Tag Archives: Action

Bitter Sixteen

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Bitter Sixteen by Stefan Mohamed

Book of the Week: 10 May 2015

Bitter Sixteen
Whilst most of us have sometimes wished we have superpowers, or were the sort of hero who could fight multiple bullies, fly and move things with our minds, we might not imagine this kind of hero lives in a small town in Mid-Wales. Stanly Bird is an unremarkable fifteen year-old who likes reading and who has just got a part in the school play, when on the first minute of his sixteenth birthday he finds himself floating above his bed. This gives him more of a shock than the fact that he has owned a talking dog for the last twelve months. Daryl is no ordinary talking dog, he is a big film fan and provider of sound advice to Stanly. His wise council is needed more than ever now that Stanly has to come to terms with his growing powers and his attraction to Kloe, his co-star in the school production of Romeo and Juliet.
Events start to get serious when a confrontation at school means than Stanly moves to London to find his cousin Eddie, someone his parents seem to disapprove of without telling him why. Things then take on a much more superhero-like feel as hints of supernatural monsters and sinister onlookers, who may or may not be out to manipulate Stanly and even do him harm, start to appear.
The plot has many elements that are familiar from the superhero genre but the style is sparky and funny with some wonderful turns of phrase and two excellent characters in Stanly and Daryl. The first half of the book is quite leisurely but builds to some exciting, gory and sometimes disturbing, action scenes.
Two more books are planned in the series: ‘Ace of Spiders’ and ‘Stanly’s Ghost’. Stefan Mohamed is an author to watch.
See a brief book trailer here

Little Brother

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Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow
Book of the Week: 8 February 2015
littlebrotheruk

Marcus Yallow, a 17 year-old San Franciscan high school student and hacker, is used to getting into trouble because he ‘goes through school firewalls like wet kleenex’. Then, on the day of an attack on the Oakland Bay Bridge, he and his friends are detained on suspicion of being terrorists and his definition of being in trouble ramps up several notches. Marcus is eventually released but is so angry and shaken at the way in which his civil rights have been violated that he starts a teenage rebellion against the Department of Homeland Security.

This is a powerful polemic about the rights of citizens, government surveillance and the power of the internet with a very interesting bibliography about hacking and freedom of information. Some readers may find this controversial or irresponsible and some aspects of the plot make it a book more suitable for older readers.
The author has a website which allows anyone to read the book for free.
The Common Sense Media website has a guide for parents or for anyone who wants to check out the suitability of games, books and films.It has an entry for ‘Little Brother’. However, it is American and British media and material from other countries is under-represented.
Common Sense Media
If you enjoy books like ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ by George Orwell or ‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley, you may enjoy ‘Little Brother’ and its follow-up, ‘Homeland’.

Night Runner

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Night Runner

by Tim Bowler

Book of the Week:18 January 2015

Nightrunner

Zinny feels the whole world is against him and now there’s a man in the street watching his window. Why is a man in such a flash coat hanging around in a down-at-heel part of town and what is his interest in Zinny’s house?

This story starts with a feeling of menace and tension and doesn’t let up until the end of what is a short, but fast-paced read. Zinny has plenty of problems: an abusive father, an overworked mother and being bullied at school, but the arrival of Flash Coat (as he calls the sinister gangster who watches his house) tops them all. The threats of violence from the gang are grittily convincing, as are Zinny’s efforts to protect his family and his efforts to escape. The book is not called ‘Night Runner’ for nothing; the scenes where Zinny races through the streets are edge-of-the-seat stuff.

If you like Tim Bowler’s ‘Blade’ series or just enjoy fast-moving thrillers, this book is for you.

The author’s website is here

Shadow of the Wolf

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Shadow of the Wolf
by Tim Hall
Book of the Week: 4 January 2015

Shadow

A book with a striking cover that does not show the title or the author’s name, Shadow of the Wolf, is the story of Robin Hood with a supernatural element.

“Robin Loxley is seven years old when his parents disappear without trace. Years later the great love of his life, Marian, is also taken from him. Driven by these mysteries, and this anguish, Robin follows a darkening path into the ancient heart of Sherwood Forest. What he encounters there will leave him transformed, and will alter for ever the legend of Robin Hood.” (Book blurb)

Most reviewers seem to agree that the book changes tone about halfway through and becomes much darker but also more exciting.

Grisliness and violence may make this unsuitable for younger readers.