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You are here: Home / Archives for adventure

Zo and the Forest of Secrets by Alake Pilgrim

June 13, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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When Zo decides to run away from home, she isn’t scared; after all, she knows the island like the back of her hand. But, as she journeys through the once-familiar forest, terrifying creatures and warped visions begin to emerge. With a beast on her heels and a lost boy thrown into her path, could a mysterious abandoned facility hold answers? Zo must unravel the secrets of the forest before she is lost in them forever…

Blake Pilgrim’s stories have twice won the regional prize for the Americas in the Commonwealth Short Story Competition. They have been published by The Center for Fiction in New York, the Small Axe Journal, and in the groundbreaking international anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby (Myriad Editions and HarperCollins).

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Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: adventure, Caribbean, fantasy, MG, middle-grade, Trinidad

Monster Hunting For Beginners by Ian Mark ill. Louis Ghibault

June 12, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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Published in hardback in 2021 and now (2022) in paperback. A new title in the series is scheduled for next year (2023).

Monster Hunting isn’t as easy as it looks. And Jack should know. Because an ogre has just appeared in his garden and tried to EAT HIS AUNT. (She was the winner of the World’s Worst Aunt competition, but that’s Not The Point).

After (sort of accidentally) defeating the ogre, Jack finds himself apprenticed to a grumpy, 200-year-old monster hunter called Stoop and heading off to Cornwall, where more ogres are causing havoc. All he has are his wits, his catapult and a magical – sometimes unreliable – book called Monster Hunting for Beginners. Jack’s a bit worried he might not be the hero everyone’s waiting for. But then again, how many terrifying, bloodthirsty monsters can there really be?

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Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: adventure, MG, middle-grade, monsters, series

Firesong – Brightstorm 3 by Vashti Hardy ill. George Ermos

May 16, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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The exciting conclusion to the Brightstorm twins’ adventure-packed story!

Arthur, Maudie, and the rest of the Aurora crew are going on a mission to the Volcanic North, where years before their parents discovered the moth that is their family symbol. But their scheming, ambitious aunt, Eudora Vane, is still dedicated to destroying the Brightstorm family name, and the further north the Aurora travels, the more long-buried secrets are revealed…

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: adventure, fantasy, trilogy

The Unmorrow Curse by Jasmine Richards

May 11, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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 [Cover art by Portuguese artist and animator Pypah Santos]

It’s not every day that you find a famous weather woman bound by magic to a tree deep in the woods. Or discover that the weatherwoman is in fact Sunna, the Norse Goddess of the Sun, and one of the seven day guardians who keep time in order. But that’s just what happens to new friends Buzz and Mari—and it’s only the start of their adventure. Now, as humanity are forced into a lockdown called the Unmorrow Curse and are forced to repeat the same Saturday over and over again, Buzz and Mari must journey to collect the Runes of Valhalla and awaken the other day guardians, before vengeful god Loki can get to them first.

Two friends awaken a world of myth and magic in this epic middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of Rick Riordan.

Jasmine Richards is the founder of Storymix, a children’s fiction development studio that creates inclusive stories and nurtures voices from under-represented backgrounds in children’s books.Follow her on Instagram:

 

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Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, Fiction Tagged With: adventure, fantasy, middle-grade, series

Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin

May 4, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 5 May 2022

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“A vividly imagined fantasy with an enticing Studio Ghibli feel.” Guardian

Ann Sei Lin’s debut children’s book—the first part of a trilogy—is a  pacy Ghibli-style Asian fantasy  based on the Meiji era, full of origami magic, powerful shikigami, and sky cities.

Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami – wild paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess. But are these creatures just powerful slaves, or are they beings with their own souls? And can a teenage girl be the one to help them find their voice – and change the course of an empire?

The author told The Bookseller, at the time the publication deal for trilogy was announced: ““What fascinates me most about paper is the idea of possibility. Paper can fold into any shape. It can be a canvas for any painting, or the pages of any story. Like many young people, Kurara is a character who must carve her own place in a world full of terror and possibility. I couldn’t ask for a better home for this novel than with Walker Books and I’m beyond thrilled to be working with Gráinne [Clear] to bring Rebel Skies to the world.”

Interesting fact about Ann Sei Lin: “My dad is blind but he loves books and listens to them via screen reader. Growing up, the sound of electronic voices was a constant background presence. Instead of doing my homework, I would often listen to whatever story my dad’s computer was reading to him at the time. Some people say that they can’t get used to how unnatural screen readers sound, but listening to one is now an important step in my editing.”

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Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, Fiction, YA Tagged With: adventure, debut, fantasy

The Secret Wild by Alex Evelyn cover ill. George Ermos

May 2, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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A fantastical, botanical adventure about friendship, bravery – and finding home in a new place.

Fern has spent her whole life in the rainforest, and loves nothing more than climbing, exploring and talking to the trees. When she suddenly has to leave all that behind and move to London, with only an eccentric uncle for company, Fern feels entirely uprooted. But when she meets a little plant that can understand her every word, it seems that things are looking up! That is until strange things start happening in the city: giant lily pads on the Thames, monkey vines on the London Eye, and now her new friend is starting to wilt… Can they solve this growing mystery together – before it’s too late?

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Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: adventure

The Boy in the Post by Holly Rivers

March 28, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 28 Mar 2022

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Siblings Orinthia and Seafra Shalloo accept a summer job from eccentric Grandy, who has collected a menagerie of furry and feathered posties known as animails. The children are especially fond of Geronimo, a homing pelican. But when the big bird fails to return from a delivery, Taber, the youngest sibling, is devastated — so much so, he mails himself to New York, where Geronimo had been sent. Orinthia and Seafra follow suit, stealing a precious stamp and hopping in a freight crate.

A brillantly-imagined fantasy world with a classic children vs adults feel and a trio of characters you’ll long to be friends with.

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Demelza And The Spectre Detectors

 

 

Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, Fiction Tagged With: adventure, MG, middle-grade

The Balloon Thief by Aneesa Marufu

March 28, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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For Khadija, the only escape from an arranged marriage is the sky. When she spots a rogue hot air balloon fighting against its ropes, she leaps at the chance for adventure.

Khadija soon finds an unlikely ally in a poor glassmaker’s apprentice, Jacob. But Jacob is a hari, and Khadija a Ghadaean. The hari are oppressed and restless – their infamous terrorist group, the Hareef, have a new fearsome leader. And the ruling Ghadaeans are brutal in their repression. Soon, a deadly revolution threatens their friendship and their world. The Hareef use forbidden magic, summoning jinn – wicked spirits made of fire – to enact their revenge, forcing Jacob and Khadija to choose what kind of a world they want to save…

A commercial, thrilling and uplifting fantasy adventure debut novel from twenty-four-year-old Aneesa Marufu, which draws on the author’s South Asian heritage. Explores racism, misogyny and discrimination.

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Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: adventure, Asian, fantasy, hot air

Carnival of the Lost by Kieran Larwood ill. Sam Usher

February 23, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 23 Feb 2022

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“A page-turning riot that brings Victorian London to life in all its gruesome, grimy glory. Kieran Larwood’s brilliant writing is so evocative that you can practically smell the streets, and it’s easy to get swept up in the story and lose track of time.” BookTrust

A murky, carnivalesque world of intrigue, unexpected friendships and mysteries solved in the first of a new series from the author of The (Podkin One-Ear) Five Realms books.

Sheba the wolf girl joins an unusual troupe of performers that includes Pyewacket, a witch’s imp, Gigantus the giant, and Sister Moon, a knife thrower. For the first time in her life she feels she might make true friends, and learn a real stage craft. But soon that’s not all she has to think about… Children are being sucked into the Thames and there have been strange sightings of a mechanical monster. The carnival troupe know first-hand that looks only tell half a story – they become determined to find these forgotten children. Perhaps they will unravel the mystery that has defied even the law!

Illustrated with black and white artwork by Sam Usher. “Sam has done an amazing job at bringing them to life. His pen and ink drawings really capture the atmosphere. The characters are all spot on, and the way he draws Victorian architecture is incredible. He really was the perfect choice to illustrate Carnival.”

Read an interview with the author on ReadingZone.

A second title in this new series is scheduled for July this year (2022) and a third in early 2023.

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Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, Fiction Tagged With: adventure, historical, London, Victorian

Sabotage on the Solar Express – Adventures on Trains by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman ill. Elisa Paganelli

February 21, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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Ride into danger with Hal and Uncle Nat on the fifth breathtaking Adventures on Trains Mystery, Sabotage on the Solar Express, from bestselling award-winners M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. Perfect for readers of 8 to 12 and brilliantly illustrated in black and white throughout by Elisa Paganelli.

Billionaire train enthusiast August Reza has invited Harrison Beck and Uncle Nat on the maiden voyage of the Solar Express – the winning design of his Reza’s Rocket competition. But during the journey, they discover the train has been sabotaged, hurtling passengers into a heart-stopping, action-packed, thrill ride across the Australian Outback. Can Hal find the saboteur and stop the runaway train before disaster strikes?

Filed Under: Fiction, How About Tagged With: adventure, series

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