Tag Archives: fantasy

Ghost Knight

By Cornelia Funke, published by Orion.

Ghost Knight. Cornelia Funke

Eleven year old Jon is living with his siters, mother and awful soon-to-be-step-father (nicknamed The Beard!) when his mum decides to send him to a train-journey-away boarding school in Salisbury. He reluctantly joins the school, and on his first night there three ghosts on horseback appear at his window! Jon discovers that his anscestors, the Hartgill family, had a dark past in Salisbury involving an an evil man who is now in Salisbury in a ghost form, hunting down any male man going by the name of Hartgill. Then Jon meets Ella- a girl who has had a history with and grew up knowing about ghosts. She leads his to a long dead knight in Salisbury cathedral called Longespee, in the hopes that he can destory the ghosts after Jon. Can Jon escape the clutches of the evil horse riding ghosts… and claim Longespee’s long lost heart for him?

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

I recieved this for Christmas last year and seeing it on my book shelf two days ago, I picked this up not knowing anything about the plot. I read it in, collectively, a few hours… and it was so brilliant! Jon made a great protagonist, whose background and personality was very well developed before he’d even gotten off of the train in Salisbury. He has got to be the most adventurous eleven year old I’ve ever read about! Ella was a really fun character, too. Her background was well planned… and the way her family intertwined with Jon’s family was a really genius, unexpected plot twist. I think her personality and role in the story could’ve been a bit bigger, however. The ghosts, who played a big role in the story, were seriously imaginative, fun to read about, and above all… Based on real people! Yep, Longespee was a real Knight (Although I’m not sure he wanders Salisbury looking for his heart at the moment). I think the touch of historical reality really brought this story to life.

The plot was brilliantly laid out, and very well written with an excellent, solid structure. Although this book was quite short (There were alot of pages, but the text was quite big and there were illustrations) the events all tied together really well. There were some genius plot twists, like, as mentioned before, how Jon finds out that Ella is actually the niece of The Beard! That was a great twist which really livened up the story, and changed the way Jon solved all of his mysteries.

Overall, Ghost Knight is another brilliant masterpiece to come from Cornelia Funke. It’s a great read for children aged around ten- but I enjoyed it too. It has some absolutely brilliant accompanying illustrations too, and being partly historically accurate, this book was a really enjoyable read!

The Grimm Legacy

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By Polly Shulman, published by Oxford University Press.

The Grimm Legacy

Elizabeth Rew lives a pretty ordinary life in Manhattan until one day, her mysterious teacher Mr Mauskopf, recommends her a job in his old workplace. Mr Mauskopf used to work in the New York Depository- a weird and wonderful library. Except instead of books on the shelves, it’s priceless, countless, antique objects. From Mary Antoinette’s wig to rare china tea sets… you name it, the depository has it!

When Elizabeth’s new work friends at her new job start acting strangely whenever she mentions a certain collection- the Grimm Collection, which is much lesser talked about than any other. Elizabeth realises that there must be something special hidden there… and when she walks into the collection room for the first time, she discovers that the items in the Grimm collection are from the Grimm Fairy Tales, and they are magic! Soon, Elizabeth finds herself catapulted into a unique adventure, along with her new friends. Can she, Anjali, Marc and Aaron uncover the mysterious evil source that is stealing some of the magical Grimm items, in a complex conspiracy involving massive mythical creatures, thieves and strange disappearances?

I enjoyed The Grimm Legacy so much! The author has put a really genius modern twist on the most well known, most loved fairy tales, and I loved reading it. The plot was complex and layered-but not difficult to grasp at all- and kept me guessing about the ending all the way through. It was well structured, and the excitement and suspense was consistent throughout, which kept me reading. Also, the plot was very unpredictable; with some brilliant twists thrown in. For example, I really wasn’t expecting teenage love to complicate and spin the story around! That was very unexpected, and clever.

I loved the narration- it’s been a while since I’ve read such a greatly told, first-person story. The main protagonist, Elizabeth, had a strong voice which really involved me with the story. I really connected with her, and I’m sure other readers will too- she’s witty, fun, and experiences not only fantastical events but everyday, relate-able ones too. Like, when she was always ignored at home, and made fun of because of her big feet. Every other character was really satisfactory too. Every single one had well developed backgrounds and personalities, and were all very three-dimensional. I especially liked Anjali, Marc and Aaron- the supporting characters. They were funny at points, adventurous in others, and all round realistic teenagers.

In all, The Grimm Legacy is a seriously brilliant read. It has a layered, fun plot with fantastical themes- great for any fairy tale lover. With great characters, effective structure and a satisfying ending… what’s not to love?

*Also- look out for book two- out June 13th! It’s called The Wells Bequest, and based on a science-fictional (H.G. Wells based) collection in the depository with different, all new characters! (Sniff, no Elizabeth :(. Oh well.)*

Tall Tales From Pitch End

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By Nigel McDowell, published by Hot Key Books.

Tall Tales From Pitch End

The town of Pitch End is ruled by the powerful Elders, and the citizens are watched over be clockwork sentries. Ten years after the end of a rebellion and the death of his father, nearly fifteen year old Bruno Atlas lives just like any other Pitch Ender- except that he has a secret. He has a forbidden book, called Tall Tales from Pitch End, and he doesn’t know that this book will change his life forever.

After he discovers a chilling, scary truth about the Elders, he runs from the town, and finds out that there are still rebels of the town, lurking in the mountains. As he teams up with them, Bruno begins an exciting journey, full of rebellion and adventure, with the Tall Tales book to guide him. Can he and his new team of rebels take down the evil Elders?

Before I review this book, can we just take a moment to stare in awe at the amazing, steampunky cover of this tale above? It is AMAZING. Possibly one of the coolest covers I have seen this year. Okay, moment over.

Tall Tales from Pitch End was brilliant. Right from the start it hooked me in- the opening was really powerful and exciting, and that excitement stayed consistent throughout the book. The plot was pretty brilliant and unpredictable, and I really enjoyed reading it. The events in the book were exciting,original, and well constructed, and kept me reading. Tall Tales from Pitch End was an imaginative, Steampunk adventure with some great twists. It was beautifully written, too!

Bruno was a really adventurous protagonist who I really enjoyed reading about. He was a well developed, and loveable character. The evil dudes, the Elders, made great and imaginative bad guys; seriously ruthless people who kept so many secrets from their town. I loved reading Bruno’s rebellion against them!

Overall, I really enjoyed this. Tall Tales was a great debut. The story was great, and I so want to read more. Highly recommended for young teens!

City of Bones

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By Cassandra Clare, published by Walker Books.

Teenager Clary Fray is at a club with her best friend, Simon, when she sees demons and Jace and Isabelle, the shadowhunters, for the first time. Upon coming home, she finds her house ransacked and her mother kidnapped… by demons. Joining the strikingly attractive Jace and his step-siblings, all demon hunters, she is determined to track down her mother’s kidnapper, the evil shadowhunter-turned -evil Valentine, and find her mum. Clary meets faeries, demons, vampires, and werewolves along the way, on a terrifying and exciting journey. She finds herself falling in love with Jace, but a twisted truth involving Valentine and Clary’s mother will tear Jace and Clary apart from each other…

I’ve always wanted to read the Mortal Instruments series, and I finally got the chance to start it, and City of Bones was brilliant! It has EVERYTHING in it- City of Bones has so many mythical creatures in it, I lost count! The plot was great, and kept me guessing throughout. There were lots of extreme plot twists too, the most shocking being how Clary discovered that she (*SPOILER ALERT*) was actually related to Jace- that was shocking, twisted, and totally unpredictable! I loved the setting, as it was based in modern day New York City, which has a hidden, supernatural side to it. Clary was a brilliant protagonist, and was confident and adventurous. I liked the love triangle, which developed throughout the story- Simon loved Clary, and Clary loved Jace. I loved the characters of Simon and Jace, and they made great competitors!

City of Bones was beautifully written, and packed with suspense and drama. I really, really enjoyed it, and will definitely be watching the movie and reading the rest of the series!

The School for Good and Evil

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By Soman Chianani, published by HarperCollins.

The School for Good and Evil

“Sophie had waited all of her life to be kidnapped…”

Sophie is one of the prettiest girls in her village; and she has waited all of her life to get kidnapped by the rumored ‘schoolmaster’ in the hopes of being taken away to the Good part of the fantastical ‘School for Good and Evil’. She makes a friend, Agatha, the quiet, dark haired, pale girl who lives in the graveyard. When both are kidnapped and taken away to the special fairy-tale school, they expect that Sophie will be put into Good, and Agatha into Evil. But when they arrive, they are put into the opposite schools! Agatha is taught lessons for princesses, and Sophie taught how to be ugly- as the school is designed to train up the good and the evil to become fairy tale characters. Desperate to escape the castle of princesses, Agatha tries to escape along with the Evil-School placed Sophie who has fallen for a Good prince. But they cannot escape, unless they solve a riddle. A riddle that, in solving, will cause havoc in the school!

Will Agatha and Sophie escape, or will they become merely characters in another fairy tale? Read The School for Good and Evil to find out!

Judging by the covers I’d seen online, this book looked awesome. So I was absolutely over the moon when this book arrived! It was absolutely brilliant- a twisted tale for girls who likes their fairy tales with a bit more action.

Sophie was, really, a mean, stuck up girl who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. She made a really great character, just like Agatha- who was in fact the kind, pure-hearted one. They were both very different girls will well developed personalities and backgrounds, and I loved reading their story. The moral of this story was ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’- as Sophie and Agatha looked very different to the normal Good and Evil pupils.

I really loved the story line- It was clever, with lots of unexpected plot twists that kept me hooked. It was predictable how the two girls would be forced to become enemies in their own fairy tale story, but I really loved how the author played it out. There were lots of witty bits, and many of the arguments between the characters made me crack up. There was also an essence of True Love, as Sophie was determined to get the handsome prince, Tedros, but Agatha ended up with him as she was the real princess. The ending was brilliant, and fast paced, but I think the part where they found out who the schoolmaster was and what his purpose was with Sophie was a little too rushed. In think it could have been explained a bit more. Apart from that, I really loved this, and hope there a sequel, or another tale from Soman Chianani soon!