Book cover for review shows a dark-haired girl with her hood up and wearing a dark green cloak riding a pale horse. Behind her sits another young girl with long blond curls and a red cape flowing behind them. She's looking back over her shoulder, with her arms clasped around the girl in front. The background is green with floating leaves, the title 'Not for the Faint of Heart' written above them in gold.
Book Reviews

Not for the Faint of Heart | Young Adult Book Review

By Lex Croucher (Bloomsbury, 2024)

‘It wasn’t meant to be violent,’ Mariel said reluctantly.
‘What?’
‘The kidnapping,’ Mariel snapped. ‘I may have been overzealous with my instructions. It was just meant to be…fast.’
‘Ah, yes. A nice clean abduction, with proper attention paid to the procedures.’
‘Stop being so dramatic. You’re just on loan.’
‘You shouldn’t kidnap innocent people, Captain,’ Clem said sharply. ‘People might get the wrong idea about you and your merry mates.’

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Nine Night Mystery book cover for review
Book Reviews

The Nine Night Mystery | Book Review

By Sharna Jackson (pub. Puffin Books, 2024)

I’m at our neighbour Rachel’s house in her room. I just dropped a paintbrush she asked me for on her floor, and she didn’t do or say anything when it rolled under the bed.

Not because she’s asleep or lazy.

But because she’s dead.

Rachel Kohl. Dead in her bed.

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Tokyo Ghost Café book cover for review
Book Reviews

100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Café | Book Review

By Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada (published by Guppy Books, 2023)

“You think you can decide what is real and what is imaginary, what is alive and what is dead. But who is to decide who is alive and who is merely dreamed into existence? I listen to you lot argue about whether ghosts or fox spirits exist, and you forget to check how real you are.”

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The Haunting of Tyrese Walker review book cover
Book Reviews

The Haunting of Tyrese Walker | Young Adult Book Review

By J.P. Rose (published by Andersen Press)

They began to walk back down the track but Tyrese glanced over his shoulder towards the trees on the mountainside. Even though it was hot and humid, he shivered, his skin tingling. Why couldn’t he shake off the feeling that something or…someone was watching him?

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The Mab book review map
Book Reviews

The Mab | Welsh Folklore Book Review

Edited by Matt Brown & Eloise Williams, illustrated by Max Low (published by Unbound, 2022)

But as well as being really, really old, the stories in The Mab are thrilling and funny and MAGIC. They speak of a time when the gates between the Real World and the Otherworld were occasionally left open. And sometimes, just sometimes, it was possible to step through. Trust me, you’re going to love them.

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The Life and Time of Lonny Quicke review book cover
Book Reviews

The Life and Time of Lonny Quicke | Book Review

By Kirsty Applebaum (published by Nosy Crow, 2021)

But it was only a rabbit. It’ll shorten a few days from me, a week at the most. Talents like this don’t come free, you know. There’s always a price.

Give a bit of life, lose a bit of life.

That’s how it goes.

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March 2021 review round-up book covers
Book Reviews

Libraries 4 Schools 2021 Review Round-Up 1

So many brilliant books have been published in the last six months, and a lot by new and exciting authors, which is always great to see!

We’ve decided that the best way for us to keep you up to date is to do a round-up of titles we’ve recently read, so you can get a quick idea of what you might like to add to your school or home library.

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