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| Pete Johnson |
| Corgi Yearling |
| 0440867630 |
| May 2007 |
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Marginalised from her peers by consequence of her ardent interest in spies, Tasha falls easy prey to Henry, the new boy who, after a confusion of notebooks, reveals himself to be operating on behalf of a secret governmental organisation. Having succeeded in securing Tasha’s confidence, Henry uses her bedroom as a vantage point for surveillance on his alleged mission.
Fans of Pete Johnson’s work will neithbe neither surprised nor disappointed to learn that he has penned no ordinary teenage spy novel. Henry has a secret concerning his father and indiscretions from his past that have been manipulated to secure self-interest. Henry is now determined to reveal the truth and with a similar deftly, Johnson sows the seeds of his story with just the right precision to keep readers edging ever closer, but never quite guessing the truth behind this twisting, turning story. Fiendishly cunning and cleverly observed, Pete Johnson brings fresh flavour and gives food for thought to the common staple of the teen spy novel
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Mystery/Thriller: September 2007 Archives
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| Joel Stewart |
| Doubleday |
| 0385610076 |
| Jul 2007 |
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“‘What we saw there,’ said Dr M, ‘was an inside thing. Something, a feeling or a fear, that belonged to that little boy. The Wenlock pulled it out and took it away.’” The highly innovative and imaginative illustrator Joel Stewart proves himself equally proficient at the pacing and plotting of fiction for young readers in “The Trouble with Wenlocks”. Travel on a train takes an unexpected turn when everyone slips into slumber save for Stanley Wells who experiences an apparition. This apparition is later revealed to have been a Wenlock, an ethereal being with the ability to remove fear and uncertainty. With parents living apart, and voyages made between their respective home, Stanley has been the subject of great change. His train ride extends as a metaphor for the journey of his own life, one that he must travel, arriving at difficult decisions alone with regard to his outlook and intended destination... Delightfully idiosyncratic and whimsical, Joel Stewart captures that sense of the surreal that accompanies feelings experienced for the first time. Caught, on the one hand, between the enigmatic Dr Moon's careful guidance and sage advice and, on the other, Joel Stewart's intriguing first novel, readers could not be in safer hands.
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| Catherine MacPhail |
| Bloomsbury |
| 0747582769 |
| Feb 2007 |
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Pithy and packing a considerable punch to the solar-plexus, Catherine MacPhail’s latest novel explores gang mentalities and the often fickle sense of ethics and allegiance that accompany these. Coursing beneath this is an intricate network of character exposition and story strands that serve to stimulate much debate and consideration into social class and the status and stereotyping that is assumed around this.
Suffering a slight at the hands of the ‘Lip Gloss Girls’ after having been accused of betraying her former best-friend, Erin, Hannah Driscoll feels isolated, ostracised and caught between her former gang and their rivals, the ‘Hell Cats’. In an abrupt – though totally convincing – plot turn, Hannah becomes accepted into the rival gang, allowing for the dynamics of group mentalities to be exposed and for a series of lively revelations as to the characteristics and motivations of both groups of girls to be played out against one another expertly. As ever, Catherine MacPhail shows deftness of in having crafted a thoroughly readable and compelling novel that has a needle-point sharpness in its no-bars-held insight into the types of assumption and prejudice concerning the stigma and prejudiced expectations that arise concerning ‘class’ both in educational and social settings.
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| Elizabeth Singer Hunt |
| Red Fox |
| 186230128X |
| Apr 2007 |
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Continuing his missions with the GPF (the Global Protection Force), and in so doing desperately seeking information concerning the current whereabouts of missing elder brother Max, Jack Stalwart is called to Kenya to protect the African Elephants which have been being slaughtered as part of elicit ivory trading.
Although sometimes overt in the narrative’s placement of moral and ethical standards, the story nonetheless makes for a fast-paced, action adventure that will doubtless find a legion of fans foremost of these are likely to be those who are savvy with the fast evolving worlds of gadget and computer aided technologies. With often exotic and far-flung locations, an increasingly enticing array of spy gadgetry and the promise of top-secret assignments, this series has enough hooks to capture the imaginations of even the most reluctant of readers…
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