Guardian's Summer Roundup by Julia Eccleshare
Reviews: July 2008 Archives
The link is to the Young Adult reviews in last weekend's Telegraph children's special coverage. The page includes links to the other reviews: picture books, adventure fiction, historical fiction, fantasy and audiobooks.
I couldn't agree more with Vivien Hamilton, reviewer of the teenage fiction titles: "The best of the books in this often awkward category is the extraordinary, exquisitely written The Ghost's Child (Walker Books, £6.99) by the award-winning Australian novelist Sonya Hartnett."
I shall be adding a 5-chick review of this title to the ACHUKA reviews section myself.
Kate Thompson is a multi-award-winning author whose work fiercely divides readers. There are those who devour her every word and those who are puzzled by her popularity. Creature of the Night should, however, more than satisfy both parties...
I'm not quite sure what Kate Thompson will make of that! Is Philip Ardagh suggesting Creature Of The Night will continue to puzzle those mystified by the author's popularity or, as I think more likely, does he think it will win them over at last.
Frank Cottrell Boyce gives some suggestions for summer:
for me, the ultimate summer thriller has to be Philippa Pearce's Minnow on the Say (OUP, £5.99/£5.69). It's an adventure story about two boys using a canoe to search for a lost treasure on the canals and backwaters of their town. It's brilliantly plotted, surprisingly emotional, and held together by a verse puzzle that keeps you guessing to the very end.An epic of childhood freedoms - ad hoc picnics, tree climbing, and time-wasting. The other book that captures that freedom is The Far Distant Oxus (republished by Fidra Books next month, £12/£10.80). It is set during a riding holiday on Exmoor, and my children loved not only the story but also the fact that it was written by two teenage girls - Katharine Hull and Pamela Whitlock - while they were on just such a holiday...
