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I’m continuing to listen to the audiobook of Back Home which I’m really enjoying, although my heart goes out to Rusty who has returned to England after being evacuated to America. The way she is treated in the boarding school is shocking, but she seems such a strong character. I can completely see why she wouldn’t want to view England as home, and why she’d want to go back to America. I’m just starting to read The House on Hoarder Hill which is the 8th book in my 20 Books of Summer Challenge.

My intended reading went out the window this week! I finished reading The Mostly Invisible Boy which was a magical, action-packed adventure set in a wonderfully imagined forest community. I will post my review shortly. I normally read middle-grade, but this week I read a young adult and an adult book. I love reading stories with myths/legends/fairytale elements so I loved The Twisted Tree which is a dark, creepy tale influenced by Norse mythology. Martha has had an accident at her grandmother’s home and has lost the sight in one eye, but has gained the ability to tell a person’s emotions by touching their clothing. When she goes to her grandmother’s home to find out more, she discovers that her grandmother is dead, and meets Stig who has broken into the home. As Martha discovers more of her grandmother’s past, strange and terrifying occurrences take place which leads her towards the fulfilment of a family legacy as the line between living and dead weakens. I also read The Nickel Boys which absolutely blew me away. It is such a powerful story that shocked and angered me, but the ending completely wrecked me. There is much to rage over in this story, but it is also a testament to survival, endurance and redemption. I have immediately ordered The Underground Railroad.

I’m hoping to get to Agent Zaiba Investigates: The Poison Plot next, although I also really want to catch up on reviews!

The Unadoptables is a truly charming read, brimming with adventure, mystery and friendship in a wonderfully atmospheric 19^th century Amsterdam.  Amidst the danger, suspicion and fear, there is also humour, warmth and hope which makes this a not-to-be-missed delight which I couldn’t put down.

The strict Rules of Baby Abandonment at the Little Tulip Orphanage, Amsterdam are unceremoniously broken when five babies are abandoned over the course of five months.  Lotta, Egbert, Fenna, Sem and Milou are each abandoned in an item which links to their particular talents of sewing, storytelling, engineering, cooking and art.

Twelve years later in 1892, these children are firm friends who are living a hard life in the Orphanage run by the cruel, severe and menacing Matron, Elinora Gassbeek who is not interested in the welfare of the children, but in lining her own pockets. 

The children have been dubbed ‘the unadoptables’ until the arrival of a potential adopter at the Orphanage.  Meneer Rotman is a sugar merchant looking for an heir, but it is obvious this sinister, dangerous man doesn’t like children, so why does he want to adopt all five friends?

Milou’s sixth sense warns her of danger, and she is proved correct!  The lives of her and her friends are in terrible peril, and they must escape or risk a fate even worse than that of living in the Orphanage. 

The friends make a daring escape from the Orphanage into a wonderfully evocative and richly described Amsterdam with its canals, bridges and surrounding countryside where they find themselves on an incredible adventure to find Milou’s parents who she is convinced never meant to abandon her … life-like puppets, clockwork artisans, labour ships and cruel villains make this an truly unforgettable read.

This story is an intricate and thrilling tale of danger, discoveries and twists as Milou and her friends fight to stay one step ahead of the authorities and Rotman.  They work brilliantly as a team, using their resourcefulness and ingenuity to strive to outwit both.  At the same time, they search to uncover the mystery surrounding Milou’s family. 

The five children are wonderfully sympathetic characters who I adored.   They are each other’s family and have a close bond steeped in love, friendship, trust and loyalty.  Milou is brave with a real sense of justice and is protective of her friends, feeling a responsibility towards them.   She is also quick-witted, determined and lives with an enduring sense of hope.   All of her friends have individual talents, linked to the items which were left with them as babies.  The children are incredibly resourceful, and supportive of each other, and make perfect use of their talents, as they make a new life away from the orphanage.  Will these talents help this found family work together to thwart some menacing villains and discover the truth of a lost family?

The Unadoptables is an absolutely spellbinding story of the strength to be gained in family, friendship and hope when faced with danger, despair and loss … a truly mesmerising story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Oh my goodness – I loved this story so much.  The historical context is brilliantly drawn, and gives a fascinating insight into the lives of the passengers aboard The Titanic, all with stories to tell, places to go and lives to live … which makes what happens all the more heart-breaking.

The story is told from the dual viewpoint of 12-year-old Bertha, who is excited to be going to America to join her father, and 14-year-old Johan who is homesick and lonely and not at all keen to join his father.  Bertha boards as a second-class passenger whereas Johan is in third class; the differences between these groups is brilliantly portrayed. 

As Johan is boarding, a red-haired man drops a piece of paper as he rushes aboard, which Johan picks up.  Inside is what appears to be a treasure map and a tiny, silver key.  Determined to make his fortune so that he can have the rest of his family join him, Johan is keen to find someone to help him decipher the writing …

Luckily for him, Bertha has decided to start The Collyer-Watt Detective Agency with her new friend, Marjorie.  Chance soon finds Johan and Bertha meeting and he reluctantly asks her to help him.  Bertha, of course, is excited by this case and sets out to help him track down the missing treasure which may not be at all what they expected, but may open their eyes to treasures beyond price …

The Collyer-Watt Detective Agency also has another mystery to solve, this one involving the rather suspicious Mr Collyer and his two young sons.  What secrets is he hiding?  Why is he so reluctant to let his children talk to Bertha? 

Then the unthinkable happens … the unsinkable ship hits an ice-berg.  The description of the passengers and crew’s reaction is so powerful and so heart-breaking … I could feel the uncertainty, the panic, the fear as they realised the ship was sinking and that there weren’t enough life boats …

Bertha is a strong-willed, independent young lady who is determined to solve the cases she has taken on, even if this leads her to into places she should not be.  She does not conform to society’s expectations of her, and is keen to seek greater freedoms in America.  Johan is an incredibly sympathetic character.  He suffers from terrible seasickness and is miserable on board, yet he fights against this in order to find the treasure which he hopes will offer him a different life, and the chance to be reunited with his mother.    

I was truly fascinated by the insight into life aboard The Titanic from the segregation of passengers to the conditions they lived in to the way different groups of people were treated when the worst happened.  I loved the author’s afterword which details what happened to some of the surviving passengers.

This is a truly engrossing historical fiction, a perfect blend of historical context and mystery. 

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

LIGHTNING STRUCK, and a brilliant white light bloomed, illuminating the night sky outside Lucely Luna’s bedroom window. Four hours had passed since her bedtime, but the thunderstorm outside kept her wide-awake.

Any ideas?

I discovered the wonderful Rocketship Bookshop through Twitter recently, and couldn’t resist making a few purchases which arrived today. I’ve been wanting this one for a while as it sounds like exactly the kind of book I will love – and the cover is just gorgeous!

Goodreads Synopsis:

Coco meets Stranger Things with a hint of Ghostbusters in this action-packed supernatural fantasy.For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business. Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd’s witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely’s firefly spirits before it’s too late. With the family dynamics of Coco and action-packed adventure of Ghostbusters, Claribel A. Ortega delivers both a thrillingly spooky and delightfully sweet debut novel. 

This is my new weekly meme celebrating amazing middle-grade books. I hope others will enjoy taking part in this too!

How to take part:

• Post a picture of the front cover of a middle-grade book which you have read and would recommend to others with details of the author, illustrator and publisher.
• Open the book to page 11 and share your favourite sentence. 
• Write three words to describe the book.
• Either share why you would recommend this book, or link to your review.

This week, I’m celebrating …

Favourite Sentence from Page 11:

Set upon bleak, drizzly marshes and overlooked by a vast prison, Crowstone wasn’t a place people came to unless they had to.

This book in three words:

MAGICAL, SISTERHOOD, WITCHY

A Sprinkle of Sorcery is the absolutely irresistible, and most welcome, return to the Poacher’s Pocket and the lives of the Widdershin sisters and their wonderfully crotchety, straight-talking, protective Granny.  This unforgettable, thrilling adventure captivated me just as much as my introduction to these incredible girls in the equally amazing A Pinch of Magic.  I’m lucky enough to have signed copies of both of these books.

I am in awe of Michelle Harrison’s imagination and skill in writing this story:  hidden islands of legend, will-o-the-wisps in different guises, pirates, witches and a sprinkle of sorcery.  The strong bond between the sisters is such a strength of this book. The Widdershin sisters epitomise strong bonds of sisterhood: they may have their arguments and disagreements– what sisters don’t? – but, what really stands out, is that they look out for each other and love each other sincerely and deeply. 

You can read my full review of this magical story here: A Sprinkle of Sorcery

I’d love if anyone who wants to give this meme a go would comment in the comments box and include a link to your post so I can visit, comment and find some great middle-grade recommendations. If you do create a post and are on Twitter, and would like to share your post, please use the hashtag  #MGTakesOnThursday so I can find it, read it and share it!

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I’m just about to start reading The Mostly Invisible Boy which I have been sent for review by the author. I am also listening to Back Home by Michelle Magorian which I’m loving . I’m also reading The Jumbies for the Middle Grade Marvels reading group. I’ve read the first 11 chapters and am loving it. It’s quite creepy and I found it interesting that it revealed quite a lot at the start which makes me rather intrigued as to where the story will go next.

I finished listening to the audiobook of Louisiana’s Way Home from Borrowbox. Oh my goodness, it was fantastic. There are some very poignant moments in the story, but there is also hope. Louisiana is a wonderful young girl who I was rooting for from the start. She is both vulnerable and strong and her raw, honest telling of her story is both heart-breaking and uplifting. I also read The Time of Green Magic and The Mask of Aribella which are Books 6 & 7 of my 20 Books of Summer Challenge. I will post my reviews soon. I don’t often read Young Adult, but I saw an author on Twitter recommending Pet so I thought I’d get a copy. It’s a really stunning, thought-provoking read which tackles the issue of ‘monsters’ who are hiding in plain view, more difficult to find as the city of Lucille is supposed to have purged itself of all forms of monsters in society. One day, Jam unwittingly unleashes a creature from another dimension who she names Pet. It is intent on ridding the city of a monster hiding in her friend, Redemption’s house. Both terrifying and awesome, the narrative absolutely gripped me. It really is a brilliant read, and I’m so glad I picked it up.

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I’m hoping to read Agent Zaiba Investigates: The Poison Plot and the 8th book for my 20 Reads of Summer, The House on Hoarder Hill.

What a wondrously exhilarating, heart-warming adventure!  Sparkling with excitement, exploration, danger and discoveries, Echo’s action-packed adventures completely enthralled me, and I can’t wait to go adventuring with her again. 

Echo doesn’t feel that she belongs in Lockfort City and yearns for a life of adventure which is a problem as she has been told that nothing exists beyond the City walls … until the night the rather eccentric Professor Mangrove Daggerwing sails his airship into her life and shares a map … and so begins the adventure she has been waiting for, an adventure to find her mother with nothing more than a hairpin with a wolf’s head and a belief that her mother did not abandon her as a baby.

Echo finds herself sailing to Port Tourbillon with her best friend, Gilbert (who happens to be THE most adorable lizard), the rather timid Prince Horace who sneaks aboard the sky-ship and the Professor.  Tracking down her one connection to her mother, Echo soon finds herself on the run from the Queen’s Guards, making new friends and in search of the infamous Black Sky Wolves sky-pirates.  Her search leads to danger, incredible discoveries and new beginnings … and I just have to mention the carnivorous plants!

The world-building is absolutely superb from the uniformity of Lockfort and its people to the riot of colour and rich diversity that is Port Tourbillon to the old-fashioned and delightful sky-ship which really made me want to join the adventure … even if I am afraid of heights.  I’d love to have tea on a hammock, but I might have to say no to the squibnuts!

I absolutely adored Echo.  She has an adventurer’s soul:  determined, curious and courageous with a sense of justice and a kind heart.  Gilbert, her lizard, is a loyal, helpful and intuitive companion who she has an almost telepathic connection with.  I never thought I’d say this, but I want a Gilbert! I also really liked Horace who adores books and is fascinated by butterflies.  He may not be a typical hero, and is a rather reluctant adventurer, but, when it matters most, he proves himself to be a loyal friend who is braver than he believes and shows that words can be just as important as actions when it comes to courage.  The friendship between Echo and Horace is brilliant:   they may bicker and argue but, when it matters, they always look out for each other.

This is an unmissable, action-packed adventure into an exciting immersive world that kept me entranced throughout. I have been seeing some of the wonderful illustrations by Mark Chambers which will be in the final version of the book, so am keen to purchase a copy when it is published.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

It’s a while since I’ve done a monthly wrap-up. I’ve been going in to school a couple of times a week for key worker children whilst setting and marking online work for my class daily. The more time goes on, the more I miss my class and realising that I won’t get to teach them again this year has been hard to accept. I also lost my Dad back in April which was really tough as I wasn’t able to go to his funeral in Ireland. It may seem strange, but I don’t think I’ve been able to process this emotionally yet, apart from huge feelings of anger and guilt that I couldn’t be there. I’m going home to Ireland at the start of August when I’ll be able to visit his grave, so I think it will hit home then that he’s no longer here.

I’ve been able to visit bookshops again recently which was wonderful even if I did find myself walking around with my arms folded to try to stop myself from touching books unless I intended to buy them.

Books I’ve read:

I’ve read thirteen physical books this month and listened to four audiobooks. I was sent The Wysman (e-ARC) and Mermaid’s Rock: The Floating Forest for review. I’m also taking part in the 20 Books of Summer Challenge so have read The Princess Who Flew with Dragons, A Girl Called Justice: The Smugglers’ Secret, The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond and The Titanic Detective Agency for the Challenge so far. The others have been books from my TBR that I felt in the mood to read. The audio books I listended to were: Howl’s Moving Castle, A Witch Come True, Skeleton Keys: The Haunting of Luna Moon and Runaway Robot. I’ve been going for walks most mornings and listen to audio books, so I’ve listened to more than I normally would.

Books I’ve bought:

I bought eleven books in June, ten physical books and one e-book (Freedom). I’ve read three of them so far, and am reading The Jumbies for the Middle Grade Marvels Book Club.

MG Takes on Thursday

I’ve also started a new meme to celebrate my one year Blogiversary. It shouts out about my love of Middle-Grade books and is called MG Takes on Thursday. The books I celebrated in June were:

1. Where the River Runs Gold by Sita Brahmachari
2. Ghost by Jason Reynolds
3. The Ghouls of Howlfair by Nick Tomlinson
4. The Middler by Kirsty Applebaum

Reviews posted:

The books I’ve posted reviews for in June are:

1. The Wysman
2. Mermaid’s Rock: The Floating Forest
3. The Princess Who Flew with Dragons
4. A Girl Called Justice: The Smugglers’ Secret
5. The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone
6. The Wild Way Home
7. Dragon Detective: School’s Out

NetGalley Approvals:

I’ve been trying so hard not to request too many books on NetGalley, but it’s VERY hard as there are so many great books I want to read and I have been auto-approved by a publisher who has some fantastic books which I can just read – oh the temptation! The books which I currently have to read on NetGalley are:

1. Dragon Mountain
2. The Time Traveller and the Tiger
3. The Midnight Swan
4. Kidnap on the California Comet
5. Witch

What books have you read this month? Have you read any of these?

This is my new weekly meme celebrating amazing middle-grade books. I hope others will enjoy taking part in this too!

How to take part:

• Post a picture of the front cover of a middle-grade book which you have read and would recommend to others with details of the author, illustrator and publisher.
• Open the book to page 11 and share your favourite sentence. 
• Write three words to describe the book.
• Either share why you would recommend this book, or link to your review.

This week, I’m celebrating …

Favourite Sentence from Page 11:

She had never been there [Paris], yet she felt as though she knew it like the back of her hand.

This book in three words:

MYSTERY, FRIENDSHIP, FAMILY

I absolutely loved The Secret Starling so was eager to read The Pear Affair. And what a BRILLIANT story this is. It is an incredibly gripping mystery, set in 1960’s Paris, which kept me eagerly turning pages as I desperately wanted Nell to be reunited with Pear, but I was NOT prepared for some of the revelations – just WOW!

Twelve-year old Nell feels unloved and neglected by her rich parents whose sole focus seems to be on making even more money. She has been loved by her au pair, Perrine (Pear) who was sent back to Paris when Nell was seven, but has been writing to Nell every month for five years; however, her letters have stopped for the last six months …

When Nell gets the opportunity to go to Paris on her parents’ business trip, she is determined to investigate Pear’s disappearance, and so her adventure – and discoveries – begin … mysterious spores, accusations of theft, Parisian tunnels, new friends, corruption, greed … this engrossing story is full of fast-paced action, intrigue and incredible revelations which absolutely captured me from start to finish.

Nell is a wonderful young girl, with truly awful parents, who captured my heart. She is independent, determined and loyal, and shows courage when facing her fears. She develops some heart-warming friendships with the children who help her in her mission and show her the tunnels beneath the Parisian streets where they have their dens. I especially enjoyed her relationship with Xavier who works as a bellboy in the hotel where she is staying.

I just have to mention the gorgeous chapter heading illustrations at the start of each chapter which complement the story perfectly. I also loved the depiction of 1960’s Paris – the sights, smells and sounds of the boulangeries, boutiques, fashion houses and tunnels.

The Pear Affair is an absolute triumph of a middle-grade mystery: a really clever, fascinating story with plenty of action, intrigue and wonderful friendships. And the ending – just perfect!

I’d love if anyone who wants to give this meme a go would comment in the comments box and include a link to your post so I can visit, comment and find some great middle-grade recommendations. If you do create a post and are on Twitter, and would like to share your post, please use the hashtag  #MGTakesOnThursday so I can find it, read it and share it!

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I’ve just started The Time of Green Magic which is the 6th book of my 20 Books of Summer, but I’m already getting behind with reviewing them! I’m listening to Louisiana’s Way Home and am really enjoying this – the narrator is great!

I’ve finished books 4 and 5 of my 20 Books of Summer Challenge, Sky Pirates and The Titanic Detective Agency, both of which I really enjoyed. I’ll be posting my reviews soon. I also read Tom’s Midnight Garden which is a story I’ve wanted to read for ages. I picked it up in Waterstones on Saturday, and read it on Sunday. I really, really loved it. It is a time-slip novel about a young boy who is sent to stay with his Aunt and Uncle after his brother catches measles. He discovers a wonderful garden, and forms a friendship with one of the children who lives in the house, Hatty. Night after night, he spends time with her as seasons pass and she ages. I adored the heart-warming ending although I had already guessed the connection. And I picked up another time-slip story, The House on Hawthorn Road which I picked up when I was in Ireland at Christmas. It tells the story of two families living in the same house, one in the 1950s and the other 60 years later, who can travel to each others’ time. The main characters are Beth (from present) and Robbie (from 1950s). I really enjoyed the development of their relationship, especially as Robbie is not the best-behaved boy, yet he helped Beth become more of her real self. The time-slip aspect was intriguing and I loved how it developed. This story has realistic relationships with humour and poignancy. The differences in the roles of the women from both time periods was really interesting, and I loved how both women’s attitudes changed as a consequence of knowing each other. This is a story of family, rather than children within family, which was a real change for me as I’m definitely more used to missing/deceased parents in the middle-grade fantasy stories I read!

Next, I’m hoping to read the 7th book of my 20 Books of Summer Challenge, The Mask of Aribella.