Vision In Blue

So I made my first visit to the Bath Children's Literature Festival and saw three great YA authors talking about their books. There are lots of events to see over this week and as soon as I saw Virginia Bergin's name on this one it had to be my first pick. I read both of her books from Netgalley, cover to cover without wanting to stop, and YA books are just a fantastic area of fiction. First thing I'll note... to be a good YA author you have to have wonderful boots... evidently! Each author has a very different style, and a very different manner. Sarah Crossan is an exceptional speaker, confident and a little bit wacky. I will admit that contemporary/family fiction is not generally my thing, but hearing Sarah talk about this one made me have a change of heart. Listening to her process was very interesting, and some readers will be happy to know that you don't necessarily have to do much research to bring a book to life [although we really do appreciate it wh...

Sometimes life doesn't quite go the way you'd hope. The things you always wanted to do, the people you always wanted to meet, the books you always wanted to read... sometimes that life gets dealt to someone else. For this leading lady this couldn't be more true, living off her earnings as a psychic and the odd hand job, tell the punters what they want and you can make a good wage. Enter Susan Burke, she's moved into a Victorian house and ever since things haven't been quite the same. Could something be inhabiting her house, and her stepson Miles? One things for sure, there could be a lot of money to be had. But there's a catch, when our psychic goes to the house she feels it too, like something is watching... waiting... I started writing this review three times, it was so difficult to know where to start, mainly because I finished it and couldn't put my thoughts together... "Wait, what? Oooooohhh. It can't be, could it?" There were...

I was shocked during the week to discover that they've re-done Danger Mouse... what the frickety frack?! Why? Why would you do that when the original was so good?! The only redeeming feature is that Stephen Fry is Colonel K. This got me thinking of other things that have been re-made. You've got some dubious Rainbow Brite reboot, that I thankfully haven't seen and the Alvin & the Chipmunks movies. I went back to my childhood and searched through for some classic children's TV. I made a list of 86 classic things I remember. Most of the more modern ones stand up to the test of time. But re-watching old ones can be a mistake... a couple of weeks ago I watched an episode of Sharky & George... what a mistake. On the complete opposite, the very old ones [in comparison] stand up well too. So too my list of children's TV that I could watch now. Batfink - Seemingly a lot of TV for family in this era works with the classic dynamic duo saving everything line. And...

Finally after the confusion and trickery of Netgalley and Hot Key Books I finally managed to read Trollhunters. 1969 San Bernardino, California. 190 missing children. After a year of devastated families it stops with as much mystery as it began. Jim Sturges' brother Jack was the last child to go missing, and he's never forgotten the terrible sight under the bridge. "Nothing but black. But then the black moved." Cue Jim Sturges Jnr, son of Jim Sturges and nephew of Jack Sturges. He's stumbling through life not rocking the boat, until he meets a very familiar stranger. --- There are some wonderful pieces of description and you really feel immersed in the atmosphere and connected with the characters. When Jack goes missing while out on his bike the terror feels incredibly real. The milk cartons featuring pictures of the local missing children swirl around in the darkness and Jim clutches his plastic ray gun as if it could really save him, a...

It is a glorious day in Bristol today, too good. I set out to have another Shaun-y adventure but only got round to doing half of it. I actually had barely started and I already wanted to give up. I think the high was actually only 24, but it was a very challenging beginning. I'd intended to start at the Balloon Fiesta going via the Southbank Trail of Shauns, but had a last minute change. Never fear, there's always a bus nearby in Bristol... unless the driver is a git and tells you you're wrong, even when you're right. I really couldn't be bothered with having an argument with this guy who had instantly decided I was an idiot tourist. I ended up going back to my original plan of getting the Balloon Shuttle from the station. First time I've encountered a bad bus driver in Bristol. I queued up at the station and encountered some very friendly and efficient First staff. One guy was setting up the bus stand while another was selling the tickets. They were b...

Least sensible thing to do two days after twinging your back? Go on a two hour-ish walk? Nah it'll be fine! [Well, I am kind of regretting it now!] Today I managed to complete the Harbourside Trail. Unfortunately it wasn't entirely new scenery, as it was a significant amount of a walk S and I had done when he came down. I set off from the station and started with Shaun Bean... while the actual Sean is delightful, I thought the sheep of almost the same name was a little boring, he's essentially a giant mirror... maybe I'm just missing something design-wise!? Down to M-Shed for two more, The pirate was a little scary, maybe he was just angry he had somehow found himself next to a fenced off area for building works. I'd gone down to SS Great Britain before, but at that point we crossed the river and walked back down to town. The walk takes you round past Aardman Studios to see Lotus and then eventually you cross the river further down towards Clifton [I think, m...

I had so much choice with this one, I got a digital proof from NetGalley and a physical copy from Stripes direct. I'm glad I did get both, because this is one of the times where print stomps all over digital, but we'll come to that in a bit. If we play judge a book by it's cover you get debonair fox in Venice solving crime, some sort of cross between James Bond and Sherlock Holmes... Actually, by the end of the book that wasn't far off what I thought of Wily, there's maybe just a hint of Inspector Clouseau. To the story... Wily Fox is hired to help protect the next big scent in the perfume world after the creator has a mysterious break in. Wily and his suspects attend the unveiling of Smellissino, but they are incapacitated when the beautiful smelling perfume is swapped for something much more pungent. This time the robbers get away with a valuable and potentially dangerous item. Wily must set off for Venice to try and obtain the first piece of the puzzle. Je...

I was watching Jurassic Park the other day and wondered to myself how these characters actually manage to make it through an entire film, this turned the viewing into an entire conversation about the absurd things that happen. My first question is, why would you make a cage to transfer a dangerous dinosaur that requires it to be attached to the other cage and then someone manually lifts the gate from the top? I'm sure we had that sort of technology even back then, but if we didn't, why would you not lower the cage in with a crane then bring it out or just release it? What is that annoying little kid doing on the dig anyway? He deserves to get the crap scared out of him. I can't believe they don't know who Hammond is... would you not do some research on the guy who is funding your dig? When exactly did bank transfers come in instead of giant bags full of money? "We're going to make a fortune with this place?" Ha, haven't you watched the fi...

   I was surfing Netgalley looking for my next reading opportunity and spotted the holy grail, the one I'd been waiting for... Trollhunters by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus. I instantly requested it and within half an hour I'd been approved for it... score, and auto-approved for Bonnier Publishing... double score! I was going to be good though, I was half way through another book that I would finish first. So Trollhunters shot to the top of my TBR. I had originally heard about the book from our Bonnier rep [Graham, most entertaining man on the planet, possibly the only rep that when I'm horribly busy I still love to see... sorry other reps, this is the guy you should aspire to be.] and was already sold on the book as soon as he said Guillermo del Toro. [He'd been practicing.] But to be honest, after he's said he'd sort out a proof for his next visit I didn't think much more about it until I saw it on Netgalley. I couldn't remember anything abo...

Chloe knows where she's going in life, it's planned and she's got everything ahead of her. That is until her Dad drops a bombshell and she is left dealing with the aftermath. As family loyalty is first in her mind she works out a way to stay and look after her distraught Mother, sacrificing her one way out of their tiny town. Then she meets Ethan, a sweet boy, who is sweet on her. He's supportive when she needs it and life doesn't quite seem so bleak. As Oliver, the favoured son, returns to the family home unannounced his presence immediately effects Chloe. This new mysterious and intriguing man in her life sets her in a very different path. He can see the real her, the potential she's wasting in her small town job in her small town. Torn between the safe Ethan and the unknown Oliver, Chloe's guilt fights with her loyalty and as events shape her future she discovers all sorts of desires she never knew she had. Dangerous Boys is advertised as a t...