, he meets an abandoned red cat, and the grandfather proceeds to tell the red cat's life story. And, wow, this is a sad story at times. It does get dark--and I did wonder just how appropriate this would be for younger children, given I think this is aimed at seven-year-olds. (I would've recommended it for being slightly older kids, as you've got a lot of rhetoric on death and grief--which made me, a woman in her late twenties tearful at times--as well as talk of animal cruelty, such as how some kittens are drowned and/or killed when they're not wanted.) But this is a good book to give to children to teach them about these difficult themes--life, death, grief, etc, and of course animal cruelty. In fact, I don't think I've come across a children's book before that tackles it so directly.

The framing of the cat's narrative is folded within Robin's story, via the grandfather telling the tale. It does give it a Chinese Box frame narrative, similar to that in Wuthering Heights, so this book is definitely well structured. I could see a lot of care had gone into the writing of this.

There are quite a lot of characters in this too, as the red cat tells of how he's gone from home to home, and a couple of times I got a bit lost or mixed up a few of these characters when they were later referred back to.

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Review: FADE OUT by Nova Ren Suma

 

Fade Out by Nova Ren Suma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If this were a movie, you'd open to the first page of this book and be transported to a whole other world. Everything would be in black and white, except maybe for the girl in pink polka-dot tights, and this really great music would start to swell in the background. All of a sudden, you wouldn't be able to help it--you'd be a part of the story, you'd be totally sucked in. You'd be in this place, filled with big lies, mysterious secrets, and a tween girl turned sleuth....

Zoom in on thirteen-year-old Dani Callanzano. It's the summer before eighth grade, and Dani is stuck in her nothing-ever-happens town with only her favorite noir mysteries at the Little Art movie theater to keep her company.

But one day, a real-life mystery begins to unravel--at the Little Art! And it all has something to do with a girl in polka-dot tights.... Armed with a vivid imagination, a flair for the dramatic, and her knowledge of all things Rita Hayworth, Dani sets out to solve the mystery, and she learns more about herself than she ever thought she could.

--

So I came to FADE OUT having already read THE WALLS AROUND US by the same author, which is one of my all-time favourite YA titles. FADE OUT is MG, not YA, and I was intrigued to see how an author that I know for her YA has tackled a story for a younger readership.

Right off the bat, it was clear the same author had written this book--that was my first observation. The writing is just beautiful. It's haunting and deep and the imagery is just so powerful. Equally, the characterisation is amazing. Dani feels real and solid. She's snarky and yeah, she just feels so realistic. So this was a great start.

Dani is obsessed with noir film, and she tackles her parents' divorce through this lens, constantly comparing her life to that of the protagonists in these films. And then when she discovers that her babysitter-and-best-friend's boyfriend Jackson is cheating on, we see all this through the noir lens. Dani strives to identify the 'femme fatale'--the other woman. And we see her doing a lot of detective work.

I really enjoyed this book, but I'll admit, the stakes in it just weren't high enough for me. And that's entirely a personal preference, as I just prefer stakes to be life-and-death if possible, and I know that's harder in a MG. I just wanted more of a sense of danger, something ominous. But that's not Dani's story, and that's fine.

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Review: THE WESTING GAME by Ellen Raskin

 

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger--and a possible murderer--to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead...but that won't stop him from playing one last game!

I could not stop reading this book! THE WESTING GAME by Ellen Raskin is a phenomenal mystery, and I’m actually in awe of how good it is. As I was reading it, I kept forgetting it’s a novel as it seemed more like a puzzle, and the writing style is just amazing.

It’s one of the children’s titles for my postgrad creative writing course, but it reminded me so much of Virginia Woolf’s style. I actually googled the book to see if it’s taught to children at schools (or just used for degree level courses) because of this almost stream-of-consciousness style and complexity, with so many beautiful nuanced layers. It’s recommended for ages 10 and upward, and I have since learnt it's taught widely in US schools, but as a UK reader, I hadn't heard of this book at all--and here it often seems only to be taught to adults as an example of how children’s stories should be as complex as adult stories, as obviously you shouldn’t “write down” to children. It will give great satisfaction to adult readers who may be reading it aloud to children, as they’ll understand the more complex themes in it that younger children may not. Though I think children 10 and older would grasp the deeper meanings in this book, and YA readers certainly will.

The story follows 16 people (a mixture of children, teenagers, and adults) as they listen to the reading of Sam Westing’s will and discover that one of them is a murderer. All 16 are then thrown into the Westing Game where each must solve clues pertaining to the identity of the murderer. At times, these clues are almost set out like an instruction manual for a game, so we, as the readers, are also playing along. It’s this interactive quality that I’m finding so addictive.

It took me a little while to get into this book, mainly because there are just so many main characters, and we're not told a whole lot about these to start with. But we're thrown right into the mystery, and it's like we're trying to solve the mystery at the same time as learn about the characters--which does work really well as we're trying to work out who the murderer is.

And working out who the murderer is was just something I couldn't do--which rarely happens. But I really had no idea. And for that, I loved this book. It's just so powerful and it was refreshing to read such a complex and wonderfully plotted mystery that kept me on my toes as a reader. I was really making sure to read every single word on each page in case I missed a clue. 

Also, the narrative devices in this book are great. We've got multimedia in this as we get recounts of Sam Westing's will and other documents. And all of these are clues for the mystery too! 

The ending of the book was...strange. I don't know, it's hard to describe it without getting into spoiler territory. Because there are big twists, and though these were satisfying, I was kind of waiting for something more to happen as I was reading...but then by the time I got to the very last page, I realised that the ending was perfect as it was. If there had been another twist it probably would've detracted from the quietly powerful ending--where the true impact of it only hits you after you've stopped reading and you've got time to think.

And those final pages, where time suddenly speeds up and we learn what happens to the children as they grow up and the deaths of the older characters who were adults in the story is really heartbreaking. It's really powerful writing.

Turtle was by far my favourite character, swiftly followed by Angela. These two characters (sisters) really complimented each other, and I loved how many layers they each had, especially the darkness in Angela as (spoiler) she turns out to be the bomber. I also loved Sydelle and Otis (calling Otis the '65 year old delivery boy' was fantastic, by the way!). The other characters (with the exception of Grace, the mother of Angela and Turtle), although still strong with characterisation, didn't quite have the same impact on me as these characters. I think it's because there are just so many main characters in this book. It was a bit overwhelming. For a long time, I didn't even realise that Crow would be a significant character either. So that threw me a little.

Disability representation is also amazing, with the character of Chris who's a wheelchair user--and I loved how this book has other characters making assumptions about Chris and being stereotypical, but that these characters are then either called out, or the narrative voice becomes really snarky as it tackles the misconception. This is honestly one of the best books I've read for disability representation. (And equally, it's not just disability that the book calls out about this; there's also a lot on feminism and the role of women, with characters fighting stereotypes and 'traditional' views.)

The writing style of THE WESTING GAME is fun and snarky, and I can see why it would appeal a lot to children and teenagers. It's just so plucky and fun to read, and the narrative voice of the book is really great. There is a lot of head-hopping in the stream-of-consciousness style as we're bounced from one character to another, but uniting all these characters is this snarky voice--which is both snarky and judgmental on the current POV character and about others in general. And because the head-hopping is constant, and the whole thing is written in this style, very similar to Woolf's, this is one of the rare instances where I do feel that the head-hopping works.

This is a masterful piece of writing. Highly recommended.

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Review: IN A PICKLE OVER PANDAS by Melanie S. Weiss

In A Pickle Over PANDAS by Melanie S. Weiss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this picture book on PANDAS mainly as research to see how picture books tackle medical issues such as PANDAS and the level of detail into which they go into. I myself am an adult with PANS (similar to PANDAS) and I've written a lot of articles on my experiences with PANS, but these are all aimed at adults. So I was interested to see how a children's picture book would tackle it.

This book does go into a lot of detail about PANDAS--more than I thought it would do for this age range, but it is all necessary and important info (from my perspective as an adult). However, I do wonder if it's really suitable for children of the intended age range for the readership. It does get very technical, and it does have some pretty scary illustrations representing the mental health symptoms that PANDAS can cause. 

But, then again, if a parent is buying this for their child, chances are the child is going to have PANDAS and the book is being used as a tool to help explain the illness to the child, so the child would already be familiar with the symptoms. Therefore I think this book is more suitable for children who already have PANDAS rather than children who don't. But it is still important reading for parents as the more knowledge they have of neuropsychiatric disorders such as PANDAS and PANS the better, especially when these disorders are often misdiagnosed.

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Review: BRAVE THUMBELINA by An Leysen

Brave Thumbelina by An Leysen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ever since I was little, I have loved reading fairy tales. The story of Thumbelina holds a special place in my heart as this was one of my favourites as a child. Thus, when I got the opportunity to read an early copy of An Leysen’s BRAVE THUMBELINA, I couldn’t say no, even though children’s books aren’t the usual books I review.

Firstly I want to start by saying that the illustrations in this book are gorgeous. I received an e-copy of this book and after opening it on my kindle, I switched to my kindle app so I could view the illustrations in colour. These drawings really add a special magic to the story.

This book is aimed at readers aged 5 and older, and the language and writing style certainly seemed appropriate for that readership. The story itself is well-written, though the plot doesn’t differ much from the traditional story of Thumbelina, so it didn’t seem as much of a “retelling” as it could have been. It essentially was the Thumbelina story that most people know.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed it and it felt magical reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance copy.

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Review: ETERNAL SEAS by Lexi Rees

Eternal Seas by Lexi Rees
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such a small parcel shouldn't cause experienced smugglers much trouble, but this parcel is far from normal.

Lost and scared after a violent storm, Finn and his sister, Aria, take shelter on a remote island. They discover the parcel contains a relic belonging to a long forgotten people. Locked inside are powers which will change their lives, and the world, forever.

As Finn realises his connection to the relic, a vision strikes him - but what does it mean? Who should they trust? And if they decide to follow their hearts rather than their orders, will they manage to deliver the relic in one piece?

Chased across the seas as they try to solve the mysteries within the parcel, the fate of this ancient people depends on them. Finn and Aria must choose between what is right and what is easy - and time is running out ...

I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an early copy of this book--huge thanks to the author and publisher.

This is the first MG novel I've read in over a year (as I usually read and review YA and adult), but as soon as I'd read the first couple of pages, I knew I was going to love it. This is such an action-packed fantasy tale, perfect for fans of Harry Potter who are looking for a magical, nautical adventure.

What really struck me about the prose was the sea imagery. It really is beautiful, and the language is evocative and rhythmic--but it's not overdone or overwhelming in any way, and it's at a suitable level for its intended readership. (I really appreciated how Lexi Rees doesn't write 'down' to her readers or over-simplify things, just because they're children, as I've noted this can be a problem with many MG and children's books.)

The characterisation is strong, and there's a very good dynamic between protagonist and antagonist (and this is definitely a villain who readers will love to hate). I particularly liked how charged Finn and Aria's names are--not to give too many spoilers here, but once you've read it, it becomes obvious why they have these names and I thought that was a lovely touch.

A big theme of ETERNAL SEAS is loyalty, and I loved how the author integrated such a powerful message as she tests her main character's loyalty as secrets are revealed. But it's done in such a way that it's not preachy at all, and it is an entertaining read--for both adults and children. The pages simply brim with energy, and this is an atmospheric read that just grabs you.

In short, ETERNAL SEAS is a must-read for young fantasy fans.

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