Series: The Dark Is Rising (Middle Grade Fic)

AUTHOR: Susan Cooper (UK)
PUBLISHED: Originally published by Random House Children's ; 1965-1977.
PAGES/ILL: ~260 pages.
SERIES: The Dark Is Rising Sequence. Over Sea, Under Stone ; The Dark Is Rising ; Greenwitch ; The Grey King ; Silver On The Tree.

PLOT: (Second book: The Dark Is Rising)
When Will Stanton turns 11, his life is changed forever when he learns he is the last of the Old Ones - members of the Light who protect the world from the Dark. Together with the first Old One, Merriman Lyon, he must find six symbols of the Light, which together are a major defence against the Dark and the Black Rider. Merriman was introduced in the first book, and both he and Will feature in the remaining books.

REVIEW:
This series combines Celtic and Norse mythology as well as English folk lore and faint elements of demonology. The second book in the series was adapted as a film in 2007, titled The Seeker in the US and The Dark Is Rising in the UK.

This is a solid good-vs-evil fantasy. Recommended for ages 11-16 and for those who enjoyed the Narnia and Ranger's Apprentice series who enjoy or need a gateway to works like The Lord of the Rings.

AGE: 11+.
GENRE: Fantasy Adventure.
RATING: 4 stars.

Series: The Legion (YA Fic)

AUTHOR: Kami Garcia (USA)
PUBLISHED: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers ;c2014.
PAGES/ILL: 384 pages.
SERIES: The Legion
FIRST BOOK: Unbreakable

PLOT: (book 2: Unmarked)
Kennedy Waters has accidentally set free an extremely powerful demon. She thinks she is part of a group called the Legion, which hunt demons down. As they try to figure out how to capture this one, they discover secrets about Kennedy's family as well as the Legion.

REVIEW:
Overall, the plot and storyline weren't bad, but the writing itself wasn't fantastic. There was a lot of repetitive description, especially in regards to Kennedy's "eidetic memory". The book is filled with "my eidetic memory this" and "my eidetic memory that" "I used my eidetic memory..." "I flipped through images in my eidetic memory" "my eidetic memory made me remember..." "thanks to my eidetic memory..." "my eidetic memory filed it away..."

Yeah, I get it. You have an eidetic memory. You want to say it again? (Yes, she does. Over and over and over).

The themes centre around demonology, but there is a bit of a love interest in there, too. Sexual themes are only hinted at.

I can see the appeal to young teens who are getting into the demonology and paranormal fiction, but I wasn't that impressed. For my own rating, I would give it 2 stars, but for teen appeal, I'll give it 3 1/2. One or two teen girls may rate it 4 and maybe even 5 stars.

AGE: 13+.
GENRE: Paranormal romance
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.

Series: Death & Co. (Fic)

AUTHOR: McCune, D.J. (Ireland)
PUBLISHED: Hot Key Books, c2013.
PAGES/ILL: 279 pages
SERIES: Frankie Death & Co.
FIRST BOOK: Death & Co.

PLOT:
Lumen are charged with guiding souls down their Light after death. Luman can move fairly freely between the real world and the Hinterland where they meet the souls. Adam belongs to a Luman family, but he's not sure he wants the job. He likes being 'normal' - having friends, going to schools, and beginning to date girls. But Adam has a special gift, and when he starts to embrace it, he realises he can change more than his own destiny. But not without a price...

REVIEW:
This is one of those books which, for the most part, I liked, but which didn't live up to potential. Some parts of the story I'd give a strong 4 stars. Other parts get a 2.
For the potential appeal to children, I give it 4 stars.

The premise of the plot (adapting the 'Ferryman' folklore) is great and it's such a pity that the author didn't do it justice. The target audience is supposed to be teen, but it reads more like a middle grade book.

I found Adam and his friends fairly juvenile. A sub-plot has Adam and his friends playing pranks on a head teacher, fooling and humiliating him. The story shows this teacher as a bully and dumb enough to fall for the pranks - a very juvenile idea. This sub-plot was not necessary and just took time away from the main story line (exploring the world of the Lumen). Sure, it introduced us to the 'normal' part of Adam's life, but it wasn't done particularly well. It felt too lower and middle grade (Captain Underpants-esque) compared to the other themes (you'd think a boy who has grown up with the responsibility of helping souls move on after death would have a little more maturity).

There were missed opportunities for character development and world-building. Children won't notice the lack of development so much, but it would have contributed making the book higher quality (obviously).

Overall, I did enjoy reading the book and will read the next one. Unfortunately, it could have been so much more (hopefully the next book/s will build a bit more guts into the story line).

I can see that it does have appeal for children (suitable age depends on the child). While it's promoted for YA, it's more pre-adolescent (9 or 10+), although you'd have to know the 9 y.o to know how much 'death' is ok for them (for example, in one scene Adam and his family are in the Hinterland, helping souls who have just been mass-executed in a military coup). It's for kids who have moved way beyond Diary of a Wimpy Kid/Captain Underpants, but are no where near ready for Hunger Games. It's about on par with the early Harry Potters or Skulduggery Pleasants.

AGE: 9-14.
GENRE: Fantasy fiction.
RATING: 3 1/2 - 4 stars.

Series: The Magician's House (Fic)

AUTHOR: William Corlett (UK)
PUBLISHED: 1990
SERIES: The Magician's House
FIRST BOOK: The Steps Up the Chimney

PLOT:
Three children go to their uncle's house where they discover a magician at the top of stairs inside a chimney. He recruits them to fight against his evil apprentice.

REVIEW:
Similar to, but not as good as the Narnia series. The first book is reminiscent of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
Deals with "magic" bordering on wizardry, with spiritual possession of animals (not something I'd promote lightly), good vs evil, etc.

AGES: 9-11
GENRE: Fantasy
RATING: 3 1/2 stars

Series: Vampire Academy (YA Fic)

AUTHOR: Richelle Mead (USA) PUBLISHED: ~2008
SERIES: Vampire Academy
FIRST BOOK: Vampire Academy

PLOT:
The story is told through the eyes of Rose: a Dhampir - half vamipre, half human; guardians charged with protecting vampires. The first three books are set in high school, where the Dhampirs learn the art of guardianship and the vampires learn... school things. Other characters include Lissa, Rose's vampire best friend who brings her back from the dead, and Dimitri, another Dhampir, Rose's trainer, and the object of her love.

REVIEW:
With some twists on vampire lore, it's enjoyable if you can get past the "tortured teenager" threads (which, of course, will hook the target reader - the tortured teenage girl).

AGE: 13+. Some sex in the third book.
GENRE: Fantasy, Adventure
RATING: 4 1/2 stars

The Graveyard Book (Fic)

AUTHOR: Neil Gaiman (UK)
PUBLISHED: 2008

PLOT: As his family are being murdered, a toddler wanders into a graveyard. Pursued by the murderer, the ghosts of the graveyard are charged with his safekeeping, and there he is raised.
As he grows, he learns about the other ghosts in the graveyard, the dangers in and out of the graveyard, ghouls, witches, himself, and his would-be murderer.

REVIEW: A wonderfully-written story that can make you laugh and cry.  It has horror themes, and might be genuinely scary for some children, but these parts are quickly resolved, and any conflict always ends on a high note.

This would be an ideal read-aloud for 7th or 8th grade.

AGES: 11+ (I'd hesitate before recommending this to under 11s or 12s - it really depends on the child's maturity and what they have previously read. This book is perfect for high school reluctant readers, with enough appeal to engage adults).
GENRE: Horror
RATING: 6 stars!!

Series: The Midnight Library (Fic)

AUTHOR: Nick Shadow (UK)
PUBLISHED: 2004
SERIES: The Midnight Library

PLOT: for example: "The Whisperer" contains three short stories. "The Whisperer" is about a "haunted" computer which writes for the user and predicts the future, eventually predicting the user's death (which comes to pass). "Gabriel" is a demon in disguise as a teenager. A girl (who has a crush on him) suspects he is a vampire, but she discovers the truth when he 'eats' her soul. "Fast Forward" is perhaps more predictable. A tween boy sees a fortune teller at a fair. After he wishes he were old, he travels through a haunted train ride. When he emerges he is indeed an old man and dies of a heart attack.

REVIEW: Each book contains two or more short stories in the Goosebumps vein, although in some ways, they are a little more sophisticated. Both series contain similar horror themes: haunted/possessed items/houses, fantasy horror (vampires, zombies), religious horror (voodoo, demons, etc). Similar to the Anthony Horowitz Horror series.

AGES: 10+. This, of course, depends on the individual child. If a child currently enjoys Goosebumps (without being overly frightened by them), you could recommend this series.
As always with horror, knowledge of the child is important. Some children are more imaginative (some may call it 'sensitive') than others and reading horror fiction may lead to nightmares.

GENRE: Horror, Thriller.
RATING: 4 1/2 stars.

Series: Deltora Quest

AUTHOR: Emily Rodda (AUST) (2000)
PAGES: ~ 120 pages, 16 chapters.
PLOT: A group of young people search for the keys to release their land from the clutches of the evil Shadow Lord. In their travels they must discern good from evil, and learn that what you see initially is not always the truth.

NOTES: Deltora Quest 1: 8-book series. The characters must solve puzzles that children will delight in (mirror-image writing, people talking backwards, riddles). Some parts could be quite scary for some young children.
There are several sub-series. Deltora Quest 2: 3 books; Quest 3: 4 books.
Also includes How to Draw Deltora Monsters/Dragons books, Deltora Quiz book, Tales of Deltora, Deltora Monsters.
Includes a website, card game, video game, cartoon (anime).

ISSUES: good vs evil, friendship, trust, responsibility, courage, coming-of-age.

AGES: 8-13.
GENRE: Fantasy, Adventure.
RATING: 5 stars.

Series: Scream Street (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Tommy Bonbavand (UK) (2008)
PAGES: ~150 pages, 13 chapters.

PLOT: A young boy who has recently transformed into a werewolf and his family are 'banished' to Scream Street. He befriends a wannabe-vampire and a young mummy, as well as a surfer-dude-zombie and witch, who help him in his quest to find a way for his 'normal' parents to go home.

REVIEW: Similar to Freak Street series, but more advanced in plot and language.
This is an 8-book series. Linked to a website.
Well-written.

AGES: 7+. Focus age would be about 8-9.
GENRE: Horror, Humor.
RATING: 5 stars.

Daniel X: Alien Hunter (GN)

AUTHOR: James Patterson, with Leopoldo Gout (USA)
PUBLISHED: 2008

PLOT: A young teenager seeks out and destroys the nasty aliens who come to terrorize Earth. Being an alien himself, he's well equipped with a "magic" list of the aliens he needs to find, and an imagination powerful enough to create real objects, even imagining friends who help him in the hunt.

NOTES: A graphic novel that connects with a novel, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X.

ISSUES: loss of parents, loneliness, good vs evil, power of imagination, feeling of isolation and responsibility.

AGE: 10+.
GENRE: Graphic Novel, Thriller, Fantasy
RATING: 5 stars.

Series: Ghost Hunters (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Cornelia Funke (UK)
PUBLISHED: Originally written and published in Germany by Loewe Verlag (2003) ; in the UK (2006+)
PAGES/ILL: ~15 chapters/100+pgs (short chapter books)

REVIEW: Currently a 4-book series about Tom and his grandmother's friend who help friendly ghosts, and hunt and capture/destroy/get rid of nasty ghosts. With each ghost having its own personality and likes and dislikes that can be used to help or hunt them, Hetty, a seasoned ghost hunter, begins to train Tom in the art of ghost hunting. Mixes horror and humour for a bit of a fun scare.
Not as scary or serious as Goosebumps.

AGE: 7+.
GENRE: Horror, Humour
RATING: 4 1/2 stars.

Series: Goosebumps (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: R.L. Stine (USA)
PAGES/ILL: 20+ chapters/100+ pgs per book : some ill.
REVIEW: This is a set of horror stories, dealing with every topic from voodoo and satanism, to haunted dolls, ghosts, vicious animals, and made-up animals/monsters, to simply kids playing tricks to scare others.

An endless series made up of 3 bands: "original", "HorrorLand", and "Choose-your-own-adventure"
some books "continue" into the next book.

Similar to The Midnight Library series and Anthony Horowitz Horror series.

AGE: 10+, but I know some 7 year olds who read them. Remember, some of the books ARE genuinely scary and may give sensitive children nightmares. Other kids will enjoy the adrenaline rush of reading thrillers.
GENRE: Horror.
RATING: 4 1/2-5 stars.