Monthly Archives: March 2015

The Mysterious Benedict Society

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The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Book of the Week: 22 March 2015

Mysterious Benedict Society

When a peculiar advertisement appears in the newspaper for children to take part in a secret mission, children everywhere sit a series of mysterious tests. In the end, just four children succeed: Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance. They have three things in common: they are all honest, all remarkably talented and all orphans. They must go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened where the only rule is that there are no rules. There they must work as a team to save not only themselves, but also the world outside the walls. (Source: publisher’s blurb)
This is the first in a series, published in 2009, that made the New York Times bestseller list. If you enjoy books such as A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch or Roald Dahl’s stories, you may enjoy this.
You can read excerpts on the series website 

Half a King

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Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Book of the Week: 15 March 2015

Half a King

“There was a harsh gale blowing on the night Yarvi learned he was a king. Or half a king, at least.” Why half a king? Yarvi has ‘half’ a hand because he has been born with several fingers missing and he knows his father, the king, only considers him ‘half a son’ with this disability. When the story opens, Yarvi learns that his father and brother have been killed and he now must become King of Gettland and defend his country against the enemies that surround the Shattered Sea. Yarvi only feels a huge sense of apprehension at the task before him. He was studying to become a ‘minister’ and be learned in the use of plants and other languages, not swordsmanship and the art of war. Can he rise to the task? Things very quickly go wrong for Yarvi and this sparks a series of grueling events that will test the limits of his endurance.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this plot and lots of blood-curdling action. Every character has his or her dark side and virtually no one is straightforward. There is less nobility on show than in The Lord of the Rings but less violence and mayhem than in Game of Thrones. Although it is a fantasy it reads more like a Viking saga so don’t expect dragons and mythical creatures.

Joe Abercrombie has already written six books for adult readers and specializes in a genre sometimes called ‘grimdark’ that emphasizes the darker side of fantasy. This is his first book in a trilogy for young adults that has already garnered dozens of glowing reviews. His website is here and there is a trailer for the book on YouTube

Smart

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Smart

by Kim Slater

Book of the Week: 8 March 2015

Smart

When an elderly man is found drowned in the River Trent, only 14 year-old Kieran and a Jean, a homeless woman, think it is suspicious. It’s hard to get anyone to listen because Jean has fallen on hard times and is reckoned to be mad or ‘cuckoo’ by the locals, and Kieran is bullied and called names at school and at home by his stepfather and stepbrother. Everything seems hopeless, but Kieran has two heroes: the late artist L.S. Lowry and Martin Brunt, a Sky News crime correspondent, who are a constant source of inspiration to him. Kieran finds it hard to fit in and do what’s expected but he is a talented artist, a logical thinker and very observant. He sees things that other people miss and has his loving mum and grandmother to back him up and the support of Jean and his wise teaching- assistant, Miss Crane. Against the odds, he sets out to solve what he considers to be a crime.

The story is reminiscent of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon and The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd but has a charm all its own. It has a grittier edge than these books and good sense of place. Kieran is the sort of character you feel like cheering for by the end of the book.

This is Kim Slater’s first book for young adults. You can read the beginning of the book on her website here http://www.kimslater.com/projects/