A Review By Frances

 I spent several years from the age of five learning to read and by the time I was eight or nine I was a fluent reader.  The skill has been honed over the years so that now, like the majority of our customers, I read at a much faster pace than reading out loud would be.  This can cause problems when, for example, reading some of the conversation in Dickens, where he tries to transcribe accents, the only way to understand is to read the words almost out loud.  David Almond’s new book is written entirely as a non-reader might write and I am afraid I found it impossible to read.  The pleasure for me in reading is following a tense or interesting story line, building up pictures in my imagination of people and places and all of this is normally done without conscious effort.  A book starting, “this tail is told by i that died at birth by i that came into the world…” is hard work.  I hoped that I would soon get used to the style.  In fact I just found it frustrating and annoying and gave up after struggling to read the first few pages.

Imagine if you lost your parents – not just in place, but in time. Jake Djones’ mum and dad have gone missing and they could be anywhere in the world – at any time in history. Because the Djones family have an astonishing secret, which for years they’ve managed to keep – even from each other.

They belong to the History Keepers: a secret society which travels through the centuries to prevent evil enemies from meddling with History itself. In the quest to find his parents, Jake is whisked from 21st Century London to 19th century France, the headquarters of the mysterious History Keepers, where he discovers the truth about his family’s disappearance – and the diabolical Prince Zeldt’s plan to destroy the world as we know it…

Meet witches, snowmen, lizards and favourite nursery-rhyme characters in this joyful poetry collection for infants of every age! One day a boy went walking, and walked into a store. He bought a pound of sausages, and put them on the floor. The boy began to whistle, he whistled up a tune.

And all the little sausages danced around the room…The inspired creators of “The Runaway Dinner” are proud to serve you up a shouting, screaming, smiling, whistling, playing, chasing, rhyming romp for children of every age. Nineteen poems that will enchant everybody who is – or was – a baby! It combines original poems from acclaimed author Allan Ahlberg and classic verses from the endlessly talented Anon, every one gloriously illustrated by Bruce Ingman.

From boy troubles to wardrobe dilemmas, first dates to embarrassing parentals – Amy Green is back in her fourth book, solving problems for pre-teens everywhere! Amy turns events organizer to plan the best hen-do ever for her mum. Meanwhile, her usually coolheaded aunt Clover is freaking out about going away to college and Amy’s best friend is having major boy trouble. Just as well Amy’s on hand to sort everything out! Divorce, step-parents, new babies, romance, rejection and friendship in a crisis…Ask Amy Green tackles some of the most troubling pre-teen issues.

   A Review By Frances

An historical novel for younger teens, but set not too long ago in 1970s East Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall.  Paul Dowswell captures the tension and the dourness of life in East Berlin as we follow the lives of Alex  and his family.  Alex dreams of becoming a rock musician, but while teenagers in West Berlin – a short train ride away- are drinking Coca Cola and listening to American and British pop music, Alex cannot allow anyone to know about the music he and his friends play in secret for fear of the Stasi (the East German Secret Police)  Alex’s friend Geli, a promising gymnast, is taking pills prescribed by her coach, which we the reader can see are steroids, but which Geli has been told are vitamin supplements.  Alex is also fed up with his” Trabi” car and is beginning to become totally disillusioned with the socialist system.  He dare not share his doubts even with his family, and when one of his friends disappears and is rumoured to have “Gone over” the Wall, Alex realises his life is under even closer scrutiny than before.

The West does not escape criticism – life in West Berlin when Alex eventually gets there is not perfect either.  Dowswell underlines the selfishness and shallowness of a more liberal society where Alex and his family are shunned because of their lack of sophistication 

 A tight thriller, which I thoroughly enjoyed, wonderfully well researched.