Paper Dragons: Fight for the Hidden Realm by Siobhan McDermott

Pages: 315

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books 

Released: 1st of February 2024 

An extraordinary destiny unfolds . . .

Twelve-year-old Zhi Ging has always been an outcast. Until she receives an invitation to Hok Woh, an underwater school that offers her the chance to become immortal, and to finally belong.

There, she battles in hair-raising boat races, meets ageshifting tutors and competes in thrilling trials.

But there are rumours of a growing dark force . . . and students who fail the trials are disappearing. Can Zhi Ging uncover the truth before it's too late?

What I Have to Say 

This book had everything I love in Children's books combined to make one beautiful book. It was comforting and relaxing to read while also taking me on a wonderous adventure to explore a new creative and imaginative fantasy world, which I fell in love with straight away. 

The thing I loved most was Hok Woh. The society of the Cyo B’Ahon was so interesting, having people who have attained immortality doing research and inducting others into their ranks. I loved the jellyfish that they used to communicate, because that seemed like a really cool idea. 

The only thing that was missing for me, was that I would have liked to see more of the paper dragons that are alluded to in the title. I'm sure we'll get to see more of what they are as Zhi Ging explores her magic more, but they were very lacking for a book with such an interesting title. 

That's my hope for the next book, which I will definitely be rushing out to buy! That and more Malo because I loved him so much. 

 

4.5 stars 

My thanks goes Netgalley and Hodder for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

The Body in the Blitz by Robin Stevens

Pages: 464 

Publisher: Puffin 

Released: 12th of October 2023 

March 1941. Britain is at war, and a secret agency called the Ministry of Unladylike Activity is training up children as spies - because grown-ups always underestimate them. Enter May, Eric and Nuala: courageous, smart, and the Ministry's newest recruits.

May's big sister Hazel has arranged for them to stay on a quiet street close to the Ministry, home to an unlikely collection of people thrown together by the war. And it is in the basement of the bombed-out house at the end of that street that they discover something mysterious. Something that was not there when the Blitz wreckage was first combed through. Something that has been placed there recently. A body...

Could this be the missing Ministry spy that Daisy Wells is on a dangerous mission in France to find? Or could it be someone else - someone a resident of the street wanted silenced . . . ?

What I Have to Say 

I was gripped by this book from the moment I picked it up. There's something truly comforting about Robin Steven's writing. You can fall deeply into the book and just be completely engrossed. I honestly struggled so much to put it down. 

I've always loved the diversity in Robin Steven's books. Bringing in gay characters and Asian characters. This book hit a new high. Not only has Steven's now announced that Daisy has autism, but one of the main characters in this book has ADHD. In this book there's also a character with one leg, a deaf character and characters with different races and nationalities. Although in the case of some of the characters (especially the Neurodiverse ones) she can't say exactly their identity in the book, she has stated it in the Author's Note and made it very clear in the text. The only thing I would like is a bit more empathy towards May's ADHD. I expect it's coming, that the characters will in later books be much more compassionate towards the way May's brain works, because that's the way Robin Stevens writes diverse characters, so I look forward to that. 

I guessed a few things about the mystery which I was pretty proud of, Stevens put in as many twists and turns as usual so I expect it's that I've got cleverer rather than her becoming predictable. All in all a very good mystery as usual. 

If you or you children haven't picked up these books yet, you are seriously missing out. These are the very best in Children's Mystery Fiction. 

5 stars 

My thanks goes to Puffin and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Alebrijes - Flight to a New Haven by Donna Barba Niguera

Pages: 338

Publisher: Piccadilly Press 

Released: 3rd of October 2023 

This is the story as it was told to me by Leandro the Mighty.

For 400 years, Earth has been a barren wasteland. The few humans that survive scrape together an existence in the cruel city of Pocatel - or go it alone in the wilderness beyond, filled with wandering spirits and wyrms. They don't last long.

13-year-old pickpocket Leandro and his sister Gabi do what they can to forge a life in Pocatel. The city does not take kindly to Cascabel like them - the descendants of those who worked the San Joaquin Valley for generations.

When Gabi is caught stealing precious fruit from the Pocatelan elite, Leandro takes the fall. But his exile proves more than he ever could have imagined - far from a simple banishment, his consciousness is placed inside an ancient drone and left to fend on its own. But beyond the walls of Pocatel lie other alebrijes like Leandro who seek for a better world - as well as mutant monsters, wasteland pirates, a hidden oasis, and the truth.

A thought-provoking and beautifully written novel, creating a whole new imaginative world, that holds a mirror to our own.

What I Have to Say 

This is a really strong and hopeful sci-fi story for young readers. Though I didn't enjoy it as much as The Last Storyteller, it still had a plot and setting that drew me in completely. I loved learning about the society and how the technology they had ran on a single drop of water! 

The story wasn't as smooth as in The Last Storyteller, which was always going to appeal to me more because I love stories so much. But I loved the idea of putting your consciousness inside a drone and flying about. I loved all the animals that Leadro met. I did find though that I quickly forgot which animal was which character though as it was only mentioned when they were introduced. Some of them have the Spanish name for the animals though, so if you speak Spanish, you'll have an advantage remembering them! 

As with The Last Storyteller, this book is filled with Spanish! I loved how bilingual it was, even though I don't speak Spanish. It would be absolutely perfect for bilingual kids. Be advised though, though this was almost standalone, to make sense of the epilogue, you have to have read The Last Storyteller, so the best way to read them is with TLS first and then this one. 

Read for dystopia, sci- fi and cool drones! 

 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Piccadilly Press for providing me with this copy for review. 

Fablehouse by E. L Norry

Pages: 372 

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books 

Released: 8th of June 2023 

Unlock the legends. Unleash the magic. Save your home.

Fablehouse, a mysterious mansion surrounded by ancient woodland, is Heather's new home. Roaming the countryside with some of the other mixed-race kids who are in care there, she finds a stone tower that feels strangely magical. There they meet Palamedes, the Black knight from King Arthur's court. He warns them that danger lurks in a world beneath their feet.

Heather, Pal and friends set off to rescue children who have been taken to this threatening underworld. No child will be forgotten on their watch. Heather and friends realise they have been specially chosen for this quest. They must use the talents they've been given in the battle to save Fablehouse and all the children who have found shelter there.

What I Have to Say 

Diverse characters, friendship and Arthurian legends, this book has it all. I devoured it. I loved all the children and their personalities, I loved the sense of danger there was to their adventures and I loved the way they worked together to save Fablehouse. 

The thing that touched me most was how strong the message was that even if you're different and feel like you don't fit in (as these children do because of their mixed heritage), you can still find your place in the world and make a difference. These are children who have been swept aside because it inconveniences people to acknowledge their existence and yet they still find each other and with Pal's help go after the fae that are threatening their home and the entire world.  It was beautiful. 

I don't have much more to say other than just read this book! Buy it for the child in your life! Buy it for yourself! You won't regret it. 

5 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Children's Books for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Walker Books 

Released: 4th of April 2023 

Internationally bestselling superstar author Angie Thomas makes her middle grade debut with the launch of an inventive, hilarious, and suspenseful new contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore.

It’s not easy being a Remarkable in the Unremarkable world. Some things are cool—like getting a pet hellhound for your twelfth birthday. Others, not so much—like not being trusted to learn magic because you might use it to take revenge on an annoying neighbor.

All Nic Blake wants is to be a powerful Manifestor like her dad. But before she has a chance to convince him to teach her the gift, a series of shocking revelations and terrifying events launch Nic and two friends on a hunt for a powerful magic tool she’s never heard of...to save her father from imprisonment for a crime she refuses to believe he committed.

What I Have to Say 

This book is so beautiful! It's the book that every black kid deserves to have. Steeped in Black history and folklore, I can see how it was truly a book that was needed in the genre. 

The world that Angie Thomas has built is well remarkable! I'm hoping to explore more of the remarkable cities and culture in the next book because that's the best part of any magic society book. This book gave us a tantalising glimpse into the magic world and I am so hungry for more. 

I didn't know a lot of the folklore in the book, so I'm definitely gonna do some research into it as there were a lot of references I didn't get. In the end, I think it wasn't written for me. It was written for Black American children and I'm really glad to see more and more writers writing for them. 

Can't wait for the next book! 

4 stars 

My thanks got to Walker and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Little Women (a retelling) by Laura Wood

Pages: 132 

Publisher: Barrington Stoke 

Released:  6th of April 2023 

Bestselling author Laura Wood brings the adventures of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy to even more readers in this beautiful retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age classic.

Little Women, the charming story of the brave and resilient March sisters, has been adored by generations of readers who have identified with the struggles of kind and pretty Meg; gentle, delicate Beth; precocious, artistic Amy; and of course wild, tomboyish Jo, determined to forge her own path and become a writer.

Follow the girls as they come of age during the American Civil War and fall in love with the story all over again in this retelling by award-winning writer Laura Wood.

What I Have to Say 

A heartwarming and faithful retelling, that captured the heart and soul of the original, this book is perfect for anyone who wants to read Little Women but finds the original a bit long. Whether for younger children, or anyone who finds reading a struggle, or even people who just want a taste of the book with setting aside the time to read the whole thing, this retelling covers all the important moments of the first half. 

I read the original book a while ago, so can't remember all the details, but the most important thing about the book to my mind is the relationships of the Marsh sisters. This book set them up perfectly and succinctly, getting enough on the page to show the different personalities and the ups and downs of their relationships with each other, while still remembering that the reader is young or possibly dyslexic. It has all the intricate details while catering to the reader. 

I definitely would recommend this to anyone struggling with the full book. I really hope they continue on and do the second half, originally called Good Wives. 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Barrington Stoke for providing me with this copy for review. 

Tilly and the Lost Fairytales by Anna James

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books 

Released: 19th of September 2019 

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. The curl-up-on-the-sofa snuggle of a series from a uniquely talented author.

Tilly Pages is a bookwanderer; she can travel inside books, and even talk to the characters she meets there. But Tilly’s powers are put to the test when fairytales start leaking book magic and causing havoc . . . 

On a wintery visit to Paris, Tilly and her best friend Oskar bravely bookwander into the land of fairytales to find that characters are getting lost, stories are all mixed-up, and mysterious plot holes are opening without warning. Can Tilly work out who, or what, is behind the chaos so everyone gets their happily-ever-after?

What I Have to Say 

The second book in the Pages & Co series and it's managed to be even better than the first! Though I am biased as I just love fairy tales and anything involving them. And it was set in Paris! What could be better?

The fairy tales and how they worked with book wandering was definitely the best part. It was obvious that James had really thought about the oral tradition of fairy tales, as well as the fact that there are so many different versions of them and how this would affect the rules of book wandering that she had already put in place in the first book. I loved her idea of wild and changeable fairy tales and how easy it is to wander off the path and get completely lost inside the story, unable to return home. It connected beautifully with the heart of fairy stories, and the danger and moral messages contained in them, so beautifully. And it made it fun and exciting when Tilly and Oskar end up lost inside a book of fairy tales.

The politics of the book wandering community was possibly the only thing that put me off the book, though I feel that's more about my own incredible fed-upness about real world politics at the moment, more than the politics in the book itself (although they did seem to mirror our political climate a bit). However, the political scenes and issues were interesting and menacing and I'm looking forward to seeing how they impact further on Tilly and Oskar's book wandering.

I'm also so excited to see how the fact that Tilly is half fictional will impact things, especially with the new abilities that were revealed in this book! I can't wait for the next instalment.

My thanks go to Harper Collins and Netgalley for providing me with this free copy for review. 

The Fire Maker by Guy Jones

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 256

Publisher: Chicken House Books 

Released: 4th of April 2019 

Alex loves magic – its glamour, tricks and illusions.

He’s good at it, too: he’s reached the semi-finals of a prestigious competition for young magicians. But when he stumbles into eccentric Mr Olmos’s back garden while running from his former best friend, Alex sees something he can’t explain: three tiny flames floating in the air. Fire magic. Real magic. Soon, Alex and Mr Olmos are swept up in a great adventure of secrets, genies and an ancient, bitter rivalry ...

What I Have to Say 

Magic, adventure and adorable little baby jin, what's not to love! The story was maybe a little predictable concerning who was going to come after the Ifrits, but there were things that I really didn't see coming. 

Alex was a really good character and I loved his former friend turned bully and their story-line. I felt it was just a really good story-line between them both with all stuff that had happened between them and the way their story develops. 

Mostly though I have to admit, I loved the Ifrits. I loved the way that these little baby Jin were described and the way that their connection with Alex worked. I loved Sally and the way she became a particular friend to Alex through a bond that works without any language. It's so interesting to see a communication that exists without language and it was really well written. 

This was just a really good adventure story with great characters, a good plot and a few surprises. 

My thanks go to Chicken House and Laura Smythe  for providing me with this copy for review and for giving me the opportunity to be part of this blog tour. 

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 240

Publisher: Puffin
Released: 4th of October 2018 

The original, magical story with a brand new cover from Quentin Blake! 

October 2018 marks 30 years since Matilda was published! This brand new jacket comes with a never-before-seen illustration of Matilda as the Chief Executive of the British Library - one of the careers that Quentin Blake himself has imagined that Matilda might have at 30 years old.

Matilda Wormwood

A remarkable child with a magical mind.

Mr and Mrs Wormwood

Matilda's parents - liars, swindlers and TV addicts.

Miss Trunchbull

Headmistress of Crunchem Hall and the world's biggest bully.

Bruce Bogtrotter

Chocolate-cake-eating extraordinaire!

These are just some of the unforgettable characters from this classic story by the world's number one storyteller - now with a brand-new cover design from Quentin Blake to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of Matilda.

What I Have to Say 

I grew up as a book loving child in a house full of books. Matilda was one of my favourite movies. I must have watched it hundreds of times over the year. So it seems crazy to me that up until now I hadn't actually read the original book! I have no idea why I never read it, I think it's a book I would have adored as a child. 

Unpopular opinion time: I never really got along with Roald Dahl. I read a lot of the books but there were only a couple that I actually liked and if I'm honest, even those I liked the movies more than the books. I just find them a bit gross. The descriptions of a lot of the characters, especially the villains, the way that Dahl as the narrator talks about the kids... Reading this as an adult, made the bits that I didn't like really clear to me. Especially as I could compare the bits I really enjoyed about Matilda to the bits  I really didn't like about the other books. Such as the Twits, which I really hated and is mostly comprised of the gross grotty bits.

Aside from my dislike of Roald Dahl, I really did enjoy reading this book. Despite how I feel about it, Dahl is a massive part of my childhood and it really took me back to that and to the movie that I really loved. It was nice to see the new illustrated cover by Quentin Blake (be sure to check out the other covers that have been released for the 30th anniversary) and it's so great to finally know that I've read this book and what I've thought about it. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Curse by Sam Hearn

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 160 

Publisher: Scholastic Fiction 

Released: 2nd of August 2018 

Welcome to Baker Street Academy, where there's always a mystery to be solved! Luckily Sherlock Holmes is on the case, with his friends John Watson and Martha Hudson. Told through Watson's diary, with energetic comic-strip illustrations, this introduction to Arthur Conan Doyle's classic characters will have every young super-sleuth hooked!

What I Have to Say 

A fantastic introduction to the Sherlock Holmes characters for any young reader. This book was an amazing blend of comic strip type illustrations, prose, emails, and so much more! It showcased so many different ways that there are to tell a story, but still with the classic voice of John Watson threaded through to tell the story in his diary as a nod to the original books. 

This is the second book so I was coming in after not reading the first adventure. There were a lot of references to it, including Moriarty being in Switzerland sending ominous, vaguely threatening postcards, which were wonderful and hilarious. So I do think that reading them in order is a good idea, but it didn't put me off too much, so it's not essential.

The story itself was really clever. I figured it out pretty quickly, but I think that is more about the fact that I'm a grown up who's read a lot of mysteries, including a few of the original Holmes books, so I feel that when I was younger I wouldn't have found the twist so obvious, because it is a good twist! Just a little overdone in Sherlock Holmes re-imaginings.

This is definitely a book for a young budding detective!

My thanks go to Scholastic for providing me with this copy for review. 

Into the Jungle by Katherine Rundell

Synopsis (from Goodreads and Netgalley) 

Pages: 240

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books 

Released: 20th  of September 2018 

This wise and witty companion to Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 classic is likewise a series of connected stories about the man-cub Mowgli and his adventures among the animals in the Indian jungle. It includes all the original favorites like Baloo and Bagheera and gives female characters, like Mother Wolf, a more prominent role in Mowgli’s upbringing. The timely theme of the possibility of understanding and empathy across species, cultures, and genders will resonate with contemporary readers.

What I Have to Say 

This book was the best, not only were there several amazing short stories about the characters in the Jungle and their childhoods, there was also a main overarching plot that tied them all together and brought all the characters into play for the dramatic finale. It was wonderful exploring the world of the Jungle Book through new perspectives and seeing more of the characters that don't get so much attention. 

As always with short story collections, some of the stories stood out more than others. I loved the one about Kaa and the story of Mother Wolf's encounter with Shere Khan, but I also like the bits in between that showed Mowgli's character so beautifully. I loved the restlessness of him and the way he went around asking for stories from the animals around him. 

This wouldn't be a complete review without mentioning the beautiful illustrations by Kristjana S. Williams. The first picture took my breath away as I wasn't expecting such an amazing, detailed, full colour illustration. It became clear very quickly that I'm going to need to buy a finished copy of this absolutely beautiful book, which looks like it's going to be stunning. 

I'm not a massive fan of the Jungle Book. It was there in my childhood but it was never one of my favourites, but Into the Jungle really made me want to watch it again and read the book. I think it would be a great book for fans, but also for any reader who just wants to see Rundell's take on it. 

 

My thanks got to Netgalley and Macmillan for providing me with this copy for review. 

Boy Underwater by Adam Baron

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 256

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books 

Released: 1st of June 2018 

Cymbeline (yes, really!) has never been swimming – not ever, not once – so he’s a bit nervous at the prospect of his first school swimming lesson ever. But how hard could it be? He’s Googled front crawl and he’s found his dad’s old pair of trunks. He’s totally ready for this.

But he’s not ready for an accident at the pool to reveal a family mystery that turns his life completely upside down. Only Cym and his friends can solve it because, as usual, the grown-ups aren’t telling them anything.

For the answers you really need, sometimes you have to go deep..

What I Have to Say 

This was so much better than it sounded from the blurb. I'd been hearing a lot of how great it was, so I thought it was worth a read and I'm so, so happy that I went for it because despite the stupid name and the ridiculous attempted to try and learn how to swim from the internet (I mean seriously, he just seemed to be way too dumb for his age). But they had a really super smart girl to contrast him, showing how kids can be smart and maybe it's just that there's a range of different intelligence. 

The mystery part was amazing. With his mother disappearing, his dad out of the picture and this mysterious connection to swimming and water that no one will ever talk about. Add in Cym and his friends and it makes a nice crack team of child investigators ready to solve this mystery. 

The conclusion was brilliant. I loved how it all came together and how dramatic it was. A fantastic mystery with great characters for any fan of children's books. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Harper Collins  for providing me with this copy for review. 

Mirror Magic by Linda Chapman (illustrated by Lucy Fleming)

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 160

Publisher: Stripes Publishing 

Released: 6th of April 2017 

Do you believe in magic?

Maia and her friends do! And when they meet the Star Animals, a whole world of magical adventure unfolds.

When Maia meets Bracken, a fox with indigo eyes, she is amazed at how beautiful and unusual it is. Then she realizes that she can hear the fox speaking to her! Maia and her friends are Star Friends – girls who can use magic to keep the world in harmony.

Maia’s older sister has started acting strangely and the Star Animals sense dark magic at work. Can the girls use their newfound Star Magic to help them put a stop to it?

What I Have to Say 

This is a cute series with such a good message at the heart of it. The Star Friends fight of bad magic and create a better world. In the case of this book, it's a mirror which puts feelings of jealousy and inadequacy into the mind of Maia's older sister. 

The animals are cute and the girls are diverse. Their magic is interesting as it takes on a different form for each other the girls. Whether it's healing, athletic skill or the ability to see into the future, each girl gets a power suitable for their personalities. 

I think that this is a great book of empowerment  and magic for any younger reader. 

My thanks go to Stripes Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Clover Moon by Jacqueline Wilson

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Doubleday Childrens

Released: 6th of October 2016 

Clover Moon’s imagination is her best escape from a life of hardship in poverty-stricken Victorian London. When tragedy plunges her into a world of grief, Clover realizes that everything she loved about the place she called home is gone. Clover hears of a place she could run to, but where will she find the courage – and the chance – to break free? And could leaving her family be just what she needs to find a place that really feels like home?

What I Have to Say 

Ever since I was a little girl, Jacqueline Wilson's books have been a great comfort to me. I great up adoring The Lottie Project and Secrets, being taught about boys by the Girls in Love series. Saying that these books were a big part of my childhood is an understatement. So going back to them now brings me a lot of comfort. 

While I do find the stories a little more similar than I did when I was young (Wilson loves her stories of children going through hardship, running away to find a better life, often with writers), they are still great stories, stories that capture the imagination and make you feel for the characters through their struggles. 

While I've only recently been reading Wilson's stories of Victorian children, I feel that I can say with out a doubt that these are a good choice. Whether you're gifting them to a child, or looking for your next read, they are a great choice. 

My thanks go to Doubleday Childrens and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Accidental Secret Agent by Tom McLaughlin

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 240 

Publisher: Oxford University Press 

Released: 2nd of June 2016 

Schoolboy turns secret agent in this hilarious spy spoof! Before you read this, I want you to carefully check that no-one is reading over your shoulder - go ahead, do it now. First off, that was terrible - really obvious. If I'm going to tell you top secret government information, you're going to have to be a bit more stealthy. Try again. Was anyone looking? No? Right, then I'll begin. This year the secret service made a major mix up, they mistook a 13-year-old boy called Kevin for a secret agent (I know, so much for an 'intelligence' agency). This was the sort of kid that would try and zip wire across a building and end up falling head first into a fountain with his bum on show, so can you imagine what happened when he was allowed access to the amazing sort of spy gadgets that James Bond would use? Despite this, it was up to Kevin to save us all from an evil supervillain. It was the most dangerous, daring mission in the history of the secret service, and also its biggest blunder.

What I Have to Say 

There's something really enjoyable in reading books like this. Books that from the very start are made up of completely wild concepts that make it clear that this isn't something to take more seriously, because the joke is in the very title. It's a hilarious concept to set up the jokes to come. 

I think I liked the sister best. It may be because I'm a girl, but I found it really amusing how she swept in and did a lot of the actual spy work with more competence. Although I enjoyed Kevin stumbling along trying to do these things, I just gained a lot of enjoyment in how good at the spywork his sister actually was. 

This book is definitely a great one for any boy or girl who daydreams about being a spy. The humour is very good and will lead to a very entertaining read. 

My thanks go to Oxford University Press for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Girl In The Well is Me by Karen Rivers

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 224

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Released: 15th of March 2016 

Newcomer Kammie Summers has fallen into a well during a (fake) initiation into a club whose members have no intention of letting her join. Now Kammie’s trapped in the dark, growing increasingly claustrophobic, and waiting to be rescued—or possibly not.

As hours pass, the reality of Kammie’s predicament mixes with her memories of the highlights and lowlights of her life so far, including the reasons her family moved to this new town in the first place. And as she begins to run out of oxygen, Kammie starts to imagine she has company, including a French-speaking coyote and goats that just might be zombies.

What I Have to Say 

This was a very quick and easy read. I pretty much read the whole thing in one sitting. There were funny bits and sad bits and very strange bits for example when Kammie was running out of oxygen. I felt it really captured the stream of consciousness of a young girl and the disorientation of her situation. 

However, even though this is written for a younger age range than I often read, I felt that it was perhaps written down too much, The fact is that kids are a lot smarter than adults often give them credit for. 

Even so, it was a nice little story. It went through many themes of bullying, identity and changing to fit in, as Kammie reflects on her struggles to make a place for herself in her little town in Texas. A cute read, but not really one that will stay with me for long. 

Superhero Street by Phil Earle

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 192

Publisher: Orion Children's Books 

Released: 25th of February 2015 

Mouse is desperate to be a superhero. To find that power that will make him stand out in the crowd. But his every attempt ends in failure. He can't even get any attention at home as his five brothers (triplets AND twins) take every second of mum and dad's attention. When mum foils a bank robbery while on duty as a lollipop lady, she and Mouse are lauded as superheroes. Joining forces with Mouse are The Z List - a group of unlikely crime-fighters. But in their midst is a traitor hell-bent on revenge. Will Mouse be super enough to spot this danger, and is he brave enough to do anything about it?

What I Have to Say 

I have so much love for this book. I'd only read Phil Earle's Young Adult books before picking up Superhero Street, so I wasn't sure how he'd write for children. It's so different, but I like both of his styles. His Middle Grade books are far less serious. They're written in a style that reminds me so much of Roald Dahl, a lighthearted approach to writing with a lot of funny jokes and asides to the reader. 

I loved Mouse a lot and definitely need to go back and read Demolition Dad so that I can catch up with the characters on Storey Street before the next book comes out, because this is certainly a series that I want to continue reading. 

The illustrations by Sara Oglivie weren't the style of art work that I really like, but they were really funny and enjoyable. They definitely added a lot to the story and were worth the extra minute it took my tablet to load as a I turned the pages. 

This is a definite read for children who like superheros or even children who you want to introduce to superheros. I also think that reading it as an adult is really enjoya