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THE YOUNG BLOOD LIBRARY: BEST BOOKS FOR MAY / JUNE

20/6/2022

We have seven titles for you in our latest kids roundup, two of which are Middle Grade (MG) and five Young Adult (YA). The MG features the triumphant return of Will McIntosh (who wrote one of my favourite EVER adult science fiction novels, Defenders) and is back with the gentler, but wonderful The Classmate. Any school librarians reading this: if you do not have Will’s Burning Midnight you need to rectify that immediately! Due to a new HBO series, there is also a welcome rerelease of the Theodosia Series, which I missed first time around by RL LaFevers, which is a beautifully observed supernatural mystery series for younger kids.

On the YA front there are strong and convincing LGBTQ+ storylines and characters in both Christine Lynn Herman’s The Drowning Summer and Julia Lynn Rubin’s Primal Animals. The former is set in a small Long Island beach town struggling to get over a triple murder three years earlier and the latter has creepy goings on in a North Carolinian summer camp for teens who are aiming for top universities. Both books are great yarns which blend thriller and horror. Julia Tuffs follows the enjoyable light comedy Hexed of last year with sequel Twice Hexed, with Jessie the teenage witch trying to develop her powers whilst negotiating high school and her GCSE exams.

Josh Winning’s The Shadow Glass is technically an adult novel, but any strong teen reader might enjoy this quirky fantasy homage to the eighties, pop culture and cult cinema. Last and by no means least is Katherine Webber’s truly excellent The Revelry, I love authors doing something different and Webber follows three YA dramas with this extremely cool supernatural story with an excellent sense of time and place revolving around a secretive party which only comes around once a year.

All seven books are well worth your time or investing in for a youngster in your life looking for an enjoyable book. They are presented alphabetically and do get in touch should you have something I might like to review.

Christine Lynn Herman - The Drowning Summer

My teenage daughter was a massive fan of Herman’s earlier novels The Devouring Grey and sequel The Deck of Omens which we previously reviewed on Ginger Nuts, so I approached this third contemporary fantasy thriller with some interest. Set on the small seaside town of Sand Dollar Cove, Long Island, the story revolves around two seventeen-year-old mediums Mina Zanetti and Evelyn Mackenzie who get wrapped up in a ritualistic three-year-old triple murder of three teenagers. The dark shroud of the unsolved killings still hangs over the town, with Evelyn’s father being one of the original prime suspects, but things quickly become much more complicated as the supernatural aspect of the plot thickens.

A key part of the plot concerns the fact that the two girls are no longer friends, with the reason for their bust-up pivotal to the action. Mina’s mother is a skilled medium and does her best to put her daughter off further experimentation without supervision, but once she realises her former best friend (and very inexperienced medium) is once again messing around with the powers things really kick off with the prospect of a demon being set loose. This was a character driven and slightly angsty novel aimed at slightly older teens which never really throws the kitchen sink at the horror, showing restraint and a slow to develop supernatural feelings. There was also a developing LGBTQ+ story as the book moved on with the on/off friendship developing into something stronger. AGE RANGE 14+

RL LaFevers – Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos (book 1 in the Theodosia series)

Between 2007 and 2011 there were four books in the Theodosia series, the first of which The Serpents of Chaos has recently been rereleased, with book two The Staff of Osiris following in October. The reason for the rerelease is the brand new 26-episode Theodosia TV show on HBO Max, which premiered in March earlier this year. The trailer looks faithful to the book but with the main character Theodosia looking more like a teenager than the eleven-years-old featured here, it also looks more so in the style of the Indiana Jones films than the original text. I’m surprised I never came across these when they were originally published as the first was an engaging mix of the supernatural and historical adventure, led by a wilful little girl often left to her own devices as her parents were always busy or away on business. This freedom gives Theodosia the opportunity to wander around, explore and let her imagination run wild in the huge London museum her parents manage. Written in the first person, she is a wonderfully resourceful child and her engagingly innocent inner dialogue is sure to enchant many readers at the top end of primary or lower secondary school.

Set in 1906, the story vividly brings Edwardian England to life and later in the hot and dusty Cairo as the adventure involving a magical amulet discovered by her mother in Egypt which if it falls in the wrong hands could bring about the end of the world. Of course, we all know that is not going to happen, but the book has a nice balance of chills, adventure and threat for its young readership. It also has a great sense of humour with Theodosia dipping into her spell book to cure her pet cat which gets cursed! The plot is built around Theodosia’s special magical gift, she can sense when an object or artefact is cursed or has magical qualities. This charming book, nicely uses slightly old-fashioned or quaint language, is absolutely perfect for children desperate to get lost in an exciting adventure and there can be few better places than an atmospheric old museum way back in 1906. AGE RANGE 9-12

Will McIntosh – The Classmate

I am a huge fan of Hugo Award winning science fiction Will McIntosh who is equally skilled writing for adults as he is kids and young teens. His 2014 novel Defenders is easily one of my favourite ever SF novels and involves (in a roundabout way, as it’s complex and highly original) the destruction of Earth after an alien invasion. The level of brutality on show in this mesmerising novel tops most horror novels and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Burning Midnight (2016) is my favourite of his kids books and it is incredibly popular in my school library with everybody searching for mysterious orbs which give different (and unpredictable) special powers. If you have a reluctant reader who might enjoy a blend of science fiction, fantasy and action Burning Midnight is an essential top tip. In recent years Will has been concentrating on his kids fiction with Watchdog (2017) The Future Will Be BS-Free (2018) also worth investigating.

The Classmate was a terrific little book and I am not ashamed to say I shed a few tears at the end! Thirteen-year-old Ben is selected to take part in a special school program for gifted children and is sent to a remote boarding school. He quickly realises that this is not a normal school as there is an angry spiky and dangerous looking creature in the class who the teachers also treat as a pupil. Bizarrely, all pupils are fed instructions through an earbud, much of which involve how to interact with the creature, who is called Evie. Will it be possible to become friends with Evie? Go to the cinema with her or do other normal stuff? Ben is an anxious boy and he finds himself becoming friends with her, without knowing the much bigger complex picture, which might just involve the end of the world. This was a terrific book about friendship, acceptance, overcoming fears and has some really great sequences along the way. It finishes on a cliff-hanger and I really hope everything goes well for Evie. I totally loved this easy read but wonderfully engaging book which is absolutely perfect for reluctant readers with its effortless blend of genres and the fantastic. AGE RANGE 9-13.

Julia Lynn Rubin - Primal Animals

Julia Lynn Rubin’s Primal Animals had some very cool promotional hooks including “like a queer version of The Wicker Man” or “The Female of the Species meets Midsommar for fans of Yellowjackets” but I’m not sure comparing books to films and TV shows does it any favours. Neither am I convinced that tagging the cult-classic Wicker Man will impress YA readers! Some YA novels adults can read without realising they are not the target audience, but this was not one of those and girls aged 13-17 are the target audience. When the story kicks off sixteen-year-old Arlee Gold is arriving at Camp Rockaway, an elite summer program in a remote part of the North Carolinian wilderness which combines academic catch-up with outdoor pursuits, bonding and networking for college programs and beyond. In a nutshell, outsider Arlee gets sucked into a secret society with terrifying and deadly consequences. To adult reviewers this is a horror trope which is being flogged to death in YA dark fiction, but genuine teen readers and unlikely to notice it.

Primal Animals is told via Arlee’s first-person narrative and we quickly realise she has a lot of quirks and issues. Struggling at school, her successful mum and alumni of Camp Rockaway, hopes the summer will help Arlee shake off her phobia of insects, meet new friends and her inspiration for top colleges. Arlee’s integration into the camp is nicely managed, but it takes a while for anything dark to happen and instead concentrates on her personal insecurities, panic attacks, suspicions and sexuality, when she finds herself attracted to one of her cabinmates. Teen readers should enjoy this slow build up, but as a veteran of countless camp or boarding school novels I had a serious bout of déjà vu and struggled to find anything new. There were some nice suspenseful moments along the way, such as why was Arlee’s mum spoken about in such hushed tones? All of which added to the rising paranoia regarding what was going on in the background. Ultimately Primal Animal was all about a teenage girl finding her voice with a strong LGBTQ+ vibe along the way, which Arlee does in style, dropping multiple f-bombs along the way! AGE RANGE 13/14+

Julia Tuffs - Twice Hexed (Hexed book 2)

Last year I thoroughly enjoyed Hexed, the debut by Julia Tuffs which was billed as ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets Sex Education’ and was a very funny account of a fifteen-year-old girl discovering her family are all witches. Although it was a comedy it also had a serious message on the topical subject of everyday sexism in secondary school, here’s an excerpt of my original review: “Amazingly, when we get beyond the humorous aspects of Jessie Jones trying to get a handle on her clumsy magical skills Hexed has a powerful message which is uncannily similar to the current media stories of rape culture and sexism in British secondary schools. In fact, Hexed completely nails this subject to the wall and does it with some style and good humour whilst making revealing observations.” Although there was nothing wrong with Twice Hexed it does not develop its anti-sexism message and concentrates more on the comedy and friendship elements as Jessie gets herself in a series of scrapes when she starts Year 11 and prepares for her GCSEs.

After being friendless for most of Hexed Jessie now has a solid group of girls around her and even has a boyfriend with the story revolves around what happens when a new girl (Sloane) joins the school and muscles into the friendship group with cracks appearing. Part of the problem of Twice Hexed was the fact that it was so incredibly predictable, from page one it was so blatantly obvious that Sloane was a witch and was dodgy in some way. I was stunned by how quickly Jessie abandoned her friends and found herself under the thrall of Sloane which gave the novel the opportunity to explore how magic (and other dark stuff) worked in slightly more detail. This was a light and easy read with a fair share of funny moments as Jessie’s life descends into chaos when the influence of the wild and rogue witch Sloan really kicks in. Twice Hexed was still genuine fun, but if there is to be a third novel in the series it needs to have slightly more kick and development of Jessie’s inner-voice otherwise repetition could set in very quickly. AGE RANGE 12+

Katherine Webber – The Revelry

Katherine Webber makes a fascinating change of direction with her fourth novel, The Revelry, her first foray into the supernatural after three convincing YA dramas. Her trademark great characterisation and realistic teen situations remain, but this time there is a beautifully undiagnosed otherworldly feel to proceedings, with Ember Grove being a terrific setting where things are a little bit different. One of the great strengths of The Revelry is that it uses restraint and through its clever subtleties never overtly specifies why this town is different. The novel is built around a weird event which nobody ever openly talks about called ‘The Revelry’ which is a once-a-year event all school leavers are secretly invited to. It is shrouded in mystery and nobody ever gossips about it afterwards, except in the odd hushed whisper and is seen as a once-in-a-lifetime coming of age occurrence which the participants remember for the rest of their lives. What goes on at The Revelry? Another great strength of the novel is the fact that Catherine Webber keeps the reader on the hook for most of the story, dropping the odd hint or flashback whilst sneakily dancing around the subject.

The Revelry is also a cool novel about friendship, with besties for a decade Bitsy Clark and Amy absolutely pitch perfect and beautifully captured sixteen-year-olds. Seen from the point of view of Bitsy, who is happy to be in the shadow of the more naturally outgoing Amy until things take a darker turn. The plot was exceptionally clever and was built around the pairs obsession with The Revelry and what happens after they sneak entry into one of the events two years before their time. The novel concerns the fallout and the contrasting circumstances which follows the girls, including a string of bad luck for Bitsy, all of which puts an incredible strain on their friendship. The supernatural elements were beautifully balanced with the teen drama, friendship issues, blending together into an absolutely first-rate supernatural drama (which could be equally enjoyed by teens who don’t like otherworldly stuff). AGE RANGE 12/13+

Josh Winning – The Shadow Glass

I loved Josh Winning’s stylish debut The Shadow Glass and although it is an adult novel is accessible to confident teen readers and features nothing more objectionable than a few f-bombs or adults with hangovers. Even though it is more dark fantasy than horror, it is top heavy with eye catching scenes and is a lovely homage (without getting too cheesy) to the decade of the eighties. The author is also a film reviewer and even though the numerous references are much more likely to be picked up and appreciated by adult readers, there is still plenty of fun to be had for teens. In a roundabout sort of way, it explores what makes a ‘cult’ film? Why does a film which is a flop upon release pick up a new audience as the years go by? ‘The Shadow Glass’ directed by the recently deceased film director Bob Corman is such a film which used pioneering puppetry and introduced the fantasy world of ‘Iri’ which was populated with warring creatures, magical objects and quests.

The novel opens with the son of Bob, Jack Corman returning to his deceased father’s house after being estranged for many years. The house is full of puppet and film memorabilia, some of which he intends to sell as he is short of cash and down on his luck. Before long Jack is on his very own quest, accompanied by a geeky fan Toby and his grabbing cousin Amelia, after the puppets in the attic come alive. It would be quite easy for such a novel to become twee but it sidesteps these pitfalls and I loved the way the Toby used his geek knowledge of the series spinoffs to their advantage. At the heart of the novel is Jack’s disintegrated relationship with his father and how the nostalgia fans feel for the film is vastly different to his own personal memories which have been soured by his drunken father. The novel is also populated with terrific extracts from film interviews and other fan pieces connected to Bob Corman. This was a quirky, flamboyant, and highly enjoyable read. AGE RANGE 13/14+
Tony Jones