Book Reviews March 2006

Book Description: When Rosa finds tarot cards hidden in her mother's wardrobe, she also ends up discovering some buried family history - and a lot about herself. Great chick-lit read for girls aged 11+.

Synopsis: Rosa is surprised to discover tarot cards hidden in the wardrobe of her down-to-earth mum. Inextricably drawn to the cards, Rosa is rather shocked to find that she has a talent for using them, but even more shocked by her mother's fierce reaction to this. Unable now to resist the temptation to discover more, Rosa delves into her mother's background and finds it weirdly tangled with that of the mother of her new friend, Andy. As the two of them investigate what happened when their mothers were young, they tentatively develop their own feelings for each other too.

Review: Excellent story, hot characters. This one just rattles along, with beautiful dialect dialogue and family tensions. Teenaged girls who pore over horoscopes and worry about boys will love this one!

Book Description: The fantastic, spine-chilling debut novel from Dean Vincent Carter

Synopsis: When young magazine journalist Ashley Reeves receives an intriguing letter, he leaves his London office in the hope of reporting on an unusual species of insect - the Ganges Red. That evening he arrives on Aries Island and encounters the writer of the letter - Reginald Mather. At first Mather seems no more than an eccentric collector, happy to live in isolation on the island. But when Reeves unearths the horrific truth, he finds himself thrown headlong into a macabre nightmare that quickly spirals out of control. His life is in danger ...and Mather is not his only enemy ...Both gruesome and compelling, chilling and page-turning, this much-anticipated thriller from Dean Vincent Carter will delight older readers.  Review: Like Stephen King at his best, this is a chiller of a debut novel, with references to such horror luminaries as Bram Stoker and H P Lovecraft. It's difficult to see how Reeves can survive at times, and the horrific discoveries he makes on the island in the Lake District are gruesome and graphic. Dean Vincent Carter has an assured future - this is a title adults will want to look at more than kids, I think, but that's not  bad thing. Fantastic!

  Book Description: Set in a turbulent period of Anglo-Saxon history at St Hilda's abbey in Whitby, this is the gripping story of Cwen, an impoverished weaver unjustly accused of stealing a priceless necklace from the queen, whose plucky daughter, Wulfrun, is determined to prove her mother's innocence. Synopsis: Anglo-Saxon England and Cwen, a poor weaver woman, employed at the newly built abbey of Whitby, is accused of possessing a valuable necklace belonging to the royal family. If found guilty, the punishment could be death by stoning, burning or hanging. Wulfrun, Cwen's daughter, is desperate to prove her mother's innocence, but wherever she turns for help, she encounters lies and treachery. In this time of political turbulence in the north-east of England, everyone has something to hide or is fighting for a cause in particular the beautiful Irminbergh who, entrusted with the care of the king's daughter, Princess Elfled, is determined to keep Wulfrun from influencing her charge. But it is Elfled who, after a stormy start, becomes Wulfrun's staunchest ally. Together they undertake journeys on horseback, battle against wind and weather, trace people from the past and remain undaunted by the imminent threat of danger from marauding armies. Their determination is rewarded by its results. Here is a superb storyteller at her best - "Wolf Girl" is a novel that will hold the reader turning the pages, until the last twist of the plot is revealed. Review: Our knowledge of dark age England is fast becoming clearer as Bernard Cornwell gets to grips with it. Younger adults will welcome TheresaTomlinson's foray into the Anglo-Saxon era with this excellent and well-crafted adventure. Girls will find it hard not to identify with Wulfrun, and boys will enjoy the action. Appealing to both sexes, a great adventurestory for the modern readership.

Only the completely original and unalloyed Jeapesian imagination could think of launching a full-scale alien invasion right into the middle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army, as well as a young King Charles II, face the full might of the powerful Holekhors as alien airships fly in the skies over seventeenth century London. This is an extraordinary and thrilling novel, entirely original, and based in one of the most interesting periods of English history. Read about what MIGHT have happened in the seventeenth century - life could have been very different for us all. Review: Might-have-been alternative histories are all the rage right now - I enjoyed the pace and the dialogue thoroughly, but I must confess I got a little lost - I wasn't sure where the Holekhors were from or what was their ultimate intention - presumably to conquer England then rule the world - it is, after all, entitled The New World Order. I'm new to Ben Jeapes - I loved the excitement, and the characters, a mix of both real and fictional, was handled expertly and brilliantly. This is sure to appeal to a wide section of teenaged readers.

Synopsis: Flame-haired Princess Torina knows nothing of battles and conquest, until her father, the king of Bellandra, returns home with an orphaned prince from the neighbouring enemy kingdom. The boy prince is offered to Torina as a slave, but she frees him from his bonds and their unusual friendship develops in the years that follow. But Torina faces terrible danger - she has an amazing gift that many would kill for, and when her father is brutally murdered, she is forced to flee for her life. An evil usurper takes over her rightful throne, and the kingdom is ruled by cruelty and fear. Can Torina's gift - to look into the future of others - help her win back what is rightly hers? This is an epic fantasy of extraordinary scope and vision. Its twists and turns will leave readers breathless. Review: Epic fantasies (as Random House describe this) fall into two camps; the first camp sets its stories in a fictional world, sometimes off-Earth, as in Star Wars, for example, the second in an alternative Earth, such as the Hyperborean Age of Conan the Barbarian, and Lord of the Rings. It's not clear into which camp The Seer and the Sword is set, but it doesn't really matter, because above all, it's a romance. I was reminded of Raymond E Feist, and I suspect Feist might be a major influence for Victoria Hanley - not a bad thing at all. Characters are great, the plot is something that's done before, but maybe not for children, who will love it. Great stuff.