Chicklish is happy to participate in the blog tour for Trilby Kent's debut novel, Medina Hill. Full blog tour details can be found at Open Book Toronto.

Review of Medina Hill by Alexandra.

This book takes you back to 1935, to a time where the First World War is still talked about and the Second World War is looming.

Dominic and Marlo are sent to Cornwall  to live with their Uncle Roo for the summer. At first they are very sceptical about leaving behind their sick mother and their unemployed father. Cornwall is also very different from London; new people, fresh air and lots of open space to play in by the sea.

It doesn’t take long for the two children to settle in, helped by the eccentric, artistic people also staying at their aunt and uncle’s boarding house. Soon Marlo is baking cakes and Dominic is reading about Lawrence of Arabia and exploring. 

Dominic becomes curious about the Romany gypsies in the area, and even though he does not speak in front of strangers (only to relatives) he befriends a gypsy girl who shows him a different view of the world. He also finds out that trouble is brewing: the locals want to stop the gypsies coming every year.

When the gypsies are treated unfairly towards the end of the novel, will anyone be there to help them?  Will Dominic take strength from what he’s learned about Lawrence and his fight in the dessert or will his inability to speak hold him back?

This book is full of warm, well constructed characters.  It really takes you back to the 1930s. I felt right in the moment with Dominic and Marlo. The book is in a way calm and relaxing to read, it’s not fraught with action and twists and turns, yet at the same time it’s still complex enough to keep your attention. It’s marketed for 11-14 but I think older teens who like historical novels would enjoy it too.

Review by Alexandra.

Other stops on the blog tour today: Green Bean Teen Queen, Wondrous Reads, An Awfully Big Blog Adventure, Vulpes Libris.

Read an extract of Medina Hill in the widget below.

Review by Amelia

In the previous book, Changeling (reviewed here), Trey had the fact that he was the last hereditary werewolf dumped on him by Lucien Charron, who soon becomes his guardian.

Now Lucien lies in a coma in his luxurious penthouse in London. His daughter Alexa Charron, Trey and Tom are desperate to put an end to the madness that has been in their lives for the past five months.

This book was great! It gave me a break from all those vampire books we are all reading at the moment. The vampires have been replaced by beautiful sorceresses  - and sorcerers, of course. Steve Feasey, the author, has really came up with a great sequel and I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book!

4/5! Great!

Review by Amelia, aged 13

Here's more about it:
"When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created "perfect" life is about to unravel before her eyes. Forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, Brittany finds herself having to protect everything she's worked so hard for - her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend and, most importantly, the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But the closer Alex and Brittany get to each other the more they realise that sometimes appearances can be deceptive and that you have to look beneath the surface to discover the truth." Simon&Schuster UK

I loved Simone Elkeles's debut novel, How to Ruin a Summer Vacation (yes, OK, I gave up and bought that one from the US!) and I'm really looking forward to this one.

There's a fantastic trailer for this book on Simone Elkeles's site.

Waiting on Wednesday is from an idea by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Review by Sasha

Poppet Zanzibar Montague-Jones is 15, attends an exclusive and prestigious school in London and is due to inherit an enormous trust fund. Not to mention she's 87th in line to the British throne! Unlike her sister Kitten - a drug-addicted wild child who is London's society It Girl - Poppet feels she is ill-fitting to her family of eccentric characters and doesn't know how to follow in their footsteps. Living her life in a daydream and being somewhat of a wallflower beside her flamboyant friends, Poppet only begins to give a thought to the future. I mean, there must be more to life than yoga and charity lunches.

This was a hilariously funny diary-style novel which competes with the likes of Georgia Nicholson! Poppet's character was amusing because of the way she was so clueless about everything in everyday life and because of the comparison between rich and poor. She was such a likeable character, you just became absorbed with her diary entries. Each character had their own individuality so it was easy to remember who was who. This book was interesting and extremely well-written. It was just generally amazing and I recommend you buy it immediately!

Review by Sasha, aged 13

 Review by Amber

Skate School: Ice Princess was a brilliant book. It focused on the main character Frankie trying to achieve her dream of becoming... an ice princess.

One day, while ice skating at the local ice rink, she is 'talent spotted' by the one and only Madame Kristiana von Berne, Coaching Director of a skate school in Switzerland. Frankie has trouble deciding whether to go or not. Stay with friends and family? Or go to a school dedicated to ice skating where she could have a fantastic time and make loads of new friends? Frankie, being a huge fan of skating, chooses the ice skating school in Switzerland.

This author was new to me, since I don't think I've ever read anything by her. I definitely think I'll be buying the next in the series, On Thin Ice, because this book was brilliant - one of the best books I've ever read! My favourite character, except Frankie, was probably Alesha, as she was really nice and was the only proper friend Frankie had.

I rate this book...5/5!

Review by Amber, aged 11

News! Check out the Skate School website here.

Read the first chapter of Ice Princess here.

"Are your toes curling for the premiere of New Moon? Will you still love the book better? Hit the rgz blog on November 21st to dish with TwilightMOMS and rgz . Be ready to express all your vampiric impressions. The frenzy starts at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST at the readergirlz blog!
(Luisa's Note: This will be 2 a.m. of November 22nd in Britain!)

Join the fun for a chance to win a Twilight necklace from Gypsy Wings and other fantastic swag!"

Sasha interviews Mary Naylus, author of The Dresskeeper, a time-travelling teen novel published by Prospera Press.

What made you want to write a historical fiction book?
I suppose I liked the idea of time-travel and not being particularly interested in the future, I decided to go back in time, which is where the history part comes in.

How did you get the idea for The Dresskeeper?
I’d been fascinated by the fact people three hundred years ago were living in the same buildings as some of us are today, but under extremely different domestic and social conditions. So I started with the concept of a house that held secrets, and then expanded from there. 

Did you always want to write? 
Yes, although my passion and I have had ups and downs like most authors, I finally came to realise that I liked writing for young adults. The voice can be punchy and opinionated and contemporary, but there is a lot of scope to add in little extras like the time-travelling and history. In the past I have tried writing women’s fiction but found I didn’t have the same enthusiasm for it.

Do the ideas from your books come from personal experiances?
Not really. I do incorporate some experiences but in the main I like to research and write about things that are out of my comfort zone. It makes the process all the more interesting. 

Where is your favourite place to write?
Starbucks, Costa, Caffe Nero or similar. Anywhere with a good coffee machine and a power outlet. 

Thank you very much, Mary Naylus!

Interview by Sasha

Read Sasha's review of The Dresskeeper here.

Review by Summer

This is the first novel by the award-winning author B. R. Collins. This book starts with the story of Michael and Francis, an unlikely duo who share a mysterious secret. A secret they have concocted from an old school project - the secret of Evgard. This secret ties Michael and Francis together and is the basis for them being best friends. Evgard is a fantasy world which is set in a land before modern technology, a place where everything has been designed and thought out by Francis and Michael.

As the story progresses you learn more about the reality of Michael’s and Francis’s lives and also the lives of the people who inhabit this fantasy world they have made up. You learn how Michael struggles to deal with his past experiences of being bullied at his old school, and how this affects the chain of events which is about to occur. Then the game begins, suddenly, someone knows their secret and Michael, fuelled by his previous traumatic experiences, starts to test Francis to see whether he has revealed their joint secret. As the tests begin, Francis is still unaware that anything is going on, when suddenly something happens which could change Michael and Francis's friendship forever.       

When this chain of events begins to occur something happens in the world of Evgard. A soldier named Argent is captured by opposing soldiers and he is taken to the castle of the evil Duke. The duke is an evil man who finds joy in the pain of others and before Argent knows it he has been made into a slave. From then on we see how he struggles to live within the captivity of the castle he is trapped in and how he struggles to deal with living with the people he has always hated, until suddenly it all changes; he meets an unlikely accomplice who has the potential to make his ordeal a lot better than it has to be. As the story progress we see how strangely the occurrences in Argent’s life seem to mirror that of Michael and Francis own experiences and we begin to learn that perhaps this fantasy world they have created is more directly related to them than they would have ever imagined.

When I first started to read this story I found that it was a little slow-paced. However, as the story progressed it became far more exciting than I could have imagined and by the time I was halfway through I felt myself began to savour every word I was reading. The description used by the author helped me to imagine the story more clearly and in my opinion makes this book as good as it is. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading fantasy books where everything seems so real you could almost believe it was true.

Review by Summer

Read the full review on Kara's site.

It’s 1938, and the tentacles of Hitler’s terrifying Third Reich have commenced their stranglehold on Europe. The Nazi empire will soon be clean of all bloodlines deemed tainted or undesirable - including vampires... The brilliant and beautiful millennial [vampire] Brigit is loath to go, but her powers are needed if the mission is to have any chance of success. She must summon all her strength to endure the separation from her lover Eamon... and to attempt a daring escape, guarding precious cargo that marks the only hope of salvaging their mission. (Full review here.)

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book. It was refreshing because it reminded me of a time before Twilight. Yes people there were vampire books before the Twilight saga. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Twilight series but I loved that this book really can’t be compared to it.

When I first started reading this book, I had to adjust to the fact that this was an adult book and not YA. Since this is an adult book nothing had to be held back. There is definitely violence in this book but I thought the author worded all those scenes very well - I call it artistic violence. I thought that the involvement of Nazis in this book was very unique and creative. If I had ever thought of an idea like this I would never have come up with a good enough way to turn it into a novel worth reading or writing.

I loved the characters, especially Mors and I’m hoping that the next Millennial novel expand what I know about him as well as Eamon and Brigit’s relationship. After seeing what they’d gone through in their life before they ended up together, it makes me appreciate their relationship especially because of Brigit. Her feeling of wanting love and being afraid that she’d never find it is a common fear that I could relate to.

The only thing I didn’t like (which was mostly my fault) is that not all the story is told in the same time, meaning that the chapters would switch from the past to the present about every other chapter (more or less). I didn’t notice at first so I was very confused for a while in the beginning.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next book in the series. This book gets an A. :)

Thank you very much again, Kara from Reading Cause I'm Addicted.

Review by Sasha

This book managed to pull me into the story from the first few chapters. It was compelling and original whilst also very easy to get into. The synopsis had me guessing and wondering from the very first page and I was extremely intrigued to find out what was going to happen. Some of the characters in this book could have been stronger and it would have been nice to know about their feeling and point of views. I found myself wanting to know more and more about the Earl and some of Picky's school friends but I felt like it whizzed through everybody quite quickly. There is a thin line between a slow-paced novel and one that moves far too quickly and I feel like this book crossed that line due to the fact that I thought everything (settings, feelings, characters) could have been described for longer and in more depth. Saying this, in some parts of the book the author really brought olden day London alive through sights and smells. This is a good book if you want a gripping teenage mystery.

Review by Sasha, aged 13

Review by Beth.

Fifteen-year-old Nell’s uncanny resemblance to King Edward the Third’s daughter Princess Joan brings the orphan and her brother George from the murky streets of fourteenth century London to a grand calling - a means of protection for the Royal Family, acting as a body double in times of danger. 

But as the plague that claimed the lives of Nell’s parents continues to ravish England and France, and eventually takes Princess Joan herself, Nell is forced by Joan’s brother, the Black Prince, to take on the princess’s identity for real. Nell must carry out a plan to expand the empire by marrying the Prince of Castile. Knowing she could never permanently play the role of the princess, Nell is determined to return to England and report the truth of the princess’s death to the King.  

Nell is desperate to protect her brother George and would do any thing to do so but when her life gets thrown into secrecy she, George and a solider have to take a journey full of torment, danger and anxiety. Plots get revealed throughout, making everyone look suspicious. Who can be trusted? 

I thought that this book was very good. There were loads of plots for you to work out and there was plenty of description, so you could feel like you were there in the story. Every time I picked up this book I had trouble putting it down. I thought the author wrote Nell’s emotions really well, how she struggled to pretend not to be George’s sister. Love, friendship and hatred make this book a very emotional story.

I would definitely recommend this book to teenage girls. If you like intricate plots, adventure and suspense then this is the book for you. 

Review by Beth, Age 13

The Poisoned Arrow is the seventh in a series of books about Saxby Smart, schoolboy private detective. It contains three separate light crime stories (The Poisoned Arrow, The Nightmare of Room 9B and The Final Problem). In the course of each story, various clues are laid so that the reader can try to solve the cases and be Saxby's sidekick. Or the reader can be lazy, like I was, and just let themselves be carried along by the story while Saxby does all the work and unravels the evidence.

This book was not the sort of thing I normally read, but I found it a very enjoyable, quick and fun read. It didn't matter at all that I hadn't read the other books - I think you can read these books in any order. The characters are witty and the writing is always lively, full of little notes and summaries to keep the reader engaged. I particularly loved the everyday settings of the crime scenes. I think amateur detectives aged about 8+ will enjoy sleuthing with Saxby Smart.

Read Alexandra's interviews with Simon Cheshire here and here.

Full list of Saxby Smart books:

1. The Curse of the Ancient Mask (2007)
2. The Fangs of the Dragon (2008)
3. The Pirate's Blood (2008) Our review here.
4. The Hangman's Lair (2008) Our review here.
5. The Eye of the Serpent (2009) Our review here.
6. Five Seconds to Doomsday (2009) Our review here.
7. The Poisoned Arrow (2009)

Forbidden Planet's website

Review by Alexandra

It’s been a while since I’ve read something as creepy as this. It really is an eerie, scary thriller. So you’ve been warned!

Danny arrives in Harvest Cove in Canada with his father. They move around constantly, from place to place. Harvest Cove is set to be another cold, small place where nothing will happen. Luckily he soon makes friends with Pike, Ash and Howie. After one night out with the three of them, his life changes, he’s followed home by a beast he cannot describe - never mind recognize as being close to any animal he’s seen before.

Danny finds out that one tiny bite is all the creature wants… at least to start with. After that you’re taken into the creature’s dangerous world where it slowly hunts its prey. When one of Danny’s friends follows him towards the same fate it’s up to all four of them to find a solution to end this. But they are taking on more than they can imagine and in the freezing temperatures of Harvest Cove the beast appears to have the upper hand.

I really enjoyed this; it’s different, fast paced, exciting and really well-written. Definitely makes you want to read the author’s other books.

Highly recommended.

Review by Alexandra