Playing With Fire, By Dereck Landy

isbn: 0061240885

This is the second book after Skullduggery Pleasant, and features Valkyrie Cain and Skullduggery in another gory adventure to save the world and their hides. They really upped the horror/gore factor in this one, with people dying left, right and center, sometimes all at once when their bodies explode. It was a roaring good time, a tad predictable but still fantastic, opening the way to a third book rather explicitly.

4/5

The Raw Shark Texts, by Steven Hall

ISBN: 978-0002008402

This is a strange and wonderful book. It is about a man who wakes up, remembering nothing, and who receives letters from his past identity telling him he needs to protect himself from a shark born in languange and writing, a Ludovican. IT is full of puzzles and strange locations and strange viruses of language that can control your mind or eat away at your memories. Spooky and fun.

4/5

Bones, Rocks and Stars, by Chris Turney

isbn: 978-0230551947

A cute little soft-core history book about the trouble with dating things. Each chapters goes through a different mystery such as the identity of King Arthur or the validity of the Turin Shroud or the problems one faces when identifying the missing link. It discusses different calendars, the ways of criss-crossing calendars together (and why it rarely is as simple as it seems) and explains everything in a easy but not dumbed down way. Tidbit of information: the Egyptians started back at year zero every time a new King showed up. The Chinese, with each new dynasty. If there were years of famine and war and turmoil between official people being in charge, those years were simply lost. Hmph!

3/5

Bloodletting, by Victoria Leathan

isbn: 1572244577

I don't typically read non-fiction, but spotted this at work. I work with youth who sometimes have serious mental health issues. This book, about cutting, depression and the innadequate medical system made me think and reflect how everyone feels this way sometimes, but with mental health issues, it is not so easy to control the inner images and voices. A quick read, but well paced.

3/5

Fly by Night, by Francis Hardinge

ISBN: 978-0060876296

Reading this book, you feel that you are in a fantasy world where boat ship coffee houses hide refugees and crocodiles guard towers. But once everything settles, you realise that it is based loosely on real history and that ridiculous adventures like this took place over the silly topic of religion and wether you should or should not believe in Saints (which they call The Beloved, which amuses me, for some reason).

It also has one of the best lines ever: You are caught between the frying pan and the fire; you will sizzle and like it.

4/5

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, by Kirsten Miller

ISBN: 978-1582349602

This book is fantastic for any girl of any age, but it will be high on my list to recommend for the 9-12 range. Especially for those who don't necessarily like magic or shopping. It is rare nowadays to find a good mystery/spy/science novel for girls. I love the little non fiction bits at the end of the chapters where she teaches you how to be a spy.

4/5

Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow

ISBN: 978-0061430220

This may be one of the best books I have ever read and I am pleased to have bought it instead of having taken it out at the library. It is a story about werewolves. It is a poem about werewolves. In LA. Who pick up strays. And destroy meth labs, if someone will pay them to do it.

Because it is a poem, the sex is not romance novel sex, and the gore is not horror novel gore. In a poem you can describe dogs sleeping in a pile, chasing after something in their dreams. You can explain hunger. You can write about cute moments where someone does dishes and is hugged from behind, without it seeming dumb.

5/5