The Sisters Grimm Book 1: The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Micheal Buckley

isbn: 9780810993228

This was tons of fun. The evolution of the characters was realistic and their feelings seemed genuine. If my parents had disapeared because of a secret organisation and I was being shuffled around from foster home to foster home, I would be pretty damn pissed off when I found out my grandma wasn't actually dead. That my dad had lied to me. And then the giant shows up. Ugh. Made me smile.

4/5

The Curse of Mousebeard, by Alex Milway

isbn: 9780571234349

Wee, the second book. Short story: I bought the first one during a trip to London and ate it on the train ride back to Nottingham. I wanted the second one, but oh no! They didn't have it in Nott! Could I get it in Canada when I got back? Curses, not till next month! I couldn't wait that long! So I searched left, then right, and finally found it in a WH Smith! Hurah! And the second one I kept carefully till the plane ride home, to distract me from the screaming baby sitting in the seat next to me. Worked, too! End of short story.

This one was even more epic than the first one, with huge hidden temples and uber baddies. God I hate Miserly, the horrible evil Mousehunter girl. Arg! Had tons of fun with the mice again, and I cannot wait till we get the second one in Canada so I can sell it to kids. Wee!

On another note, Alex Milway commented on the blog which led me to his blog. Anyway, he has a rather clever little bit about the trend of overweight, extra long kids' books. Harry, I am looking at you, you little bastard. Click through for the full text.

5/5

The Mousehunter by Alex Milway

isbn: 9780571234332

An epic tale of pirates, mousehunting, giants, sea monsters, golden mice, hangings, stabbings, dung mice, elephant mice, nosferatu mice, messenger mice, moon howl mice, mice mice mice! Despite my bias in favour of rodents, this was an excellent book. It is suitably dark and spooky but silly at the same time. It has steampunk elements, pirate elements, fantasy elements... The whole package has a nice end, if a bit cliffhangery. The second book, The Curse of Mousebeard, looks even more fun.

5/5

Operation Red Jericho, by Joshua Mowll

isbn: 0763626341

I just ate this up. It is the story of two (probably) orphans fighting Chinese pirates and trying to protect the world from quasi-nuclear doom. Although the orphan + secret society is a little worn, the book makes it fresh with fantastically realistic reporting techniques, diagrams, inserts, notes on chemistry... I had tons of fun devouring this. Perfect for curious 9-12 youth.

4/5

Theodosia and the Sepents of Chaos, by R. L. Lafevers

isbn: 978-0618756384

This book is a bit odd. I loved the story. It was very political and spooky. The writing was fine, with the descriptions of curses and objects being just the right length. The pace, on the other hand, was out the window, with zero decent introduction to Theo's powers. There is also a serious lack of details sometimes, like who this secret society is and how does Theo change from a decurser to a curser within 300 pages... A better title would have been Theo and the Heart of Egypt, which would have not ruined the major punch in the story. There is a second one lined up. I dunno if I will read it. The story was really good, though. Arg.

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

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