The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts

Written by Alex Bell

Alex Bell has written some of the best MG books around, so this had a lot to live up to. I started this book as soon as it arrived. And how delighted I was that there was a strong link to libraries and books.

Twelve-year-old Eli is an apprentice librarian at the largest library in the world. But when his grandmother falls ill, he enters the Glorious Race of Magical Beasts to raise money for her treatment. This is an event that happens every year, usually somewhere particularly perilous and full of spiky dangers. Unicorns and dragons are the favoured creatures of choice, but when Eli consults the rule book, he finds that there is nothing to stop him from entering the race with Humphrey, his moon tortoise. Moon tortoises aren’t suited to racing and Eli is no natural adventurer. But he soon finds himself in an unlikely partnership with another entrant: Raven is a rule breaker and skilled archer, and her creature is an ice hare – one of the fastest animals in the world. If the two children put aside their differences and work together, they might just reach the finish line!

Main character Eli is an amazing character, busy all day at the library. I just loved the descriptions of him cleaning bat poo. And you can tell that he adores his job.

But he also helps out at his nan’s cafe in the evenings. And his nan means the world to him. He’s the child everyone wishes for. He has an magical tortoise (and it has left me wanting my own magical creature).

There was some hilarious dialogue between Eli and Raven and it was so natural. The adventure the characters go on was thrilling and fast paced.

There are some books that deserve to be made into a series and this is one of those. So fingers crossed.

How To Steal a Dragon

Written and illustrated by Ryan Hammond

I loved the first book in the series so I couldn’t wait to revisit Villain Academy.

 It’s the start of the winter term and there’s a new teacher in town at Villains Academy – the notorious dragon-rider Felix Frostbite. Class Z are in awe of him and his lessons on venomous beasts and mythical creatures, but werewolf Bram is suspicious. Soon Bram and his friends the Cereal Killers uncover Felix Frostbite’s evil plan to steal all the dragons from the Wicked Woods and leave Villains Academy undefended. Have the gang learnt enough to outsmart their troublesome teacher, or will Felix Frostbite’s heist go down in villain history?

It was a complete delight to start the winter term in Villain Academy. 

The Villains-In-Training are back at it again with more troublemaking and this time there are baby dragons involved. 

I love the way that important messages are slotted into a fun and engaging story to add a deeper meaning without being too loud about it. The friendships in this story are some of my favourites. I did find Bryans huge farts so funny.I like how all the characters  are all completely different and the jokes, references and just pure craziness of the story and characters really did have me laughing out loud. I will be using this book as a library read.

Of course the illustrations are amazing and they totally drag you into the story; I’m a sucker for dragons and the way they’re illustrated is just perfect! But I do have to love Villain of the week best.

Montgomery Bonbon – Murder at the Museum

Written by Alasdair Beckett-King

Illustrations by Claire Powell

This is an amazing debut MG book. Children want 2 things in a MG book, they want murder and a scare. I have so many children every week asking for a murder book and until now we have had Mysteries on trains series and Murder most unladylike, well now we can add Montgomery Bonbon to add to the mix.  

Many people go their whole lives without noticing anything that is afoot, amiss, or even untoward; without ever experiencing that toe-tingling, stomach-twisting sensation that a mystery is about to unfold.

Not Bonnie Montgomery – the world’s best detective. Not that anyone (other than Grampa Banks) has heard of her… But they might have heard of the great Montgomery Bonbon, the well-dressed gentleman detective who (apart from the hat and moustache) looks suspiciously like a 10-year-old girl.

Their newest case: solving the mystery surrounding a highly suspicious death at the Hornville Museum. Together they’ll interview some dodgy witnesses, scour the scene for clues and – above all – hope no one notices that Bonnie and Montgomery are never in the same room at the same time…

What a fantastic middle grade book, this is Agatha Christie for younger readers. This is a fantastic mystery with eccentric characters.

Giving me Poirot vibes this was a hilarious, mysterious ride from start to finish.Hilarious and at times extremely heartwarming this was such an enjoyable read and I couldn’t recommend it enough.Murder at the Museum is a thoroughly enjoyable start to what I hope will be a long series featuring the eccentric detective and adults who remain clueless that a little girl with a false moustache and raincoat has a better success rate at solving crime than the local constabulary.

This enjoyment is aided by the marvellous illustrations by Claire Powell.

I particularly loved the photo album of characters at the beginning of the book, I always love to see how the author and illustrator see the characters. I am really looking forward to the next in the series.

The Vanquishers

 Written by Kalynn Bayron

In the world of the Vanquishers, vampires were history . . . until now.

Malika “Boog” Wilson and her best friends have grown up idolising The Vanquishers, a group of heroic vampire hunters who wiped out the last horde of the undead decades ago. Nowadays, most people don’t take even the most basic vampire precautions–the days of garlic wreaths and early curfews long gone–but Boog’s parents still follow the old rules, much to her embarrassment.

When a friend goes missing, Boog isn’t sure what to think. Could it be the school counsellor, Mr. Rupert, who definitely seems to be hiding something? Or could it be something more dangerous? Boog is determined to save her friend, but is she ready to admit vampires might not be vanquished after all?

No one ever expected the Vanquishers to return, but if their town needs protection from the undead, Boog knows who to call.

This book has been marketed at the MG audience, but after reading this is definitely a YA book. This was a delightfully spooky read with well-placed punches of humour. 

I love to see representation in books! Not only is there a diverse cast of characters, there’s also gender diversity through Jules who goes by they! And there’s two dads! it was so effortlessly included. no unnecessary attention, bullying, highlighting. I think this may be the best way forward to incorporate such natural inclusion, especially in children’s/YA books.

There’s supportive parents! There’s communication! There’s love and teasing and healthy relationships! There are no bad characters. 

The storyline had everything you would expect, twists, turns and cliff hangers.

I am looking forward to the next one in the series.