Circle of Liars by Kate Francis

 

Kate Francis gives us gives us multiple points of view in this novel, but more often than not we are with Ana, whose twin brother, Danny, was killed in a fire at their school.

Seven school friends are invited to go on a luxury holiday on the anniversary of the fire. However, they end up ay at a motel that has seen better days. The rooms are in need of refurbishment, the swimming pool is empty and there is no food available.  Not long after they arrive the bus explodes and the bus driver crosses the line that surrounds them and is shot.

They are invited to participate in a Balloon Game. At the end of each hour they have to vote for who should cross the line and get killed.

As we slip into each point of view we realise that all seven are partly to blame for what happened. Ana teases us and hangs on to her secret the longest.

The young people do fight back and Ana is able to crack the code to the bunker form which the antagonist works.  It is the father of Karl Hunt.  Karl is believed to have started the fire. Mr Hunt is collecting evidence to show that Karl alone is not guilty. Ana manages to destroy his evidence.

Even here all is not what it seems. And there are more surprises for the guilty seven.

They do manage to come to terms with what they’ve done. Should they be forgiven and can they forgive themselves?   

 

The paperback edition is 351 pages in a standard font and with standard formatting. Chapters are short and the pace sis fast. Tension is high.  It is not difficult to keep reading.     

 

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Der Libellenflüsterer by Monika Feth

  

2015 

This is the seventh book in this crime series.

Monika Feth gives us multiple points  of view in this novel: friends Jette and Merle, both victims of the perpetrator, the perpetrator himself, a young and highly competent forester (and also the dragon fly whisperer of the title), the foresters’ wife, his mute five-year-old daughter, her doll(!) and of one of the police officers involved in the case.

Feth uses a narrative technique that keeps the reader involved throughout. This is achieved through a balance of description, action, dialogue and inner thoughts. Jette, possibly the main character, uses a first person narrative.

It is a long book but the reader’s attention is held by a lot of pace and tension and relatively short scenes though some of the chapters are quite long.   

This is a standard book that resembles an adult novel. The paperback has 528 pages including acknowledgments. It is for the upper end of YA and could also be described as a New Adult book.      

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Silverwood Rising by Jeanette Greaves,

 

 

The pack continues to grow . Alpha Diana has gone public and parliament has brought in legislation to protect the packs.

New packs are being formed throughout the UK.  But they are still threatened by the White pack. They must bring all of their resources together to fight this threat.  

The younger members of the pack have learnt new tricks: they can change their human appearance and  even, cosmetically, their gender.

They do confront the White pack and they do overcome but they do it in a sympathetic and caring way.  

Usefully the author provides a character list and a summary of child / parent relationships in a glossary at the end of the novel.

This is a standard book that resembles an adult novel. The paperback has 411 pages including glossaries and acknowledgments. It is for the upper end of YA and could also be described as a New Adult book.  

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Hearts' Home by Jeanette Greaves

 

2024 

Werewolf cousins Mark and John are now bringing up their own pack with Andy, whom they have ‘infected’ and two females, Diana and Zoe.   

Relationships within the band and with outsiders are complex and polyamorous. Rock band Ransomed hearts continues to be successful and Mark and Andy have the added tension of having a family outside the pack.  John is also a wolf-dad but doesn’t have a second family. The pack grows and the children are growing up.

The novel ends on a dramatic high note as Diana shares her research into the physiology of werewolves with the world.

The pack has already been attacked by the White wolves and they are now exposed to more danger.  This leaves plenty of scope for novel four.     

Usefully the author provides a character list and a summary of child / parent relationships in glossaries at the end of the novel.

This is a standard book that resembles an adult novel. The paperback has 421 pages including glossaries and acknowledgments. It is for the upper end of YA and could also be described as a New Adult 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 the Lancashire Authros Association

Ransomed Hearts by Jeanette Greaves

 2022 

Cousins Mark and John are brought up by their mothers.  Their fathers have abandoned them in order to keep the family safe. They and their fathers are werewolves.

With some other friends, the boys form a rock groups Ransomed Hearts, which in time enjoys great success.  Relationships within the band and with outsiders are complex and polyamorous. However, Mark saves himself for a wolf woman who fails to appear – until after he has met the woman he considers to be the love of his life, Katie. Then Diana appears and he forms an addictive relationship with her; she is the wolf woman he had been seeking for years. Their love-making results in the birth of twins.  Another two werewolves for the pack?     

There is a slightly down-beat ending but the novel leaves room for the next story.  There are in fact at the time of writing two more books in the series in print.

This is a standard book that resembles an adult novel. The paperback has 241 pages. It is for the upper end of YA and could also be described as a New Adult book.      

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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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The Hit by Melvin Burgess

                                                    

 

 

2013

Melvin Burgess as he often does here offers a serious of challenges. In this story we have drug-taking, sex, death, risk-taking, social unrest and extreme violence.  Burgess pushes boundaries again:  much of the violence is premeditated and calculated.  

This suits the YA reader well:  my own research establishes that this genre, if you can call it a genre, is often multi-themed. 

The novel is also what publishers might call "high concept". The story centres around Death, a drug that gives users a week-long high. At the end of the week the user dies.  The young adults who take the drug also create a bucket-list of many risk-taking activities they want to enjoy.

Again as we might expect from a YA text, this novel is in effect a bildungsroman. Protagonist Adam learns to value life. The ending is upbeat but uncertain.  There is hope for Adam and his friends.  

Burgess has also created believable characters with whom we can easily empathize. 

This is a book with a thick spin and some 304 pages. It has the narrative balance we would expect in  a novel written for an adult.