The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross

This book is brilliant. I recommend it to anyone looking for a thriller to take them into another world of magic. When I started ‘The Queen’s Rising’ I knew straight away that I wouldn’t be able to put it down. The plot is not just intriguing but also enjoyable.

The book is about a girl of 17 called Brienna approaching her last summer solstice at Magnolia House, Valenia. In Valenia, the education system is of patronship. There are five passions - knowledge, wit, music, art and dramatics - and you can be trained in any one of the passions. Magnolia House runs a seven year program, allowing girls to embrace any one of the five passions during their time.

However Brienna has a difficult past that she must accept; Valenia’s enemy is Maevena and Brienna holds a dual citizenship. To make it all worse, Brienna doesn’t have an obvious passion like most people, so after attempting one passion for each of her first five years, she settles with knowledge. At the summer solstice though, Brienna isn’t chosen by any of the patrons and is forced to stay on at Magnolia.

Eventually the Dowager finds Brienna a patron, but he is an undercover Lord of Maevena - which is split into 14 pieces. But he is also one of three lords that rebelled 25 years ago…

The book draws you in and I’m sure I could rave about it for hours but you won’t like that - because I think you have some serious reading to do! I can’t wait for ‘The Queen’s Resistance’!

FictionFan1 Rating: 10/10

If you liked this author you might like: J.K Rowling, SharonCreech

About the author: Rebecca Ross grew up in Georgia, USA where she still lives with her husband. She has had many jobs including a school librarian but ‘The Queen’s Rising’ was her debut novel which she published recently in 2018.

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Coming up soon: Stay tuned for my next reviews.

Duo of Sarah Lean books: 

The Riverbank Otter and Duckling Days

I would recommend these two amusing books to a slightly younger age group (7+). They were very entertaining and made me think about my grandmothers and our society today.

The Riverbank Otter

There is only one way to say this: May Days, grandmother to Tiger Days, is not your storybook grandmother. In fact, she is not very normal at all.

                                                                                           

This story is about a girl called Tiger. Her grandmother, May Days, lives at Willowgate House, and when Tiger visits, there is always a surprise waiting for her. In ‘The Riverbank Otter’, Tiger makes a new friend, Lucky, an otter. She is given important jobs by the vet, to feed and care for Lucky, but also to find him a suitable home on the river.

Meanwhile, things with her friend Tom are starting to get a bit complicated. Tiger wants the old boatshed to be a nature-spotters den, but Tom wants to be a pirate explorer. They fix up an old boat and use it to both of their advantages. This book has a happy ending and I enjoyed it.

Duckling Days

Once again, I enjoyed this book, but I felt younger children could also enjoy it.

In this escapade, Tiger is asked to look after some duckling eggs. Soon enough, the ducklings are making mischief wherever they go as they learn to walk and swim. But, they need a home and Tiger has to find one.

To add to this drama, Tiger finds out some information and thinks May Days is going to go back to Africa! She discovers the history of Willowgate House, uncovers mysterious secrets and reorganises an event which used to be annual as well as finding hidden artefacts! It sure is a busy trip for Tiger, May and their duckling friends!

FictionFan1 Rating: 7.5/10

NOTE: These are the 3^rd and 4^th books in the series of four but I don’t think it matters if you haven’t read the others.

If you liked this author you might like: Holly Webb

About the author: Sarah Lean is an English children’s author. Her most famous book is ‘A Dog Called Homeless’ which she wrote in 2012.

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Coming up soon: Stay tuned for my next review of ‘Tin' by Pádraig Kenny.

Perijee and Me by Ross Montgomery

I heartily enjoyed Perijee and me. It is full of surprises and carries a strong theme throughout the book- it is never right to hate. This book is about a girl called Caitlin, 11, who is out for a walk on the beach after a meteor shower and discovers a small ‘shrimp-like’ creature, who has a tendency to grow and to eat. 

Caitlin must find him a home - somewhere where he can’t get away until her father, an expert on aliens, returns home from a tour. On meeting Caitlin’s father, Perijee grows and a monster emerges out of him. Soon enough, he runs away and Caitlin is forced to accept he is gone. But then, on the news a catastrophe occurs.

A monster is terrorising the city and the city is flooded. The country is camped and these camps are guarded heavily. Everyone wants to kill Perijee, and finally Caitlin escapes the camp.

She makes a friend, loses two friends and finds herself on a boat as a sacrifice, before she is saved.

This book is so engaging and emotional as well! I was laughing, crying and angry as I read Perijee and me and it reminded me that we can’t always be right and there is prejudice in the world, and we can’t make a huge change, but every small change helps.

FictionFan1 Rating: 9/10

If you liked this author you might like: Sally Nicholls, Katherine Rundall

About the author: Ross Montgomery tours the country as a children’s author, and writes wacky books for young teens and small children.

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Coming up soon: Stay tuned for my next review of two books that I have received from Harper Collins. Thank you Harper Collins!

A Message to the Sea by Alex Shearer

I picked up this book in the library wondering what sort of book it would be. The plot was both original and intriguing. It turned out it wasn’t quite what I expected, but in a good way. I think this book is very similar in style of writing to Michael Morpurgo.

‘A Message to the Sea’ kept me hooked, and I’m tempted to look for other Alex Shearer books in the future. The main protagonist in this book is a young boy, named Tom Pellow. A year prior to the beginning of the book, his dad died at sea, but as Tom lives with his mother and sister near the sea, instead of the sea making him sad, it almost reassures him, like a father.

Tom throws a bottle in to the sea, as a way of ‘unbottling’ his feelings - get it? - but doesn’t expect a reply. Soon Tom writes more and more letters, in the hope of discovering his father’s whereabouts as he starts to discover some interesting facts...

Tom’s uncle works on a ferry, back and forth, back and forth every day, but he never gets tired of it. Near where he works, cargo ships are moored, waiting for when they are needed. The book also picks up on some conversations between two men painting one of the two ships, and the end of the story comes as a surprise.

This is the sort of book where at the end you just think, I should have known that would happen, or other things along those lines. I for one got to the end and thought, that was so obvious, how could I have missed that connection. But that just makes it an even better book, so go on, give it a try, and please comment below and subscribe by email!

FictionFan1 Rating: 8.5/10

If you liked this author you might like: Rebbeca Stead, SimonMayo, Michael Morpurgo

About the author: Shearer is a British novelist who was recognised aged 29 as a television scenario writer after having produced 30 works.

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Coming up soon: Stay tuned for next review of The Honeymoon Sisters by Gwyneth Rees

Piglettes by Clémentine Beauvais

What can I say? Piglettes certainly leaves an imprint on my heart, that’s for sure! I finished it recently and was sad to see it end, because it was so meaningful.

Piglettes is the first person tale of three girls, the medallists of their school online ‘Pig Pageant’. They unite, all for different reasons, and set off to gate-crash a presidential garden party, in Paris, a six day cycle away. Accompanying them is Hakima’s older brother, who is a double amputee. They share the same motivation, to strip an army officer of his bravery medal, for he was the cause of Kader’s disability.

Astrid, however, is a die-hard fan of the Indochines, a band that will be performing at the garden party. Mireille is heading off for a completely different reason. She has the intention of informing her father, the husband of the president, that he has a daughter, a fifteen year old daughter to be precise.

So together with three bicycles, a wheelchair, a trailer and several sausages, the group set out on their unlikely quest. Along the way encounter another type of fame, one they’re not as used to, and an unbreakable friendship.

This story motivates me to stand up for our rights, and reiterates an important concept; nobody is ugly and everyone has the potential to be their own hero.

FictionFan1 Rating: 8.5/10

If you liked this author you might like: Sharon Creech, Laurel Remington, E.B White 

About the author: Clémentine Beauvais is French and has written many novels, mainly for adults, but some for children and teenagers. Piglettes is the English translation of Les Petites Reines and was translated by Clémentine Beauvais.

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Coming up soon: Stay tuned for next review of Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundall

The Secret Cooking Club by Laurel Remington

When I first read this book I absolutely loved cooking, it was my favourite hobby, and not to boast, I was pretty good at it too. Some things in life never change, but some do. I still have a passion for cooking but unfortunately it’s not the same urge it used to be. So I read this book, having chosen it for the title, not even having read the blurb, which for me is very rare, and really enjoyed it.

All this was nearly a year ago, but it still often visits my bedside table, something to pull me back in to the real world if I have read something too graphic, or even too boring. Now, these visits also make me realise how lucky I am.

We live in a world where, let’s face it, society is not always equal, and bullying is not just a story, but most of us have a chance to leave that world every now and again, through perhaps a book, a holiday, a friend, or even just a hug.  The Secret Cooking Club gives me a window in to that ideal world. All the events in it could easily be real and that just gives it an air of happiness, even understanding.

To give you a brief synopsis, The Secret Cooking Club gives you an insight into the life of a 12 year old named Scarlett. She is both the star and victim of her mum’s blog and wishes she could fall through a hole in the ground every Friday when her mum’s blog is published. Hopefully that is not the case for any of my lovely readers!

When her neighbour is taken to hospital and Scarlett visits to feed the cat, she discovers a huge kitchen, just on the other side of her living room wall. Scarlett finds herself returning, and soon forms a cooking club.

This book gives some reassurance that there is always good in the world, and you can always make the best of a difficult situation. I would tell you more but then I would have to have a big red sign saying !!!SPOILER ALERT!!! so I won’t, but once you’ve read it please comment below!

FictionFan1 Rating: 8.5/10

If you liked this author you might like: Rebecca Stead, Holly Smale, and Cathy Cassidy

About the author: Laurel Remington writes children’s and teen fiction and is also a mum to three girls. Her daughters love to cook and provided inspiration for this novel. She also visits schools to encourage children to read and write more.

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Coming up soon: Stay tuned for future reviews.