Afterwards by K M Kendrick

 

2024 

upper secondary  Key Stage 4, ages 14 -17, Kendrick Karen,  afterlife, dystopia, teen pregnancy,     

Girl is dead.

She knows she is dead because she remembers dying. The afterlife is not what she had expected – she has awoken into a nightmare, in which everything seems hell-bent on killing her all over again. She is the only one who remembers what life was like before death and she has no idea why.

Also, Girl is pregnant and that shouldn’t be in this setting. The birth of the baby will change everything about this world. It may end it. 

The only way to beat the game is to keep moving forwards, even if it means the end of the world.

We get to the end of the novel. The baby is born. The world changes but doesn’t end. There may be a sequel.

Boy is ordered to kill her but in the end he doesn’t want to. Ali becomes at once her friend and her protégé. His presence in the novel shows a softer side of Girl.      

Grim in places, Karen Kendrick’s Afterwards is also fast-paced and emotionally challenging. It is a larger font novel with 296 pages.  

 

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Looking for Lucie by Amanda Addison

 2024  

 

upper secondary  Key Stage 4, ages 14 -17, Addison Amanda, identity, arranged marriages, partition,  nature  / nurture debate,   

Lucie doesn’t know who her father is. She is dark-skinned and doesn’t look like the rest of her family: Mum Tori, sister Maisie and step-dad Steve.  She cannot answer the question “Where are you from originally?” Or even the kinder question “Where are you from?”   Mum Tori is keeping a secret. Tori is a professional photographer. Lucie is good at art.

Nav is brilliant at maths, taking after his mother Maryam. His dad is a GP.  Mum and Uncle Nabeel share a secret.

Lucie and Nav collide in a corridor on the day A-Level results come out.  Lucie’s phone is broken. Nav offers to get it mended. Lucie is anxious as she has sent off a DNA test and needs the phone for two-step authentication. Fortunately Nav has this covered.

And then the coincidences that we forgive in all stories begin. Maryam has set up a site where people can register their DNA for free and Nav loads up Lucie’s result. They find a match; it is Maryam.  She is in fact Lucie’s aunt. Now that that is out in the open Tori, Maryam and Nabeel have to come clean about the secrets they’re holding.  Lucie’s father was Hanif, Maryam and Nabeel’s brother. Hanif too was good at art. Tori thought Hanif had deserted her but if fact he died in an accident as he was running away from having to face an arranged marriage. The shock of this made the family more understanding when Maryam wishes to marry Maneer who was of lower status than herself – though there was some respect for him being a doctor. To save the honour of the girl who had been supposed to marry Hanif, Nabeel married her. The readers, Tori and Lucie are surprised at how well that has worked.       

Lucie and Nav are cousins and remain firm friends as they both go through university.

The book is 259 pages long in blocked serif text. There is a family tree at the end of the book which does provide a bit of a spoiler.  There is a postscript from the author about how she came to write the book.         

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Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

                

A Celebration of Beatrix Potter, Arts and Letters

 

2002 

In this volume are the responses in art and words by thirty artists to the life and work of Beatris Potter.

Excerpts of: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tailor of Gloucester, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan, The Tale of Jeremy Fisher, the Tale of Jemina Puddleduck and The Tale of Mr Tod are reproduced with Beatrix Potter’s original illustrations.

The artists’ responses include a few words about their reaction to the story and what they know about Potter.

Artists are: Jon Agee, Jen Corace, Pat Cummings, Tomie dePaola, Tony DiTerlizzi, Matthew Forsythe, Stephanie Graegin, Chuck Groenink, Chris Haughton, Brian Karas, Jarrett Krosoczka, Betsy Lewin, E. B. Lewis, Renata Liwska, Wendell Minor, Kelly Murphy, Brian Pinkney, Peggy Rathmann, Chris Raschka, Peter Reynolds, Dan Santat, Judy Schachner, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, David Soman, David Ezra Stein, Melissa Sweet, Rosemary Wells, Brendan Wenzel, David Wiesner, Pamela Zagarenski, and Paul Zelinsky

Many of the artists recognise as I do that much of Potter’s work isn’t just about cute little animals; there is a darker side to nature.

This is a picture book, 110 pages long. Potter’s work is presented ragged right as it was originally but the texts form the artists are blocked. It uses a serif font with difficult ‘a’s and ‘g’s but this is large and double-spaced.

This is certainly a special edition but it is also packed with information.  It would also be useful for project work on Potter. 

 

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Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.   

The Taexali Game by Nancy Jardine

2019 

Twins Brian and Fianna, and their friend Aron take part in the twins’ father’s experiment.  We are talking about the most sophisticated of computer games.

They are propelled back to the AD250, the time when the Celts are invaded by the Romans under the Emporer Severus. Aran knows his history well and is perceived by both the Celts and the Romans as some sort to soothsayer.

The three young people take quite a few risks. There is an ‘ejector seat’ and they can all finish the game if they agree.

They keep going and find out a lot about the time they are visiting. Fianna begins to take an interest in all of the handsome young men she encounters. She also discovers that her twin brother is far more caring than she’d thought.

They all learn a new respect for Callum, the twins’ father and also the computer expert.

The video game here is quite sophisticated not just because it takes them to a past that feels very realistic. It is also way ahead of what we know already. Or perhaps  Nancy Jardine has recognised something that is  just around the corner?

The text is 250 pages long. I read the book on Kindle so the font may vary. The text is blocked.

There is information about the author and her research at the end of the book.  

Find your copy here 

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.   

 

Keedie by Elle McNicholl

 

2024   

teen, lower secondary, upper primary   key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, ages 9-11, ages 10 -13, McNicoll Elle,

Keedie and her twin Nina become fourteen years old during the course of the story and are facing challenges that being that age brings.  They have grown apart. Keedie is a little different from most girls her age. And then there is their younger sister Adeline (Addie).

Both Keedie and Adeline are autistic. So is Keedie’s friend  Bonnie.

There are bullies at the Keedie’s school and she finds a way of dealing with them that is far more effective than anything the school faculty offers.  Keedie actually makes some money by offering her services to fellow students who are being bullied. She aims to do this in a none-violent way.    

Sadly the money is not enough to put down a deposit to send Addie to a very special private school.

She realises anyhow that even though the way she worked with the bullies was very effective, she shouldn’t have taken money for the service.

Keddie is also completely honest about the village’s ancestor, Duncan Juniper. She uncovers the truth about him in the public speaking competition. He was in involved in slavery, he had a negative attitude towards the poor and he called for the execution of any Scots who rebelled. He was, in fact, yet another bully.    

There is tension throughout between her and Nina. Nina’s new circle of friends don’t approve of Keedie.  Yet a strong bond remains between the siblings and both of them adore Addie.

Despite her social awkwardness, Keedie has some good friends, her family and a couple of the more enlightened teachers are on her side.  

There are notes about the author, the book cover illustrator and the publishing company at the end of the book.

The book is 207 pages long and uses a blocked text and an adult serif with difficult   ‘a’s and ‘g’s.   Some of Keedie’s own language is quite sophisticated. The text is double spaced. 

 

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The Ice Children by M. G. Leonard, illustrated by Penny Neville-Lee

 

2023 

Bianca and her younger brother Finn argue over a glittery book that Finn has taken from the library. Then five year old Finn is found frozen in a local park. Gradually more and more children turn up frozen in the park.

Bianca realises it is to do with the strange book which it turns our never was in the library catalogue.  Each frozen child has a copy of the book.  She finds the factory where the books are made and meets the strange team of twins Pitter and Patter, Jack (Frost) and Quilo who disguise themselves as one grown-up man.  

Bianca manages to obtain a copy of the book; she too is frozen and is taken to the land of Winterton. Here she meets the Snow Queen who had taken a liking to her brother. Yes, here are echoes of the Hans Christian Anderesen story and also of the Narnia chronicles. And just as in Andresen’s story, the ice children have a shard in their hearts.

Winterton is a magical place with fairground rides, hot chocolate fountains and marshmallows that grow on trees.    

The Snow Queen is dying because of climate change.  Winter is disappearing. And if something doesn’t happen to reverse the warming of the planet all of the children with the splinters in their hearts will die at the time of the winter solstice. They will know nothing of it but will continue to live happily in Winterton.

Bianca finds another way and shows the grown-ups what they must do. The children are unfrozen and returned to their families, all determined to fight climate change and save winter and the Snow Queen

There are some monochrome pencil illustrations throughout.

There is a little information about both the author and the illustrator at the end of the book.  

The text is quite dense, blocked and in a serif font with difficult ‘a’s and ‘g’s.  It is double-spaced. 

Find your copy here  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing. 

 

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Britt Pfeifer wants to prove herself and so sets out on a trekking trip with best friend Korbie. Britt has been dating Korbie’s brother, Calvin but he dumped her just before the school prom.  The trip starts off badly; Britt and Korbie get stuck in a snow storm.  They find shelter in a cabin but they are in even more danger now; two criminals on the run are sheltering there.

All is not as it seems. Britt gradually finds out that the real criminal is neither Shaun nor Mason (whose real name is Jude). Calvin has killed five young women, apparently because of his jealousy of their success.  He has been holed up in family cabin, pretending to have been attending Stanford. Britt also witnesses him killing Shaun.

Calvin’s father had persistently bullied him. We are led to believe that is why he behaves the way that he does.

Calvin attempts to kill himself by hanging but Britt and Jude rescue him in time.  However, he has suffered brain damage.  He will still probably get a life sentence but not in normal jail.

Britt’s friendship with Korbie is ruined.

However, she goes to college, makes some good friends and meets up with Jude again in the summer.

This is a fast-paced novel, with well-drawn characters and a convincing setting.

It is 401 pages long.   

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