Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, whose lives have been turned upside down by Aric and his men. The crew has one misson: stay alive, and take down Aric's armed and armored fleet.

But when Caledonia's best friend and second-in-command just barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether or not to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all...or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for?

The Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

One of the most talked about new books in Fantasy:

Are you looking for something a bit different in a fantasy setting? How about The Children of Blood and Bone? A novel that is set in an African based world. A world where each of the 12 tribes used to have their own style of magic - that is until the King, Saran, cut off access to magic and killed all the adult Maji. Now Zelie is on a mission to restore the magic, while Prince Inan wants to destroy it.

A Wrinkle in Time - Now in cinemas

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. 

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".
Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space? [Goodreads.com]

An Irish read for St Patrick's Day

The Call by Peadar O'Guilin

We know that Ireland is full of fairies. But what if the fairies aren't the kind magical creatures we want them to be? What if they are cruel and evil?

3 minutes and 4 seconds. The length of time every teenager is 'Called', from the moment they vanish to the moment they reappear. 9 out of 10 children return dead. Even the survivors are changed. The nation must survive. Nessa, Megan and Anto are at a training school - to give them some chance to fight back. Their enemy is brutal and unforgiving. But Nessa is determined to come back alive. Determined to prove that her polio-twisted legs won't get her killed. But her enemies don't just live in the Grey Land. There are people closer to home who will go to any length to see her, and the nation, fail...

Book trailer - This Savage Song

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

Student review - Agent Nomad

Agent Nomad by Skye Melki-Wegner

Reviewed by Brodie Rabbas (8 Realino)

Agent Nomad is about a girl called Natalie who has the one-in-a-million ability to see people’s quintessences – their magical abilities and how they are using them.

She is a normal 15 year old before starts working for HELIX – a secret agency who protects normal people from evil people that feed off everyone’s magical essences.

Natalie’s ability is both very useful for HELIX, but makes her a target. Can she learn to master or powers before the Inductors manage to kill her?

Why I finished it: I finished it because it drew me into the book. I never wanted it to end, or put it down.

I’d recommend it to: I’d recommend it to anyone who likes spy stories, and anyone who like stories set in Australia

I rate this read: ««««« - OMG it was amazing

Check out the official book trailer:

Now in the Cinema - Stephen King's The Dark Tower

The Gunslinger (Dark Tower book 1) by Stephen King

The Dark Tower series tells the story of Roland Deschain, Mid-World’s last gunslinger, who is traveling southeast across Mid-World’s post-apocalyptic landscape, searching for the powerful but elusive magical edifice known as The Dark Tower. Located in the fey region of End-World, amid a sea of singing red roses, the Dark Tower is the nexus point of the time-space continuum. It is the heart of all worlds, but it is also under threat. Someone, or something, is using the evil technology of the Great Old Ones to destroy it.

In Roland’s where and when, the world has already begun to move on. Time and direction are in drift, and the fabric of reality is fraying. However, things are about to get much worse. The six invisible magnetic Beams, which maintain the alignment of time, space, size, and dimension, are weakening. Because of this, the Tower itself is foundering. Unless Roland can find a way to save the Beams and stabilize the Tower, all of reality will blink out of existence. (Blurb from http://stephenking.com/)

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Arabian Nights meets the gun slinging Wild West

Do you feel like reading something that is a bit different?

Meet Amani, poor, orphaned and female. She lives in a world that tells her she has no value, except to be married off to someone that is chosen for her.

She is a nearly perfect aim with a pistol, and she has just one chance to get out of Dustwalk...

Read the first few chapters here

(follow the link and click the start reading icon)

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

In the Cinema - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

A copy of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them resides in almost every wizarding household in the country. Now Muggles too have the chance to discover where the Quintaped lives, what the Puffskein eats and why it is best not to leave milk out for a Knarl.

Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to Comic Relief, which means that the pounds and Galleons you exchange for it will do magic beyond the powers of any wizard. If you feel that this is insufficient reason to part with your money, I can only hope that passing wizards feel more charitable if they see you being attacked by a Manticore [blurb from goodreads.com].


Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone… [blurb from goodreads.com].

Student book reviews

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is a strange book about an ordinary boy named Jacob. Jacob learns about his grandfather's extraordinary past, and it turns out that Jacob is not as normal as he thought he was.

Why I picked it up: I heard about the movie coming out and it looked interesting, so I wanted to read the book before I watched it.

Why I finished it: Because it was so strange, that it made me want to keep reading. I also loved the characters.

I'd recommend it to: Anyone who enjoys supernatural books, and ones about family and friends.

I rate it:


Year 7 student

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

by J.K. Rowling

19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. The main character is Albus Severus Potter, Harry's middle child, and his battles with being a teenager.

Why I picked it up: I was the first one in the library to see it.

Why I finished it: EVERYTHING!

I'd recommend it to: Fantasy fans

I rate it:


Abigail Valentine Rawlins (9 Beltran)

A classic for Easter

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Four adventurous siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie—step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice. [Description from Goodreads.com]

This is one of those classics that everyone should read at least once. There is a very good reason that it has rarely (if ever) gone out of print since it was published in 1950. It will stick with you long after you have finished reading it.

What many people have not realised while reading it, is that it can be considered an allegory (a symbolic retelling) of the Crucifixion.

Read it for yourself and see if you agree!

An Irish read for St Patricks Day

Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin. An equally hunky—and equally dangerous—dark faerie soldier named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Sworn enemies, Luke and Aodhan each have a deadly assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen's sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend. Deirdre had been wishing her life weren't so dull, but getting trapped in the middle of a centuries-old faerie war isn't exactly what she had in mind . . .

Lament is a dark faerie fantasy that features authentic Celtic faerie lore, plus cover art and interior illustrations by acclaimed faerie artist Julia Jeffrey. 

[Review from Goodreads.com]

Book Review: The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Have you ever watched a film staring a teenage superhero and wondered what the other kids at their school thought: What would life be like if you went to school with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or John Smith (from I am Number Four), Percy Jackson, or even Harry Potter? Where weird stuff seems to happen when they are around, and you know they are caught up with something bigger than you are, and they are off saving the world. But somehow adults don't seem to notice.

The Rest of Us Just Live here is about those ordinary kids. The ones who know that the heroes are risking their lives, they just don't know what to do about it, and know that they are not really welcome to start asking questions.

They may not be heroes, but the problems they face, though "normal" often require just as much courage as those faced by the ones saving the world. Only, they don't have the black and white definitions of right and wrong to guide them. There are a lot of different kinds of gray out there to confuse matters.

Not to mention, on top of navigating your final year of high school, trying to work out what the future has in store for you, changing friendships and love, you need to be able to survive the apocalypse, and hope that you graduate before anyone blows up the gym.

 

So, you liked Percy Jackson...

You've read Percy Jackson, and it was one of the few books you've enjoyed. But now your teacher wants you to read something else. Is there anything as good that you might like? Here are a few suggestions from Rick Riordan (the guy who wrote Percy Jackson).

Artemis Fowl by Eion Colfer

Artemis Fowl is a twelve year-old criminal mastermind. He knows fairies are real, and he is going for their gold. All of their gold. Fast paced, humourous, easy to read.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Prince Aleksander, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne is on the run. Deryn Sharp has disguised herself as a boy so she can join the British air service. In an alternative version of our own world, World War I has just started.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

A funny fantasy/mystery series featuring a detective who just happens to be a fire-throwing skeleton.

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

First in a series about two siblings who are plunged into a world of immortals and mythological creatures. Fast-paced fantasy set in the modern world.

For more of Rick's suggestions: http://www.rickriordan.com/educational-resources/ricks-reading-recommendations