Review of Julie Pike's Flame Chasers by Claire Fayers

 

All Ember wants is to fly with the golden flamebirds who stop every year at Bright Beacon before heading west across the seas to their mysterious home. Their fiery arrival is also the signal for the waiting Flame Chasers in theharbour below to get ready to follow the birds, whose glowing tail feathers grant the finder a wish. But when Pa tells Ember he is chasing without her, she is devastated. Can she find a ship and captain to help her find her father, and the flamebirds secret home?

I have been eagerly awaiting the publication of Julie Pike's second book, being a big fan of her debut, THE LAST SPELL BREATHER. In fact, everyone who was on the Folly Farm retreats for the past two years and listened to Julie talking about her book has been dying to read it.

I was fortunate to get an advance copy and publication is on June 6th so it will hit the shops soon. This seemed a perfect time to give a sneak preview.

This book is a stunner. 

It has all the story elements I love - an epic sea voyage, magical creatures, spells gone wrong, family tensions, bickering kids becoming friends. Plus breath-taking plot twists and a villain with the charisma of Long John Silver and the lethal single-mindedness of Captain Ahab. Oh, and the flamebirds themselves are utterly entrancing. The whole thing reignited my love of children's books and reminded me why I wanted to be an author in the first place.

I tore through the book in a single day, only pausing to read the good bits out to my husband. There were so many good bits that he retreated to another room to get away from me. 

The cover by David Dean is gorgeous too, really capturing the sense of magic and adventure.

Flame Chasers, by Julie Pike, published by Firefly Press, is due out on June 6th. 

Claire Fayers

www.clairefayers.com

Find your readers - by Lu Hersey

 As all writers know, most books get a very brief window of time in bookshops - if they make it there at all. There's also a limit to the time you can promote your book on social media without boring people stupid. The problem is there are too many people out there, writing too many good books.

Anyway, I'm currently still in the process of promoting my new book, Broken Ground - and the deal with my publisher means I'm doing all the marketing myself. I have very little idea how to go about it, so it's taking me a while and it's all a bit hit and miss. However, on the plus side, I've inadvertently found a whole new, niche group of readers along the way. From their very kind reviews, I've figured out that these people fall into the following categories:

1. People who are massive fans of Alan Garner, Susan Cooper or Penelope Lively books, and compare my book favourably with theirs. (I doubt those luminaries of children's literature would be overjoyed by these comparisons, but I am, so who cares.)  

2. Adult readers who enjoy magical realism, folklore or kitchen sink paranormal, and actively look for books in these genres online.

3. People obsessed with crop circles.

4. Pagans with an interest in ancient land goddesses.

5.Academics with an interest in folklore (or ancient land goddesses)

6. Any teens who've been given the book by one of the above (which is especially gratifying, as it was intended as a teen/YA book in the first place)

Anyway, the upshot is that instead of battling to get school visits, I'm being offered surprisingly different opportunities to publicise the book. The pagan moot in Norwich invited me to give a talk on my experience of working with the goddess Andraste (who features in the story).  Author Anna McKerrow conducted an interview with me for her Magical People series. Then the Glastonbury town crier, a huge fan of crop circles and drones, went as far as making a promotional book trailer for me (his idea entirely). 

Unfortunately the trailer he made is too big to post here, and I haven't been able to condense it (a marketing fail) - but I posted it on twitter if you're interested. Surprisingly, Twitter have added a warning to it - apparently the video 'may contain sensitive content'. (It mostly features a field of wheat, but maybe put on your tinfoil hat, just in case...)

My point is that publishing is a difficult industry, so be prepared to branch out in any direction that helps you sell your book. Try different approaches. Your new readers are definitely out there.

It's all just a matter of finding them.

Lu Hersey

Tyger - written by SF Said, illustrated by Dave McKean - reviewed by Dawn Finch (McLachlan)

 

First the blurb...

"In a strange alternate world, where the British Empire is still a cruel ruling force, a young boy called Adam has uncovered something incredible in a rubbish dump in London. A mysterious mythical animal.

A TYGER

The Tyger is in danger, and Aam and his friend Zadie are determined to help. However, they soon realise it isn't just the Tyger's life at stake: the world they live in is also on the precipice of darkness. Luckily, the two children have great powers within them, and the Tyger can show them how to harness what's inside."

It is not hyperbole to say that this is one of the most anticipated books of the past few years. Talk and whispers of what Tyger might look and read like have been drifting around social media for a good long time and it was with no small delight that I opened the package that dropped onto my mat. An advance proof of a book with such an advance buzz around it is always a thrill and this was no different. 

Said is a most unusual writer because it is so hard to fit his books into any particular slot. They often walk a beautiful line along the parallels of graphic novel (working alongside the superb illustrations of Dave McKean* SEE FOOTNOTE) and cult novel. Said's fans (of which I'm one) are happy to talk for hours about the subtle undertones and messages within the text and to discuss deeper meanings. Varjak Paw is an absolute classic and with books like Phoenix adding to the Said shelf it is clear that there was a lot of weight and expectation on Tyger.

Breathe easy, it delivers. In spades.

Adam lives in London. A sort-of London. A London of slavery and subjugation, of violence, racism, and ruin. A London where the Empire continued to develop into brutal colonial fascistic masters. Art, imagination and creativity are crushed and there is no space for many for anything other than adherence to the brutal rules of the state, In this hideously broken (yet painfully familiar) city Adam ekes out an existence helping his father with deliveries from their little alterations and repairs shop. It is on one of these deliveries that Adam is saved from a violent attack when he is protected by a great beast that is hiding out in a vast city rubbish tip.

This is Tyger. This wounded and hunted beast has been speared through its shoulder and yet still comes to Adam's rescue. Adam instinctively does not fear this wild animal and instead helps to remove the broken arrow. The great animal then thanks him. Not with an animalistic sound or act, but with a voice that he can hear and that makes his skin tingle. She calls him "Guardian" and thanks him for helping her.

This is the start of an adventure that whirls through the streets of this hideous London as Adam learns more about Tyger and her purpose and her needs and his vital importance in finding this "Guardian". He meets both friends and foes as he develops his own natural gifts and the city is revealed to him as something new and different. Bit by bit Tyger teaches Adam that everything is not always what it seems to be. In darkness there is light, in desperation there is hope, in filth there is gold. As Adam's perception is altered and expanded by these new powers and philosophies the city and his life takes on a new perspective.

Adam, and his new friend Zadie, must do all they can to protect and help Tyger, but she is hunted. They are being stalked by forces that want to trap Tyger and cage her, and kill her. If this happens she will never fulfill her purpose. In a city that is bubbling up with fear, hate, resentment and violence, can Adam and Zadie save her and and help her carry out her task on Midwinter Night before the hangings? Nothing is certain...

There is no doubt that this book earns one of those rare spots on the shelf marked "Future Classics". It is a remarkable work that will be forever discussed and dissected as people analyse every aspect and write essays on the metaphors and deeper meanings. But set that aside for now because to dissect this work too much is to risk the joy of losing yourself to the story and the imagery. Tyger is not a blunt instrument of warning or metaphor but rather an elegant tapestry of threads that catch you and make you look longer, and deeper. A tapestry that you will return to and follow the threads anew to things you had not noticed at your first glance.

We can learn from Tyger, but not in a way that preaches or nags, We can absolutely learn that nothing is ordinary.

Tyger - written by SF Said and illustrated by Dave McKean will be published by David Fickling Books in October 2022

*FOOTNOTE ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATIONS 

It is worth noting here that I have chosen to not review the illustrations for Tyger yet as the proof copy only has a very small selection. The first few, however, show that this book is going to be every bit as extraordinary as McKean's work usually is. I have decided that I will review the illustrations of Tyger separately later in the year when I can do them justice and review the visual experience of the book properly.

Dawn Finch (McLachlan) is a children's writer and poet and is the current chair of the Children's Writers and Illustrators Group (CWIG) at the Society of Authors.

www.dawnmclachlan.com

tweets @dawnafinch

instagram @dawnamclachlan

FOOLISH GENEROSITY? Or What You Need to Know About Awfully Big Reviews. By Penny Dolan

If you're reading this Awfully Big Blog Adventure (ABBA) post on a phone, you may not even see what I'm talking about.  However, if you take a moment to search for the Awfully Big Reviews blog,  you'll find it in its own right.


If, however, you are looking at the full ABBA page, you'll see - just to the left of this post - AWFULLY BIG REVIEWS. Technically, that section works as a separate blog. In practice, ABR is part of ABBA and is what I'd like to shout about at the start of this new month.

 

Today - April 1st -  seemed a good day to write about Awfully Big Reviews, which is where a small team of volunteer authors generously review the work of other authors.

Almost all the titles chosen are children's books (from picture books through to YA) although adult books about creativity or literacy do occasionally pop up, and the reviews stay up there for four days so that more people have a chance of reading the recommendations.

ABR is my topic for today - All Fools Day - as some people might think it foolish to spend time reading and then writing about another author's work rather than publicising one's own.  I don't.

I admire these (and other) reviewers. They are very, very generous: even when one loves reading, reading a book to actually review it adds a shadow of care and responsibility. 

They are not paid either, except with the pleasure of reading.

Besides, when they have finished, there's the work of finding exactly the right words to describe the book and encourage the writer and the would-be audience, Authors themsleves, they know how hurtful a couple of careless or dismissive words can be. ( I am ignoring those damaging mean-minded Amazon reviews that say things like "Bought this novel from a Carnegie list or something. My toddler was not at all interested. Ruined bedtime. One Star")

Why does the ABR blog exist? Long ago, when ABBA was first thought about, there were discussions about what should be included. "Book Reviews" was suggested and Awfully Big Reviews was born. My post today will tell you a bit about the thinking behind the ABR blog as it is today.

Awfully Big Reviews would be:

a) positive in style - about books which the reader had enjoyed and wanted to recommend, rather than emphasis being on a "bad" book. Controversy sells, but ABR isn't selling: ABR is celebrating the books reviewed on its pages.

b) include a wide range of titles - for example, those much-loved "series" chapter books that 7-9 year old readers need to build their reading skills could be included, as could non-fiction, or poetry or tv & media adaptations of children's books. Not just Big Shiny Novels.

c) not tied to the publicity cycle of "forthcoming" books, nor ignoring those books that have been out a few months or even more. (Haven't all published authors felt the chill of the "your PR time is up" clock - if it existed at all?)  ABR would be show an interest in current titles but as long as a book was still in print and would still be of relevance or interest, the title could still be reviewed.

d) only offer one "appearance" per title. This decision was a response to the "one book hogging all the reviews" phenomena. ABR wanted to support a variety of writers and illustrators. Not just the celebrities and money-stars.

e) the reading choice of the reviewer. Some magazine reviewers receive a box of books, from which they can choose one title, or are asked to review a specific title in a set genre. This doesn't happen with ABR. The copies reviewed may be publicity copies but they can also be bought books or books borrowed from libraries and so on. The reviewers are experienced authors, familiar with children's reading and - so far - seem to enjoy choosing their own books and offering a diverse set of titles. (Yes, ABR can always do better on diversity.)


f) not limited to a set word count. As the ABR electronic page isn't tied to "300 / 500 word count", reviewers can give a book the space needed as well as widening out the context to include children's responses, and so on, and use their own "voice" to talk about the book. 

g) not be limited to books by members of the "other SAS": the Scattered Authors Society, although of course SAS titles are not excluded.  ABR is about a wide appreciation and love of children's books.

h) be visible on screen for four days:  this was set up as a way of extending the chosen book's coverage, and because each reviewer will have spent reading time and writing time on the piece. Generous, that's my best description of the ABR reviewers. (The four day span is why ABR exists as a separate blog.)


So please, dear ABBA visitor, do find that little image at the top of the left-hand column of the blog. Discover what interesting titles are being reviewed right now and are there in the older posts. (And those to come. Then - as ABR is a separate blog, please do tweet and facebook any reviews you enjoy.

Thanks for listening to my shout.

Finally, huge and public thanks and huzzahs to all the Awfully Big Reviews reviewers, both present and past. 

THANK YOU FOR HAPPILY READING . . . AND THEN FOR THE WRITING!
Next book, please . . . .

Penny Dolan

ABR Admin

Favourite Children’s Books of 2014 (Just In Time For Christmas!) – by Emma Barnes

A while ago I compiled a list of my favourite Christmas-themed books.  This year I've been inspired by the newspapers which are full of “Favourite Books of the Year” . Here are some children’s books, published in 2014, that I have really enjoyed, some of them by ABBA bloggers. If, like me, you like to buy your Christmas gifts last minute, maybe one of these will fit the bill.

They are all more-or-less for middle grade or a little older and I've listed them roughly in age of readership.

The Pearl Quest by Gill Vickery

The final book in Vickery’s delightful Dragonchild series is just as compelling as the first. These books concern Tia, who has been raised by dragons, but is now on a quest to recover the jewels that protect the kingdom. It’s perfect for children drawn to epic fantasy, but pitched at a rather easier reading level than most fantasy, making it a great stepping stone to longer books like the Hobbit, the C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia or Le Guin’s Earthsea.

Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Badness of Badgers by John Dougherty


Earlier this year, John and I were both speaking at the launch of the Fantastic Books Awards in Lancashire, and I had the pleasure of listening to John read an extract from this wonderfully silly, funny book (I also heard him sing a song about having to cross your legs in class while waiting for the bell to go - that's another story). This book has made a big splash and is perfect for fans of the Mr Gum books.       (John has also written a list of favourite fictional badgers - now, there's something we've all been waiting for...)

Deep Amber – by CJ Busby

CJ Busby, like me, is a fan of the late, great fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones, and this funny, clever book is in the same tradition, blending two storylines, one concerning siblings Simon and Cat from our world, the other a fairytale world where Dora and Jem set out on a quest together. It culminates in a wonderfully funny and exciting episode in an old folks’ home.




Jane, the Fox and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault


Graphic novels are one part of the book world which is booming – it’s all rather new to me, though, so I decided it was time to explore a little.  I really enjoyed this story in which Helene is being bullied by former friends at school in the most insiduous way - by making her feel bad about herself, as well as isolating her - and takes comfort from literature in the surprising form of Jane Eyre, meets a fox, and finally finds a new friend.



Jet Black Heart by Teresa Flavin

I’ll ‘fess up and say at once that Teresa is a friend of mine, and a fellow Yorkshire author too. I especially like that this story’s inspired by the coast around Whitby – a Yorkshire seaside town I also love – and its trade in jet jewellery. It’s part of the Barrington Stoke range of books, which are carefully designed for children and teenagers whose “reading” age may be lower than their actual age, but with no compromise on content or a first class story.

 
Daughters of Time - editor Mary Hoffman


This book is a collection of stories from writers over on The History Girls blog – and it’s a wonderful variety of different styles and voices, each story about a significant woman from British history from Aethelfled to Mary Wollstonecraft, Amy Johnson to Mary Anning. Perfect for teenagers and adults too – and in the tradition of the best historical fiction by writers such as Rosemary Sutcliffe and Barbara Willard.  I loved these stories, and wished that many of them could have been full length novels.



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Emma's series for 8+ Wild Thing about the naughtiest little sister ever (and her bottom-biting ways) is published by Scholastic. 
"Hilarious and heart-warming" The Scotsman

 Wolfie is published by Strident.  It is a story of wolves, magic and snowy woods...
"A real cracker of a book" Armadillo 
"Funny, clever and satisfying...thoroughly recommended" Books for Keeps


Emma's Website
Emma’s Facebook Fanpage
Emma on Twitter - @EmmaBarnesWrite

VIEWS ON BOOK REVIEWS byPenny Dolan

When you have a book published, your heart slips into an anxious state, especially with a book that really matters to you.  If your book is a “big book” – a title that the publishers have high hopes for, based on your name and previous sales -  you may possibly be involved with publicity events, bookshop visits, parties, celebrations and prizes. All gloriously outgoing, in their way. Enjoy your moment.

However, some responses arrive more quietly: welcome to the written world of Children’s Book Reviews. 

There was a time when paid-for articles by known and knowledgeable reviewers appeared in newspapers and magazines. I recall a full-old-page TES piece by Anne Fine excoriating a Melvin Burgess book, which all agreed did wonders for the sales. Those generous and thoughtful page-spaces have largely disappeared. Now reviews have a far smaller word count, some as low as 50 words a title. Smaller specialist magazines and quarterly journals do exist – I’d be glad to hear of any good titles in the comments -  but reviews and reviewers seem to be moving on line. 

 Many of the current book-blogs are excellent - let me know your favourites and/or try out the blogs in the ABBA sidebar - but this open pasture does mean that anyone, of any age or experience can join in. I’ve seen such reviews on Amazon and – rather oddly - within some of the Guardian children’s book section links, and despaired.

This “everyone-a-reviewer” world has brought forth strange creatures: adults who trash a title because their toddler hasn’t enjoyed a book written for significantly older children; fundamental moralists calling foul and filth; people who don’t feel the need to read the whole book first, and even children and teens trying out the power of their own critical voice.

It's tough, Harsh words do sting the author, even when they aren't deserved. Sometimes it’s best not to look at reviews at all. I can’t be alone in having the slightly critical phrases seared across my memory, no matter who said them, whilst the kind, hopeful and encouraging praise is almost all forgotten? 

One should feel glad to be noticed, of course. It might not happen. There can just be the Big Silence.

Maybe your book doesn’t fit easily into review categories? Maybe every space is taken up by the same “big” titles reviewed everywhere? 

If you wrote a series for seven or eight year olds, you might have had no reviews. Such small books are rarely important enough for reviews,no matter that children might love them. And back before the rise of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, funny books were rarely reviewed either. Some of this is changing, slowly.

Another awkward thing was that once a book – your book!- had had its span of publicity and reviews, that title was rarely mentioned again.  The book seemed to be sent to the Quiet Corner, along with you, the author. No more time to make an exhibition of yourself.  That’s done.

So this is why, when An Awfully Big Blog Adventure had been running a while, we tried to encourage more Book Reviews by setting up an Awfully Big Review section.

Every four days, a new review appears, written by one of the ABR review team. They all have experience in books and children’s literature, or bookselling, or writing, or working with children or all, and more. Our ABR reviews are about books we’ve chosen, and titles we’d like to share with people - adults or children - as appropriate. While we may have a quibble now and again, we don’t do negative reviews. Better to celebrate the good books!

ABR isn’t exclusive, either. The titles aren’t just by members of the Scattered Authors Society. Our chosen books are usually personal copies, rather than free proof copies arriving in publisher’s jiffy-bags, pre-publication. So you might find titles that have already have been published, may even be in paperback, may even be - sssh!- a little “older.” Yes, already published books getting another friendly moment in the sun - and that’s a good thing.

ABR reviews are wide in their scope. We review titles for all ages, including adult books, although personally I’d love to have more picture books and books for young & mid KS2 readers. People chose their own review style too, so the pieces range from the quietly formal to someone enthusing about sharing a picture book with young children, and the word-length is only limited by what works on the blog-page. Variety can be a good thing.

Ooops. I forgot. ABR does, currently, have only one rule. A title, no matter how grand or good, gets only one chance of a review. Why? Because Awfully Big Reviews wants to leave room for as many books as possible, to share the good news..

So, if you haven’t already done so, please do click on Awfully Big Reviews button – top left hand of the blog page - and see what’s over there right now. Not forgetting huge thanks to all the generous ABR reviewers too! Happy reading!

Penny Dolan

www.pennydolan.com