April 2022 – Page 2

I’m just about to start Dread Wood which I’m really looking forward to as I’ve loved Jenifer’s Crater Lake books. Not so sure about the spiders though!

I finished listening to The Wee Free Men just as we broke up for the Easter holiday. I absolutely loved this, and have reserved A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith ready to listen to when I go back to work. I also finished The Lost Apothecary which is an adult book which I really enjoyed. The tension between past events and present day is incredibly well portrayed. Even though I was away for the weekend, I just had to keep picking this book up. I found it utterly gripping and powerfully written with a wonderfully satisfying ending. I also read The Hunt for David Berman which is an exciting historical adventure set in Scotland during World War II where a young evacuee has been sent to live with his grandparents, and discovers a Kindertransport boy living in a cave who is unaware that he is being hunted by the Nazis. I will be taking part in the Blog Tour later this month. I also couldn’t help picking up The Ogress and the Orphans and I am so glad I did. I absolutely adored this and loved the writing style which felt magical and left plenty of food for thought. The joy of story-telling, of books and their importance in holding a community together and in making connections really shone through and I loved it for this!

I was so excited to come home today to find I had been sent an early copy of the final book in the Brightstorm trilogy, FireSong. It has immediately jumped to the top of my TBR as I’m so looking forward to seeing how Arthur and Maudie’s adventure ends.

What are you reading? Have you read any of these?

There are so many books I’m looking forward to in April. I have been lucky enough to get a pre-read of The Secrets of the Stormforest and Hedgewitch which are both fantastic. I have already bought The Great Fox Illusion and The Girl Who Lost a Leopard as they have either arrived early as part of book subscriptions or they’ve appeared early in my local bookshop.

I have taken the synopsis for each of these from the Waterstones website except for Day of the Whale which is taken from the Publisher’s website.

Release Date: 7th April

Ed and his sister Roo are faced with the most boring half-term holiday in history: five days spent in the company of their elderly neighbour Miss Filey, and her ancient, smelly cat. But when they find a box of birthday candles in a cupboard in Miss Filey’s house, their world is changed completely. These are no ordinary candles, every single one of them comes with a wish. There’s only one problem: some of those wishes actually belong to someone else . . .

When Paisley Fitzwilliam escapes the clutches of the Dark Dragon, she has just one thing on her mind – getting her brother Dax back from the icy Northern Realms, where he was whisked away by the fierce and mysterious dragon riders, the Krigare. It’s clear that Paisley’s track is unique, but with the Dark Dragon and the King’s Guard now on her trail, she faces danger at every turn. To rescue her brother and keep the Heart Stone from the clutches of the Dark Dragon, Paisley must harness her power and seek new and dangerous alliances. . .

Thirteen-year-old Flick Lions has won a place on a new television show, in which young people compete to win the legacy of the Great Fox, one of the world’s most famous magicians. But Flick isn’t interested in uncovering the Great Fox’s tired old magic tricks – she’s after something much more important. The magician destroyed her family, and this is Flick’s only chance to put things right. Inside the Fox’s house is a secret that will change the world of magic for ever, and Flick will go to any lengths to find it.

Abandoned on the Mumbai railways, Ajay has grown up with nothing but a burning wish to be a journalist. Finding an abandoned printing press, he and his friends Saif, Vinod, Yasmin and Jai create their own newspaper: The Mumbai Sun. As they hunt down stories for their paper, the children uncover corruption, fight for justice and battle to save their slum from bulldozers. But against some of the most powerful forces in the city, can Ajay and his friends really succeed in bringing the truth to light? Not to mention win the most important cricket match ever…

Selvi is a wild child who loves climbing in the beautiful mountains behind her home. She is often joined by Lokka, a leopard with a beautiful coat and huge golden eyes. When hunters come for Lokka, Selvi is determined to fight. But what can she do against such powerful enemies? Turn to her friends, of course! Now they just need the perfect plan…

Grace and her friends must protect a newly hatched dragon from mysterious evildoers. When Grace moves to Hong Kong with her mum and new stepdad, her biggest concern is making friends at her fancy new boarding school. But when a mysterious old woman gifts her a dragon egg during a field trip, Grace discovers that the wonderful stories of dragons she heard when she was a young girl might actually be real – especially when the egg hatches overnight. The dragon has immense powers that Grace has yet to understand. And that puts them both in danger from mysterious forces intent on abusing the dragon’s power. And now it’s up to Grace and her school friends to uncover the sinister plot threatening the entire city!

Release Date: 14th April

When mysterious footprints appear in the Stockholm snow, ten-year-old Kara must discover where they’ve come from – and who they belong to. They lead Kara to Rebecca, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl, and her younger brother Samuel. Kara realises they are refugees – from another time, World War Two – and are trying to find their way home.

Flick and Jonathan have faced countless dangers in their roles as part of the Strangeworlds Society and come out alive on the other side. But what do they really know about the Society they are risking their lives for? Why does it exist? Who is Strangeworlds there to protect? And what in the worlds is happening to the multiverse now? With worlds everywhere under threat of collapse and mysteries abounding, it’s up to Flick and Jonathan to discover the answers to these questions. And only if they can uncover the secrets of Strangeworlds and the secrets of a new mysterious world called ‘The Stormforest’, will they have any hope of defending their world – and others – from the threat that is facing them all.

Cassie Morgan has run away. After seven years spent waiting for her mother to return, she flees her dreary boarding school and sets out to find her. But the world outside her school is full of hidden magic and children have been going missing.With the help of a talking cat and a flying broom, Cassie escapes to the enchanted village of Hedgely. There she will begin her training in the practical skills of witchcraft with the Hedgewitch, who watches over the Hedge, the vast forest that marks the border between England and Faerie.

Release Date: 26th April

It is early spring, a turbulent, perilous time of sudden storms, frozen river fractures and drifting ice. Fleeing from a demon intent on devouring his souls, Wolf is swept out to Sea far from the Forest and his pack. The ocean too teems with danger: sea wolves, sharks and hunters of the deep, and the demon is gaining ground. Torak and Renn must race to save their pack-brother, battling the harsh, icy waves and merciless torrents. If they can’t find Wolf in time, the bond between them will be severed for ever…

Release Date: 28th April

Thirteen-year-old Skandar Smith has only ever wanted to be a unicorn rider. To be one of the lucky few selected to hatch a unicorn. To bond with it for life; to train together and race for glory; to be a hero. But just as Skandar’s dream is about to come true, things start to take a more dangerous turn than he could ever have imagined. A dark and twisted enemy has stolen the Island’s most powerful unicorn – and as the threat grows ever closer, Skandar discovers a secret that could blow apart his world forever…

Silverthorne is a place of secrets. A forest of twisting paths and tangled thorns. A castle with locked towers and whispers of tragedy. A village trapped between terrors known and unknown. But something is stirring in the leaves… Saffy is a good girl, tired of being told to stick to the forest paths, and always follow the rules. Aurelia is a hidden girl, locked in a castle tower, dreaming of escaping the fate she’s told awaits her. Wild Rose is a fierce girl, raised by wolves, full of spells and fearlessness and cunning. Together, they will change life in Silverthorne forever.

When Ravian’s father doesn’t return home from sea for his son’s birthday, Ravian is certain he must be in danger. Hearing tales of a cursed ship that captures fishermen, Ravian goes in search of his father accompanied by his only friend Marvin the seagull. Before long, the pair find themselves trapped on the ship with a kindly boy and a bad-tempered pirate for company. The ensuing voyage is beset with battles with giant squid and fierce storms, and Ravian despairs of ever finding his father.

“Follow Big Blue”. These were the last words that Cam’s father said to him. So Cam follows Big Blue, the giant whale-god, as does everyone else on Cetacea, an island in the flooded future. The islanders’ lives play out under Big Blue’s rules, which are communicated to them by the enigmatic whale-talker, Byron Vos. Byron was once a marine scientist and is now organising an epic clean-up operation to revive the ocean after centuries of human greed and neglect. But, as the story unfolds, Cam begins to wonder if all is not quite as it seems. Could there be a more complex truth behind Byron’s actions? A truth that may be connected to Cam’s father’s disappearance? Cam’s quest to understand life under Big Blue leads him to new friends and shared adventures – but the truth, when he discovers it, turns out to be far more dangerous than he ever could have imagined.

Do any of these catch your interest? Have you read any already?