The Graveyard Book
Exceptional young adult fantasy.
Category: Junior Fiction
farm?
Archer’s Goon
classic kid’s fantasy
silver?
Charmed Life
Chrestomanci
boar?
Ysabel
Really very good indeed.
xnet?
Little Brother
Basically this novel is one long, very angry rant about the erosion of civil liberties in the Western world. Which doesn’t sound like fun, but he manages to make it into a very entertaining coming of age adventure/spy romp.
sandwich?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The final book of the Harry Potter series arrived at my door at 8.05am today. Four and a half hours later I had finished reading it.
I have to say that overall I’m quite happy with the way things turn out in the end. Rowling managed to tie up loads of the loose ends but not leave everything too pat. It was also quite refreshing to see her be utterly ruthless in dispatching beloved characters. The only problem is the serious amount of nothing much happening before things start to take off into one insane set piece after another.
I never make recommendations about Harry Potter books, you’ll either be reading it or avoiding it like the plague.
As for me, I quite liked it.
drink me?
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Sixth and penultimate book in the outrageously successful JF fantasy series. I’ve reviewed this book before, back when it first came out.
Reading it a second time makes plain that some character’s motivations aren’t what they seemed to be the first time I read it, which makes the upcoming final book all the more interesting.
What else? Well I’d still rate the book the same, it’s entertaining enough, but it’s filled with flashbacks and the present day action is pretty sparse until the last third of the book. As for the big twist, well it’s still pretty shocking but I’ve changed my mind a great deal about it’s implications.
As before, no recommendation, but I did enjoy reading it.
inquisitor?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The fifth Harry Potter book and basis for the latest film in the series which is due out later this year. I did a quick re-read in preparation for the film. I’ve reviewed it before when the book first came out, and this the first time I’ve read it since it came out.
dwimmer?
The Pinhoe Egg
The latest book in the revived Chrestomanci series is a sequel of sorts to the Guardian Award winning classic Charmed Life.
In this story Cat Chant (protagonist of Charmed Life) has settled into life at Chrestomanci Castle and finds himself drawn into events caused by a dark secret held by the magical families living in the surrounding villages.
Typically of DWJ this is a thoroughly enjoyable book, with engaging characters and a twisty and fun plot.
The simple fact is that there’s not a better writer of children’s fantasy out there and for my money she may well be the very best ever.
Thoroughly recommended.
jeremy?
Mrs Frisby & The Rats Of NIMH
This classic children’s book was one of my favourites when I was young.
I continue to be very glad to this day that I read the book before I ever saw the film adaptation (a typically clumsy Don Bluth animated thing). It’s quite a brief read, but still quite enjoyable.
The story is of an anxious field mouse with a sick child who will not be strong enough to leave the family winter home before the farmer ploughs up the field and destroys it.
After a desperate search for help she’s directed to a group of odd rats living beneath a giant rosebush on the farm. These are the rats of the title and their story is the single best thing about the book.
I have a lot of nostalgia for this little book and it remains a really good piece of kid’s writing and I have no hesitation in recommending it for what it is.