The Twelve by Liz Hyder & Illustrated by Tom de Freson - #bookreview

 

Someone is sneaking around my bedroom.

My eyes snap open and I'm alert in the dark. Hot under my duvet. No one's allowed in my room without permission, not even Mum.

***

The Blurb

It’s supposed to be a treat for Kit, a winter holiday by the coast with her sister Libby and their mum. But when Libby vanishes into thin air, and no one else remembers her, Kit is faced with a new reality – one in which her sister never existed.

Then she meets Story, a local boy who remembers Libby perfectly. Together they embark on a journey beyond their wildest imagination into a world steeped in ancient folklore. Can Kit and Story uncover the secret of the Twelve and rescue Libby before Time runs out?

My Review

This was such a beautiful book to read. It is aimed at a young adult readership but as a reader whose youth was many moons ago, I thought this was a great book to read.

The main character, Kit, was well realised and easy to identify with. She is brave, courageous and determined to help her younger sister Libby. The book is written from Kit's perspective and so we see how the plot plays out through her eyes. 

Kit's new friend, Story is an equalling engaging character and is highly likable. I really enjoyed seeing their friendship develop. They are both very introverted characters and they worked extremely well as a pair.

Although this is marketed as a fantasy novel it is so much more besides. The story is actually rooted in the real world but with fantastical elements, some time slip and a little romance thrown in. I found all of the characters, both the young and old, to be highly believable.

There is a strong theme of nature running through it, and the effect that climate change is having on the natural world. However, it never feels as though the author is preaching. The story just highlights how as humans we are causing havoc to the world around us.  I absolutely did not anticipate the conclusion of the book, but I was very happy with the outcome.

I loved the story mixed in with folklore and myth.  The author's writing was lovely and she describes the world in which her characters live beautifully. I almost felt I was there with Kit at times. This is a super book, and I highly recommend it.

Book Details:  

ISBN:  978 1782693987

Publisher:  Pushkin Children's Books

Formats:  e-book and hardback

No. of Pages:  256 (hardback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Waterstones

Amazon UK

About the Author

Liz Hyder has been making up stories ever since she can remember. She has a BA in drama from the University of Bristol and, in early 2018, won the Bridge Award/MoniackMhor’s Emerging Writer Award. Her first novel, Bearmouth, won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Readers, the Branford Boase Award, and was TheTimes’s Children’s Book of The Year.

Liz can also be found at:

Linked In

Twitter /X

Instagram

lizhyder.com

About the Illustrator

Tom De Freston is an artist based in Oxford with his wife, Kiran Millwood Hargrave. His practice is dedicated to the construction of multimedia worlds, combining paintings, film and performance into immersive visceral narratives.

Tom can also be found at

tomdefreston.co.uk

Instagram

(media courtesy of the publisher)

(author/illustrator photos courtesy of their websites liz.hyder.co.uk / tomdefreston.co.uk)

(all opinions are my own)

(bookshop.com affiliated)

Pax and the Forgotten Pincher by David Barker - #spotlight #blogtour

 I am so pleased to be shining the spotlight on this book today as next week, I will be back with a book review. This is the second in the London Falling series. I read the first book, Pax and the Missing Head, last year and you can find my review by clicking here. In the meantime, let me tell you a little about this book...

The Blurb

Pax has made it through the trials of his first year at Scholastic Parliament, but any hopes of a quieter second year are quickly dashed when he makes a shocking discovery in the school’s basement. A new student joins the school, acting suspiciously and muscling in on Pax’s friendship with Samuel. At least being reigning champions in the Parliamentary Polls allows Pax and his friends to explore the city at weekends. But drone raids and cyber-attacks disrupt life in New London while a paranoid mayor cracks down hard on terrorism.

Unwittingly, Pax helps an innocent man get captured. Driven by guilt, he seeks out the Underground resistance movement and is given a mission to steal some codes from the mayor. In the process, Pax uncovers the shocking truth about a new factory that threatens the lives of millions of people. He is torn between stopping this latest sinister plot and focusing on schoolwork to keep alive his dream of becoming an engineer. To achieve both, he’ll need help. But who can he trust in a city full of falsehoods? What sacrifices will he need to make? Find out in the latest instalment in the London Falling series.

ISBN: 978 1837914968

Publisher:  Tiny Tree Books

Formats:  Paperback

No. of Pages:  208

About the Author:

David attended the Faber Academy in 2014 and from that had three climate-fiction thrillers published (The Gold Trilogy, Bloodhound Books). He joined SCBWI in 2018 as he shifted his focus to a younger audience. His Middle Grade debut, Pax & The Missing Head publishes with Tiny Tree in late 2023. He lives in Berkshire with his wife and daughter and has a passion for stories, sport and boardgames.

(book and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure - #bookreview

 

A man called Lu Fang stole Alva's mother in Grand Ballroom B of Shanghai's Imperial Hotel. The 88,888-yuan luncheon wedding came with five cold appetizers, two soups, four meat dishes, three seafood dishes, plus Western-style black pepper steak, sugar-cream cake, and artificial flower bouquets. So expensive, yet so tasteless, Alva thought as she took in the windowless function room, the musty red-and-gold carpeting, the fabric petals scattered over each banquet table. Nothing like the white and pastel wedding of American movies, the candles and gazebos, the bridesmaids in their flowing gowns. Then again, her mother wasn't that kind of bride...

***

Shanghai, 2007: feeling betrayed by her American mother’s engagement to their rich landlord Lu Fang, fourteen-year-old Alva begins plotting her escape. But the exclusive American School – a potential ticket out – is not what she imagined.

Qingdao, 1985: newlywed Lu Fang works as a lowly shipping clerk. Though he aspires to a bright future, he is one of many casualties of harsh political reforms. Then China opens up to foreigners and capital, and Lu Fang meets a woman who makes him question what he should settle for...

A mesmerising reversal of the east–west immigrant narrative set against China’s economic boom, River East, River West is a deeply moving exploration of race, identity and family, of capitalism’s false promise and private dreams. 

***

This fabulous book is being published today, and when I was offered an advanced readers copy I jumped at the chance to read it. I enjoy reading books which are set in China. I have a daughter-in-law who is Chinese and I always embrace the opportunity to learn more about her country and culture.

Written with a dual narrative and timeline, Lu Fang, who is Alva's Chinese stepfather, tells his part of the story beginning in 1985 when he first meets Alva's American mother, Sloan. The narrative of Alva who is of mixed American/Chinese heritage picks up in 2007 and the author weaves these two narratives together seamlessly.

Both of the main characters made this book relatable and Ms. Lescure clearly understands her characters and completely inhabits them. Both Alva and Lu Fang were interesting in very different ways. However, what binds them together is Alva's mother, and that they both share the American dream. Alva longs to leave her Chinese school and to enrol in the International School in order to mix with the American expat community. Lu Fang wants nothing more than for his son to go to America to make a name for himself and his family. Both envisage a status that they do not feel is possible to achieve in China.

By contrast, Alva's mother Sloan, does not want to return to America. For her, China allows her to be someone of significance, to stand out in a crown and to attract the attention that she craves. This made for an interesting reversal of the East/West immigrant story through China's modern history.

However, it was familiar in it's description of the teenage experience. There were many occasions when I could forsee the danger that Alva was getting herself into. As a reader, I wanted to shout at her in order to stop her progressing any further down such a dangerous path. I was completely invested in her story. Equally, there were times when Lu Fang's narrative moved me to tears.

The writing in this book is beautiful and there were times it took my breath away. I can hardly believe that Aube Rey Lescue is a debut writer and she is definitely one to watch. It is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 0715655399

Publisher:  Duckworth Books

Formats:  e-book and hardback

No. of Pages:  352 (hardback)

About the Author:

Aube Rey Lescure is a French-Chinese-American writer who grew up between Shanghai, northern China and the south of France. After receiving her BA fro Yale University, she worked in foreign policy and has coauthored and translated two books on Chinese politics and economics. She was an Ivan Gold Fellow, a Pauline Scheer Fellow, and an artist-in-residence at the Studios of Key West and Willapa Bay AiR. Her fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in Guernica, The Best American Essay 2022, The Florida Review online, and more. She is the deputy edotor of Off Assignment.

(ARC courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

Never Trust a Gemini by Freja Nicole Woolf - #BookReview

 

I cannot stop dreaming about Alison Bridgewater. This could be because it's Libra Season... Love and relationships are on everybody's minds during Libra Season, according to my Bible to the Stars - or my Book for Blithering Idiots, as my Dad calls it. But it could also indicate that I'm reaching dangerous and dizzying new heights of my Alison Bridgewater Obsession, which is not good news, as I'm dizzied almost to death already!

They're very innocent dreams: Alison and me walking hand in hand across Tower Bridge in London... Alison and me playing tag on a white-sand beach...

***

Life is fraught for fourteen-year-old, zodiac-obsessed Cat. First there’s a minor bus-meets-girl accident, then there’s a boy-next-door suitor who can’t take a hint, but the most desperate disaster of all is Cat’s crush on the stunning and poetic Alison Bridgewater.

According to their star charts, Cat and Alison are the perfect match. To which Alison (woe alas!) remains oblivious.

But when the dangerously cool Morgan Delaney wades into the river to save Cat's sketchbook of kissing Disney princesses, she sends Cat’s stars spinning.

Can Cat get over her Alison obsession and follow her heart towards Morgan? Or should she exercise caution? After all, Morgan is a Gemini, and if there’s one thing Cat’s Bible to the Stars has taught her it’s that you can never – ever – trust a Gemini…

***

This book is aimed at teenage readers and particularly those of the LBQT+ community. Having said that - and speaking as a hetrosexual woman whose teenage years seem but a distant memory - I absolutely loved this book and was sorry when it came to an end.

The main character, Cat, is a fourteen year old lesbian who has yet to come out. She has a crush on her straight close friend, Alison, and the reader very quickly realises that this aspect of the story is not going to end well. Cat is one of the most adorable teenage characters that I have come across recently. She is clumsy, often says the wrong thing and lives her life according to her horoscope.

In fact, the book is divided into astrological sections and the plot plays out against Cat's understanding of what should be happening within this astrological time frame. I had a good chuckle at some of her expectations as well as the way in which she interprets it and attempts to apply to her life.

I am not a follower of horoscopes, but this book made me curious and I went to look up what the stars predict for me this week. I was surprised to read that it said that I should seek out something fun to help me access my inner child. This book had certainly done that as it was a very fun and easy read and I really enjoyed it. I guess that means that the stars aligned perfectly for me with this book!

What I most enjoyed about this book was that it was not an issue led narrative. Rather, the author has created a fun and interesting story centred around a main character who is a teenage lesbian. Ms. Wolf has done an excellent job in portraying her characters in such a believable and accessible fashion. I equally liked the secondary characters. Who could fail to like Jamie, Cat's accidental boyfriend?

This is a great coming-or-age story that will delight teens and adults alike.

ISBN:  978 1529509991

Publisher:  Walker Books

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:   320 (paperback)

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

About the Author:

Freja Nicole Woolf’s writing is absolutely not autobiographical. (Except for the bits that are.) She’s been writing since school and, at the über-ancient age of twenty-four, she finally wrote her debut, Never Trust a Gemini, as a joyful, romantic alternative to the issue-led LGBTQ+ stories she grew up with. She lives in London and aspires to be a Capricorn. Unfortunately, she's a Pisces. Never Trust a Gemini, is her debut novel and is published by Walker Books.

(book courtesy of the publisher)

(author info courtesy of The Bent Agency)

(all opinions are my own)

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.