Monthly Archives: January 2016

An Island of Our Own

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An Island of Our Own by Sally Nicholls

Book of the Week: 31 January 2016

An Island of Our Own

 

If you’d like a break from gritty dystopian thrillers or stories with superhuman central characters, try this sparkling, real-life adventure.

Thirteen year-old Holly is being brought up by Jonathan, her nineteen year-old brother, and together they look after seven year-old Davy. Jonathan’s dad left their Mum, and Holly and Davy’s dad died of peritonitis. When their mother dies, Jonathan is left as guardian and has to give up his chance of going to university in order to get a job and care for his family. They all do their best but they have very little money and live in a constant muddle where every small disaster wrecks their finances. Then, their wealthy and eccentric Aunt Irene dies and leaves them a photo album, which might just provide clues to buried treasure and provide them with an inheritance. Jonathan is weighed down by responsibility but Holly is an optimist and looks for help in the form of their local maker-space; a rag-tag collection of inventors, technicians and boffins who might help them solve their puzzle.

One of the things that makes this uplifting book stand out is the idea that many people you will meet on life’s journey are helpful and kind and true villains are thankfully few and far between.

The book has been shortlisted for lots of book awards and you can read more about it on Sally Nicholl’s website.

The Edge

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The Edge by Alan Gibbons

Book of the Week: 24 January 2016

TheEdge-AlanGibbons

 

Our Literary Festival takes place this week and we are looking forward to welcoming our guest, Alan Gibbons, on Thursday. Here is one of his best-known books, ‘The Edge’, which was one of the seven books shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2002.

The story opens with Danny being woken by his Mum, Cathy, so they can escape her abusive partner Chris, followed by a dramatic race for freedom as Chris, whom Danny has named ‘The Animal’, chases them through the streets of London.

Together they make their way north to Cathy’s home town and the Edgecliff estate where her parents, Harry and Joan, still live. Danny is relieved to be away from the controlling, short-tempered Chris but he finds himself exposed to a new set of problems: his grandfather is harsh and resentful and he has to confront the racist attitudes of people on the estate and in his new school, something that was never a problem in multicultural London. Then there is the constant, underlying worry that one day Chris will find them and exact his revenge.

The tension and feelings of unease are ever-present in this story told from multiple viewpoints that provide insights into even the most dislikable characters’ motives, including the bullying and violent Chris Kane – a thoroughly chilling villain.

If you would like to find out more about Alan Gibbons and his books, his website is here.

Never Evers

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Never Evers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Book of the Week: 17 January 2016

Never-Evers-website

 

With the School ski trip coming up, we can assume that Mr Groom would not want the kind of experience that Mr Flynn, the teacher in Never Evers, has to deal with.

Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison have followed up their very funny (and quite rude) book, Lobsters, with this story aimed at a younger readership.

Mouse (real name Matilda) has failed to make the grade in ballet school and has to return to her old school, only to find friendships have moved on and that she has to hang around with Connie and Keira who are not as cool as her old friends. She also feels ashamed to own up to the reason why she left ballet school. Her mum thinks going on the school ski trip will help her reintegrate with her classmates, so she unwillingly complies.

Meanwhile, another school trip arrives at the same resort. Jack, Max and Toddy are in band but don’t do much performing and can’t decide what to call themselves. Their main motivation for the trip is to meet hot girls and go on a date with them. The only problem is that Jack is clueless and lacks confidence, Max has way too much of it and Toddy is shy and geeky. To highlight their hopelessness a French pop star called Roland, who is portrayed as a bit of a European Justin Bieber, turns up at the resort and creates mayhem.

Whilst not providing as many laughs as Lobsters, this is a good-natured and warm-hearted story with some sympathetic characters and believably embarrassing situations.

Read more about the book, including an extract here.

Stuff Matters

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Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik

Book of the Week: 10 January 2016

Our second Book of the Week of 2016 is an information book.

Stuff matters

Engineer, writer and broadcaster Mark Miodownik starts his book by relating what happened to him when he was stabbed on the London Underground as a schoolboy in 1985. Strangely enough, this was a catalyst for a lifelong fascination with the materials that make up our world, a fascination that he puts across so enjoyably in Stuff Matters.
Each chapter begins with a picture of him sitting drinking coffee in his rooftop garden in London, an arrow pointing to an object in the picture, such as paper or concrete. He then shares his knowledge of the history, chemistry and the social significance of such materials as steel, paper, concrete, chocolate, foam, plastic, glass, graphite, porcelain and implant.

Full of fascination with materials from silica aerogel, the lightest solid in the world to a piece of fulgurite in the centre of a decorative scarab found on the body of Tutankhamun that is 26 million years old, Miodownik writes in lively, clear style that leaves the reader feeling almost as enthusiastic about material science as he is himself. I know that Mr Browning, Head of Design and Technology, has read and enjoyed this but even if you don’t take DT, it’s a fascinating read.

Mark Miodownik’s website is here:
http://www.markmiodownik.net

Jekyll’s Mirror

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Jekyll’s Mirror by William Hussey

Book of the Week: 3 January 2016

Happy New Year! Our first book for 2016 is a horror story, inspired by The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, centred on cyber-bullying Here is the book’s blurb:

Sam is a tortured soul, but his darkest hour is yet to come, when he’s invited to take part in ‘Project Hyde’. A new social networking site where users can enjoy total anonymity . . . it’s exhilarating at first, until Sam notices that the other users are becoming obsessed with the program . . . addicted to the cruelty they are inflicting online. Sam watches with a growing sense of horror as his classmates turn into something unrecognisable.

For the truth behind Project Hyde is this: it doesn’t simply change WHO you are, it changes WHAT you are.

One click away from Evil’s new domain. Are you ready to face the truth?

Jekyll-Mirror-cover-large-002

Here is a review by Sue Creed on We Love This Book and the author’s website is here