Someone is Watching You
Written by Tess James-Mackey
Published by Hodder
I was delighted when I received a proof copy of this book. It came with a red envelope with instructions saying only to open it when I got to the twist in the book.
So I jumped straight in and discovered a modern YA thriller.
An abandoned prison. A deadly game. How far would you go for a dare?
Nia would do anything to win the approval of her boyfriend Scott and his friends, especially mean girl Olivia. When Olivia dares Nia to explore an abandoned prison, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to prove herself. Facing dark tunnels, distant noises and creepy mementoes left behind by incarcerated criminals will surely all be worth it.
But it isn’t long before Nia and her little sister, Kayla, find themselves trapped inside. And then Kayla vanishes.
Suddenly, this feels like more than a game gone wrong. Someone is hellbent on making Nia and Kayla the prison’s last inmates . .
The book is amazing, the plot is so good and extremely modern, there are so many issues dealt with in this book.
The main character Nia will do anything to be accepted by her peers, and these peers are very nasty to her, they have turned her against her much younger sister and are causing problems between her and her parents and at times it comes across that she prefers her friends to her family, this highlights how easily lead teenagers can be.
There is also a major issue with bullying and it comes across that Nia doesn;t realise that she is the victim of bullying.
A Lot of the story revolves around the use of social media and the dangers it can oppose.
As I said before this is a modern book that uses modern terms.
This is an YA book which is suitable for 13+
Sixteen Souls
Written by Rosie Talbot.
Published by Scholastic.
haunted York, even the dead have something to fear.
Sixteen-year-old Charlie has problems. He’s a seer-of-spirits in York, the most haunted city in Europe, and all his friends are ghosts. His sisters have glittered his prosthesis, again, and his crush is dating someone new.
On top of that, famous spirits are mysteriously vanishing from York’s alleys and snickleways. Charlie is determined to stay out of it, but Sam, the irritating new seer in town, expects him to track down who – or what – is responsible and uncover the dark purpose behind the disappearances.
When a ghost Charlie is indebted to also vanishes, he has no choice but to face the shadows. And his growing feelings for Sam. The boys must be willing to risk it all to save York’s spirits, because their adversary will stop at nothing to complete their devastating plan. Afterlives are at stake, and Charlie is running out of time
What an amazing creepy book. I was hooked by the first chapter and needed to read on and on.
I soon fell in love with the main character Charlie and I was rooting for him the whole way through the book. He is a very vulnerable character who is gay and not sure how his parents are going to react, he is also disabled with prostheses legs, and this is a main theme throughout the book. He is also a seer who can see ghosts and helps them.
When Sam arrived in the it’s interesting to see the chemistry between them and having to learn to work together.
The plot was unique. This book is utterly fantastic. ‘Sixteen Souls’ is everything I want in a YA book to be and more. It’s rich, it’s dark, with a wonderfully eerie atmosphere that perfectly captures the city of York in all its haunted, gothic glory. There’re plenty of ghostly goings on at all times, and a thoroughly engaging plot that whips along at a brisk, steady pace.
I totally recommend this book and I truly hope there will be more to come.
Wishtress
Written by Nadine Brandes
Imagine every time you cry you produce wishes
She didn’t ask to be the Wishtress.
Myrthe was born with the ability to turn her tears into wishes. It’s a big secret to keep. When a granted wish goes wrong, a curse is placed on her: the next tear she sheds will kill her. She needs to journey to the Well and break the curse before it claims her life–and before the king’s militairen track her down. But in order to survive the journey, she must harden her heart to keep herself from crying even a single tear.
He can stop time with a snap of his fingers.
Bastiaan’s powerful–and rare–Talent came in handy when he kidnapped the old king. Now the new king has a job for him: find and capture the Wishtress and deliver her to the schloss. But Bastiaan needs a wish of his own. When he locates Myrthe, he agrees to take her to the Well in exchange for a wish. Once she’s fulfilled her end of the deal, he’ll turn her in. As long as his growing feelings for the girl with a stone heart don’t compromise his job.
They are on a journey that can only end one way: with her death.
Everyone seems to need a wish–the king, Myrthe’s cousin, the boy she thinks she loves. And they’re ready to bully, beg, and even betray her for it. No one knows that to grant even one of them, Myrthe would have to die. And if she tells them about her curse . . . they’ll just kill her anyway.
I loved the characters, especially Bastiaan. I think his character developed a lot in the story. I really loved his relationship with his mom and how he was willing to listen to her advice and be humble enough to take it to heart. His character went from being self-centred to selfless, and it was a gradual, slow, un-perfect, but genuine change. I really loved that about Bastiaan’s character so much!
I ADORED Runt. He was absolutely HILARIOUS and added some much needed comic relief to the story! His lines were SO funny . . . the tavern riddle one had to be my favourite. I didn’t know quite what to make of Anouk at points, and I’m still not sure how I feel about her entirely, but I think I like her pretty well. I vacillated between loving Coralythe, despising her, and just feeling so sad for her. Overall, these characters were amazing and made me feel all the feels!
The plot was spellbinding -And may I just say that if I were Myrthe, I wouldn’t have survived that curse for more than a month as I can often be found reading with the odd tear running down my face. I actually loved how the ending was left open to interpretation.
I loved that Myrthe’s POV was in first person and Bastiaan was in third.
Bite Risk
Written by S.J. Wills
Published by Simon and Schuster
I can often be found flicking through book twitter, it’s a place where bloggers discuss the latest must reads.
I often keep a note of ones I really need to read and when I heard about this book I knew it was something I had to get my claws into.
When everyone’s a werewolf, it’s hard to spot the monster…
Thirteen-year-old Sel lives in the remote, isolated town of Tremorglade, where nothing interesting ever seems to happen. Well, unless you count the one night a month when the full moon rises and kids like him must lock up their parents while they transform into werewolves (though Tremorgladers prefer to call them Rippers). But that’s the whole world’s new normal since the Disruption changed everything well before Sel was born.
But when strange things begin happening in Tremorglade, like drones emitting sickening sounds and people behaving oddly, Sel and his friends begin asking questions about what’s really going on in their small town. And suspiciously soon after they do, Rippers begin escaping on confinement nights, people start disappearing, and the kids suspect they’re being followed.
Maybe there’s a reason no one ever seems to leave Tremorglade…and it’s up to Sel and his friends to figure out the truth someone doesn’t want them to know before another full moon puts them all at a bite risk.
We start straight into the thick of the action, on Confinement night.
And what an introduction it is.
What a fun read this was! Not only did it give a taste of nostalgia it was also well written and kept me engaged throughout. The characters are all well developed and fleshed out and I adored the premise of the world’s adult population becoming a werewolf once a month. I really loved how the children became in charge and had all the training.
Bite Risk is truly a thrilling and immersive teen read – I absolutely loved it. The author has created a stunning world that is complex, intelligent and intricate yet easy to understand and very believable. The relationship between the characters were very intestinal and believable.
I loved everything about this book and we were delighted that this is the first of 3 books.
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