Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino - Review

I picked this up in Portal bookshop in York, which is a queer bookshop that also sells badges and fun stuff like that, and has a cafe upstairs and plenty of events happening - it's a really cool place to go. I visited in June with my friend Lucinda. I bought just this book, and picked it up soon after. I love Alex Gino and would love to have read everything they write, so I was glad to buy this. 

It's about a non binary kid called Sam who lives in New York with their mother and father I think. They are close friends with a queer family who live on a lower floor in their building - a woman, her non binary partner, and their baby. Sam also walks the dog of someone in the building, I don't remember her name but I loved her. From their bedroom window, Sam can see the Statue of Liberty and it's a statue that means a lot to them. Their best friend, TJ, is also non binary. They have a busy family that Sam is sometimes jealous of. 

At school, the kids get given an assignment to enter a competition. They have to write a report about who there should be a new statue of in their home borough of Staten Island. Some kids write about Henry Hudson - been done, coloniser, never even came to the area, Sam and TJ are bored of that one - and others write about Alexander Hamilton because one of them is vaguely related to him, which she shoehorns into every conversation haha. Sam and TJ don't know who to write about but eventually learn about Alice Austen, who was a photographer. She lived with a woman for decades and took quite frank photos of herself and her friends. I hadn't ever heard of her so it was interesting to learn more about her as Sam and TJ did too. 

I liked the book a lot and I think for a middle grade audience it was perfect. It explained a lot of things about queer identity and I liked how Sam came more to terms with themself and their place in the community. For me personally it was a bit so so, but I understand I am not the target audience and I think it would hit different with them. I will say that I didn't feel a particular emotional connection with Sam unlike in Melissa or Rick, which perhaps let it down a bit for me. But in all, a good book! 

As an aside but relevant to this post - I reviewed a queer picture book called Princess Pete for Global Comment, where I write occasionally. I wrote about why LGBTQIA+ books are essential for all kids, under the umbrella or not. You can read it here. 

Kittiwake Stormhaven and the Pirate's Portolano by Victoria Williamson - Blog Tour and Review

 

Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for Kittiwake Stormhaven and the Pirate's Portolano by Victoria Williamson! It is a pleasure to welcome you here! Please do click around and read some of my other reviews. I've read a lot of books by Victoria and always love her, so there's a few reviews of her books around. 

I love Victoria's books and think she's a great Middle Grade author who we need more of in the UK, so I was pleased to see a new book by her arrive and signed up immediately. I was lucky enough to receive a physical copy which came in a very cute box with some pirate themed goodies in it too, so thank you very much for those, I really enjoyed them! Such a cute little gift from Tiny Tree Books, thank you. I was provided with a copy of this book for review purposes but all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

The hero of the book is Kittiwake Stormhaven, who is around twelve years old. She lives in a world where there isn't much, if any, land left. There are a few seaports around the world, but most of the population lives on ships and the world is divided into quadrants. Kittiwake lives on the Amazon Princess, living a luxury, pampered life. Her mother Mollyhawk is the captain of this ship. Her sister Petrel went missing and their father Kestrel went off to look for her and is presumed dead. 

Kittiwake has a friend, Scallion, known as Scally, who was caught on a pirate ship so is branded on his forehead with a P. He is a stowaway on the Amazon Princess and is careful to not be found. Kittiwake also has a pet monkey, Caboodle. The three get into mischief and such, which is funny. But then there come rumours that Petrel is the captain of a pirate ship, the Seawitch. Mollyhawk is rightfully shocked and upset about this.

Meanwhile, the material that the ships are fuelled by is running scarce. It comes from a meteor and one is expected to land soon, so all ships are trying to get a piece of it. I liked this environmental aspect of the book. I also liked the setting, it felt old fashioned but with more modern inventions. I think this is a fun swashbuckling adventure book. I recommend it for middle graders! 

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd - Review

 

If you haven't heard of this book before, I have mentioned it on this blog before. In 2020 I read The Guggenheim Mystery by Robin Stevens, which is kind of a sequel to this book. Siobhan Dowd made notes and a title for her sequel, but then she died before she wrote it, so Robin took the characters and wrote the sequel. I really liked the book so got this one and then forgot about it for five years. When we were unpacking all my books after the move I found this and picked it up, thinking it was about time. And I really enjoyed it, so that's good. I didn't really remember the characters so it was nice to get to know them again, from Siobhan herself. 

The protagonist of the book is Ted, who is about eleven or twelve, I think. He is autistic. He lives with his parents and sister, Kat, who's about fourteen. His special interest is the weather and he doesn't really like things outside of his routine. 

One day in the holidays, Ted's mum's sister Gloria turns up with her son, Salim. They are about to move to New York but stay with Ted's family for a bit. Salim doesn't want to move to New York but wants to do some tourist stuff in London first. Mum, Gloria, and all the kids go into London to go on the London Eye. But the queue is huge so the mums have a sit down and the kids join the queue. Then a man offers the kids one ticket to jump the queue; Ted and Kat decide to give it to Salim as he's never been on the Eye before. He goes up, but when the capsule he is in comes back round half an hour later he doesn't get off it. 

At first Ted and Kat think they've got it wrong, so they wait a bit longer. But no, Salim doesn't turn up. Later the family reports Salim missing to the police. He had a disposable camera so Ted and Kat have the film developed, hoping that they might get some clues about what has happened to him. They can see the man who gave them the ticket, and deduce where he was working. They follow a trail - while their parents are trying to keep them contained and keep Gloria feeling okay while Salim is missing - to try to get to the bottom of what has happened. 

It's a good mystery and I really liked how Ted and Kat's relationship developed through the book. It's a good middle grade book, I'm glad I finally got round to it. I'm giving it four out of five. 

Ice Lolly by Jean Ure - Review

 

After I read Lemonade Sky by Jean Ure recently I was intrigued by what else she had written, because I hadn't even heard of her but I really liked the book. So I bought Ice Lolly on eBay for a few quid. I really liked it, too, so I've reserved a few more of Jean's books at the library. They're really cute middle grade books and I've found them really joyful to read. 

The hero of this book is Laurel. She is about twelve years old. Her mother has just died and we actually meet Laurel at her mum's funeral. She is with her mum's brother, Uncle Mark, and his wife, Auntie Ellen. She can't cry and in fact she has decided that she won't cry. She will become Ice Lolly. She has to go and live with Mark and Ellen and their children Michael and Holly. With her, she takes her mum's beloved books, and their cat, Mr Pooter. Ellen clearly hates cats and is resentful of the fact that Laurel has to live with them at all. 

Laurel tries to fit in but she just can't seem to get things right. She starts Michael's school and is actually in his class, but she struggles to find any friends. She becomes friendly with the librarin, Mrs Caton, and finds a home in the library. She has read a lot of books, including Diary of a Nobody, from where Mr Pooter's name comes. She wishes that she could have stayed with her and mum's neighbour, Stevie, who loves cats but hates people. Mr Pooter is old and keeps being sick in Laurel's bedroom, which she hides from Ellen. Holly is a proper brat, honestly she's a nightmare. Poor Laurel just gets more and more desperate.

Like Lemonade Sky, I feel like the ending came very quickly here which did kind of annoy me. But I did really like the book and loved Laurel so much. I'm giving this four out of five. 

Lemonade Sky by Jean Ure - Review

My friend Helen sent me this book a few months ago. She sent a little care package to me at some point, and it included this. She knows I like Young Adult and middle grade literature, and she thought I would like this. I picked it up when I finally finished The Book of Lost & Found, and I fortunately read it really quickly which was joyful because I had really slogged through that last book. 

This book is a perfect middle grade book, in my opinion. It deals with some really difficult themes, but in a gentle way - but also a really realistic way. This IS the life that some kids are living and I love that. 

So Ruby is twelve years old and in Year 8 at high school. She has two sisters - Tizz who is ten, and Sam, who is almost six. They live in a basement flat with their mum. She has bipolar disorder. She has pills to take and usually she's okay, but the family is in poverty and struggling at the best of times. Sometimes Mum falls into a huge depression and can't get out of bed, meaning Ruby has to look after her sisters. And then there was the time that she disappeared for ten days... 

And now she's done that again. Ruby wakes up and her mother is nowhere to be found. She knows that she has to get all of them to school, and they have to make sure that their upstairs neighbour, who dislikes the family at the best of times, doesn't find out that their mother isn't around. Because if she does, they'll end up split up and in care, and Ruby cannot let that happen.

They cobble together what money they have and go to Tesco to buy food for themselves. It's nearly Sam's birthday and Ruby can't bear the idea of her having no party food. Ruby only has a couple of friends at school and she can't tell them too much, but her friend Nina comes through for her. I loved their fledgling friendship and would love to see more of it. 

Tizz is certain that their mum will be back after ten days. They just have to keep going and keep themselves together. 

My only criticism is that I felt like the ending happened very quickly. I do kind of get that from a storytelling point of view, because the more interesting part is at the beginning, really, when the girls are struggling to look after themselves. But it did all happen quickly at the end and I would have appreciated just a little bit less of the beginning and a little bit more of the ending. 

I'm giving this four out of five and I liked it so much that I bought another book by the same author - who I've never even heard of before - from eBay, and am looking forward to reading that soon! 

Keedie by Elle McNicoll - Review

I've never read anything by Elle McNicoll before, but I know of her books and I know that she writes a lot of autistic characters, which is interesting for me as I'm autistic myself. I started to watch the TV show of A Kind of Spark and really need to start it again and finish it, actually. So I know who Keedie is - she's the elder sister of Addie who stars in A Kind of Spark. I liked her in the TV show a lot; she reminded me of myself. So I added this book to my wishlist and I got sent it recently and picked it up soon afterwards. I loved it so much that I've now bought A Kind of Spark and want to read it soon, and you can count me in the fan club. 

So yes this book is about Keedie. She's thirteen and she's got a twin, Nina. The two used to be close but since they turned thirteen Keedie feels like Nina has gone to a different planet. All she cares about is boys and make up and stuff. Keedie feels a chasm growing between them. Nina is neurotypical and Keedie is autistic and that does explain some of the gap between them, but not all. 

Keedie also has a huge sense of justice - common in autistic people - and she metes out some justice of her own against a bully. Someone asks her to do the same for their bully, and Keedie realises she can make money out of bullying the bullies. I loved this about her and felt for her a lot. 

Addie is only six in this book and she hasn't been diagnosed as autistic yet, but she totally is. Keedie buys her a book about sharks which goes down really well with Addie. I loved the relationship between the two of them and how it blossomed throughout the book. 

I really liked this, obviously, and I'm giving it four out of five. I'll get to the next book soon! 

Terra Electrica The Guardians of the North by Antonia Maxwell - Review and Blog Tour

Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for Terra Electrica The Guardians of the North by Antonia Maxwell! It is a pleasure to welcome you here. Please do have a click around and read some of my other posts. 

I love good midde grade so I signed up for this tour straight away, and I'm glad to say that it was so worth it because I really liked the book. It felt like it really fitted into the sort of epic storytelling that we all remember from our childhoods. But it's also a really modern story with issues like climate change at its forefront, which I liked too. I think kids from around aged ten would like it. 

So the protagonist of the story is Mani. She's twelve. She lives in the Arctic I think, only this is in the future where all the ice caps have melted. Her mother has died. She and her dad were living in a cave but her dad went out to find food. He was an elder in their community, but now everyone else is dead. They had some kind of sickness caused by electricity and died. The cave was safe, but they needed food, so Mani's dad set out. He said he would be back in eight days, but now it's been twenty nine days and Mani is starving. 

So she heads to the research station not too far away and there she meets Leo. He is a scientist and he gives Mani food. He has the sickness too - she can tell by the flashes of electricity in his eyes. He wants them to set out to The Ark, which is the company that he works for. He is certain that they will have a cure for the sickness, and he tells Mani that her dad is probably there too. So they set off together on an epic adventure. 

It is like a Hobbit adventure for sure, it has all the hallmarks and I really liked it. I liked what happened along the way. Mani also has a mask that lived above her bed, but she wasn't old enough to be told about it. But now she has started to use it, and she explores magical worlds within it. 

I'm giving this four out of five and I would definitely be interested in reading the next in the series. 

Just Like Everyone Else by Sarah Hagger-Holt - Review

As I said, I took this away on holiday with me because I wasn't sure how many books I would read, but wanted to make sure I had enough LGBTQ+ books to read as that's all I'm reading in June. I actually picked up a different book, but it turned out to be set at Christmas, which isn't something I wanted to read in the middle of June, so I picked this up instead. I read it really quickly and liked it more than The Fights That Make Us, weirdly! 

This book is set in Sheffield which I'm thrilled about because I think there needs to be more northern bassed books in both children's and teen literature. The main character is Aidan Taylor, who is twelve going on thirteen at the beginning of the book. He's in Year 8 and his best friend is Jack. Jack was one of the kids his mum used to childmind, and they have been close ever since. Jack is really into drama and gets bullied because other kids think he is gay. Aidan doesn't know if Jack is or isn't, but he thinks he himself might be. But he's really into running and he's just not sure about himself. 

He does fell running and is really good at it; he bonds with his Auntie Jo over running. She has just been accepted to run the London Marathon so she's really excited about that. She's at Aidan's for a family barbecue and she brings her friends Justin and Atif. 

Aidan is the eldest of five kids - all girls except for him. They are Bells, Chloe, and twins Daisy and Evie. Life is chaotic. Their parents are really involved in their lives and Aidan really has no reason to think that they won't accept that he's gay, but he still doesn't want anyone to find out. So when he realises Justin and Atif are a couple, he panics because he thinks that means people might realise about him. Then things get even worse because Aidan's Mum volunteers to be a surrogate for Justin and Atif. 

Aidan thinks his family is already crazy enough, and now there's another baby on the way. He can't bear to tell anyone at school. He's sick of Atif and Justin being around all the time, and the fact that everyone is just so positive about being a team about everything. I knew the book would have a happy ending but it takes a lot of twists and turns to get there. I loved Aidan and his sisters - they're so realistic. I liked the stuff with Jack and how that was resolved. A lot happens in the book. I love the fact that it's set in Year 8, which is a difficult year I think. I'm giving this five out of five because I just absolutely loved it. 

The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt - Review

Still keeping on with my reading LGBTQ+ books for June, I took two books by Sarah Hagger-Holt on holiday with me because I've had them for a while and wanted to get to them. I've read and enjoyed two previous books by Sarah, so I knew I was in for some good stories. I genuinely think she's one of the best UK based middle grade authors out there at the moment. Plus all her books feature queer kids or families, which I love. I'm here for representation of all types of families in kids books, of course!

So, this book is about Jesse. They are twelve years old, and nonbinary. They're out to their parents and brother Tom, who is now off at university. Their best friend is Simran, who is pansexual. The two spend their weekends at queer bookshop and cafe Over the Rainbow. Jesse doesn't find it easy to get on at school due to some bullying, but they have this brilliant history called Ms Grant. She wants all the kids to choose a subject to do a special presentation on. Sim and Jesse aren't sure what to do theirs on.

But then Jesse's mum's cousin Lisa dies. Lisa lived with Jesse's mum's family for a bit when she was sixteen, but Jesse's mum isn't sure why exactly, as she was only five ish at the time. Lisa's brother Matthew now lives in Australia. Lisa has died and Jesse's mum takes them and Sim to the funeral. Lisa was a lesbian, and her friends have organised the funeral. They asks Jesse and Sim to find something in the loft, and as they're doing so, they find an old box full of Lisa's stuff. 

There's her diary, which starts in 1987 when she is getting friendly with a girl called Nicky. She thinks she's in love with Nicky but she knows her family will never accept it. Plus there's a new piece of legislation - Clause 28 (known as Section 28 when it was passed as law) - being considered. Nicky wants to protest it, and in 1988 she persuades Lisa and their friend Andy to go with her to London for the protest. The box is full of other relics of Lisa's teenage years too - her Dr Marten boots, a waistcoat, and a T shirt from the day of the protest. 

Jesse is intrigued to learn about their community, their history, and how this fits into their place in the world. I like Jesse and I liked getting to know Lisa through her diary. This is a very sweet book with very important messages. I'm giving it four out of five, 

Into the Lion's Mouth by Nancy McConnell - Spotlight and Blog Tour

Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for Into the Lion's Mouth by Nancy McConnell! It's a pleasure to welcome you here - please do have a click around and read some of my other reviews. 

I'm sorry that I didn't get round to reading this book before today. Life got away from me and I just wasn't able to get to it. So instead I'm doing a spotlight for this book which I hope you like and which I hope shows the book off! I am still hopeful I'll read it soon, in which case I'll review it here of course. 

This was one of the BBNYA books this year. If you don't know what that is, it's a competition where book bloggers read and rate books written by independent authors. There are fifteen finalists and one overall winner. I have been a panellist before but didn't sign up this year as I was just too busy. But it is a brilliant initiative and I would urge you to get involved if you're interested! 

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

This book is a historical middle grade book. I really liked the blurb which is why I signed up, especially as it's set in Venice which I love. Please have a look at the information below, and please do check out some of the other stops on this tour!

Blurb

Venice is sinking, so they say.

And so are Nico's chances to prosper in the most glorious city in the world. Nurse Francesca is threatening to send him to a farm to pick olives, he has failed at two apprenticeships, and one of the most powerful men in Venice would like to sink Nico's lifeless body into the darkest canal. Orphans have very few options and Nico might be forced to choose the one he most wishes to avoid, leaving Venice behind forever.

Author Bio

Nancy McConnell grew up in a little family, in a small town on the outskirts of a bigger city. Besides her family, the two things she loved most in the world were: reading and playing pretend. When she grew up, reading was allowed but playing pretend was sometimes frowned upon. Since that was the case, she decided to write books so that the stories running around in her head would still live. In between writing stories, marrying her college sweetheart, and moving to a new country, she had her own little family and settled in another small town on the way outskirts of a much bigger city. Some things never change. When not writing, Nancy can be found puttering in her garden, taking photos or baking.

Follow Nancy on Instagram @nancywrites66, on Twitter @nancyemcc, and on Facebook @nancywrites4kids or visit her website nancymcconnell.com.

War of The Wind by Victoria Williamson - Review and Blog Tour

Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the blog tour for War of the Wind by Victoria Williamson! It is so nice to welcome you to my blog today - please do have a click round and read some of my other reviews.

It is a pleasure to be back reviewing Victoria Williamson! She was one of my favourite author discoveries last year; everything I've read by her has been so good and I really enjoy what she is doing with fiction and with middle grade in particular. Her middle grade is really engaging and perfect for the age group. I also love her settings, especially as she often sets books in Scotland where she grew up. I am excited to see what else she writes in the future and I'm really glad to be on this tour!

The book is set on a remote Scottish island called Scragness. Max is fourteen and lives on the bay there with his mum, dad, and baby sister Sally. A couple of years ago Max had an accident off his dad's boat and nearly drowned. He ended up losing his hearing. He is now in a special class at school and hates it. He has lost touch with all his old friends, including his best friend Calum. His mum struggles with sign language and his dad hasn't learnt any and refuses to write things down for Max. He wants Max to wear his hearing aid, but Max hates it as it doesn't really help him. Max really resents Sally because he thinks that his parents prefer her, and think that they just had her to replace their 'broken' son. Max's only friend is his Uncle Stuart's dog Twister who the family looks after when Stuart works away. 

Max is taught by Mrs Brody, who taught him most of the sign language he knows. Her daughter, Erin, is also in his special class - she was born deaf and is really clever. She is friends with Beanie, who has Down Syndrome and who lives with her grandma. Beanie is horribly bullied by Max's old gang, and Max feels like he has to stand up for her even though he doesn't really want to. Beanie knows a lot of sign language thanks to Erin, but she also speaks slowly enough for Max to mostly catch what she's saying to him. She gets easily upset by disruptions in her routine. Also in the class is David, who has a high level of special needs - he uses a wheelchair and can't speak. Max basically hates them all and just thinks of himself as better, I think. 

The island has never had any smart phones or internet because of its remoteness, but there are new wind turbines coming and there is a deal for them to also have mobile masts and for each of the islanders to be provided with a smart phone. Max is really excited about this because he knows there's a voice to text app that his dad and friends can use to communicate with him. There are a few islanders who are protesting the turbines, but Max knows they won't win. The turbines go up, but very quickly it is obvious that they're making animals behave strangely. Then all the humans start acting strangely too - can all the hearing people on the island hear something that Max and Erin can't? 

Then the mysterious scientist turns up, defended by three soldiers. Max knows something dodgy is going on, but how can he make people believe him?

I loved this book; it's pacy and fun and I loved Max and his friends and wanted them to succeed. I would actually really like it if there was a sequel to this book! I did think Max skewed a tiny bit younger than fourteen, but I can forgive that. I liked the setting and I liked the way it drew on classic sci fi literature. I'm giving this four out of five, and many thanks to Victoria! 

The Body in the Blitz by Robin Stevens - Review

As you know, I'm a huge fan of Robin Stevens and everything she's ever written, so I was pleased to hear that there was going to be a second book in the Ministry of Unladylike Activity series. You can read my review of the first book here, and you can read all my Robin Stevens reviews here. I was provided with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes, so thank you to Penguin Random House Children's for granting me access to it. I was not otherwise compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

So, the whole book is narrated by Nuala, unlike the first book which has parts narrated by May too. I do think this works better, because May is easily distracted and I really like Nuala. As you may remember from the first book, Nuala, May (Hazel's sister) and Eric are being trained as spies by the Ministry that Hazel, Daisy, George, Alexander and others now work for. The rationale is that no one pays attention to children so they're perfect to use as spies. Nuala and May are at school but they get a message in code telling them to leave immediately. They give their excuses and go. I will say that I was a bit sad to not be at Deepdean for longer, but I get that Robin probably wants the books to be entirely different from Hazel and Daisy's series. 

The three kids arrive in London and Eric is staying with George and Alexander and the girls are staying with friends of Hazel's. One of them, Anna, has gone missing when on a mission, and everyone is a bit worried about her. Daisy is AWOL too, and Hazel is getting increasingly worried. George has been invalided out of the war and has lost a leg; I loved how this was portrayed. 

The war, of course, is raging. I think the book is set in 1941, in the middle of the blitz. Nuala gets across the distress that she and the others are going through, with bombs coming over every night and them having to go into shelters (which May hates) and carry their gas masks about everywhere. The kids are staying in a close with quite a number of odd people living in it. One night, in the bombings, one of the houses is destroyed. The three kids go investigating and discover a body in the basement. 

The body is that of Miss Fig, a resident of the street. She was the local warden and had no shortage of enemies, it seems. Nearly everyone in the mews had a reason to want her dead. May, Nuala, and Eric start unravelling who exactly did kill her, and why. 

I quite enjoyed the mystery of the book, but the book as a whole fell a little flat for me. I can't really explain why, but I just didn't love it and didn't gel with it. May is infuriating a lot of the time (I realise that Robin has said she has ADHD which I think does go towards explaining SOME of that, but maybe it's just her maturity too and maybe we'll see her grow over the series). There's very little of Eric whatsoever. Sometimes I felt like Nuala was a little bit too stereotypical as someone who has some Irish heritage, too. In all, I can only give this three out of five because I just didn't love it. I found this to be a shame because I was really looking forward to reading this on holiday but it just wasn't too good in my opinion. However, I know I will definitely read the rest of the series just because I know what I'm like!

Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson - Review and Blog Tour

Hello and welcome to my stop on the tour ofr Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson! It is nice to welcome you to my blog today. Please do have a click around and read some of my other reviews. This is my second Victoria Williamson book and I really liked it too! You can find my review of Norah's Ark here. 

So this book is set in the second century AD, in what is now Scotland. Jinny is from the Damnonii tribe, who are native to the area. The area has been colonised by the Romans, who have built the Antonine Wall across the land, meaning the Damnonii can't graze their cattle on land they still see as theirs. Jinny is twelve years old and angry about the situation. Before the beginning of the book, something happened that hurt Jinny's brother and she blames Felix, a Roman boy, because it's easier that blaming herself. She was partly blamed, though, and she wasn't allowed to partake in the coming of age ceremony alongside the other girls in the tribe her own age, who were allowed. She's still given child's chores, because of that, and she's steaming mad about it. 

Felix, meanwhile, is half Damnonii. His dad is Roman and he's been sent up north with his soldiers in order to map the land up there. He's been gone ages though and everyone is beginning to think he's dead. That threatens Felix's place in the fort, because of his Damnonii mother (now dead) and the fact he's not a 'pure' Roman. He has acted as translator between the Damnonii and the Romans (the 'metal men' as Jinny calls them) which resulted in Jinny's brother's accident. Bram and Felix had been friends before, but since the accident Felix has avoided Bram and the tribe.

One day, Jinny sees Felix and, still angry with him, chases him in to the sacred stone circle that the tribe has. She fires a stone at him, but ends up damaging one of the stones. She then believes she has woken the stones and that they are walking across fields to come and get her. Then four people from the local area go missing - which Jinny thinks is further proof that she has woken the stones. 

The two have to work together to sort all of this out! It's a really good book, fast paced with a lot of peril involved. I liked both Felix and Jinny and wanted them both to succeed. I really liked the setting and could picture it perfectly, even though it felt like the story was modern and that any kid would empathise with what was happening. I liked the bits of history I leant - I didn't know there was a wall other than Hadrian's Wall! So it taught me something too. I'm giving this four out of five and would thoroughly recommend it!

Scareground by Angela Kecojevic - Review and Blog Tour

Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for Scareground by Angela Kecojevic! It is so nice to welcome you to my blog - please do have a look round some of my other reviews! 

I liked this middle grade historical fiction book. It's about Nancy, who is twelve years old and who lives with the Crumpets, who are the local bakers. They adopted her after she was found abandoned as a baby. Their house is filled with love and flour and salt, but Nancy still has questions about what happened to her birth parents. Why was she found in a ghost carriage, for example. 

Nancy has a best friend, Arthur, whose father is the local doctor. She slips out of the bakery at night to jump across the rooftops to meet him. The two send letters to each other too. One day they find a black balloon with a raven's feather tied to it, and then they learn that the Scareground fair is coming back. It's run and owned by the Tombola family and by Skelter Tombola in particular. The Crumpets are unhappy to hear that the fair is back and ban Nancy from going. But she's so intrigued that she knows she must secure a ticket for herself and for Arthur. 

Nancy has two secrets. Firstly is the birthmark on her wrist that is shaped like a silver horse. She was teased about it at school so she never shows it anymore. Secondly is the fact that she can talk to the sky and the sky talks back. She's a bit of a loner but she and Arthur do get on well. They head off to the fair and come face to face with Skelter... 

This is a cute middle grade book with some genuinely scary parts. I liked the symbolism and the mysteries contained within the fair. The blurb says the book is suitable for fans of Jennifer Killick but I think it skews for a slightly younger audience than that. I would say it's best suited for ten to eleven year olds. I liked it though! 

Norah's Ark

I am so happy to welcome you to my blog today for my stop on the tour for Norah's Ark by Victoria Williamson. I love good middle grade books and if you look around my blog you'll find reviews of other middle grade books. This book is a stand out of the genre and I am so glad I got to join in the tour!

The book is told from two perspectives, those of Norah and Adam. They are the same age and will be going to senior school in September. However, at the beginning of the book they don't know each other.

Norah is small for her age and is living in a hostel with her dad. They are technically homeless and her dad doesn't have a job. They have very little money and Norah is often hungry. They have to use the foodbank and Norah's dad has to spend a lot of time at the job centre and looking for a job. He struggles to read, though, which doesn't help him. She also struggles with things like reading and counting, which means she is in a special class and is bullied at school. 

She is bullied by a girl called Chelsea, who lives with a foster family and who is also in the special class, but she has a lot of fancy things so she's quite in with the popular girls. Norah has a bike that she loves, and she spends a lot of time in the park by herself while her dad is in the betting shop with his friend Ed. She also loves animals - she has a pet spider that she rescued and she has been feeding a nest of baby birds. This is how she meets Adam. 

Adam lives in a "big, posh" house that backs on to the park. He has been ill for years with leukaemia but he's finally better. But his mum still thinks he's ill and won't let him go back to school, or go back to swimming, or even leave the garden. His dad is a lawyer and working hard and is barely around, and his mum gave up her job and now mostly keeps herself busy worrying over Adam. He would love to go back to school but isn't allowed. He finds the nest of baby birds and brings them into his treehouse. When Norah arrives, the two become friends eventually and work together on the birds. 

The very best of middle grade does a thing where it tells very complex stories - homelessness! lack of money! childhood cancer! - and makes them accessible to nine, ten, eleven years olds in a clear, concise way. This does exactly that and that makes it a joy to read. It is so empathetic towards both kids that I really feel like any child could understand their circumstances even if their lives are very different. I also thought it was really good that both Norah and Adam at first think that the other lives a perfectly charmed life. It's a true life lesson to learn that things aren't always as they seem on the outside. I also liked the very frank look at the benefits that Norah and her dad were living on and how they sometimes got messed up by things out of her dad's control. 

I also thought the ending was really good - it was really well drawn and while not a perfectly happy ending, it worked well for the age group. 

I will say that my only criticism is that the book is set in Hull but there were some phrases that sounded really un Yorkshire to me (I am from West Yorkshire!). When I read that the author is Scottish that made more sense because a lot of the phrases are used by my Scottish friends. For example Norah at one point picks up the laundry that "needs washed". We in Yorkshire would say "needs washing". I also doubt that a kid would pick up on these, but it's my only criticism. 

I am giving this book four out of five because I just LOVED it! I loved Norah and Adam. 

I was provided with a paper copy of this book for review purposes only. I was not otherwise compensated for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Crater Lake by Jennifer Killick - Review

When I read Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick I was impressed with the author and I had heard of this book so I bought a copy on eBay I think and I've been meaning to get to it and a couple of weeks ago I finally did. And I loved it! I liked it more than Dread Wood, I think. It's a lot of fun, but with some genuinely scary bits too. I can imagine this going down really well for kids aged between 9 and 12. 

So, Lance is in Year 6 at his junior school, the final year. It's close to the end of the year, too, because it's hot. His best friends are Chets, Big Mak, and Katja. He is bulled by Trent, one of the most popular boys in the class, and the deputy head, Miss Hoche, has it in for Lance and has done since an incident at the beginning of the year. The whole class is going on a residential trip to Crater Lake. There's a new residential centre and Lance's class is the first one to use it. They're all quite excited on the trip there when suddenly the coach has to come to a stop because a man has run out into the road.

The man is called Dale, and he's a worker from Crater Lake, and he's covered in blood. The coach driver stays to help him and everyone else walks to the centre. There, they're met by a man called Digger. He shows them round the centre. Lance has a special medical need so he gets a room to himself down some steps. His friends don't know what this need is, though, as he's never told anyone about it. The kids are fed tomato soup - in the heat! - and make plans to have a midnight feast later. 

But no one arrives to get Lance. So he goes to his friends' dormitory himself. And on the way he comes across some other kids in his class, only their eyes have 'bugged out' and they don't seem to realise who Lance is. 

The book then becomes a fight for survival as Lance and his friends, and new friend Adrianne, try to work out what has happened and how they can escape with their lives. Like with Dread Wood, there are some genuinely scary parts and some really clever parts. There's also a lot of bonding between the friends which I really loved. 

I will definitely have to read more by this author because they're just so good! I'm giving this five out of five. 

Jamie by L D Lapinski - Review

I had been hearing about this book on Twitter for ages and knew I had to pre order it. I did so through Rhyme and Reason books who are a children's bookshop in Sheffield, because I like to support indie bookshops and they're just the absolute best people in there. It arrived in early April so on Good Friday Lee and I headed over to pick it up and get ourselves some brunch while we were out. When I went in to pick up the book I ended up buying three other books at the same time, oops. I have way too many books really. 

So Jamie is a non binary child who is in their last year of primary school. They live with their parents and their older brother Olly, who is gay. They have two best friends, Ash and Daisy. They are enjoying school until the two headteachers from the only two secondary schools in the area come to visit. That's when Jamie realises that they can either choose Such and Such Academy for Boys, or Such and Such Academy for Girls. 

But Jamie is neither a boy nor a girl. Where can they go to school? The headteachers and Jamie's own headteacher tells them they can choose, but that means ticking one box or another. Choosing one box or another. Jamie isn't prepared to do either, but isn't sure what they can do about it. 

The book is a fantastic middle grade book, perfect for 10-12 year olds in my opinion but really good for anyone older than that age too. Interspersed in the narrative are definitions of many terms like gender, pride, lgbtq+ etc, all explained in a very succint and accessible way. I also really liked that the reader NEVER knows what gender Jamie was assigned at birth. It absolutely does not matter, and when Jamie is asked at one point they stand up for themself and refuse to answer. I love this, it's a brilliant way to write a book and it makes the reader meet Jamie on their terms, with their own gender. 

I am giving this five out of five and can I say I sort of hope there's a sequel?!

The Ship of Doom by M A Bennett - Review

I didn't know that M A Bennett, who I love and have reviewed extensively here, had written any middle grade books until I was talking to my librarian friend Lucinda about M A Bennett's older books and she mentioned the middle grade ones. I put them on my wishlist and then when my sister-in-law asked what I would like for Christmas my partner sent her my list and she chose The Ship of Doom and The Mummy's Curse for me. I was really eager to get to both, so started this in March. I hadn't looked too closely at the front of the book, meaning that I didn't at first see the Titanic, hah. What an idiot! 

So, the year is 1894 and Luna is living with her aunt, Grace. Her dear Papa has disappeared and Luna assumes he is dead, but Grace tells her that he is 'on another plane'. Grace's house is full of butterflies, pinned and mounted on the walls, which freaks Luna out somewhat. Then one day, Luna is invited to the Greenwich Observatory by Grace, to attend a meeting of her club, The Butterfly Club. There, Luna meets a young Prussian boy called Konstantin. He has been sick for his whole life, but now has a clockwork heart ticking inside his chest. As everyone in the room is chatting and waiting, Aidan and his dad turn up in a time machine. It can connect on like a phone call to someone who is living in 1969, and it can take them to the future. The Butterfly Club want the three kids (they're twelve) to go to 1912 and get Guglielmo Marconi's radio to bring back to the past so the Club can win a prize for innovative inventions. 

The three set off for Southampton docks, but instead they find themselves on board Titanic as it sets sails on its ill fated voyage. The three must try to find Marconi's radio, and have to disguise themselves in order to do it. Aidan is a navvy by trade so he pretends to be a stoker. Konstantin steals the uniform of an officer and Luna wangles her way into first class. They have escapades along the way, and learn some hard truths about time travel and the Butterfly Effect. 

It's a very cute and fun book. I liked how it deal with time travel. I liked how a younger reader who doesn't know what actually happened to Titanic would have seen it unfurl. I do know a lot about Titanic, but I learnt some new things too, which I liked. I loved Luna and Konstantin and Aidan, and some of the things they had each been through and went through in the book. It's really clever and is a really good middle grade novel. It won't be long before I read the second one in the series! I'm giving this four out of five. 

Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean - Review

I got this book as part of a Secret Santa I did. It had been on my wishlist for ages, but I can't remember why I added it. But I was intrigued by the story, and I always like to read the books I got for Christmas early into the new year - or at least try to - so I picked this up in early February. It's a middle grade book, suitable for kids aged 10 and upwards, in my opinion. 

So I do know about the St Kilda archipelago in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. I know that while the islands are abandoned now, there used to be families on the biggest island, Hirta. And every year the island would send men and boys to the Stac, where they would catch gannets, called gugas in Gaelic, and other birds, some of which could be used as fuel. The workers would spend about four weeks there, stocking up for the islanders, and then the boat would return to pick them up. I know this because for my book club we read a book called The Black House, which is a crime novel which uses a fictional version of the Stac, in much more recent times, as its setting. When I read that I was looking up the island. It was abandoned in 1930, but prior to that the gannet hunting had really happened.

So this book is set in 1727. In early August, Quilliam and eight other boys, plus three men, are taken on a boat to Warrior Stac. Quilliam is one of the older boys and he's done this before. He is there with his friend, Murdo. He is also obsessed with a girl called Murdina back on Hirta, and speaks to her frequently in his head when he is on the Stac. Some of the other boys are really quite young, like Davie. There's also Kenneth, who is a terrible bully. Quilliam becomes King Gannet, because he catches the first one. The men and boys start catching all the birds they can, putting them into structures called cleits for safe keeping. They're expecting to be picked up a few weeks later, by the end of August, only no boat turns up. 

To begin with, they think this must surely be some kind of mistake. They keep holding on hope. But then bad omens appear. And Euan has a vision that everyone else has been Raptured, but that God has forgotten them on the Stac. And while the three men basically start off fine, Col Cane, who is the sexton back on Hirta, starts to become more religious and escapes to one of the Bothys. Quilliam becomes Keeper of Stories and bestows other Keeper jobs on the other boys. They're cold as autumn comes in and then winter. They're hungry and have no fuel. And surely, surely they haven't been forgotten?

I kept thinking they must be rescued by the end of the book. But the ending blew me away because it included something that really happened that I didn't know - I'm glad I didn't know it because it would have ruined the ending! I really liked this book, it's brilliant middle grade. I'm giving it four out of five. 

A Girl Called Justice: The Spy at the Window by Elly Griffiths - Review

I was granted access to this book on Netgalley, so thank you very much to Hachette Children's for letting me read this. I was given a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes, but was not otherwise compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. A Spy Called Justice: The Spy at the Window was published on the 26th of May 2022, I'm only sorry it took me so long to get to reading it!

You know that I love Elly Griffiths already - both her series for adults, which are among my favourite books ever, and her middle grade series. Justice has really settled into herself now, with a strong sense of self - I love her! She's back at school in Highbury when war breaks out (it's 1939) and each girl is issued with a gas mask. Shelters are built, and the girls must be involved in the cleaning and upkeep of the school (which outrages Rose - she is sure to tell her father!). Furthermore, a boys school is evacuated to Highbury, meaning the girls must share their building! The boys and girls are kept well apart, but Justice makes friends with Henry Anderson. They are put together by Miss De Vere, and told to put together some kind of co-ed sporting event. 

Justice shows Henry round the school and when they're on the top floor they hear a radio playing to itself or something, and what's more, they see a face at the window, two floors up! How could that be? And who is it? And is there a spy in the school?!

I liked this book a lot, I liked the mystery and thought it was done well. I wish there had been a bit more of Stella, but that's my only criticism. I'm giving this four out of five.