Newest Teens Reviews
From TheBookbag
Teens
Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton
Welcome back to the world of Lamonic Bibber. And if you haven't come to this most singular of villages before, then, well, is pity too strong a word? However you will have to be prepared to leave the village far behind as this story is one of quite global proportions. Full review...
The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
Young boy discovers that he is in possession of hitherto unknown magical powers… does this sound a familiar scenario? Well, I guess for many, it will sound somewhat familiar, but being one of the few people on the planet who hasn't read Harry Potter, then I'm afraid I can't make comparisons, which at their best would perhaps be invidious! So let's rewind… Full review...
Oath Breaker by Michelle Paver
In a fit of jealousy over Renn, Torak abandons Bale to keep watch on his own for a whole night. When he returns, chastened and regretful, the next morning, it's not a rapprochement, it's the discovery of Bale's body, thrown from the cliff. Renn, Fin-Kedinn and Torak soon discover the culprit's identity. It's Thiazzi, one of the remaining Soul Eaters. Full review...
The Thirteenth Skull: Alfred Kropp 3 by Rick Yancey
The third adventure about Alfred Kropp sees our Arthurian descendant's crisis centred around a third artifact. The first book was all about Excalibur, the second all about Solomon's Seal and this one, menacingly, is all about the Thirteenth Skull. As you can see, the Arthurian motif is getting a little flimsy. But this doesn't really matter if the chase is the thing. Full review...
Spray by Harry Edge
In an unknown city, a game of 'Spray' is about to start. Consisting of 200 players, all armed with water pistols or balloons, the idea of the game is to assassinate a target who has been selected for you. When you have taken your target out of the game, their target becomes your next target. The game continues until there is only one player left standing. Full review...
The Lost City of Faar (Pendragon) by D J MacHale
Wow, I was seriously hoping that the promise shown by the first novel would be more fully realised in later offerings, and boy did MacHale deliver. In just the second instalment of the series, he manages to deliver such a fully realised reality that looking up from this book was a disappointing return to the real world. Forget the laundry, I wanted to read another chapter! Full review...
Sylvie and the Songman by Tim Binding
I do like a challenge – one the author sets himself. I at times agree with the phrase having writing about music being akin to dancing about architecture, and so the task here is immense. Not only has Tim Binding had to create some new and bizarre musical instruments for our heroine's father to play, but the sounds they conjure, and the effect of a host of sonic factors is on the page in a most vivid and descriptive way. Full review...
The Merchant of Death (Pendragon) by D J MacHale
D. J. MacHale is better known for his TV shows, especially the After School TV specials and his work on bringing Encyclopedia Brown from the printed page to before the camera. Admittedly, this takes a very creative mind, but not necessarily one that is suited to writing books instead of say, scripts for the more visual arts. Luckily this is not true for MacHale, and what we have here is a first novel that is full of promise, and while not perfect, a jolly good read in every sense of the word. Full review...
The Trap by Sarah Wray
Luke Sheldon is an over-achieving, diabetic fifteen year old from London. With an elder brother (who constantly harasses him) about to go to university, Luke can't wait to get the room they share all to himself. One morning, while enduring yet another barrage of abuse from his sibling, he receives a letter from the WRYP (Well Rounded Youth Project) – a camp for smart children – telling him he's been invited to a camp in the USA. Full review...
Escape Velocity (Hive) by Mark Walden
The Higher Institute of Villainous Education (H.I.V.E.) is in terrible danger. Its headmaster, Nero, has been kidnapped by a shady anti-terrorist agency called H.O.P.E. Its crack assassin, Raven, is missing, feared dead. It's all up to prize criminal student Otto Malpense to save him by breaking into MI6 and finding his whereabouts. But first Otto must escape the school itself, a fraught and dangerous task in itself, now Number One has appointed his old enemy the Contessa as its new head. He'll need every friend he's got to even begin... Full review...
Out of My Depth by Helen Bailey
In her second novel outing, we find Electra determined to get her separated parents back together. Unfortunately, neither of her parents are particularly keen on the idea but this doesn't daunt the undefatigable Electra. She's a girl with a mission. But even girls with missions need to think about other things occasionally, and Electra thinks about breasts (or her lack of them), snogging (or her lack of them) and laptop computers (or her lack of them). She avoids thinking about homework, housework, or any other type of work, obviously. Full review...
Last Kiss of the Butterfly by Jill Hucklesby
Jaz loves taw kwon do. It's helped her deal with the frustrations of her dyslexia and she loses her temper less than she did. It's also helped her deal with the panics caused by her mother's illness. Anna, a concert cellist, is in remission from cancer. It's been a tough time for the Ballantynes of late, but it's looking as though things are finally beginning to turn the corner. Jaz is happy with her group of friends, the Urban Chicks, her martial arts are going well, and Mum's getting better at last. What could go wrong? Full review...
Bambert's Book of Missing Stories by Reinhardt Jung
Bambert was a very small man who could only walk with a stick and even that was very painful. Throughout his childhood he'd endured many painful operations in the hope that he would grow but eventually it was accepted that he would never be any taller. After his parents died he adapted the family home to suit himself. The local grocer had his shop on the ground floor, but above that the house was Bambert's and the furniture was small enough to suit him. There was even an electric chair lift to carry him right up to the attic window where he could look out at the world. Full review...
The Traitor Game by B R Collins
Michael and Francis are best friends. Michael's never really had a best friend before – in his last school he was bullied terribly, eventually leading to his transfer to St Anselm's. A new school, a new start. His Mum invites Francis round before the beginning of term to try and encourage friendship. Michael thinks it's a bad idea, that Francis will just laugh at how pathetic he is, needing his mother's help to make friends, but the boys form an unlikely bond over an old school project of Michael's, the fictional country Evgard. Full review...
The Pilgrims of Rayne (Pendragon) by D J MacHale
At first glance I assumed that this was going to need a quick read of the author's previous works, but I was wrong. While it is indeed part of a longer series, the skill of the storyteller manages to weave any nuggets of knowledge from previous events seamlessly into the narrative so that we are not in the dark. Full review...
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
Audrey is buzzing along nicely in her Los Angeles life, quite well for an angsty teenager in fact. She has an awesome best friend, her parents are fairly right-on, her music is always loud, and her fatterbelly pet cat always raises a smile. If it weren't for Evan, her self-obsessed musician boyfriend, Audrey's life would be just peachy. So, never one to settle for second best, Audrey dumps Evan. But to her horror, at his band's gig a few days later, Evan unveils his new song. It's called Audrey, Wait! and it's all about her. Full review...
Priceless! (The Skateboard Detectives) by Andrew Fusek Peters
When a world-famous Faberge egg is stolen, ex-con Danny Cooper is the immediate number one suspect. And when planted forensic evidence is found at the scene, it's all the police need to make an arrest. But Danny's going straight. He's been framed. And the Skateboard Detectives are going to prove it. San can hack into anything, Ben is a peerless free-runner, Break is superb on a skateboard and Charlie, well, might be a year younger than the others, but she's a superb athlete and Danny's daughter, so she even more determined to crack the case. Full review...
The Kiss of Death by Marcus Sedgwick
Marko's father, a doctor, has gone missing and a mysterious and menacing letter convinces the young boy that he should travel to Venice to search for him. Once there, he finds Sorrel, whose father was Marko's father's patient. Sorrel is as determined to find the cause of her father's horrible illness as Marko is to find his. And the children couldn't be more different. Full review...
Nation by Terry Pratchett
Somewhere in the South Pelagic Ocean, a devastating tidal wave all but wipes out the Nation. On his island, only Mau is left - he had been on his rite of passage to becoming a man, and was paddling home in his canoe when the wave struck. Caught between boyhood and adulthood, he's now without a soul. But is that any bad thing, when the gods would unleash such destruction upon people? Full review...
The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd
It's 2015 and Britain has just become the first nation to introduce carbon rationing. Climate change is running amok, freak weather is everywhere and the Great Storm was the last straw. So everyone gets their ration cards and smart meters, and everyone has to decide what stays and what goes in their carbon-heavy lifestyles. Flights are out, obviously, but what about the car? The favourite Australian wine? The visits to the gym? The computer time? How hot do you like your shower? Full review...
Kobal: The Mysteries of the Septagram by Paul Bryers
Jade is having an identity crisis. She knows her friends are as well, it's a normal teen thing for them, though, where they discover their parents are more or less aliens to them and they try to figure out just who they are themselves. It's a rite of passage everyone goes through. Jade's crisis is nothing like theirs though. She begins hearing voices, and having strange images appear on her PC. Just what are her parents hiding from her, and what does it all have to do with a hospital for the criminally insane? Full review...
Wilderness by Roddy Doyle
Grainne has hit adolescence with a bang. She hates everyone, including herself. She can barely bring herself to acknowledge the rest of her family, let alone be polite. She spends a lot of time thinking about her mother, who left when she was very small and now lives in New York. Tired of the tense atmosphere, Grainne's father suggests a holiday for Grainne's stepmother and her two half brothers, Johnny and Tom. So the little boys and their mother head off to an ice safari in Finland. Full review...
Castlecliff by Elizabeth Pulford
Jamie's mother is getting married. Hurst is a nice guy an' all, but he's large, enthusiastic and loud, a bit like an exuberant dog. Jamie is lurching into adolescence and all this happiness and jollity predictably makes him feel pressured and sulky. To make matters worse, the honeymoon has been cancelled because Hurst's grandmother has died and the house, Castlecliff, needs renovating for sale. Jamie was supposed to be staying with his friend Ritchie, but they've had a row about new kid on the block Leroy, and so Jamie's having to go along with the newlyweds. Full review...
