Callum Mcbride - review

Hello, hello my lovelies,

How are you doing? 

Today I am reviewing Callum McBride by Michael Riding



Publisher: Troubador Publishing
Publish date: 28th March 2020

Synopsis:

Twelve-year-old Callum McBride, home from school and bored in the holidays, discovers to his shock that he has an unknown talent: he can occupy the minds of animals and control their actions while leaving his body where he left it, seemingly lifeless. He's only just discovered this worrying ability when he meets Emma. Emma is a girl with her own issues and talents - including a computer-hacking talent that has previously previously resulted in a brush with MI6.

As the bond between them grows, Emma uncovers a surprising connection between Callum's powers and his adoption by a local family after he was found at less than a year old on the ferry that runs between Iona and Mull. Throwing themselves into an investigation into the link between Callum's strange abilities and his origins, they're soon caught up in a plot to steal a nuclear warhead. Only by thinking on their feet, trusting each other and using their abilities can they hope to stay alive and defeat the enemy they face together.

Review:

This is a debut novel by Michael Riding and it's a good one! It's aimed at middle grade and YA, but I will say that the reader needs to be quite accomplished to tackle this book. It's not one for someone just picking it up and having a go at.

This is about Callum and Emma who come across each other by chance. It just so happened that Callum had had his first ever 'out of body' experience. Emma helps him realise that he is able to transfer his mind into an animal or bird and then think, feel and control it. There are some dangerous side effects to this ability but as Callum is only just realising what he can do, he is yet to find out what these are. Emma knows about Callum's ability because her father has done lots of research on it. There was apparently a big scandal involving soldiers, the Ministry of Defence, MI6 and LSD that has been pushed under the carpet.

However, with Callum's new found ability and Emma's knowledge, they start digging for information and before long are dragged into a world of secrets, cover-ups, attempted murder and a huge plot to steal a nuclear warhead.

This is an adventure/mystery book with lots of action. There are two protagonists: Callum and Emma.

Callum is one half of a twin. He was found abandoned on a ferry up in the Isles of Scotland. Luckily, he was taken in by the family of the ferry captain, whose wife is a local nurse. He knows his background but has happily got on with his life with an older sister and a much older brother. 

Emma has just moved to the island with her parents to start a new life, away from previous upsets caused, unintentionally by Emma. She has a talent for computers and can memorise information. In fact, she has already hacked into the computer system of MI6 and she is only 12!

Both characters were very likeable and I enjoyed the interaction between them. The author has clearly either done some research or knows about the way Emma thinks and behaves as, her literal dialogue and social inadequacy is spot on for her needs and talents. Callum and Emma are poles apart in character but circumstances draw them together. Callum has to get used to Emma's quirks and that takes time but he soon realises that he can trust her, literally with his life.

The scene setting and descriptions of the islands were vivid and stunning and the author captured the essence of life and beauty there in abundance. Being set in Scotland, obviously people there speak with an accent. I'm not going to lie, it took me a while to get how to read the native accent, but actually, I really enjoyed these parts of the story. It was easy to imagine I was actually there and I found it kind of grounded the story.

The build up and tension was written exceptionally well and I thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of the chase. The writing swept you up and took you at speed through exhilarating escapades where life was literally held in the balance.

I mentioned at the beginning that I didn't think this book was suitable for newer readers or those who are not yet fluent as there are a lot of scientific and technical words. For those now thinking that this would put them off - don't be. It all has it's place and fits in with the whole premise of the story. This book is set in the world of espionage, science and computers so to make it all the more believable, words that fit those areas have to be used and they are used well.

In summary, I thought this was a really exciting book that was just one thrilling ride from beginning to end. The only downside is that it ends on a cliffhanger. Nooooooo! Now I need the second one - pronto!

I rate this book:
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I would definitely recommend it.

Happy reading,

Allison xx

March Wrap-up

Hello, hello my lovelies,

So I'm here today with my March wrap-up. I'm quite a slow reader (sooo frustrating) so with teaching as well, I tend to read 4 or 5 books a month. Not many, I know, but I can only do what I can do!
However, now that we're in social isolation and I am on a limited rota at school, in theory there is much more time to read. I say in theory, because although I have read more, I haven't actually read as much as I wanted. There's always something to else to do - damn you housework 😂😂

Anyway, enough procrastinating (another of my skills), and on with the wrap-up.

In total I read 8 books.but I didn't finish the first book in March until the 15th so I've done well!

In order, this is what I read. As usual, I will put links to Waterstones but please support your independent bookstores as well during these difficult times if you can. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to buy books online due to suppliers closing, so if you haven't got a TBR to keep you going for a while, it might be wise to stock up now.

1. The House of Hidden Wonders by Sharon Gosling

• Publisher: Little Tiger Press Group
• Publication date: 2nd April 2020

You can read my review here. This is another I will definitely be buying.  

2. Oh No, Bobo by Donna David

• Illustrated by Laura Watkins
• Publisher: QED Publishing
• Publication Date: 21st April 2020

You can read my review here. This is a lovely picture book for younger children.

3. Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valour by Ally Carter

• Publisher: Hachette Children's Books
• Published: 5th March 2020

You can read my review here. This is another I'm going to buy. Love that cover!

4. The Nothing To See Here Hotel by Steven Butler

• Illustrated by Steven Lenton
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Published last year

I finished this book with my class just before school stopped. Review to follow.

5. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charles Makesy

• Published by Ebury Publishing

I was late to the party with this one. Review to follow.

6. BOOT: The Rusty Rescue by Shane Hegarty

• Illustrated by Ben Mantle
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group

You can read my review here. 

7. The Vanishing Trick by Jenni Spangler

• Illustrated by Chris Mould
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Publication date: 30th April 2020

You can read my review here.  This is top of my list to buy!

8. Attack of the Heebie Jeebies by Tom Percival

• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Publication date: 2nd April 2020

Review to follow.

So there you have them. My March 2020 reads.

I've a feeling that we won't be back to school throughout April so I'm hoping to beat 8 next month. Let's see! 

Happy reading,

Allison xx

Top Five Tuesday

Hello, hello my lovelies,

How are you all?

Today I am taking part in Top Five Tuesday which is run by Shanah over at Bionic Book Worm.

This is what you have to do:

How you make your lists is completely up to you. Want to do authors first names? Go ahead! Want to do last names? Have at it! Want to do a mix of both? It’s your post and I’m not the Top 5 police who will send you to bookish jail or anything….. wait….. bookish jail? That sounds like fun…. can that be a thing? Point is, attack the alphabet as you please. I think I’ll be doing last names for these but I haven’t decided yet.

If you’re lucky enough to have your shelves organized in alphabetical order, then this will be easy! Me – I organize by genre so……. not so easy! I can’t wait for the chance to highlight a few authors I don’t talk about all that often!

Today we are finishing off authors with the letters U, V, W, X, Y, Z.

This is going to be soooo tricky!

U is for Alison Uttely who wrote The Little Grey Rabbit series.

V  has to be for Jules Verne

W is for E B White

X, Y and Z I couldn't do 😒

Have you got any suggestions?

Happy reading,

Allison xx

The Vanishing Trick - review

Hello, hello my lovelies,

I hope you are staying safe during these difficult times. 

Today I am doing a review for:

The Vanishing Trick by Jenni Spangler

• Illustrated by Chris Mould
• Published by Simon and Schuster Ltd
• Release date: 30.3.20

Synopsis
Madame Augustina Pinchbeck, travels the country conjuring the spirits of dearly departed loved ones... for a price. Whilst her ability to contact ghosts is a game of smoke and mirrors, there is real magic behind her tricks too - if you know where to look.

Through a magical trade, she persuades children to part with precious objects, promising to use her powers to help them. But Pinchbeck is a deceiver, instead turning their items into enchanted Cabinets that bind the children to her and into which she can vanish and summon them at will.

When Pinchbeck captures orphan Leander, events are set into motion that see him and his new friends Charlotte and Felix, in a race against time to break Pinchbeck's spell, before one of them vanishes forever...

Review

Wow. What can I say other than I absolutely loved this book! 

I really enjoyed the setting. I'm liking historical fiction more and more. I think it can be particularly hard to capture the time period when writing for children, as they may have little understanding of this time, but I felt there was enough historical detail for them to understand.
Then there was the premise of the story set around the dark, sinister world of the seance and being able to see and talk to spirits of past loved ones. This was utterly believable. The introduction of the early camera was portrayed well and the whole mysteriousness of the 'other world' had a real sense of foreboding, even though we know, as readers, it was all done through magic. Yet, we're not actually sure how the magic works! Love that element.

This story follow Leander, an orphan and street child who just about scrapes through life stealing morsels of food and sleeping wherever he can, as he gets duped into believing Augustina Pinchbeck when she says she will give him a job and food in exchange for him working for her.

 I thought the character of Leander was totally believable. Despite where he has ended up in life, he has good morals. He knows right from wrong (even though he steals) and he believes that there is good in everyone. Just before he agrees to work for Pinchbeck, we get a mysterious glimpse of Charlotte, who we later find out also works for Pinchbeck, as she tries to stop him making the wrong choice. That section of the book in itself was a mystery as we feel ourselves asking the same questions as Leander.

Leander soon discovers that all is not as it seems. He learns to trust Charlotte and Felix (the third child) as together they try to stop Pinchbeck fooling the rich as she tries desperately to become a famous medium.

Pinchbeck reminded me of the child catcher. The author really worked her magic in making us, as well as Leander, believe that she is just looking out for him. Yet soon, we see her other side. A side that encompasses magic, stories, evil, darkness, greed and trickery. The more I read the book, the more I hated her but I just couldn't quite work out why things were happening. I just had to keep reading!

The book was full of suspense and a sense of fear for the children. Would they die? Would they survive? Would they be locked away forever? A fantastically written story that takes the reader on a heart stopping journey. There were times when I found myself reading quicker and quicker. I could feel my heart thumping as I was totally sucked in to the plights of the children.

For me, this book stands out as one of a kind. The setting, the characters and the plot all were different to anything I've read at middle grade before.

I'd highly recommend this book to children of about 9 upwards. It may be a little too tense for lower key stage 2. It easily fits within the Victorians topic and further research could be done in class to enhance the children's understanding of the time period. There would be so much to look into: clothes, development of the camera, travel, beliefs etc.

This has to be the easiest 5 stars I've ever given. 
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy reading,

Allison xx

Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valour - review

Hello, hello my lovelies,

How are you all? I keep moaning to myself that I'm really fed up and at times bored. I live on my own so there isn't anyone to talk to or have company with when watching a film. It got to the point where I knew I needed to do something but was too fed up to do it. Does that make sense? Anyway, what I'm saying now, to turn things around, is thank goodness I'm healthy. How are you getting through these difficult times?

Today I have a book review for you.

Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valour by Ally Carter.



Synopsis:

When 11-year-old April joins a group of kids living at Winterborne Home she doesn't expect to be there for very long. But she soon learns that this home isn't like any of the others - especially when she unearths the secret of the missing-and-presumed-dead billionaire, Gabriel Winterborne, who is neither missing nor dead but is actually living in a basement lair, sharpening his swords and looking for vengeance.

Now that April knows Gabriel Winterborne is alive, she must turn to the other orphans to keep him that way. As a looming new danger threatens to take Gabriel down once and for all, they must use their individual talents to find a way to make sure this home for misfits isn't lost to them for ever.

Because at the Winterborne Home, nothing is what it seems, no one is who they say they are and nowhere is safe. And now a ragtag group of orphans must unravel the riddle of a missing heir, a supposed phantom and a secret key, all without alerting the adults of Winterborne House that trouble is afoot.

Review:

This is author Ally Carter's debut novel in the middle grade category and is going to be the first in a series.

We follow April, an orphan who has moved from home to home and kind of accepts that that is her life. She lovingly keeps a necklace her mother gave to her, feeling that one day this would solve all her problems.She has just plodded on really, until, that is, she accidentally sets fire to an exhibition at a museum. 

Along comes Ms Nelson and takes her and 3 others to Winterborne House. It's not really a house. It's a mansion filled with corridors and rooms and staircases and paintings and valuable things and secret passages. 

Her adventures start as soon as she moves in, when she realises that not everything is as it seems. Her curiosity leads her on many trails until she discovers something that no one else knows. Gabriel Winterborne is actually alive! The trouble is, he doesn't want anyone else to know this. Plus there's a wicked uncle who thinks he is about to get his hands on the house and all it's treasures as he becomes the rightful heir, now that Gabriel has been missing for 10 years and can finally be listed as dead.

All of the orphans had their own qualities and showed a lovely team spirit and sense of family as they worked together to solve different quests. This made them easily identifiable with.

The book has the sense of a modern fairy tale with a Nancy Drew twist. I enjoyed it, although it ended on a cliffhanger. Often books in a series will end and the next book will involve the same characters but in a brand new story. This book ends with questions still to be answered which is intriguingly clever but frustrating at the same time 😮. Good marketing strategy though 😃.

I have to say I also love the front cover. I'm easily drawn in by a front cover and this one is gorgeous.

This book would be good for about Year 4 up. There wasn't too much 'depth' although there was one orphan with a troubled past where the text implies an area that would need careful thought if you were going to read aloud to a class or give to a child to read as it could be a trigger.

This is a fun read and one I read quite quickly (for me). That doesn't mean it's short, it's more that I wanted to keep reading. 

My rating is ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy reading,

Allison xx

A book for each letter in my name

Hello, hello my lovelies,

How are you all doing stuck at home?

Just a fun post for you today. These are book titles for each letter of my first name.

As usual. I have posted links to Waterstones, however please also don't forget your local independent bookshops at this difficult time.


A is for A Pocketful of Stars by Aisha Bushby





L is for Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll




L is for The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan




I is for The Iron Man by Ted Hughes



S is for Starfell Willow Moss and the Lost Day by Dominique Valente







O is for Orphans of the Tide by Struan Murray



N is for Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend




What books would you choose?


Keep safe.

Happy reading,

Allison xx

Six For Sunday

Hello, hello my lovelies,

I hope you are feeling safe and well.

Today I am taking part in #sixforsunday, run by Steph over at alittlebutalot.

Here's what to do:

If you’re a blogger, you will find the prompts for January to March in this blog post and you can post a blog post with your six choices for that week’s prompt. If you’re not a blogger but want to join in anyway:

• post a tweet with your choices
• a picture on instagram showing us your choices
• reply to my post with your choices

So on with this week's theme which is ...

6 characters I'd like to be like

Oh my this is tricky.

1. Atticus Finch

He seems to come up in a lot of my posts but hey, I want to be like him!

2. Tilly Pages

Who wouldn't want to have the ability to wander into your favourite books?

3. Milou from The Unadoptables

I know she is an orphan and struggles not knowing who her family are, but I love the strength of her character and her drive to find answers.

4. Zinnie from The House of Hidden Wonders

A little bit of a theme here but again, another orphan with a real strength of character.

5. Mary Poppins



I mean I could fly to where I want to, keep everything and more in my bag, talk to the birds, jump into art and dance with cartoon penguins. Who wouldn't?


6. Heidi



Just for where she lives and what she gets to live with and do.

So there you have it. My six for Sunday. What did you choose? I'd love to know.

Happy reading,

Allison xx