Tag: MG Adventure

‘The Scream of the Whistle’ by Emily Randall-Jones

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When 12-year-old Ruby’s parents split up, she moves into her Grandma’s house in a creepy abandoned railway village called Melbridge with her mum and brother. Ruby is sure if she can just get her parents back in the same room together she can get them to reconcile, so she hatches a plan to walk back home along the abandoned railway line and orchestrate a family reunion. When she encounters the mysterious Green Lady steam train, the conductor offers her a lift instead. But there’s something strange about the train and soon Ruby realises that she’s trapped on a one-way trip towards disaster.

‘The Scream of the Whistle’ is a thrilling and emotive MG horror story about a girl dealing with the supernatural fallout from a historical train crash while she processes her parents divorce. I love a Greek mythology retelling as much as the next person, but it’s great to have a story based on our weird and creepy English folklore instead – set amongst ley lines, stone circles and tors in atmospheric Wiltshire. I’m frequently asked for scary stories in the library and I think this one will go down particularly well – a time slip story with a sinister steam train, ghosts, and an accessible length at 230 pages. (And the cat of course – love Station Ned.) I really enjoyed this one!

Thanks to Chicken House and Emily Randall-Jones for the ARC.

‘Mission: Manta Ray’ by Philip Kavvadias

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In Finn & Milo’s second adventure, they find themselves skydiving on to a ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (along with Arti the microraptor) for a special mission to investigate strange happenings in the Mariana Trench in their capacity as RAPTOR junior agents. But almost as soon as they arrive, the ship is torpedoed by a submarine in the shape of a giant manta ray and they find themselves adrift alone on a life raft. When they finally reach a volcanic island they are reunited with another junior agent, Tasi, and a familiar enemy. Can they escape the bad guys and find out what is going on at the bottom of the ocean?

Finn is such a charmingly reluctant hero and even though his priority is always getting something to eat, he is fiercely protective of Arti and occasionally comes up with a brilliant plan that actually works. His narration is laugh-out-loud hilarious and I giggled throughout the book. Once again, Milo (‘The Professor’) is a fountain of knowledge and vocabulary, and Tasi is a competent, efficient but socially inept addition to the team.

I gave a copy of the book to my nine-year-old niece at Easter and she opened it up straight away and finished it the same day. (She confessed that she turned the lights back on at bedtime to finish it, after she was supposed to be asleep.) And her favourite bit was ‘all the rhetorical questions’. (Finn’s malapropisms eg. ‘a red oracle question’.)

‘Mission: Manta Ray’ is another non-stop, madcap adventure featuring intrepid children, thrilling action, wildly imaginative technology, and witty banter. An absolutely delight, and perfect for children aged 7-12.

Thanks to Philip & Chicken House for the ARC.

‘Secrets of the Snakestone’ by Piu DasGupta

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Inspired by the same legends that informed Wilkie Collins’s ‘The Moonstone’, ‘Secrets of the Snakestone’ is a thrilling, pitch-perfect middle grade adventure set in the streets and the sewers of Paris at the end of the nineteenth century.

Zélie has been sent away from her family in India to live in Paris and work as a maid. But when a boy appears out of the sewers with a mysterious locket belonging to her father, the two children are swept up in a breathtaking mystery involving a cursed stone, a dark secret society and a vibrant cast of circus performers. There is also, very importantly, a baby sloth.

Zélie is a brilliantly bold and audacious narrator, balanced by the more careful and considered character of Jules. I particularly loved the little pep talks that she gives herself throughout the book, whenever she’s feeling nervous or uncertain:

Zélie Dutta, she told herself, you can hold your breath underwater for three minutes, thirteen and three-quarter seconds. You can peel a banana with your toes. You can recite the preface of Les Miserables by heart and you can lick your elbow. You are more than a match for the rubbish Malaises.”

Though it has a historical setting, this story combines a classic feel with contemporary pacing. The action is fast and furious and I read it in one sitting, engaged all the way though.

I also have to mention the thoroughly eye-catching and enticing cover design – what an absolute triumph! Designed by Elisabetta Barbazza and illustrated by Helen Crawford-White.

This engaging, evocative adventure is perfect for fans of Sophie Anderson, Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Katherine Rundell’s ‘Rooftoppers’. I know it’s going to be popular in the library!

Thanks to Netgalley and Nosy Crow for the digital ARC.

‘The Destiny of Minou Moonshine’ by Gita Ralleigh

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

Minou, or ‘Sparrow’ as she is known to her friends, has lived on a dilapidated houseboat with her adopted Grandmother since the day she was found abandoned as a baby during the monsoon, thirteen years earlier. Their home, the former Queendom of Moonlally is suffering under the oppressive rule of a tyrannical General, but a rebel force called The Green Orchid are fighting for freedom and to restore the power of the goddess called the ‘Dark Lady’.

When a terrible tragedy occurs, Minou is swept up in a thrilling adventure involving airships, mechanical elephants and ferocious crocodiles. 

Minou is a feisty and determined protagonist who fiercely protects and defends her friends, but when her world is upended, will Minou have the courage to step into her destiny?

This story is set in an alternative, steampunk version of India called ‘Indica’ – a vivid world, full of colour and magic.

‘The Destiny of Minou Moonshine’ is a captivating and atmospheric read, perfect for fans of Nizrana Farook and Radiya Hafiza’s ‘Rumaysa’. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m sure it will be popular in the library.

Thanks to Gita Ralleigh and Zephyr for the ARC.