The Set-Up by Sophie McKenzie

Series: Medusa Project, Book One

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: Paperback (Waterstones Exclusive Edition)

Published: 2^nd May 2009

Number of Pages: 320

Book: Bought

Genre: Science-Fiction, Realistic-Fiction, Thriller-Suspense, Action-Adventure, Mystery, YA, YA-Children Crossover

Recommended Age: 11+

Contains: Mild Violence, Swearing

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Blog: Sophie McKenzie

Fourteen years ago, scientist William Fox implanted four babies with the Medusa gene – a gene for psychic abilities.  But Fox died and the babies were hidden away for years.

Now they’re teenagers – and unaware that their psychic powers are about to kick in.

Cocky, charismatic Nico thinks his emerging telekinetic abilities will bring him money, power and the girl of his dreams.  He’s about to find out how wrong he is…

                                                                   Review:

Over a decade ago, four babies were implanted with a gene known as the Medusa gene.  Its purpose?  To bring out psychic abilities.  But the scientist behind the experiment, William Fox, died, and the identity of the babies became unknown.  Now, all four are teenagers, with no clue of the powers that are inside them.

Nico Rafael’s power is telekinesis, and he’s certain that it will bring him everything he ever wanted – including the girl he’s loved for years.  But Nico is about to find out that sometimes, everything is not as it seems.  And that not everyone can be trusted…

This one had been sitting on my shelf for ages, just waiting to be read.  I can’t believe I left it for so long!  Just like all her other books, it was awesome!  Fast paced, strong characters, believable relationships, wonderful writing.  Plus: superpowers!  Call me juvenile, but who doesn’t want superpowers?!  The Set Up was a fun, funny, super-power-packed book, which left me addicted and itching for Book Two.  Another winner from Sophie McKenzie!  Loved it!

Nico was great: fun, snarky and very resourceful.  I just loved his sense of humour.  Although, I just can’t believe some of the things he used his power for!  He really loved Ketty – not having her as a friend devastated him.  Plus, everything he did, he did for Ketty: totally sweet.  On the other hand, he was kinda stupid and reckless sometimes: an act-before-I-think sort of character.  I loved him!

Ketty (short for Keturah, eek!) Wilshire was sweet, Nico’s best friend.  She was addicted to running, and wasn’t that interested in girly, material things.  She was… practical.  Even though at one point I felt like yelling at her, overall I really liked her. 

Ed O’Brien was the new kid at school.  He was super smart, really nice, and kind of geeky.  Also… sort of a goody-two-shoes – a bit of a snitch.  But, as the book went on, he got more confident and sarcastic: I like him better snarky!

Dylan Fox was an odd character.  She seemed distant and almost… smug? to begin with.  She was also rather arrogant.  But she was good at jumping into action, with the: perfect drawl.  She was aggressive, but so vulnerable, damaged, broken.  And: wonderfully sarcastic.  All the way through, I wondered what she was hiding…  I started off unsure of her, but by the end I got her.  She had more backbone that anyone gave her credit for – than I gave her credit for.  I loved Dylan – she was the character I actually wrote the most notes on.

And there were two characters I swung between trusting, and being completely suspicious of.  I just could not make up my mind on whether or not they were good.  And I actually completely misjudged one of them!  Don’t you love people you can’t guess about?

Some twists… ok, I guessed (I’m a top-notch guesser).  But others… completely threw me.  And don’t you love surprises?  Guessable plots can be majorly boring, and therefore twisty books are lovely!

The best bit about this book was, by far, the action and super powers.  Or more specifically, the parts where there was action AND superpowers.  And how the abilities came about was also super cool (pun intended).  And the different powers were just awesome.  Mind reading, future seeing… it was all so, so brilliant!  I want a superpower, please!

The Set-Up was a quick, fun read, with great characters and action.  Sophie rocks!  And Nico’s the best!  I can’t wait to see where all the characters go, where the plot goes…

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Blood Ties and Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie

Hero.Com by Andy Briggs

Time Riders by Alex Scarrow

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

Happy Reading

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Book Challenge (Hosted The Bookette)

Off the Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenges)

Megan

Witch Child by Celia Rees

Series: Witch Child, Book One

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: Paperback

Published: Originally: 2000

This Edition: 6^th July 2009

Number of Pages: 256

Book: Bought

Genre: Historical, Magic, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Fantasy, Children-YA Crossover

Recommended Age: 11+

Contains: Nothing Unsuitable

Shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize

Pages from a journal are loosely sewn into a quilt.  A quilt that lies undisturbed for more than three hundred years until it is carefully taken apart for cleaning and out of its folds falls a powerful and moving story.  The story of Mary – granddaughter of a witch.

A taunt, exciting novel, Witch Child holds the reader gripped throughout.

Review:

“I am Mary.  I am a witch.”

Witch Child tells the story of a girl named Mary, whose grandmother was hanged for being a witch.  She had to leave, before the townspeople turned on her as well.  And so she was taken away from the only home she’s know by a mysterious woman she’s never met, Mary is sent to America for her own safety.  But life aboard a ship of Puritans heading to the New World is just as dangerous as it was back home in England – maybe more so.  Can she keep her secret?  Or will she be discovered, and killed just as her grandmother was?

I was captivated, and literally devoured Witch Child.  It was an amazing, powerful story, and it was insanely addictive.

Told from Mary’s point of view, it’s written in the form of a diary that was found sewn into the seams of a quilt.  As I read, I felt like I had travelled back to the 1600s, and there were loads of little details that just made the history feel alive. 

Mary was a brilliant character, strong and brave.  I loved her spirit, and found myself feeling everything she felt.  Her voice was unique, and her emotions intense: she was an entirely believable character.

The supporting characters were brilliant as well, and all very real.  Jaybird, the Native American Indian boy; Martha, the Puritan who took Mary in; Reverend Johnson, the one who believes he’s a prophet of God, who I believe is really the evil one.  There were so many amazing characters, and they all went together to form a brilliant, realistic world.

The thing I liked most about this book was the history behind it.  The witch trials both fascinate and horrify me, ever since I learnt about them at the very beginning of high school.  It amazes me how narrow minded people can be, and how healers can be seen as “spawn of the Devil”.  Did you know that at least 250,000 women were killed, and in some villages were left with no women at all?  (I’d just like to point out that I didn’t actually get that from the book, it’s just a weird piece of information that I’ve remembered, for some reason or another.)  And the Native American Indian history and beliefs intrigued me too: how the settlers forced them out, their ideas on spirits, the way they live.  I wouldn’t have thought that the two would go together so well, but they did, and I loved the way they did.

The only downside: the concept of magic and witchcraft was left unclear.  Mary hinted at visions, controlling storms and voodoo-like dolls, but nothing was confirmed...  Unless that’s what Celia Rees meant for it to be like... to make you think, to wonder...

Overall, Witch Child was a brilliantly written story with authentic, unique characters and an amazing plot.  It was intense, addictive and ended with a horrible cliffhanger. Even though it’s written for 11+, I think everyone can enjoy the history in it!

Finally, a simple question:

Do you believe in magic?

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper

Sovay or Pirates! by Celia Rees

The Merrybegot by Julie Hearn (I Recommed This One: Another Witch-Trials Book)

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Book Challenge (Hosted by The Bookette)

A-Z Reading Challenge (Hosted by Book Junky)

Off The Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenge)

Books For Children, Reviewed By Children

Silver Fin by Charlie Higson

Ok, so some of you may know of William,  a boy I know, because he wrote a review a little while ago on my blog.  He really wanted a blog of his own, but settled for writing reviews on mine.  Here's his second review!  (:

Series: Young Bond, Book One

Publisher: Puffin

Format: Paperback

Published: This Edition: 2008

Originally: 3^rd March 2005

Number of Pages: 400

Book: Bought

Genre: Action, Spy, Adventure, Children-Young Adult Crossover

Recommended Age: Preteen: 9+

Contains Mild Violence and Swearing, Death, Suspense
Read By: William, Age 9!

Before the name became a legend.

Before the boy became the man.

Meet Bond.  James Bond.

There’s something in the water at Loch Silverfin.  Something deadly.  Something that must be kept secret...

It’s James Bond’s first day at Eton, and already he’s met his first enemy.  This is the start of an adventure that will take him from the school playing fields to the remote shores of Loch Silverfin and a terrifying discovery that threatens to unleash a new breed of warfare.

Review:

I started reading this the minute I finished Jimmy Coates (see my review: here), and it was unputdownable!  It took a while to set the scene, but then it got to the action and I was addicted.

When the term at Eton finishes, James Bond goes on the train and makes an enemy, George Hellebore and a new friend Red Kelly.  When he gets to Scotland, he goes to his uncle’s cottage and his friend Kelly is in the same village.  The two boys go to Lord Hellebore’s castle and discover that the Lord is evil...

James was a good character, because he was cool, smart, brave and focused on discovering the truth.  He was brave like the grown-up Bond, but he wasn’t as aggressive.

Red Kelly was a good fighter, and taught James how to sneak into places, as he’d done it before and even burgled a little bit!  He was the one that did all the swearing, because he did it quite a lot, which I found amusing.

Lord Hellebore was good at being a villain, and was very secretive.  He pretended to be good, but was actually evil!

Silverfin had a brilliant plot and story.  It was epic!  I’m definitely reading the next story in the series soon!

William Out For Now...

Star Rating:5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz

Jimmy Coates (Revenge, reviewed by me, William!) by Joe Craig

James Bond the Movies

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant by Darren Shan

Series: The Saga of Darren Shan, Bind-Up One

Books It Includes: Cirque du Freak

                                                    The Vampire’s 

Assistant

                                        Tunnels of Blood

Publisher: HarperCollin’s Children’s Books

Format: Paperback

Published: Individually Published: 2000

This Edition: 2009

Number of Pages: 512

Book: Bought

Genre: Horror, Urban Fantasy, Action, Children, Children-YA Crossover

Recommended Age: 9+

Darren Shan is an ordinary boy, until he and his best friend Steve visit the weird and bizarre Cirque Du Freak, where they come face to face with a creature of the night.  Then Darren has to confront his deepest fears and sacrifice everything as he enters a darker world to become the vampire’s assistant...

Featuring the first three adventures in the internationally successful series The Saga of Darren Shan.

Review:

 These three books reminded me of that child-like fear of monsters, a time when the fear is more innocent and almost realistic.  I’m not sure what it was about the books, but they just took me back to my first horror novel, that scared me far more than it should have, and haunted my nightmares a little.  Of course, these books didn’t scare me witless, but the writing and the story brought the memories back to me.

This is definitely a book for younger readers – young teens or pre-teens, maybe 9 year olds and above – and I can see why for that age group Darren Shan is known as “The Master of Horror”.  But even if it was quite far below the level that scares me, I actually enjoyed this book quite a lot. 

Darren was a mystery to me: I couldn’t figure out his age.  I saw the movie before I read the books, and pictured Darren as a sixteen-year-old.  But he definitely isn’t in the series.  It bugged me.  Sometimes he’d seem old – but, then again, not surprising after everything he went through – yet he was young enough to get away with drinking blood from his friend’s knee and act like it was a joke.  He also cried a fair bit, and was called “young boy”, yet had a girlfriend at one point.  So confusing!  Also, he wore a pirate-style outfit, which fitted in at the Cirque, but not so much out in public.  Despite the contradictions, I quite liked Darren, he was a good lead boy: smart, resourceful, and brave.  But still can’t get the pirate and the annoying age stiff out of my head... it’s bugging me.

Evra was my favourite character, I think.  Evra’s a snake boy, born to perfectly normal parents, who gave him up, so he’s lived in circus freak shows all his life.  He’s got a good sense of humour, and I love his easy-going personality, and his attachment to his snake.  Also, he’s a really friendly guy who took Darren under his wing, and became his best friend.  I just loved him!

Mr Crepsley’s kind of creepy, and very mysterious.  Although he’s a little harsh at times, and often very distant, I could tell he cared about Darren.  And I loved the way Shan slowly revealed snippets of his past, and of the vampire heritage.

Cirque du Freak, the first in the saga, is mainly for setting the scene: nothing particularly terrifying happens in it.  It introduces all the characters, and presents the world of Darren Shan to us.  Admittedly, this one wasn’t as exciting as the others, and was rather short, but it did set the scene well.  Basically, it explains how – and why – Darren (the character, not the author) becomes Mr Crepsley’s Vampire’s Assistant, and how he deals with the consequences. 

The Vampire’s Assistant starts one or two months after Cirque du Freak, and is about how Darren adjusts to life in his new role at the Cirque.  It’s far more exciting, mainly because of all the brilliant Cirque members, including The Wolf Man (a half human, half wolf mix – and the blend of the two blood has driven him insane.  I don’t even wanna know how he happened), Cormac Limbs (he can grow all his limbs back at will: cool or what?) and Truska (a woman who can grow a beard with a single thought, and make it retract back in as well).  And that is only touching the surface of the group.  They’re just brilliant, and a really tight-knit group.  And then there are the Little People (teeny, carnivorous people who never speak and are somehow connected to Mr Tiny, whose full name is Mr Des Tiny.  Mr Destiny.  Can’t be coincidence), who appeared in this book, and made me wonder who – or what – they are.  I have no idea.  But a good book with laughs in it, along with terror, death and insane eco-warrior.  I’m all for saving the environment, but this man was seriously unbalanced.  You have to read The Vampire’s Assistant to find out what he did, though.

Tunnels of Blood takes place a year or so after The Vampire’s Assistant, and is by far the best.  Mr Crepsley needs to leave the cirque for unkown business, and Darren and Evra have gone with him.  Crepsley disappears at night, leaving Darren and Evra to do as they please, but when six bodies turn up, drained of blood, the two boys instantly become suspicious of Crepsley and his bizarre habits.  Could he be the killer?  And if he is, what would they do?  Yes, this one was more exciting by far, although it starts off not-so-scary, really picking up the suspense approximately half way through.  And Darren gets a girlfriend!  Sweet, and very interesting to read about.  Yes, the best by far, full of suspense, suspicion, murder, and “Young Murlough”, who made me laugh.

Other than the age and questionable fashion sense of Darren, there were a few parts that  niggled at me.  These were the fact that too many “!”s were used.  The other is Shan had little snippets at the end of lots of the chapters.  Some made me want to read on to see what happened.  Others gave too much away and made me want to scream “I don’t want to know this!  I want this to be a surprise!  A shock, a twist, build suspense!”  But, no.  I had to put up with annoying teasers that I really didn’t want to know.   Plus, no female leads: so annoying!  It was boys boys boys everywhere.  Admittidly, they were good characters, but still.

The good points outweighed it all, though.  The chapters were nice and short, making me want to read on, the writing was simple and flowed, and overall the book was rather addictive.  I loved the characters, wanted to live in the Cirque, and really liked the way the vampire heritage slowly unfurled.

I'm definately either buying the rest of the series, or getting them out of the library!

P.S. If you’ve seen the movie, does anyone know why it’s American, why the characters are all older?  It doesn’t make sense!

Star Rating:
3¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Demonta by Darren Shan

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

Horowitz Horror by Anthony Horowitz

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Book Challenge (Hosted by The Bookette)

Horror and Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

The Vampire Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Parajunkee's View)

Off the Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenges)