Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (2nd February 2012)

Pages: 436

ISBN: 978-1444728460

From Amazon
For centuries it has been locked away
Lost beneath the sea
Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight.

But now magic is rising to the world once more.

And a boy called Gavin, who thinks only that he is a city kid with parents who hate him, and knows only that he sees things no one else will believe, is boarding a train, alone, to Cornwall.

No one will be there to meet him.

Review
Don’t be misled by the title Advent is not about Christmas … at all, well okay maybe a little reference near the end. It’s actually a story that is in a way based on the Faust legend or the bear bones of the legend anyway.

For those who don’t know the legend I did a little post about it the other day but the short version is a deal with the devil – selling a soul for something in return. In the case of the legend (and the retelling of it that I’m most familiar with – the play, Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe) the main character is after more knowledge.

Advent doesn’t really play up the relationship to the legend much, in fact if I hadn’t read the press release or the author note at the end I’m not sure I would have spotted it. There is a link but the story is told in such an unusual way that made it for me at least quite hard to spot.

I found Advent to be quite an odd book and I found it to almost be a book of two halves, the first half is split between the present day and 1537 and whilst the present day bits were interesting, intriguing and generally a very pleasant read, I found myself constantly confused and losing my place in the parts set in 1537. I understood enough to get a grip on what’s happening but I’m not sure if I was able to take it all in. It took me ages to get the link between the past and present which didn’t really help!

After roughly the half way point though and especially the last 100 pages things improved drastically, the number of visits to the past almost disappeared, it’s also roughly at this point that I started to get the link between Advent and the Faust legend and I most certainly got it by the end.

It was almost like the way of telling the story had changed by that point. Not only had we almost completely got rid of the one thing that was grating on me but also we got to hear the story from Horace, the journalists and the magic person’s point of view (I’m not revealing there name as it’s something I think best found out for yourself).

I’m not saying there was nothing I didn’t like about the first part, I loved how we met Gavin and how Gavin met Hester (one of my favourite characters), it provided a beautiful introduction to the world without having to spell it out and genuinely intrigued me but past that bit it was Marina who kept me reading and hoping it got better. She seemed like a ray of innocent light set against the darkness of the book and I was always looking forward to the bits where the story returned to her.

Overall, like I said above, Advent was a book of two halves – I loved half and was left scratching my head at the other. It’s generally a good book, well written but I would have liked a little bit less of the past.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a copy to review

Review: Advent is a post from: Books 4 Teens

1141 days since our other life ended

I brought a girl with me to Safe-haven today. I haven’t seen a girl my age since I left the bunker. It was strange. In the car with her, on the way to Safe-haven, I wasn’t sure what to say or how to act, but I knew I wanted to protect her, not just from the Weepers but from this messed-up world – I still do.

The girl’s name is Sherry. She’s sleeping in the room across from me – if she can, if she’ll ever be able to close her eyes again after what happened today. You never forget the first time you come face-to-face with a Weeper, with their empty eyes full of hunger. That first time – it haunts you for ever.

She was lucky I was on a hunt. I wasn’t even supposed to be. Karen thinks it’s becoming an addiction for me. What bullshit. I don’t need to hunt – I could choose not to – but I want to.

I heard the gunshots when I was on the way back to my Lincoln. I’d parked it on the Walmart parking lot because I’d seen movement in the area. And movement always means danger these days. But I hadn’t found anything – no Weepers or game. Until I heard the shots and the angry roar.

I didn’t expect to find anyone alive. That roar usually means it’s too late. But I ran anyway, ran as fast as I could. Ran even faster when I heard more gunshots, because they meant there was still a chance – no matter how small – that I could save someone. It’s been so long since I brought someone back to Safe-haven alive.

The store was dark and the smell of blood carried in the air. I almost gave up in that moment. Spilled blood often means instant death or infection. And if someone was infected with the rabies, there was no sense taking them to Safe-haven with me only to shoot them a few days later because it was the kind thing to do.

But I was there in time for once – found her injured but alive with no sign of bites. Later she told me about her father – he’d been with her in the store. She thinks we can save him. I should’ve told her the truth, should’ve told her that it’s unlikely he’s still alive but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. She’ll learn soon enough that hope is a dangerous thing in this world. I wish I could protect her from that, too.

The Diary In Full

For convenience here are the blogs showing the diary (in order):

1. Dark Readers
2. YA Book Reads
3. Empire of Books
4. Book Passion for Life
5. This post

Further Information

I hope the diary entries you’ve been reading (aren’t they fab?) have given you a taste for the book as this book is amazing! But if you want to find out more now here’s a few handy dandy links:

• Website: www.susannewinnacker.com
• Blog: susannewritesfiction.blogspot.com
• Twitter: @SusanneWrites

Day 5 of The Other Life Blog tour – Joshua’s diary is a post from: Books 4 Teens

Publisher: Usborne (1st February 2012)

Pages: 320

ISBN: 978-1409536086

From Amazon
The Other Life: who we were before the virus. How we’ll never be again. It’s been 3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since Sherry has seen daylight. When things went wrong up above, she was sealed off from the world in a bunker with her family. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find devastation, desolation…and the Weepers: savage mutant killers. When her dad is snatched, Sherry joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua – an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers. But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all? The seeds of first love are sown amongst the death and destruction of a nightmare future in this incredible debut novel. Beautifully formed and gut-wrenchingly gripping, it’s essential reading.

Review
1 week since I finished The Other Life or to put it another way 7 days or 604,800 seconds if Google is to be believed and I still don’t know if I can put into words how I feel about The Other Life – it was just so good.

For a start it’s a dystopia and I’m still loving dystopias – I’m not sure how long I will continue to love them but for me at least they’re still very much going strong. I love the way they transport us to a new time where one thing is different and the effects it has on the characters and the world they inhabit.

The Other Life is no different, Sherry and her family have been hiding out in a bunker shut away from natural light due to a new form of rabies which if it doesn’t kill you turns you into a weeper. And after 3 years, 1 month, 1 week (or 98,409,602 seconds) the food supplies have finally run out and they are forced to brave the brave new world that awaits them.

The weepers are creeptastic with there eyes that .. weep, they seem genuinely savage and not like the kind of thing you would like to meet on a gloriously nice day let alone in the dark of night. What they do to a still living body doesn’t bare thinking about. The way they creep about and the way Susanne writes about them was enough to send chills down my spine – I’m never going to be able to listen to tapping on a window again! I mean what’s worse than a scary monster – an intelligent scary monster!

At the end of each chapter / beginning of the next is a page / page and a bit which gives us a glimpse into Sherry’s other life (the life she lived before the rabbies outbreak) and it shows her to be a happy normal teenage girl and this serves to heighten what has happened to the world around her as the chapters that follow show a stark contrast.

Sherry showed herself to be a very determined character and no matter what happened to her she always tried to keep going. She was never on her own though, she had help from Joshua and the rest of the people at the safe-haven, a place which the weepers hadn’t discovered.

As I seem to be doing a lot lately I have to mention the grandma – she didn’t have a big role to play in the story but she knew what she wanted and nothing anyone could do would make her budge and so it was fun seeing the other characters having to accommodate her.

The story takes twists and turns that I’d never seen coming, yet that are hinted at along the way, it was so easy to be swept away by the story. Towards the end I was quite simply unwilling to put it down desperately needing to know what happened next.

Thanks to Usborne for sending me a copy to review

Review: The Other Life is a post from: Books 4 Teens

Source: Tswa ۶yoni ♥

I can’t believe it’s come around again – doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? It’s two years today that Books 4 Teens came into life!

As I did a thank you post at the new year I won’t repeat myself again, instead I’ll say a massive thank you to everyone who’s popped by to read a post, two posts or maybe stuck around a bit longer and an especially big thank you to anyone whose left a comment – I do appreciate every single one! And to the publicists and authors who send me books I never would have picked up and which turned out to be exceedingly good!

To celebrate I thought I’d launch a little giveaway. To one winner I am going to giveaway a copy of Footloose by Rudy Josephs (based on the screenplay of the film) and a £10 Amazon gift voucher as it’s two years since I started it’s only right that I giveaway two prizes and that the giveaway lasts for two weeks

The Small Print

1. Automated entries, bulk entries or third party entries will be disqualified!
2. Competition is open to UK residents only
3. Prizes can only be sent to a valid UK address
4. Winners will be chosen at random from all valid entries – you will have 24 hours to respond or another winner will be drawn.
5. Winners will be contacted via email names displayed on our website.
6. The Judges decision is final and no correspondance will be entered in to.
7. The competition will run from 28th January 2012 until 10th February 2012.
8. Books 4 Teens is compliant with the data protection act. Our policy is such that we will not pass on your details to any third party without your prior consent.

Enter Now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

While I’m here I’d also like to wish a Happy Blog Birthday to Readaraptor whose blog is one year old today!

Finally, find out about more competitions and giveaways at Loquax!

Books 4 Teens Is 2 Today + Giveaway is a post from: Books 4 Teens

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books (5th January 2012)

Pages: 413

ISBN: 978-0230756267

From Amazon
Jackson Meyer is hiding a secret. He can time-travel. But he doesn’t know how he does it, how to control it or what it means. When Jackson, and his girlfriend Holly, find themselves in fatal danger, Jackson panics and catapaults himself two years into his past, further than he’s ever managed before, and this time he can’t find a way back to the future. All the rules of time-travel he’s experienced so far have been broken and Jackson has no choice but to pretend to be his younger self whilst he figures out a solution. Jackson is tearing himself apart with guilt and frustration, wondering if Holly survived. He’s also become the target of an unknown enemy force and it seems even his dad is lying to him. Jackson is racing against time to save the girl he loves, but to do that he must first discover the truth about his family and himself. And stay alive.

Review
When I saw Tempest in Foyles Bristol the other week … it had to be mine, I’d heard such good things about it and as it had a rather unusual take on time travel (something which there isn’t much of in YA anyway) – I couldn’t resist!

To be honest though it took a few chapters to actually get my head around what was happening, Tempest doesn’t make use of your ordinary time travel (is there such a thing as ordinary time travel?) theories where a time traveler can hop back to the past change something and it affects the future. It instead suggests that there are half jumps, full jumps and essentially parallel universes and not all affect the future.

But once you’ve got past this and have a lose general idea of what’s happening you can see through the science-y bits to a genuinely enjoyable story which became really difficult to put down.

I loved the friendship between Jackson and his best friend Adam. Adam is my kind of guy, he’s incredibly bright and determined and this comes in handy in more ways than one – he’s the one that encourages Jackson to explore and ultimately test what he can do and he has enough foresight to think about how Jackson can get help when he jumps to the past.

Jackson has another very close friend in Holly, I loved feeling the passion that Jackson feels towards her and the lengths that he would go to keep her safe. And i can’t not mention Jackon’s Dad and Doctor Melvin who are little stars in there own right!

Tempest flew by me in a flash of pages with a gripping story, brilliantly told by a fantastic debut author – I’ll be keeping my eye out for more Julie Cross in the future (couldn’t resist ).

Review: Tempest is a post from: Books 4 Teens

Publisher: Grimoire Books (23rd January 2012)

Pages: 166

ISBN: 978-1908375063

From Amazon
Sam Hendry is not looking forward to starting at her new school. Things go from bad to worse as the day of truth arrives and all of her fears come true… and then some. When Sam meets a different group of people who immediately accept her as a friend, she begins to feel more positive. With her new friends and interests, will Sam finally feel able to face the bully who taunts her, and to summon up the courage to perform on stage?

Review
There are two things which will almost guarantee I will read a book – a book which tackles a subject like bullying, I will always try and highlight these books when I come across them. The other thing (if you’re wondering) is anything to do with theatre (professional, school or otherwise) and unusually New Beginnings has both!

Sam is just about to transfer to secondary school which can be a stressful period of time at the best of times but it’s made worse as her parents have opted to send her to a different school from her friends forcing her to start afresh. And on top of that she starts being bullied … arrgghhh!!!

I have to admit my first impressions of the teachers at the new school left a little to be desired, they seemed friendly enough but they didn’t seem to have a clue about what was going on right under there noses! Now I know it’s not possible to know how everyone in a classroom is feeling but even the teachers in my old school were better than that! I was particularly disappointed with Mrs Jennings (the PE teacher – maybe that explains my dislike of her hehe) as she failed to listen to both sides of what was going on after one incident.

Moving away from the bullying aspect there is another side to this story – Sam loves to sing and she’s pretty, what am I saying, she is fantastic at it, everyone who hears her sing is captivated by it and it leads the story into some interesting places. It allows her to meet new characters and makes Sam feel like she’s found a place in the world where she belongs. It fills her with more and more self confidence and it allows her to discover it’s the bully with the problem and not her.

I loved how although the book doesn’t preach out a message about bullying, instead it shows the kinds of effects it can have on other people, plus there are references to the UK bullying charity, Bullying UK and it gives a tip on how to deal with it. Of course the most important thing it raises is that if you are being bullied you should tell someone!

I only had one niggle it is something that happens right at the very end so I can’t really say what it is, I understand why it’s in there but without encouragement I’m not absolutely sure it would happen. It’s only a tiny thing and nothing to really worry about and for the age group I completely understand why. (that’s why it’s only a niggle ).

New Beginning is a very fast paced story and its 166 page whip by and are gone before you know it, there’s plenty of things going on that no-one will get bored. Aimed at younger readers, it could be an eye opening read for the bully, the bullied and those that observe.

Thanks to Rebecca for sending me a copy to review

Review: New Beginnings is a post from: Books 4 Teens

The first time I came across the Faust legend I didn’t even know it was a legend – it was in the comedy film Bedazzled which I caught completely by accident on Channel 4 years ago. It’s a film where a geeky guy meets the devil as an attractive woman and trades his soul for 3 wishes – this being a comedy interpretation of the legend all hell breaks loose in terms of the interpretation of the wishes. Anyhoo, it’s one of the few films that has stuck with me for ages.

I met the legend again when I read the play Dr. Faustus by Christopher Malowe – again a similar set up (but still with it’s comedy moments and no wishes), it’s a much darker telling of the legend (featuring necromancy or dark magic) but you can see the essentials of the legend are there.

I’m currently reading Advent and it’s cropped up again (though I’ve only just started it so I’m not sure how well the comparison will stand up) and the idea of trading a soul for something crops in book 2 of the Soul Screamers series (which I still need to read ).

It got me thinking why are authors and storytellers attracted to legends? Is it because they want to retell the legend giving it there own twist (a bit like the fairy tell retellings we’re seeing lately)? Maybe to bring the legend to a new generation and to give it a new lease of life?

And what is it about certain legends and myths that attract a storytellers attention? Arthur and the Faust legend are the two that spring to my mind (but I’m sure there are others) what is it about them the draws us and authors into them?

The Faust Legend In Stories & YA is a post from: Books 4 Teens

Publisher: Headline (11th November 2010)

Pages: 327

ISBN: 978-0755378951

From Amazon
Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies – or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world…and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift, but now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer – and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling in love, Violet is getting closer to discovering a killer…and becoming his prey herself.

Review
The Body Finder is another one of those books that I wish I’d bought and read ages ago (like when it came out for instance) but even when I did buy it a few months ago I still didn’t read it straight away. I waited and waited. Then the other week I felt like something completely different and there it was – waiting for me!

It’s about Violet, a girl who has what can only be described as a ‘morbid’ special ability. She has the ability to sense a dead body (whether it be animal or erm, otherwise). That may seem odd enough but there’s more to it as she can also sense when the killer is close to her.

For me it’s like nothing I’ve ever read before and it’s an ability I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But Violet seems to handles these discoveries remarkably. Sure she’s upset and all the usual feelings you would expect a young girl to feel when a discovery such is this is made are evident but once they are out to rest she seems to move on.

Violet, however also shows such compassion for these dead bodies, always having to give the dead animals a proper send off. And even when she discovers a dead body her determination doesn’t let her down. She becomes determined to help the police catch the killer even if it puts her own life at risk.

Another aspect I liked about The Body Finder was seeing the story from the point of view of the killer – it wasn’t an altogether nice place to be but gave a hint about what the killer was up to and there thoughts.

The Body Finder wasn’t all about death though (thank goodness, that would have been a little too morbid for my tastes lol). It also has an almost coming of age quality too it as the two main characters, Violet and Jay discover more about themselves as they grow up and the new feeling they are feeling.

It’s just a fantastic book and I know most of you will already have read it so I’m going to finish by saying I’ll be buying book two very soon indeed!

Review: The Body Finder is a post from: Books 4 Teens

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (5th January 2012)

Pages: 392

ISBN: 978-1444707007

From Amazon
He is the thorn in my side, nightmare of my past, destroyer of my family . . . And the one whose fevered kisses I had relived over and over as I lay exhausted and unable to sleep.

And yet night after night, he – who had kicked down hundreds of doors – had not brought himself to knock on mine.

Nastasya has lived for more than 400 years but things never get any easier. As she learns more about herself, she questions whether it will ever be possible to break free from the darkness of her former life. Can she turn away from the one person she wants to be with above all others? Should her past determine who she should – or should not – love?

Desire, death and painful secrets are revealed in this compulsively addictive sequel to Immortal Beloved.

Review
Darkness Falls is the second book in the Immortal Beloved series, as such this review may unintentionally reveal things about the first book – you have been warned!

Before I started reading Darkness Falls I was worried, that I would have forgotten everything from Immortal Beloved and that would have effected my enjoyment of this book. I needn’t have worried. After just a few pages the story flooded back to me and anything extra that is needed is very conveniently filled in as we go.

In truth I’d forgotten how bad things had got between Nastasya and Incy in the first book and the reasons why Nastasya had run away from him. But even so he was far worse in Darkness Falls – he is responsible for a scene I know I won’t be able to get rid of in a hurry (brilliant that I read those pages in work and had the image stuck there while I was trying to work, lovely! hehe).

Though I liked Incy as a character, I loved, loved, loved Nastasya – she goes through so much in this story, puts up with a lot of crap from a lot of people. I’m sure it’s in no small part that she stays sane(ish) is because of her family (that is truly what they truly feel like) at River’s Edge help to keep her grounded and the warmth and care that grows and comes from that place escapes the page and made me feel all warm inside. I also felt that as a character she goes through some major changes, helping her see the world through a different pair of eyes and seeing this unfold in such a character as Nastasya was very satisfying indeed.

I love magic and books with magic are right up my street, like the first book Darkness Falls doesn’t make use of wizards and wands and the like, rather it takes the form of magick (with a k) which I don’t get to read about often. I like it because it’s different and in a way it feels (to me) more powerful, more deadly if you like.

Come the end I was literally cheering her on, by this point in the book it was so hard to put it down ‘for a bit’ as the action had come to a place where the stakes were at there highest, my hairs were standing on end. So good, but you’ll have to find out for yourself!

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me copy to review

Review: Darkness Falls is a post from: Books 4 Teens

Over to Mina…

Playlist for Laurence – some good songs to listen to for a change! Love Mina xx

Don’t take this the wrong way, Big Man, but you are seriously in need of some new music. Give your ears a go on these …

1. Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now. I always hated Queen until we went to Pop in the Park. Whenever I hear this it reminds me of that night, standing in the crowd with your arms around me. Until you buggered off of course, and left me to deal with Han Solo!
Watch the music video

2. Florence & the Machine – Dog Days Are Over. One for Jay. Ha ha! Woof! Woof!
Watch the music video

3. The Breeders – Fortunately Gone. This was my mum’s favourite song. My dad said she had a cassette of it that got jammed in the car stereo, so it was the only thing they could listen to for about six months until the tape wore out. Mum used to play it all the time and it drove him crazy. I like it – a song about Magpie soup!
Watch the music video

4. Imogen Heap – Daylight Robbery. Ha ha! He he! I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t stopped you?
Watch the music video

5. Elliott Smith – Say Yes. Elliott Smith is legend. You HAVE to like him – end of. Listen to the words. It was hard choosing just one track because there are so many, but I think this is my favourite.
Watch the music video

6. Mumford & Sons – Hold on to what you believe. For some reason, this always makes me think of you and Jay.
Watch the music video

7. The Kinks – Lola. A song about dressing up in women’s clothes. I can’t imagine why this makes me think of you!
Watch the music video

8. Laura Marling – Night Terror. If they want you, they’re gonna have to fight me!!!
Watch the music video

9. Vega4 – Life is Beautiful. Something to remind you and make you smile
Watch the music video

10. The Specials – Ghost Town. Remind you of anywhere? I hated it when we first moved down here – too much concrete. I missed the green fields and the big skies you get in Yorkshire. Maybe I’ll take you up there one day and show you around?
Watch the music video

11. Portishead – Roads. This is from the first Portishead album, Dummy. It’s all brilliant, but this is my favourite track. I listen to it at night when I can’t sleep. It helps. I think her voice and the music is beautiful.
Watch the music video

12. Bat for Lashes – Sad Eyes. Because you have them too. Another song to listen to in the dark.
Watch the music video

13. Joni Mitchell – Little Green. My dad saved all my mum’s CDs for me when she died. There were lots of Joni Mitchell. This song sometimes makes me feel sad because it reminds me how much I miss my mum, but I think that sometimes it’s OK to feel sad and remember people.
Watch the music video

14. Bix Beiderbecke – Singin’ The Blues. My dad started teaching me trumpet when I was five. He loves Bix Beiderbecke and used to play his records all the time. This reminds me of being at home with my dad. I taught myself how to play this on the cornet a few years ago and played it for Dad on his birthday. It was the only time I’ve ever seen him cry. Not because it was bad – at least, I don’t think so!
Watch the music video

15. Morecombe & Wise – Boom Oo Yatta-Ta-Ta. My dad used to sing this to me when I was little. It always cheers me up and makes me laugh. We could try it, me, you and Jay!
Watch the music video

Fantastic selections and thanks to Mia and Dave for stopping by!

Further Information

Website: www.davecousins.net
Blog: davecousins.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @DaveCousins9000
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DaveCousinsAuthor?sk=wall

15 Days Without A Head Blog Tour: Mina’s Playlist For Laurence is a post from: Books 4 Teens