SKYLARK (Skylark #1) by Meagan Spooner PUBLISHER: Corgi RELEASE DATE: 7th February 2013 FORMAT: Paperback, 352 pages GENRE: Dystopian, Young Adult Vis in magia, in vita vi. In magic there is power, and in power, life. For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the…
The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate Corgi Childrens (Jan 2011) | Paperback, 248 Pages Romance | Mystery | Young Adult This is a modern retelling of Macbeth, with Natalie Hargrove obsessed with being crowned the next Palmetto Princess. She has always been popular, and works hard to maintain her position as ‘Queen Bee’ in school. Her handsome boyfriend, Mike is not very interested in becoming Palmetto Prince, but to Natalie he must, and she’ll take care of anyone who stands in his or her way. This sounded like a…
BLACKLANDS by Belinda Bauer PUBLISHER: Corgi RELEASE DATE: 2nd Jan 2011 FORMAT: Paperback, 346 pages GENRE: Crime/Thriller Twelve-year-old Steven Lamb digs holes on Exmoor, hoping to find a body. Every day after school, while his classmates swap football stickers, Steven goes digging to lay to rest the ghost of the uncle he never knew, who disappeared aged eleven and is assumed to have fallen victim to the notorious serial killer Arnold Avery. Only Steven’s Nan is not convinced her son is dead. She still waits for him to come home,…
Title: Crawlers Author: Sam Enhoven Publisher: Corgi (RHCB) PublicationDate: April 2010 ARC: 263 pages Genre: Horror Young Adult Source: Review Copy Reviewed by: Carolyn RATING: 6/10 – good SUMMARY BACK COVER: Four boys and four girls are on a trip to the theatre. Little do they know that they will never see the play. They’re about to be plunged into a nightmare. Beneath the theatre lies a secret. And now she has been released… REVIEW: ‘Crawlers‘ is a fun, entertaining YA horror that reads like a teenage horror flick but…
The Splendour Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore Corgi (Jan 2010) | Paperback, 513 pages | Paranormal YA Firstly, I will say that I did enjoy The Splendour Falls. It is an interesting and intriguing read, with paranormal and romance elements combined with a little mystery. One of the things I liked most was Sylvie, the main protagonist. Sylvie’s character is great. She is quite a refreshing change to the many young girls who fall at the feet of male suiters. Sylvie is a very mature seventeen year old and I really liked the way…
Title: The Wisdom of Dead Men Author: Oisin McGann ReadingLevel: Young Adult Publisher: Corgi Childrens PublicationDate: 3 Sept 2009 Paperback: 469 pages Rating: 7/10 Summary (book Cover) As the head of the rich and ruthless Wildenstern family, Berto is determined to change their cruel ways. And Nate, his younger brother, must protect him while he does so. But the burned remains of women are being discovered in and around the city. Nate joins his sister-in-law, Daisy, to investigate the deaths, and they quickly realise that it’s not just their back-stabbing relatives they need to…
Title: Double Cross (Noughts & Crosses #4) Author: Malorie Blackman Publisher: Corgi Childrens PublicationDate: 6 Aug 2009 Paperback: 434 pages Young Adult Source: Review Copy Reviewed by: Carolyn RATING: 7/10 – Very good. BOOK COVER SUMMARY: Tobey wants a better life – for him and his girlfriend Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he’s offered the chance to earn some money just for making a few ‘deliveries’, just this once, would it hurt to say ‘yes’? Once…
Title: Checkmate (Noughts & Crosses #3) Author: Malorie Blackman Publisher: Corgi Childrens Publication Date: 7 Sept 2006 (this edition) Paperback: 511 pages Young Adult Source: Review Copy Review by: Carolyn RATING: 8/10 – Brilliant, couldn’t put it down. BACK COVER SUMMARY: Callie Rose has a Cross mother and a nought father in a society where the pale-skinned noughts are treated as inferiors and those with the dual heritage face a life-long battle against deep-rooted prejudices. Sephy, her mother, has told Rose virtually nothing about her father, but when Rose unexpectedly…
Title: Knife Edge Author: Malorie Blackman Age Group: Young Adult Publisher: Corgi Publication Date: 30 June 2005 (this edition) Paperback: 364 pages Rating: 8/10 Summary (back cover): Sephy is a Cross, one of the privileged in a society where the ruling Crosses treat the pale-skinned noughts as inferiors. But her baby daughter has a nought father. Jude is a nought. Eaten up with bitterness, he blames Sephy for the terrible losses his family has suffered. Now Jude’s life rests on a knife edge. Will Sephy be forced, once again to…
