Young & Un:Bound

haunting violet by Alyxandra Harvey

2012-02-01T08:13:00.000-08:00

Haunting violet was a very good book. I'll say right now it gets a 10/10 from me.

Violet’s mother is a scam artist. she pretends that she can communicate with ghosts and she forces Violet to take part.
With elaborate tricks, Violet and her mother make a living off their innocent victims. Violet detests taking part in these deceptions however she has no choice.

Things start to get problematic though when Violet actually does start to see a ghost. The ghost of a young girl who was killed and who is looking for someone to find the truth and avenge her death. But can Violet solve the mystery before something dreadful happens again?

The book is set in Victorian times and so Violet has been told that she must marry into aristocracy to keep the family's good name. However there are 2 men for Violet to choose from. The rich, handsome Xavier or poor but true friend,Colin.

Blood Feud & Out for blood By Alyxandra Harvey

2012-01-25T08:11:00.000-08:00

Blood Feud and Out for Blood are the 2nd and 3rd books in the Drake Chronicles. In Blood feud, The Drakes’ mother has just been crowned queen of the vampires and so politics are a mess. The story mainly follows Logan Drake. Logan's love for Isabeau, a French vampire with a dark and troubled past, often finds him in some sort of trouble.
In out for blood, it follows Hunter, who lives up to her name. She attends a vampire hunting academy. Hunter is prepared for everything and anything that comes her way. Everything, that is until she goes and falls in love with one of the drake brothers............

I thought that both of these books were amazing and made great sequel to My Love Lies Bleeding, which is the first in the series.
I'd recommend to it to anyone who is into the vampire world. I think it’s mainly aimed for girls aged 13+

Tempest Rising - Tracy Deebs

2012-01-21T08:11:00.000-08:00

Mermaids are up there with fairies and dragons as creatures that i can't seem to keep away from. When I started to read this book I thought i would love it and it may even make my top 10 favourite books, but I'm sad to say that didn't happen.

There was a lot of stuff I liked in the book but mainly I didn't think it was the best. It's not a bad book, no not at all, but i don't really think it was anything to rave over.
Also, when I'm reading a book with romance in, I like certain things to happen between the two characters that the romance is between however, the romance was not to my liking at all considering the circumstances.

I think the writing style slowed down the story a lot and i found that half way through it started to get rather tedious.

There are good things though, so far my review has sounded rather negative but that's not because it was a bad book, only that it was merely average.

I did like the idea of the story a lot. I think that mermaid mythology is touched on quite often these days but i felt that Tempest rising had a modern take on the myths. My saying that as praise is rare as I'm more of a traditionalist and I'm not a big fan of modern takes on things however i felt that it worked in Tempest Rising and it made for a nice read. If i was to rate the book out of 10, i think I'd give in 6.5 - or 7 if I'm stretching it.

Press Release | Moonlands by Steven Savile

2011-10-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

I've been sent the official press pack for the Moonlands Diaries which I reviewed in the previous post. I loved it and think you will too
-----------------------

Has an eerie feeling in the air ever teased chills from your spine? Have you been deep in thought and suddenly shifted topic entirely, unable to explain why? Is it possible, at least once in your life, you had to look twice to verify what you saw? Then it's possible you've been a part of it already.

Welcome to London - the magical city where all is not as it seems. Where the unexpected is expected by those who know to look for it. Ashley Hawthorne has lived here all her life and like everyone else who's grown used to the city, it holds no special meaning to her. That is, until that fated day she is willed an odd looking key - a key that not only unlocks her past, but her present and future as well. Suddenly, boring old London is turned into an otherworldly labyrinth where her first step could be her last. With frightening creatures intent on tracking her down and strangers who claim to have known her all her life, how can a teenager who doesn't even know who she is, hope to survive the dangers that await?

"Savile's newest work symbolizes the spirit of Young Adult adventure reading! Bold and unexpected - Moonland Diaries is a thrilling read for everyone who needs a break from the mundane. Savile proves he can write anything he wishes."
- Ashley Knight, author of Fins & Fathom

Foxrain AB teams up with bestselling fantasy author Steven Savile for the epic and groundbreaking multimedia reading experience, Moonland Diaries. The project, which will initially launch as a series of richly illustrated novels, will be supplemented online, with apps and other exciting developments that take advantage of modern technology to give the most immersive experience imaginable.

The Moonland Diaries takes place in modern day London, but as the heroine fifteen-year-old Ashley Hawthorne soon discovers it’s a world quite different from the one we are all so familiar with. The city holds ancient gates and passages to the Moonlands – a world that is both fantasticly beautiful and deeply sinister. When wolf-like creatures enter our world through the gates, intent on killing Ashley, these two worlds collide. She is forced on a wild and terrifying adventure that could cost Ashley her life as well as her heart.

“The Moonland Diaries is a wonderful project that perfectly encapsulates the ethos of Foxrain. The company is all about telling classic stories of fantasy and horror, but with contemporary and completely unique take on them, both thematically and in terms of delivery. Readers will be able to experience the Moonland Diaries across all media platforms, making it the ultimate storytelling experience for the smartphone generation. To be able to create this universe together with a brilliant and versatile writer like Steve is nothing less than a dream coming true.” Says Foxrain CEO Michael Stenmark.

“I was drawn to Foxrain for Moonland Diaries because it was immediately obvious we shared a common belief that stories can (and in this day and age should) transcend traditional paper and ink, and even e-ink, into completely immersive universes. As a writer it’s a wonderful feeling to watch other incredibly talented artists and developers run with the ideas in your head and create wonderful rich imagery that just makes everything feel more alive,” Steve explains.

Foxrain AB is a publisher of primarily children’s and young adult fiction based in Stockholm Sweden-
Steve Savile is a multiple award-winning and bestselling British fantasy writer living in Stockholm Sweden.

www.moonlanddiaries.com

Moonlands | Steven Savile

2011-10-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

Moonlands
by Steven Savile

This is part one of a four part story. That in itself is deeply, hugely frustrating, because it's good and it ends on a cliffhanger.

Traitors Heir (the full story) focusses on a girl in our world with no idea who or what she is, a wolfen sent to finish her before she can claim her kingdom and the selection of strange, supposedly long dead characters who have been guarding her in secret her whole life.

I can't tell you much more than that without giving too much away and after all only part one is available right now, part two should be released in November. IT display's Savile's ever present feel for character and adventure but contains more warmth and humour than has been characteristic for him lately. The move into YA seems to have been simple and natural. It's still dark in places and definitely mysterious, but a swift entertaining read suggesting that when complete Traitors Heir is going to deliver an excellent YA story full of courage and adventure, humour and a little blood.

Guardian of the Gate | Michelle Zink

2011-09-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink was the second book in the ‘prophecy of the sisters’ trilogy.

It follows the story of 16 year old Lia Milthorpe as she and her friends try and find a way to end the prophecy of the sisters. The prophecy determines that either Lia or Lia’s sisterwill be defeated. Both of them have known this from the beginning of the book, but it’s a question of which one of them will survive? The Guardian? Or the Gate?

Although it was an enjoyable read, I found parts of it difficult to follow as there were lots of references to the first book (which I haven’t read) and I think that the first book told you things about the main character, Lia, and her sister, Alice, that were quite important to the second book.

All in all though it was a really good book, defiantly read it, but I would say read the first one to start with.

Book Trailer | Nancy Tillman 'The Crown on your Head'

2011-09-27T10:43:00.001-07:00

My Love Lies Bleeding | Alyxandra Harvey

2011-03-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

(in the US released as 'Hearts at Stake'.)

My love lies bleeding by Alyxandra Harvey is the first book in the Drake chronicles. It follows the story of Solange, the only female vampire ever born, not initiated. Solange has known from day 1 that she was a vampire and has always known that one day, near to her 16^th birthday, she would die…..and then awake again, with fangs, a thirst for blood, and dangerous. But Solange is in danger, other vampire tribes want her blood in their lineage, Vampire hunters want to kill her, and there’s a weird stalker vampire who wants to marry her . . . . . He doesn’t even really know her by the way.

But very close to the time when she is about to turn deadly, she is kidnapped. It’s up to her brothers and her best friend, Lucy, to save her. However, Lucy has a major crush on one of Solange’s brothers, Nicholas, who is really hot but how could it work out between a mortal and a Vampire?

This book is really good and I’d rate it 9 / 10. It took a while for me to get into it but I’m glad that I finally did. There are 3 books in The Drake Chronicles out so far, the second is ‘Blood Feud’ and the third, ‘Out for Blood’. Apparently, the fourth one is coming out in November, but I don’t want to wait that long! :(

Pom Pom

Maxine Linnell Reading

2011-03-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

Back in November as part of the wonderful Everybody's Reading Festival, Maxine Linnell came and did a reading from her Young Adult novel Vintage, for the younger reviewers from Young & Un:Bound, and me, because I love the book.
Here are a few pictures from the day.

The Dead of Winter | Chris Priestly

2011-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

The Dead Of Winter is about a boy named Michael who’s mother has just died so is sent to live with Sir Stephen, the man whose life was saved by Michael’s father. Michael would rather his father was alive than Sir Stephen. When he gets to Sir Stephen’s house, where he lives with his sister Charlotte and a few servants, he notices things aren’t right. He sees and hears things that shouldn’t be there and, despite what everyone says, something is definitely wrong with Sir Stephen.

I enjoyed reading this book. I’d recommend it to people who like mystery, ghosts and to get a little scared at times. It is filled with suspense. It doesn’t take long to read because it is fairly short and keeps you interested.

By Zobdy
Age 14

The Fallen 1: The Fallen & Leviathan | Thomas E. Sniegoski

2011-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

The book is the first two stories in The Fallen series. They are about a boy called Aaron who lives with a foster family which he loves and cares for. On his eighteenth birthday, just when he thinks his life might be going somewhere, things seem strange; he finds he can do things he couldn’t do before, like understanding anything anyone says in any language - even his dog. Reluctantly, he discovers he is a nephilim (the child of an angel and a human woman). And not just any nephilim, the chosen one that, according to prophecy, will redeem the fallen angels and become a gateway between them and heaven.

Aaron wants nothing to do with any of this. He just wants to forget everything and carry on with his life as it was before but Verchiel, the leader of a group of angels called the Powers, won’t let him. He believes he is doing God’s work by cleansing the Earth of the unholy nephilim but he also fears the prophecy. He doesn’t think it is right that the fallen should be redeemed and will do anything to stop that from happening. Aaron is forced to accept what he is when Verchiel’s obsession endangers everything near and dear to him.

A very good action filled book. An interesting alternative to vampires. I suggest that you don’t put it down and leave it for a while before carrying on like I did because, when I did that, I got a little confused. Overall, pretty good and I would like to read the next one in the series.
By Zobdy
Age 14

Obernewtyn | Isobelle Carmody

2011-01-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

It is set in what I have assumed to be the fairly near future. A sort of natural disaster called the Great White has causes civilisation as we know it to break down and a new culture has grown. They call God Lud and the council has complete control. The Great White still affects the people; most of the land is uninhabitable and even to go near certain parts could be deadly and sometimes people are born with special powers. The council burned these people before any of their evilness could rub off on anyone else. Unfortunately for the council, not all of these gifts are noticeable from birth; they develop as they get older. The council decided against burning people who had already been accepted into the community so they call them misfits and send them to Obernewtyn, a sanctuary hidden in the mountains.

The main character is an orphan girl called Elspeth Gordie. She is a misfit and is trying desperately to keep it hidden but they find out and sent her to Obernewtyn. When she gets there, she realises that there are lots of things that don’t make sense and a few of the other misfits are very strange. With the help of a couple of friends, she sets out to discover the truth behind Obernewtyn.

To be honest, I didn’t really understand the plot. Elspeth is supposed to be different from the other misfits in some way but I’m not entirely sure how and I don’t understand the attitude of all the misfits at Obernewtyn. They are all very secretive and don’t talk to each other which confused me because I thought, since they had already been caught, they didn’t need to hide anymore.

I enjoyed the end of the book but, up until there, I was really struggling to read it. The story seemed to drag and there was nothing happening. Also, it was like I didn’t know things I should have, like a chapter explaining things had been missed out somewhere. I understood that I should only know what Elspeth knew but I didn’t even understand the things that Elspeth was constantly referring to. Maybe it was supposed to be part of the whole mystery of the thing but it didn’t work for me. I like books that don’t necessarily have to be full of action, but with suspense and mystery in them, but I felt that this was taken so far that I didn’t really have a clue about what I should have known about. Like I said, I enjoyed the end but I don’t think I’ll be looking for the next in the series any time soon. Maybe I’m wrong, I should read the next one because it explains everything I’m confused about? But that’s just my opinion, decide for yourself.

Zobdy
Age 14

Behemoth | Scott Westerfeld

2010-12-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

Potential Spoilers if you haven't read the first book in the series.

For all that haven’t read the first book:

This is the second book of an exciting adventure fantasy based on World War One about war between two types of people; one that uses machines and one that uses fabricated animals for everything.

This continues the story of our two main characters, twelve year old Alek, who was on the machine side and was the Arch Duke of Austria-Hungary. He was taken away by his teachers to protect him when his parents were killed. Deryn was on the animal’s side and was pretending to be a boy so that she could join the air service.

The Leviathan is a giant, flying, fabricated whale with guns on top (a war ship).
In this book it is heading for the Ottoman empire with Alek and Deryn on board, and they meet some clankers on the way.
They’re heading straight for an empire of trouble, with only one family in the empire they can trust.

This is extremely action packed with quite a few surprises all mixed up into one super book!

There is a new type of weapon invented by Mr Tesla, a radio inventor!
The war’s still going on and Alek has adopted a ‘pet’.

I give this book a 10/10 for suspense!

By MJ, aged 11

P.S. if you want to see the review for the leviathan you'll find it under the Scott Westerfeld label

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

2010-11-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

This book is set in what I think it our world, maybe the future? It doesn’t specify. But, wherever it is, things are not going well. Cities have huge walls around them to protect them from the infected out in the forest. The infected are people that have been bitten by other infected people. When someone gets bitten, the infection kills them and they come back as either breakers or mudo (different types of infected) depending on the circumstances. When they return, they don’t remember anything about their past lives. All they do is try to infect other people who have no option but to kill them.

The main character is a girl called Gabry who starts the story by climbing over the wall with her friends. She is having the time of her life because the boy she likes (her best friend, Cira’s, brother, Catcher) has just told her he likes her and kissed her for the first time but it all goes wrong when a breaker crashes the party. Some of the kids become infected and the rest get caught for going over the wall. Catcher gets bitten but, as it is only a small bite, it will take a few days before he turns. He doesn’t want to infect the rest of the city so he hides in the forest waiting to turn. Gabry is scared so runs away which means she doesn’t get caught with her friends. She vows to find Catcher and to free Cira.

I love the whole concept and, at the beginning, I loved the story. I loved finding out about Gabry’s past but I got frustrated and began to hate her by the end because she changes her mind completely. There’s someone she loves who would do anything for her and she randomly decides to like someone else but still leads him on. Also, it wasn’t as scary as the cover and blurb suggest. I didn’t really find it scary at all. Maybe that’s because I didn’t feel that the infected and their attacks were described in enough detail to scare me. Despite that, I still really want to read the sequel.

By Zobdy

Age 13

Dark Secrets 3: The Back Door Of Midnight by Elizabeth Chandler

2010-11-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

It is the third in the Dark Secrets series. I have read Dark Secrets 2. It doesn’t make a difference whether you have already read any of the previous books because they each have individual, unrelated stories with different characters. The first two have two stories in but the third one has one.

The story in Dark Secrets 3 is called The Back Door Of Midnight. The main character is a girl called Anna who has a complicated family history. Her mother, Joanna, was taken in by her aunt and uncle (Anna’s great aunt and uncle) when she was pregnant with Anna. Her aunt and uncle are called Iris and Will and are brother and sister. Joanna was murdered when Anna was three so Anna was adopted by Kathryn who she thinks of as her mum. She has a seven year old adopted brother called Jack and six year old adopted twin sisters called Claire and Grace.

Uncle Will invites Anna to stay with him and Aunt Iris but when she gets there she discovers that he has died in between sending the letter and her getting there. Everyone thinks that it was a simple accident but something doesn’t feel right to Anna. That added with Aunt Iris talking to Uncle Will as if he’s still there and local boy Zack seeming to know more than he’s letting on makes her look around to find out what really happened that night.

Like Dark Secrets 3 it was impossible to guess what had actually happened. I had a thousand theories buzzing around my head but none of them were right. I couldn’t wait until I could read some more to add more clues so I could try and work out the mystery. But the, more I read, the more options seemed possible and it was only at the end when I knew what had really happened. I couldn’t put it down and loved it to bits especially the last page.

By Zobdy

The Unit | Terry DeHart

2010-09-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Unit by Terry DeHart

The Unit, is set just after a nuclear war; a time when there is no one you can trust except your family. Jerry, his wife, Susan, and his nearly adult children, Melanie and Scotty, are left with nothing except just enough food to keep them alive for a short while, four guns (though Melanie refuses to carry one), each other and a determination to survive.

Jerry just wants to protect his family and he’ll shoot anyone that threatens them. Susan wants her children safe and out of this mess. Melanie is trying to stand up for what she believes in. She won’t carry a gun and she’s desperate for this to end. Scotty was saved so now he plans to fight for what’s right and he plans on shooting anyone who gets in his way.

Bill and his gang, on the other hand, were locked up in a juvenile detention centre but the power went out and the guards left. They’ve found that everything is for the taking - if you’re strong enough to hold onto it.

It’s a tough book in every sense of the word. It’s not exactly an enjoyable read but I felt compelled to carry on anyway. I had to know what would happen to them. I hated Bill but cared a lot for the family, particularly Melanie. It was impossible to predict how it would end until I actually got there. Worth a look but don’t go in expecting a happy story. I definitely would not recommend it to under fourteens.

By Zobdy

Age 13

Hex Hall | Rachel Hawkins

2010-09-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

When young witch, Sophie Mercer, makes one magical mistake too many, she is sent off to Hecate Hall,
a reform school for magical beings. This sets the scene for a teenage adventure story.

In this book, no matter how bad the situation is, teenagers still manage to be, well, teenagers.
While an evil creature is attacking and even killing fellow students, the characters still find time to fall in
love, bicker over boyfriends and fall out.

As the story draws towards a climax however, Sophie is forced to put all this to one side to clear
her best friend’s name. Yet all the while, she is walking into a trap herself, and surely, it is only a matter
of time before the trap snaps shut.

An interesting read for all teenage girls.

Wombat – 11

The Graveyard Book | Neil Gaiman

2010-09-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

The main character is called Nobody Owens; known as Bod. When he was a baby, his family was killed. Bod managed to escape being killed and ended up in the graveyard where all the graveyard folk (the dead) care for him. They call him Nobody because they decided that he looks like nobody but himself.

Throughout the book, Bod gets into a lot of scrapes but, with the help of his friends and adopted family, just about manages to get out of most of them. Until he faces the hardest challenge ever thrown at him – the man who murdered his family. But he must learn to stand on his own two feet if he ever wants to be ready for the world outside the graveyard.

I was sucked in from page one. In the opening, it describes a knife then goes on to talk about the man holding it. It’s an extremely descriptive and captivating opening. My school librarian and several of my friends agree with me. I felt everything Bod felt. I loved everything and everyone he loved and hated the things and people he did. I desperately wanted it to end happily for him. I loved the idea of a boy living and growing up in a graveyard with the dead as his friends and family. Despite its title, this book is not scary. To Bod, the graveyard is his home filled with people (well, dead people) he loves.

By Zobdy

Age 13

Midnighters: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld

2010-08-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Midnighters is written by the same person as the Uglies series. It’s about a girl called Jessica Day who moves to Bixby from Chicago with her mum, dad and younger sister, Beth.

When she arrives in Bixby, things are a little strange but soon she discovers that it’s because she’s a midnighter. Midnighters are the select few people who are born within a second of midnight. They alone can live in the secret hour between midnight and one. But for some reason, this only happens in Bixby. Jess can’t enjoy it though because the darklings and slithers (the creatures who live in the secret hour) keep attacking her for no reason she can understand. The other midnighters try to help her. They all have a special power but Jess doesn’t seem to have one.

Jess is on a journey of discovery as she tries to understand this secret world that she has become a part of. The first half of the book seemed to drag a little and the story didn’t move on as fast as I might have liked. But the second half was worth the wait because it was interesting and exciting and I couldn’t put it down. It shows you all of the characters’ points of view and how everything affects them, and it makes you care about what happens to them. Definitely worth a look if you’re prepared to work through the first half.

By Zobdy

Age 13

Relaunch

2010-08-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ok folks, there are changes afoot on Young & Un:Bound. We have had a wonderful new logo designed and will be revealing a new look. This is all happening in October, the relaunch will tie in with Everybody's Reading in Leicester where we are having a bit of a gathering at Kona Blue in the Highcross, 4pm onwards 6th October. If you are around drop by and say hi.
We will continue to post occasional reviews between now and then, but I am very excited about the relaunch and will be back with more news about the extension of the team and some new tie ins soon!

Perfect Chemistry | Simone Elkeles

2010-08-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Review for Perfect Chemistry By Simone Elkeles

Things look perfect in Brittany's life. She has the perfect hair, the perfect car, the perfect boyfriend and she is the perfect head of the cheerleading squad. To other people she looks, and acts, like a princess but when Brittany gets behind her front door she goes into overdrive looking after her disabled older sister, Shelley. Infact, Brittany's home life is a mess. Her parents only care about appearance, not about their Daughters' feelings.

As if Brittany wasn't juggling too much already, On the first day back to school, her chemistry teacher partners her with the biggest bad ass in school, Alex Fuentes. He's Mexican and in a gang. Not a stupid little group of bullies though, a proper gang that deals with drugs, killings and blackmail.

Forced to work together on a chemistry project, Brittany and Alex get to know more about each other and their feelings towards each other get more serious and it's only when Alex is forced by his gang to do something incredibly dangerous and illegal that Brittany decides that she has to go to extremes to keep him out of harms way. Even if others have to get hurt.

Simone Elkeles has created a wonderful romance novel. When I read this book I thought that it was really realistic because I could picture everything that was described. I would reccomend this book to all my friends but I think it is aimed at young adults because there is strong language and some of the contents of the book wouldn't be suitable for anybody under the age of 13.

All in all it's a great book and I could read it and re-read it over and over again.

PomPom.

The Chosen One | Carol Lynch Williams

2010-08-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

The Chosen One, by Carol Lynch Williams.

The chosen one is a book by carol lynch williams about a girl who doesn't find it strange that she has twenty brothers and sisters, and his father has three wives. She does, however, dislike the fact that she cannot choose who she falls in love with. when she finds a travelling library and starts to read books, which are strictly forbidden by 'the prophet', and falls in love with Joshua, she wishes she could choose who to fall in love with, not be forced to get married-being the seventh wife to her sixty year old uncle. Kyra wishes to escape, but that would endanger all the other members of her family. this book is about what she does and how all the above happens.

This is a very touching book, although i didn't understand it at times. i think it is for maybe slightly older readers, of maybe 13 or 14, as lots happens at once and it can be very hard to comprehend. there is great detail in the writing and carol lynch williams is a very clever woman.

AV. age 12

Dark Secrets 2 | Elizabeth Chandler

2010-07-19T01:00:00.000-07:00

Two stories with only one thing relating them. They are both about an unsolved murder.
In No Time To Die, Jenny’s sister, Liza, who she is closer to than anyone in the world, has just died. Jenny decides to go to the summer drama camp where Liza was murdered by a serial killer. But she goes under a false name so that no one will know who she is. Everything is exactly how Liza described it. But, as Jenny digs deeper, she begins to wonder if Liza was really murdered by a serial killer after all.

In The Deep End Of Fear, Kate’s father recently died. He left her two requests. One, to return a ring to Adrian Westbrook, and, two, to regain contact with her mother who she has not seen since she was five. Deciding to return the ring, she takes a job looking after Adrian’s son, Patrick. But that means returning to her childhood home where her best friend, Ashley, had died by falling through the ice on the pond. Patrick is behaving oddly and saying he can see Ashley even though no one has ever told him about her. Kate isn’t sure that Ashley’s death was an accident. There are plenty of people who would benefit from her death…and Patrick’s.

I couldn’t put it down. I just had to know what happened next. Certain characters I loved and others I hated. The bit I loved the most was that the outcomes are completely unexpected. I could have made a long list of the people I thought might have killed Liza and Ashley but the people who actually did wouldn’t have been on it. But then I saw that it was them all along. Well written and I would definitely recommend it.

By Zobdy
Age 13

Wicked , Resurrection | Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie

2010-07-17T23:48:00.001-07:00

Resurrection is the last in the five part Wicked series. It is particularly focused on the witch cousins, Holly, Nicole and Amanda, but there are so many other characters doing different things, it’s almost too hard to keep track of where everyone is or, even, who’s still alive. Definitely not a stand alone book. Do not try to read any of the books out of order or you will end up in a very confused mess.

The Houses of Cahors (Holly, Nicole and Amanda) and Deveraux (Jer and Eli) are forced to put aside their differences to face an enemy more powerful than any they have encountered before. New friends are found and old ones lost forever. It is full of action as the final battle begins. It makes you feel happy and sad and angry along with the characters. You feel like you are there with them experiencing everything they do. A real page turner. Brilliant, if you can keep up.

By Zobdy
Age 13

Nation | Terry Pratchett

2010-07-12T04:45:00.000-07:00

Nation by Terry Pratchett

Nation is set in a world which is almost identical to ours. The Nation is a tribe that live on a tiny unknown island. That is, it was, until the wave came and wiped out everyone except Mau. But he’s not alone because there is a shipwrecked “trouserman girl” called Ermintrude and a very rude parrot. Ermintrude hates her name so tells Mau that she is called Daphne. They try to understand eachother’s cultures and languages and together they help all of people that come to the island.

I loved it right up to the end, which I hated. I’m not going to say what happens but it’s not what you want to. I know several people who agree with me. It’s a great book because it makes you care about the characters and what happens to them.

I tried reading it a few years ago because I got it for Christmas. At the time, I wasn’t particularly interested so I couldn’t get into it. But now I’ve picked it up again, I’ve really enjoyed it so even if you try it and don’t like it, try it again later and you might surprise yourself.

BY Zobdy
Age 13

Hush Hush | Becca Fitzpatrick

2010-06-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Nora Grey is an ordinary girl (aside form being anemic) who goes to school, does her work, and hangs around with her best friend, Vee. Until Patch turns up. Handsome, mysterious and slightly roguish, he is everything Nora doesn't want. Nora feels uneasy around him because of the fact that he knows everything about her and seems to be finding out more by the second, because whenever she is with him something bad happens, and because of the strange sensation she can't work out whenever she is near him.

Assigned to be biology partners with him, Nora can't help but get to know Patch and slowly starts to fall for him. But with crimes striking all over the place and with Nora caught up in it all, the only feeling Nora can have for patch is suspicion.

As life gets more dangerous and questions waiting around every corner, Nora puts her trust in Patch, only to find out that that could have been a bad Idea.

I loved this book and I can't wait to read 'Crecendo' the sequel.

I think this is a young adult book, probably for girls because the book is written from a girls point of view and I don't think that it would appeal to boys like that.

PomPom

Wintercraft - Jenna Burtenshaw

2010-06-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

Wintercraft is set in a country called Albion in a made up world. Kate Winters has a rare power, she is one of the Skilled. She can look into the veil and manipulate life and death. But Kate doesn’t want to have any part in it because the Skilled are hunted. She just wants to be left alone. When she is captured by the infamous Silas, who is known for killing people without a second thought, she tries to get away to find her friend, Edgar, and her uncle, Artemis. But then she learns the truth about Silas and the job he wants her to do. They make a deal which leads to chaos and death.
I found it hard to get into the book. Every time I picked it up, I struggled through the first few pages but, after a few minutes, I was hooked again. So, once I got started I couldn’t put it down. The story is fast paced and full of action. For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was interested in this new world and fascinated by the Skilled. But, although I think it is an excellent book well worth reading, unfortunately, I don’t agree with the comment on the inside cover that says “Wintercraft is set to be the most exciting teen title of 2010”. Despite that, an amazing read.
By Zobdy
Age 13

Darklife - Kat Falls

2010-05-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Darklife by Kat falls is set in the future. The whole world has grown unbearably hot and most of the land is now underwater. Ty was born underwater and knows it as home. He meets a girl, Gemma, at the beginning of the book and she explains that she is searching for her brother. Gemma lives in a care home and wants to get out. She hangs out with Ty and his family under the sea and slowly they become best frineds. While searching for Gemma's brother, they come across a nasty gang called Sea blite and their leader, Shade. Gemma's brother is nowhere to be found and Sea blite are growing more and more dangerous. Lots of mysteries are waiting to be answered and Gemma is under threat of being taken home to the 'Top side'.

Overall this was a very good, interesting book. aimed probably 11+ years, Girls or boys. Definatly a 10 out of 10!

Pompom

Giveaway - Hush Hush

2010-05-09T11:40:00.001-07:00

I have a paperback copy of Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick to give away. All you need to do is comment and one commenter will be selected via randomiser.

This is my review from the hardback in October 2009

It's beautiful. The cover isn't just a great image it's beautiful with it's slightly metallic quality to the cover, the evocative font type and on the inside of the hardback cover the white feathers showing on the black paper. I could happily just hold it.

I read it in two big happy chunks, before bed last night and over breakfast this am. Hush Hush is a paranormal YA and in an increasingly popular genre it is becoming more and more difficult to stand out. This stands out. It's tense and dramatic, Nora is riddled with doubt, unsure who to trust, who is a threat and what is really going on. Fitzpatrick is very effective in creating the doubts and anxiety not only in her heroine's mind, but in her readers. There are enough potential threats and twists that for everyone I saw coming there were more that caught me by surprise. Nora is a likeable heroine who is drawn gradually from normality into a world of angels and fallen and that allows the reader to be drawn into a place where such things are possible with her.

Ok Patch is a silly nickname, but I got over that pretty quickly and that really is the only nitpick I can manage with this one.

Becca Fitzpatrick, like Sarah Rees Brennan, is an author set to make a real impact in a YA market with a thirst for the paranormal.

The Vampires Assistant - Darren Shan

2010-04-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

The Vampires Assistant is a mind blowing adventure that will capture you in the moment!
I read this every day and at night I would stay up way past 11 o'clock just to finish the chapter .I just couldn't put it down and even got told off for reading in class when I supposed to be doing a maths paper!

The book is about a teenage boy (Darren Shan) who enjoys his life until one day his mate brings in a flyer saying about a freak show in town.He ends up going and falls in love with a spider. Darren sets up for a adventure training the spider until one day an awful mistake happens. Darren is forced to make a life changing decision.

You have GOT to read this book! I didn't think it was very good at the start until I got to chapter 2 and then I couldn't put it down. I think this book is better than Harry Potter and that's saying something!

Cookie Monster
age 10

Extras - Scott Westerfeld

2010-04-19T01:14:00.000-07:00

Extras is a book that goes with the Uglies, Pretties and Specials series. It is set slightly later than the others and the main character is a girl called Aya. Aya lives in a different city to Tally (the star of the main series) but knows about her because she is famous worldwide. In Aya’s city, everyone has a face rank determining how famous and popular they are.

Aya starts off as a nobody, an extra, but then she joins a mysterious group called the Sly Girls and kicks (puts on her feed, which is a network similar to the internet) a story about aliens planning to destroy the world and suddenly everyone wants to listen to her. But then who should turn up but Tally herself and then Aya goes with Tally to uncover the truth.

When I had finished reading the other books, I really wanted to know what happened next and Extras does that. It’s thicker than the others so there’s more to sink your teeth into. It’s fast paced and exciting. The futuristic slang is really easy to pick up but it adds that extra something. It’s great.

By Zobdy

Age 13

Review Captivate - Carrie Jones

2010-03-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

This is an absolutely brilliant sequel to "Need" By Carrie Jones. In this book, Zara, Nick, Issie, Devyn and Betty discover that an outbreak of pixies have come from Valhalla to help release the pixies that Zara once trapped in a pixie house. Zara wants to know who they are and where they come from, and, on her journey she finds a young, Handsome pixie called Astley. His name means 'Star'. Astley keeps showing up where Zara needs him...and when she doesn't. Take the girls toilets for example! One day, when Zara realises that Her biological father is about to die, she goes to the pixie house to save him.

Spoiler Zone..........highlight to view
Nick gets attacked by a pixie there and is on the verge of dying when an evil pixie takes him away. They are just about to kill Zara when, surprise surprise, along comes Astley and swoops her into his arms. Astley explains that he is a pixie king who has learned to control his need. He says that he needs a queen and he feels that Zara is the one! But of course, she would need to turn pixie.

Zara has to choose between turning pixie, Being astleys queen and being strong enough to get Nick back,

or let him live his own life in Valhalla......without her.

Either way has its consequences and it is a tough decision for Zara to make.
End of Spoiler Zone.....

This is a fantastic book, only one thing annoyed me.

The ending.

It made me so angry that i could have hit myself! I don't think that there is another book in this series and the way they ended this book implied that there was. Spoiler It leaves Nick in Valhalla half dead, with Zara vowing to come for him, even if she has to kill thousands and it doesn't say a word about what they do or how they get there!End of spoiler I don't think I've ever been so mad at a book before! Other than that though this is an awesome book and I'd recommend it to anyone.......but warn them about the ending!

(it's ok, this is listed as the second of the series so eventually it will all be resolved - Hagelrat)

Uglies, Pretties, Specials - Scott Westerfeld

2010-03-22T11:37:00.001-07:00

It is a series of three books. They are set in the future with a Sci-Fi theme. In the future, when they reach the age of sixteen, everyone has an operation that turns them from an ugly (a normal person) into a pretty. The story starts when the main character, Tally Youngblood, is fifteen and waiting impatiently for her birthday. But, when she becomes friends with another ugly called Shay, Tally is forced into the wild and she learns the terrible secret about the operation. With her new friends, Tally battles with the city but she can’t tell which side she’s on when people keep messing with her head.

It is an exciting story full of action and adventure. It has suspense and it’s even a little sad sometimes as Tally struggles to find who she is, save the world and protect the people she loves all at the same time. It is a great series and I loved the adventure.

There is a fourth book called Extras which is set slightly later and stars a girl called Aya. There was a sneak peek at the end of Specials and I would love to read it.

By Zobdy

Age 13

Wait! I’ve got Extras now! Yay!

13 Curses - Michelle Harrison

2010-03-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

Hi folks, another new reviewer here on Young & Un:Bound, please welcome cookie monster - Hagelrat

The thirteen curses is about a teenage girl named Rowan who runs away only to discover that her brother (James aged 2) has somehow run away too .They end up in a care home and Rowan realises that she must protect her brother from the fairies who are trying to capture James. She goes out of her way to protect him by finding every item of red clothing she can. This is because Rowan knows that red is invisible to fairies. But one night she wakes up only to find her brother gone…

Rowan suddenly gets captured by the Hedge Witch and makes friends with a young man called Stitch. They bond well and decide to escape. Tension builds as they escape and steal a glamour disguise that is a fox coat. The fairies set Rowan a challenge of retrieving all of the thirteen treasures and only then will she get her brother back. She meets a boy and a girl who decide to help her. They have found eleven of the treasures when Rowan has a feeling that the twelfth is at her Aunt’s house. She travels there only to discover that her Aunt has been keeping a dark family secret for all of these years.

I felt this book was well thought out and had a fantastic story line. The characters are very strong willed and show that you don’t have to give up easily. Whilst I was reading the book in class I started to cry because it was really sad at the end. However my friends are all desperate to read it now! I’d highly recommend the Thirteen Curses to boys and girls aged 10 upwards who enjoy adventures. I will definitely now read more Michelle Harrison books!

cookie monster

Age 10

The Dork Diaries - Rachel Renee Russell

2010-03-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

Hi all, please welcome Young & Un:Bound's youngest reviewer Pyjama Slug. - Hagelrat

Dork Diaries is about a girl called Nikki who moves to a new private school. She is annoyed at her parents for making her move school, she hates MacKenzie who is popular but is really a bully and she gets fed up with her little sister Brianna. The book is written on lines to look like a real diary, but I think it would have been nice if the book had spiral binding so that it looked like a proper girls’ diary!

I like all the doodles in the book as it made it feel like I was reading a proper diary and they helped me to understand some of the words better. There were lots of labels next to the doodles to tell you what Nikki was doing. There is a lot of text language in the diary like OMG so I had to ask my older sister what some of it was, but now I know!

I really enjoyed Dork Diaries and I couldn’t put it down at bedtime! I would like to read more books by Rachel Renee Russell now. I recommend Dork Diaries especially to girls aged 7-10.

Pyjama Slug

Age 7

Stravaganza: City Of Ships by Mary Hoffman

2010-02-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

City Of Ships is the last book in the Stravaganza series. It is the only one I have read but it works by itself because in each book, a new person finds out what’s going on and it is written from their point of view.

It is about a girl called Isabel who discovers that, with the help of a secret talisman, she can travel to a country called Talia (based on our Italy) in a parallel universe. To travel to there, she has to fall asleep holding her talisman. Talia is actually four centuries behind our world and they have day when we have night.

I enjoyed this book because I thought the whole idea of travelling to another world during the night is interesting. I also enjoyed the fact that Talia is based on Italy because I don’t know much about Italy. It was fun to watch Isabel stop being the shy, unnoticed girl, always hiding in the shadow of her twin brother, and grow more confident and start being her own person.

By Zobdy
Age 13

Ignore this

2010-02-19T10:08:00.001-08:00

Just claiming the blog on Technorati

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Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld

2010-02-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

This is an exciting adventure fantasy based on World War One about war between two types of people; one that uses machines and one that uses fabricated animals for everything.

For most of the story I couldn’t wait for the two main characters, which were on opposite sides, to meet. Twelve year old Alek, who was on the machine side and was the Arch Duke of Austria-Hungary, was taken away by his teachers to protect him when his parents were killed. Deryn was on the animals’ side and was pretending to be a boy so that she could join the air service. The Leviathan is a giant, flying, fabricated whale with guns on top (a war ship) which Deryn accidentally lands on.

It was really exciting when they finally met. The first three quarters of the story was serious but exciting, then after Alek and Deryn met it got much funnier. I really enjoyed the whole story but I liked the last quarter best. I found going backwards and forwards between two sides a bit confusing, and the story didn’t do this anymore when they were together.

I enjoyed this book so I think other children from aged 10 would also enjoy it.

By MJ
Aged 10.
P.S. I’m going away for 6 months so I won’t be writing anymore reviews for a while!

Need - Carrie Jones

2010-02-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

Highlight the spoiler section to view if you want to - HR

When Zara’s step dad died from a heart attack, she had fallen deeper into depression. Her mum decides to send her to live with her grandmother in Maine, deciding that leaving the memories of her step-dad behind she might be happy again.

In Charleston, her old hometown, it was nice and warm but in Maine, it’s always cold and snowy. She begins school almost as soon as she arrives there and she immediately makes a new enemy, Megan.

Megan makes it clear that she hates Zara right from the beginning and is horrible to her. Zara also makes four best friends, Issie, Devyn, Ian and Nick. Those aren’t the only people watching out for her though, a creepy man keeps stalking her. All the time she hears him whispering her name, pointing at her, leaving a trail of golden dust and constantly following her around.

One night she finds a very large, injured, dog in the woods. She takes it home and cares for it whilst waiting for Nick to come home from searching for the stalker. When it gets late and she starts to worry about Nick, she gets ready to go and look for him, only to find him standing right behind her!

Spoilers***
She demands answers and eventually he tells her that he is a were-wolf, Devyn is a were-eagle, The school receptionist is a were-bear and her grandmother is a were-tiger!
Of course she doesn’t believe him but when Ian and Megan try to turn her into something evil they realise that the stalker is a pixie, Ian and Megan are pixies, all of the pixies had been killing the local boys for their power.
***end Spoilers

Zara and all her friends have to work together to trap the stalker (who Zara finds could mean something to her) and his followers.

Carrie Jones has written a tale full of magic, evil and romance. It has been put together perfectly and is brilliant. I don’t think I could find any better word to describe this book than ‘Magic’. I would say this book is aimed at girls 12+.

by PomPom

A Million Shades of Gray - Cynthia Kadohata

2010-02-01T02:42:00.000-08:00

This book was quite difficult to get into. When I started reading it, the story started from quite a random part and that made it quite difficult to get a grasp of. It was only at chapter four that I really started getting into it, that is why it has taken me so long to review it.

Y'tin and his family live in Vietnam, there is a war going on and Y'tin knew little about it. He didn't really care to know anything about it for he loved, more than anything in the world, to spend his time with elephants. His elephant, Lady, was the one he loved best and Y'tin spent most of his time with her. But when the war actually comes to his village, he is forced to let Lady go on her own into the jungle. Y'tin is captured by the North Vietnamese soldiers and is held hostage. After seeing many of his best friends killed, right in front of his eyes he makes a narrow escape into the jungle. There, he meets up with the other Elephants, and one of the elephant handlers, Tomas. The third elephant handler had been killed. Day after day they go through the jungle searching for their lost relatives. When one of his friends goes missing and he is put in charge of the search, a lot of the villagers are counting on him.

I think this an ok book. I wouldn't pick it from a shop and I think it's rather sad about all the deaths and everything and there are quite a few upsetting parts, but otherwise it's interesting and tells us about the Vietnam war, but from a young boy's point of view. I don’t think this would be for younger children because of the upsetting bits and they mightn’t understand some of it, I think this book if for girls and boys, aged 13+.

Pompom.

Interview with Debbie Viguie & Giveaway

2010-01-25T11:09:00.000-08:00

The lovely Debbie, co author of the Wicked series has, rather awesomely agreed to be interviewed by Zobdy and PomPom so without any more rubbish from me enjoy - HR

Z&P: Where did you get your inspiration for the Wicked series?

DV: The journey of Holly is very much like the hero’s journey. She gets the call to adventure, finds out that the world is a much larger place and that she has a role in it, and then goes on a quest to defeat evil. We took a lot of inspiration from some of the locations the books are set in as well as some of the historical events we embrace.

Did you have to do some research to write your books or did you make it all up?

That’s actually a very tricky question. In a way the answer is yes to both. A lot of research goes into every book I write. I wrote a series about theme parks and went to a lot of theme parks before creating my own. While mine is completely made up, it feels real for people who read the books because of the amount of detail I put in. When writing a scene that’s set in a place I’ve never been I try to do some research about the place, see if there are a few facts I can put in, and then I just have to imagine what it’s like to be there.

It’s the same thing with the Wicked series. We both researched Wiccan rituals and beliefs and then, with that knowledge in the back of our head, made everything up for the most part. That’s why real practitioners will sometimes point out that our use of some ceremonial objects or other details aren’t completely accurate. They’re not meant to be. We’re not writing factual accounts about practicing Wiccans at the end of the day, but taking some of the flavor of those beliefs and then asking ourselves “What if black magic existed and the world functioned in a certain way and someone who had no background or training could wield awesome powers?” Then we just went for it, trying to create a believable world in the Wicked books that our readers could really get into.

One of the really cool things we did revolved around actual historical events. We took real events, massacres, disasters, etc., and found ways to insert our characters into them. That actually required a lot of research, but was incredibly rewarding when we finally wrote the scenes.

When you were little, did you dream of being an author or something else?

I had two dreams when I was little. I wanted to be a writer and a veterinarian. I spent a lot of time studying to become a veterinarian before turning aside to pursue writing instead. I still love animals, but I think ultimately I chose the right career for me.

Now, if you weren’t an author, what do you think you would be?

If I wasn’t a writer I would be an actress. I love to act, to help bring other people’s stories to life. As it is, I do a lot of acting in community theater whenever possible. I find that the more I hone my writing skills, the more insightful I am as an actor. The one thing that’s better about acting than writing is you don’t have to wait as long to know whether or not people enjoyed your work. Rehearsals for a play typically run about six weeks and two hours after you step on stage opening night you know what people think of your performance. For a writer it can be up to a year before you get feedback from your audience.

How long does it take you to write a book?

Anywhere from three weeks to six months. It varies from book to book and a lot of factors go into it. Some books are easier to write than others and just seem to flow really well. Others require a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to write a single chapter.

Has a person ever inspired you?

A lot of people inspire me including family and friends. As far as helping me to choose to become an author I was deeply inspired by the western writer Zane Grey. He died long before I was ever born, but his books inspired me and I wanted to become a writer to make people feel the way I did when reading his books. My Wicked co-author, Nancy Holder, continually inspires me with her dedication to her craft and her ability to write so much so well.

What is your favorite character that you have made up?

That’s a really hard question. My favorite character, I guess, is in a book that has not yet hit stores so nobody would have a frame of reference if I tossed out that name. In the books that are already out, I guess my favorite character would be Becca from the Sweet Seasons series. The character was crazy fun to write and actually made me laugh out loud when I was writing her. She has this extreme allergy to sugar and whenever she gets hold of some, which she does at least once a book, she goes crazy hyper. The character is actually a composite of me, a friend of mine, and a stuffed bunny rabbit I have. Even though Becca isn’t the main character of the series she has gained a lot of love and support from readers. My husband was constantly lobbying for me to add more Becca scenes to each book.

What is the best book you have read?

The Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey is the best book I have ever read. It was the first Zane Grey novel I read and when I finished reading it I knew I wanted to be a writer too. The book follows the story of a gunfighter in the old west through his fall into outlaw ways and his eventual rise and salvation through joining the Texas Rangers. Zane Grey had a way of making the characters so incredibly real, it feels like you know them.

How has the co-authoring process worked on the Wicked series?

Nancy and I write very well together and we have similar writing styles. In order to write books together we put aside our own egos and make decisions not on personal wants or tastes, but on what’s best for the story. We have a rule “Never back, always forward”. What that means is that if one of us changes something, the other isn’t allowed to change it back, but only to change into something else new. This way the story constantly evolves forward until any particular piece isn’t my idea or hers, my words or hers, but ours. We generally split up the chapters and each write half. Then we swap them and revise them. Then each of us takes one last read through the manuscript to change/tweak what we need to. It’s worked out very well for us. The great part is you can point to almost any sentence in a book and although we can tell you who wrote the chapter initially, even we don’t know who actually wrote that particular sentence. It’s fantastic. The result is that the reader doesn’t hear my voice or her voice, but our voice. Many writers reference their books as their children and I guess in this way it’s an apt analogy. When you look at a book we wrote together you can distinguish Nancy’s rich descriptions and my fast pacing.

How did you write the book together, did you sit together and write or take it in turns to write different bits?

Unfortunately Nancy and I live in different states. Our collaborating happens on the phone and over email. Sometimes when we’re writing our own chapters we’ll wait until we get the previous chapter from the other. Other times we just carry on and change what we have to later to make sure everything fits together smoothly.

Did you find it difficult to write a book with another author instead of just by yourself?

Co-writing can be difficult, but with Nancy and I it is almost easier than writing by ourselves. That’s because whenever we don’t like something or are trying to work out a certain problem, the other one probably has the answer. When you can bounce ideas off someone you really trust it makes for a fun experience and also can ease the load and the pressure.

What was the first thing you got published, how did you do it, and how old were you?

I was twenty and I published a poem in an anthology. I got poetry magazines and market guides and entered contests and submitted for anthologies. I had half a dozen poems published this way. Then, I wrote an article about throwing a themed wedding which was published in a local bridal magazine because my florist knew the editor and the editor really wanted an article about what it takes to throw that kind of wedding.

The first book I had published was Wicked: Witch. Nancy invited me to co-write it with her after we had met a couple of years earlier at the Maui Writers Conference. A lot about getting writing work is networking, and that is true even when you’ve published several books. It’s always nice to know other writers who can tell you when an editor they know is looking for a particular kind of book that you might just happen to have.

I got my first rejection letter when I was twelve. I submitted a story to a children’s magazine and was told my work was too violent for children. I was a little confused by that. When I was twenty-nine I got to stand in a bookstore and see my name on a book for the first time. It was a long, hard road, but well worth it!

Me again, just to say a huge thanks to the girls and Debbie for this excellent interview. In addition and rather excitingly, I have a copy of the second volume of the Wicked series, that's books three and four to give away. So if you are interested all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and make sure you can be reached by email. It's open world wide and will close on the 7th February. - HR

The Wicked Series - Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié

2010-01-24T10:07:00.000-08:00

This is a series with five books in it. To start with I was only going to read the third and the fourth, Legacy and Spellbound. I started reading them but I didn’t understand what was going on so I read the first two, Witch and Curse. After I read them and everything made more sense, I was hooked.

It is a story about Holly Cathers who, when her parents die, goes to live with her twin cousins, Amanda and Nicole. Together, they discover that they are witches from the ancient house of Cahors. They get sucked into a feud with the house of Deveraux going back generations. When their lives are threatened, they have no choice but to fight back.

It is an action fantasy and, in some ways, a horror. I loved it. They are quite thick books and you may want to use a bookmark because the chapters are very long. I would recommend them for teenagers (mainly girls) as lots of people die so it might be upsetting for under tens.

I think it is a great series because it was full of suspense and I was desperate to know what would happen next, especially when they were separated from each other because the author made you care about the characters. I would love to read the fifth one.

By Zobdy

Age 13

Ok folks, just popping by to say the lovely Debbie has kindly agreed to be interviewed by Zobdy and PomPom. The interview should be up in a week or so and we will also be giving away a copy of the second volume (books three and four) so check back for that. - Hagelrat

YA Highway highlights YA blogs

2010-01-17T10:18:00.000-08:00

Saw this post, highlighting a bunch of blogs that focus on teen and YA fiction. It's a great spotlight post.

Magic Under Glass - Jaclyn Dolamore

2010-01-16T13:14:00.000-08:00

(this is the first post by one of our new reviewers so please giver her the customary warm Un:Bound welcome - Hagelrat).

Magic Under Glass By Jaclyn Dolamore is the best book I have ever read.

It is about a seventeen year old girl called Nimira, she sings and dances in a show that pays very little. When a gentleman named Hollin Parry walks into the show and asks her to work for him, singing alongside a clockwork man who plays the piano, she accepts gratefully.

When she sees the clockwork man or 'Automaton' she notices something strange about it. A few days later when the automaton was wound up, it starting murmuring, Nimira was shocked, she then realised, he was trying to communicate with her by tapping the piano keys. The automaton's name is Erris, and Nimira, finds out he is a fairy prince.

Erris explained that in the midst of a battle, Fairies against Sorcerers, he had been turned into the automaton. A kind Sorcerer called Garvin had found him and had planned to restore Erris to a fairy, but Garvin was killed mysteriously.

Spoiler section highlight to read.

Eventually, with the help of Annalie and the mysterious Queen of the longest night, Nimira manages to turn Erris into a human. When Hollin finds out he is furious! For he thinks fairies are all evil. When Smollings takes Erris away, all of them think up a plan and Garvin's spirit enters Annalie to defeat Smollings. Fortunately, Erris is alive but all his clockwork mechanism is opened up. In the end they defeat smollings and are going in search of Erris's sister's husband.

End of spoilers

I think this is a brilliant book. Probably aimed at girls, aged 12 - 14

You need a very good imagination for this book otherwise the plot would not make sense. I would love Jaclyn Dolamore to make a sequel to this book as I think the ending suggests another part of the story is needed. I read this book solid in 6 hours and loved it to pieces.

Announcements

2009-12-24T00:30:00.000-08:00

Hi folks, I am popping by with a couple of announcements today.

Fist of all we will have some new reviewers joining us soon. PomPom has officially come on board and there are two other volunteers who I will be getting names from and announcing soon.

Also, the delightful Debbie Viguie co author of the Wicked series has agreed to be interviewed. Zobdy is reading one of her books now and she and PomPom will be conducting the interview in January.

You may also have noticed the shelfari widget. We will be adding the books that we review to it as we go along.

Have a Happy Christmas all and we will see you next year.

Ice - Sarah Beth Durst

2009-12-14T13:29:00.000-08:00

I thought this book was amazing and I loved it. It is about a girl called Cassie, who has lived in a research station in the Arctic all her life and she loves it. When she was little, her grandmother told her that her (Cassie’s) mother was the daughter of the North Wind, and the North Wind had promised that she would marry the Polar Bear King when she was old enough. But she fell in love with a human man (Cassie’s dad) so she (Cassie’s mother) promised that when she had a daughter (Cassie), her daughter could marry the Polar Bear King instead. The North Wind was so angry that he blew Cassie’s mum into the troll castle where she has been ever since.

Cassie stopped believing that when she was four. Her father had told her that her mother had been killed in a blizzard. But, on her eighteenth birthday, the Polar Bear King comes for her and she realises that the story is true and her mum could still be alive. She makes a deal with the Polar Bear King and says that she will marry him if he saves her mum. He agrees so she stays with him. Gradually, she begins to love him and when he is taken away, she makes a perilous journey to save him.

It is a great book with magic, mystery, excitement, action, romance and a talking polar bear. What more could you ask for? In places, the story didn’t move on as quickly as I would have liked it to but I loved it anyway. I read it non-stop in two days. I would love to read other books written by Sarah Beth Durst. I would recommend it for 10+ (probably girls).

By Zobdy

Age 12

The Monstrumologist: The Terror Beneath by Rick Yancey

2009-12-05T09:41:00.000-08:00

This is a non-review as I have not finished the book. It’s about a doctor who studies monsters (a monstrumologist) and his assistant, an orphaned, twelve year old boy called Will Henry.

I enjoyed reading this book and will probably get back to it later but if I waited that long to write a review, it would be too late. I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t get into this book, it didn’t grip me. I got distracted by other things and, like I said, I’ll probably get back to it another time.

I normally like books like this, mysterious, mythical, a little bit gory, but it just didn’t make me want to read it. It was well written and it had an interesting story and I enjoyed it but I just didn’t get sucked in. Ironically, the Prologue says that an old man had just died and another man had been given his journal (the rest of the book) to read because it’s the kind of story he might like, but it says it sat on his shelf for nearly six months until he reads it and decides it’s nothing but fiction. I will probably be the same except I think I might enjoy the story more than he did when I finally get round to reading it properly.

By Zobdy

Age 12

Reviewers Needed

2009-11-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

Hi folks, Pizza is sadly withdrawing from blogging because, frankly, he's just that age where he needs to be focusing on exams and his writing rather than the blog. It's a shame and he will be missed, he's been a huge contribution to Young & Un:Bound.
I wish him all the best for future and hope when things settle down he'll return to blogging, even if not to us here.

In the meantime this means we are now severely under par. The one drawback of using younger reviewers is frankly school is a much bigger time suck than work so the more we have the better covered we are. On the plus side we get wonderful frank reviews about books from the agegroup they are aimed at.

I would like to open up the roster, if anyone out there is under sixteen and would like to review for us here at the youth site I would be delighted to have you on board! In order to maintain anonimity, if you are under 14 I would ask that you email reviews to me and I will post them, with your blog name at the end, as I do for MJ & Zobdy. If you are happy to receive occasional books to review from me then include your postal address when you email me and I will send them out to you from time to time, dishing them out as they come in to me. Worldwide postage is no problem although it may restrict you to paperbacks.

If you are interested please email me at hagelrat (at) googlemail (dot) com with your age, user name (not real name) and any strong reading likes/dislikes (do you hate horror or love historical novels? Are you a captain underpants fan?) .
I am happy for contact to go through a parent rather than being direct and there is no specific time commitment, as and when you can is fine.

Troubadour - Mary Hoffman

2009-11-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

Troubadour is set in Southern France in the thirteenth century. The story starts in a Lord’s castle where the Lord’s thirteen year old daughter, Elinor, is making her first appearance as Lady Elinor, a young noblewoman. Her favourite troubadour (travelling musician), Bertran, is moving on to the next town and Elinor’s parents have arranged for her to be married to a Lord in his forties so Elinor, dressed as a boy, sneaks into another troubadour’s troupe with the help of the joglars and joglaresas (minstrels). As Elinor flees, the Pope declares war and the whole of Southern France is chaos.

The story starts with a scene in the Lord’s castle but then splits off into telling what is happening to Elinor, Bertran and also the Pope and his forces. As the story goes on, and we meet more characters and groups slit up, we see what is going on in lots of different places. I enjoyed this because if it had only been following one person there wouldn’t have been nearly as much information and it wouldn’t have been very interesting.

Also, at the back of the book, there is a glossary and historical notes. I found the glossary useful because there were words that I didn’t recognise and I found the historical notes very interesting because I had never heard of the French crusades and I enjoyed the background information.

I thought it was very well written and it kept me hooked. I was desperate to know what would happen to Elinor and her friends so I kept reading it. I would recommend this book to eleven plus.

Zobdy

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

2009-10-13T21:46:00.001-07:00

I bought this book for two reasons, firstly; the cover looked awesome, secondly because I had heard several great reviews about it. But plot first, review second.

It begins with some kids who were raised by scientists after being created using 98% human DNA and 2% bird hence, they are pretty much angels. The leader of the gang of angels is called "Maximum" and helps them to escape from the cruel experiments these scientists do to them. The 6 children (Max, Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge and Angel) are in hiding from these scientists for years until one day they are found and they kidnap the youngest, Angel who is just 6 years old. Half the book is about finding and rescuing Angel and the other, I can't tell you.

I enjoyed the plot of the story, it could be a very good book if it was written better. Firstly, the names were terrible or strange apart from Max who I actually thought was a boy until page 50. Also, it seemed to be very repetitive. If I had a nickel for every time the bad guys came and they got away then I would be seriously rich. I usually don't care how many chapters or how long they are but this 450 page book had nearly or more 150 chapters!

It was sort of ridiculous how the author divided the chapters, most of them continued SECONDS after the last one. I was really excited about this book because I loved the cover and heard cool reviews of it, I decided to break the score down to give you an idea:

Plot- 4/5

Addictivness- 3/5

Written- 2/5

Characters- 2/5

Overall: 2.75 stars out of 5.

(I really don't like to give bad reviews but I try to be honest, apologies to James Patterson fans. The plot was good enough to consider reading the next one in the series but it was badly written.)

The Sea-Wreck Stranger by Anna MacKenzie

2009-10-12T02:17:00.000-07:00

This book isn't what I considered my kind of genre, but I decided to give it a go and was relatively pleased. So it begins with a young girl named "Nessie" who lives on a remote island who had experienced a terrible past with the ocean involving disease and death, ever since the people have been scared of the sea. Nessie and her brother Ty are both orphans, her mother and father both victims of this disease. They live with their aunt and uncle who aren't very pleasant people and live on a farm similar to our world's; milking, beef etc. One day Nessie and Ty decide to go for a peaceful walk on the beach and find a stranger washed up on the shore, they know that he is not from the island and acknowledge that he will die if they leave him there or tell anyone so they hide him in a cave. For weeks the children feed him and take care of his injured leg and another child their age finds out and pretty much dobs them in. People find out and the island people are worried about what this stranger will bring.

As I said, not my genre but it is a light and interesting read. Suitable for ages 10 and up, I enjoyed the concept but I wasn't too sure about how it was written. Not a very well-known author and I think it is only published in Australia and New Zealand. 3 stars.

Warriors of Ethandun - NM Brown

2009-10-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

Warriors of Ethandun

By N.M. Brown

This is a historical adventure fiction story. It’s set in Anglo-Saxon and Viking times. 21^st century children travel back in time and find themselves in a seriously scary adventure!

This story involves magic, war and a bloodthirsty bear. I really enjoyed it but I thought it was too scary sometimes. The adventure was exciting.

The two 21^st century children were my favourite characters. The author described them really well.

I think this book was a bit too old for me because there was so much fighting and the scary bear (don’t cuddle your teddy bear while you’re reading it!) But it was a good book and children aged 13+ will enjoy it.

By M.J.

aged 10

(Hagelrat here. On reflection it possibly was a little old for MJ but I also read some of the book and whilst clearly judgement impaired when it comes to judging age suitability I also thought it was an entertaining fantasy adventure. A sort of updated Narnia. It's part of a series.)

Foundling by D.M Cornish

2009-09-08T04:07:00.000-07:00

Written by D.M Cornish this book is one of my favorites, nearly beating the best book I've ever read ("Abhorsen"). It is set in the land known as the Half-Continent, this land is shared by humans and monsters. It begins in a orphanage known as "Madam Opera's Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls" or something along the lines of that, the term "Foundling" in this book means, "also wastrel. Stray people, usually children, found without a home or shelter on the streets of cities or even, amazingly, wandering alone exposed to the wild".

Well it begins at this orphanage where a boy with a girl's name (Rossamund) is left at the orphanage as a baby. Rossamund grows up in this place, unexposed to the world outside his city containing monsters and horrible creatures, but for the first time, he must leave. At a certain age, the children are selected to a career by employers, Rossamund is selected to be a "Lamplighter", a job that involves travelling and being vunerable to monsters in the outside world. He ventures to a city called "High Vesting" where is will recieve instructions, if he ever gets there.

I give this book 4.8 stars, it is awesome! I have never seen an author go to so much trouble over their book. That meaning for "Foundling" was taken from the second half of the book which contains a dictionary for the Half-Continent, it is also complete with nearly 200 pages of maps, diagrams and information about the Half-Continent. I look forward to reading the second book in this series.

Artemis Fowl Book 1 by Eoin Colfer

2009-09-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

This book is the first in a best-seller series by Eoin Colfer. It features two different settings and two different characters; Artemis and Holly.

Artemis is only twelve years of age but is already an academic prodigy, producing, using and developing ideas and technology to manipulate ways in the business world to restore his family's fortune which had been lost by his father who went missing on a trip to the artic circle.

Artemis' first idea is to uncover an ancient and secret civilisation known commonly as sprites or fairies, his body guard; Butler is doubtful at this initially and comes to realise there is a civilisation that runs bellow Earth hidden from man-kind for centuries.

Meanwhile, in the spirte civilisation, Holly is the only female officer of the sprite's police, the LEPrecons; hence where the name leprecon started. She is having trouble fitting in with all the male officers of the force yet is keen on her assignments. Holly is the forces best pilot, but on a trip to stonehenge to replenish her magic she is kidnapped by Artemis who has a few theorys of taking advantage of Holly to gain gold.

Together, the two come to realise that they are not so different from one another.

A great childrens fantasy book with a modern twist. Eoin Colfer is a genius, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. This is currently in a series of six.

The Ashleys, Lipgloss Jungle - Melissa De La Cruz

2009-09-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

Lipgloss Jungle is not the first in the series. I have never read the first book but I still understood the story.

It is about the three Ashleys, Ashley Spencer (known as Ashley), Ashley Alioto (A.A.) and Ashley Li (Lili). They are the queen bees of the school and all wear the same style of clothes, have bags by the same designer and wear the same shade of pink lipgloss.

I gathered that in the previous book, Lauren Page, whose family had recently gained a lot of money, hatched a plan to join the Ashleys and break them up from the inside.

Everyday, the Ashleys (and Lauren successfully continuing her quest) go to Starbucks and have a Soy Latte each (Ashley’s favourite drink) and then they sit on the bench outside their school and “help the fashionably challenged” (make mean comments about the other girls’ clothes).

Trouble stirs when the mysterious S. Society sit on the bench and the war begins. Ashley is horrified and orders the attack. But maybe A.A. and Lili don’t want to be the same anymore?

Each chapter focuses on a different girl and I liked it because I could see what each of them were thinking and if they were planning anything that they haven't told the others. It also gives all four sides of the story so you can decide who was in the right.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it was fun to read and it was exciting finding out what they were going to plot next. I wish I could read the rest of the series. I would recommend it to girls between the ages of nine and fifteen.

By Zobdy
Age 12

just dropping in

2009-09-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

to say how gorgeous is our new logo?

The Fire Within by Chris d'Lacey - Review + Interview

2009-08-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

It starts in the small and rather odd town of Scrubbley, where a man called David seeks a home while doing University/College. David finds a place with only two occupants, a woman and her daughter. At first they seem like very ordinary people, the daughter Lucy is just what a small child should be like, imaginative and slightly rude. Mrs. Pennykettle (Lucy's mother), makes pottery, not just any pottery, but dragons. Her and Lucy's lifes seem to revolve around dragons, as a housewarming gift, David is given a dragon with a notepad and a pencil in his hand. They tell him to try and speak to it, strangely, the dragon beings to write, giving him ideas for a story to give to Lucy, based on a true story, one that continues throughout the book.

I give it 3 stars out of 5, I think it is mainly for children up to 13, interesting and different.

Interview:

Which is your favorite book of all time?
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Which genre of reading are you most interested in?
Nothing specific. I liked Science Fiction when I was younger.

Did you read or write at all when you were a kid?
I read (comics mostly) but I didn't write.

When did you start writing?
When I was 32.

Do you picture any of the characters from "The Fire Within" as yourself?
David is based on me when I was younger, but there are shades of an author's personality in all of the characters they write.

Out of all your books, which is your favorite?
Dark Fire

Out of your characters, which one is your favorite?
Bonnington!

When and why did you get into writing?
When I was 32 and to try something different from songwriting.

Are you currently writing anything now?
The next dragon book, as yet untitled.

And the random question (do not be offended, it's just a bit of fun
and it is interesting to see replys)....
If you accidently swallowed a T.V, and it was electricuting you, how
would you stop it?
I like to think I'd pull the plug out!

Pizza
Age 14

Logo Update

2009-08-21T04:44:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to pop in and say, in the next couple of weeks my darling of a designer is going to produce a proper graphic for Young & Un:Bound. He has some amazing ideas and I can't wait to see what he produces.

The Fall by Garth Nix

2009-08-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

"The Fall" is the first book in "The Seventh Tower" series. It is about a boy who lives in a castle, along with other high or low ranking dormitories, and they have all never been to the world outside of the castle.

The world he lives in is always dark, there is a veil which keeps it dark, this is important to uphold the rule of magic.

When any of the "Chosen" turn thirteen, after, on the Day of Ascenation where they all enter the spiritual world (Aenir) to get a Spirit Shadow. When the Chosen are under the age of thirteen, they are given a Shadow Guard, which is similar to a Spirit Shadow but less important. When his father has disappeared on a mission for the empress, he has the families primary sunstone.

All of the Chosen have at least one sunstone, they can be used for many things: Healing, Music, Heat etc. But a primary sunstone is essential to enter Aenir, if you don't have one you join the Underfolk who work as servants for the Chosen. Desperate to get a sunstone, he tries to still a primary sunstone from the Seventh Tower. He falls back through "The Veil" and falls to a place he is not familiar with. He begins a quest with a "mad-girl" back to the castle.

I think this is a great science fiction book. It is about a whole other world, the author (Garth Nix) did a great job of it and I look forward to reading his other books.

Pizza

Age 14

Mister Monday by Garth Nix

2009-08-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

One of Garth Nix's most well known series, The Keys to the Kingdom. I am on two sides with this book. As much as I think it is a great book, it is very different I suppose you could say.

It is about a boy named Arthur Penhaligon who goes to a new school and is very asthamtic. During a school run, he has a terrible asthama attack, two other class members go to fetch a teacher, in the mean time two very strange characters show up expecting him to die. He is given a key, presumably one character; Mister Monday is supposed to take the key back when he dies, but Arthur lives. The key is now his and he unlocks a whole new world behind it all. An inventive idea in my opinion.

Many more strange people come to collect the key and they don't care how many people die doing it. A disease comes up from these people and soon enough most of the town has the disease known as "The Sleepy Plague", they can't wake up. The town is put in quarantine and Arthur is the only hope of finding a cure.

It's an interesting book and it is an easy read but I'd say it's suitable for children from age 11 up to adults even.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I look forward to reading the rest of this series in the future.

By Pizza,
Age 14

Young & Un:Bound - Reviewrs wanted

2009-08-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

This is a call for anyone under 16 who would like to review for Y&U?

The guidelines are simple any book suitable for children, teen and YA suitable for younger readers. Bad language is not permitted on Y&U for obvious reasons. That's about it. No particular time commitment is required, if you send me your email address, age and handle I will invite you to blog on the site, if you prefer not to be an accessable presence online then like MJ and Zobdy you can email me the reviews and I shall add cover images and pop them up with credit to your handle.

I have no issue with my team requesting books on the basis of their work for Y&U but would ask that you be respectful of our relationship with publishers, if you request a book, please review it, if they send it unsolicited then great if you can, if you don't fancy it perhaps offer it up as a giveaway or pass it to another member of the team.

I hope I will hear from one or two of you out there to really invigourate this new

The Giver by Lois Lowry

2009-08-02T03:35:00.000-07:00

Our class was asked to read this book before school started again by my English teacher. To be quite honest our English teacher treats us like we don't read much, but most of us don't, just me and a few friends. I also thought it would be a book that would be an easy read, I was right, read it in 3 hours. But I must say it IS a children's book, but it doesn't mean adults and teens can't read it, and it was great! I saw several reviews of it, it seemed good, but I was going to leave it until the last minute, in the end, I gave into curiousity and I was surprised.

It begins in a world, or as it is mentioned in the book, a "community" of people who live perfect lifestyles without colour, pain, sorrow, love, lies and rudeness. It starts with a boy called Jonas who is 11-12 years old. They are ranked for their age, so Jonas was classified as an Eleven, he is about to have his years ceremony for the end of that year, meaning, his job is chosen, not by him, but by others.

In this world, you do not choose your life, it is chosen for you, your spouse is chosen to who you match and your children are also chosen for you. At the Twelve ceremony Jonas' name was not called out, everyone was startled, but at the end the elder calls Jonas up. The elder makes the announcement that he is to be the new reciever, a great honour which is very rare. Jonas is given a folder with puzzling instructions which he never thought he would need, most of them things like "you may ask anyone, anything", and "you may lie". So the next day Jonas comes to training, not knowing what the Reciever actually does, he finds an old man, the previous Receiver. Jonas asks, "what do I call you?" he replies "call me the Giver".

But together the new Receiver (Jonas) and the Giver try to stop the perfect ways of the community and bring back love, colour and emotions to the world. It is an addictive and rather easy read. Great for all ages.

By Pizza

Age 14

New Member - Pizza

2009-08-02T03:01:00.000-07:00

Hi folks I just wanted to welcome Pizza to the team. Pizza will be cross posting some of the reviews from Pizza's Book Discussion over here at Young & Un:Bound.

Pig City - Louis Sachar

2009-07-28T10:37:00.001-07:00

Pig City
By Louis Sachar

I didn't want to read this book at first because the blurb on the back made it sound boring. Then I found out it was by the author who wrote 'Holes' so I thought it was worth trying. I thought the title looked cool because the letters were all buildings.

It's about a girl called Laura Sibbie who starts a club with her friends, called Pig City, when children aren't allowed to make clubs because of her school rules. Laura asks someone to join her club but they don't want to. So he makes a new club called Monkey Town. What makes this book interesting is the relationship between the two club leaders.

I usually like to read action stories but I still really liked this book. I would give it 10 out of 10!!!!!!!! This story is about people, secrets and friendships. It kept me glued to the story so much that I finished it in 2 nights!!!!!!!!!!!

By MJ
aged 10

The Thornthwaite Inheritance - Gareth P Jones

2009-07-20T09:49:00.001-07:00

The Thornthwaite Inheritance

By Gareth P. Jones

The Thornthwaite Inheritance is about identical twins, Lorelli and Ovid Thornthwaite. They live in a creepy mansion without a mother or father and are completely cut off from the rest of the village. Another thing which makes them different from most thirteen-year-olds is that they spend their time trying to kill each other.

It starts with a truce which causes a chain of events leading to the explanation of everything that happened to their parents. It gets very complicated towards the end when their history is uncovered. I would recommend reading this book when you are in the mood to work things out. If you read this when you are tired, you will get confused.

Overall, it is a great book, filled with action, mystery and murder. It is fun to read and I couldn’t put it down. As the plot unravels, remember, everything is not always as it seems.

By Zobdy

Age 12

Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy

2009-07-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

This book stars Skulduggery Pleasant and his side kick Stephanie. This is a detective book with a difference. He is dead.

With his sunglasses gone there is no doubt that he's a skeleton with a skull for a head. You have a skull for a head and you fight evil, they can just take off your head and throw it away; no they go and try to turn you to dust instead of that.

My favourite character is Skulduggery because he's funny and he's got a skull for a head that he won in a poker match. My favourite part is when he's in a room and he just keeps missing being turned into dust, because Serpine is trying to turn him into dust with the sceptre of the ancients but he just keeps missing and turning the walls to dust instead, and eventually Skulduggery turns Serpine into dust.

I like this book because it is funny, exciting and it has magic fireballs in it.

by MJ
aged 9

Skulduggery Pleasant - Playing With Fire by Derek Landy

Derek Landy is an excellent writer, with good thoughts and imagination. This is another book about the amazing Skulduggery Pleasant, and how escapes the trouble he gets himself into.

Valkyrie Cane (Stephanie) learns magic and together she and Skulduggery defeat the evil vampire, Dusk, and the Grotesquery. The Grotesquery is a huge monster made up of different magical creatures. It can even teleport a short distance.

My favourite part was when the cleavers kept attacking the Grotesquery in the same place to try to kill it because it had really hard skin. Eventually the Grotesquery killed the cleavers. So Valkyrie Cain picked up Tanith Low's sword and killed the Grotesquery. This is my favourite part because I like big battles in books, and this battle was really hard to win.

I liked this book because it was funny, exciting and adventurous.

by MJ
aged 9

Skulduggery Pleasant - The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy

This is the third book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series. I really like the bit at the bottom of the page, it says "Do panic. They're coming." This is an adventure book about a detective with a borrowed head.

This book is about a man called Batu, who really is a non-magical person called Paddy. He was trying to bring back a group of gods who take over and destroy the world. But he needed an Isthmus Anchor and a teleporter, but he has murdered all the teleporters except for two, and then he kills another teleporter so there is only one teleporter left, an he is only a child. If I tell you any more I will end up telling you the whole story.

My favourite part was when Solomon Wreath, a necromancer, tells Valkyrie Cain that they need to find Skulduggery's original head to open up the gateway. They want to open the gateway again to get Skulduggery out, and they can't use the Grotesquery to open it like last time because Skulduggery threw the Grotesquery into the other realm before he went in. It is my favourite part because it is going to be really hard because they don't know who took it except that it was elves.

I really enjoyed the book because it was funny and kept me in suspense.

by MJ
aged 9

Harry Potter Companion Books - JK Rowling

2009-07-18T03:50:00.001-07:00

The Tales Of Beedle The Bard, Quidditch Through The Ages and Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

By J.K. Rowling

This very entertaining trilogy is based on J.K. Rowling’s award winning Harry Potter series. All three are books that are in the Hogwarts school library.

The Tales Of Beedle The Bard is illustrated by J.K Rowling herself. It is a book of fairy tales that young witches and wizards are supposedly told as bedtime stories. With comments from the great professor, Albus Dumbledore, it is a very enjoyable book.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is a copy of Harry Potter’s own text book, complete with his own amusing notes and jottings, often based on his own experience of these creatures. I enjoyed reading about the nundu and the lethifold and other creatures that I had not yet encountered in the Harry Potter series. There is a short foreword written, again, by Dumbledore, and an introduction by the “author”, Newt Scamander, complete with an A-Z of beasts.

Quidditch Through The Ages is supposedly taken from the Hogwarts school library. At the front, there are the names of the people who have taken it out plus a few jottings. It is the full history of the popular wizarding sport, Quidditch. It explains how the golden snitch was thought up, talks about some of the current teams and says how the game has evolved. Once again, there is a foreword by Dumbledore.

I recommend these books to Harry Potter fans everywhere. They can be read separately or as a set. They are small, uncomplicated books that are fun to read and easy to dip into when you’re bored. They might not be interesting for people who have not read the Harry Potter books, but if you have, they’re great!

By Zobdy
Age 12

Welcome

2009-07-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Young and Un:Bound. Generally speaking you won't hear from me here, but I thought i'd introduce it.

I will eventually approach my lovely designer about a logo of it's own but for now it's a hatchett job by me, so sorry about that. He's very busy and I can't actually pay him, so y'know, wit my turn.

The point of this blog is that we now have two younger reviewers coming on board, looking at childrens and young adults books. I considered how best to divide content and settled on giving my tween bloggers their own space to inhabit. I think this is going to be a great place for teens and their parents to get a peer view on the books they want to read.

Anyway, we will be kicking off the reviews tomorrow with a look at three books designed to accompany the Harry Potter series.