reviews 10 – 14 Middle/Secondary continued The Unexpected Find HHHHH


Tony Ibbotson, Scholastic, 387pp, 978 1407 18624 5,£6.99 pbk


Judy is living a lie. At school she must pretend that her father is still inhabiting the houseboat they share, when in reality he left for Stockholm over three months ago in search of his friend Rashid who he feared was in danger. William, too, has been abandoned-by his feckless mother who finds a trip to Spain with her latest boyfriend more palatable than life with a son who has special needs. When William tries to hide from the school bullies an intriguing key he has found under the roots of an ancient tree, Judy comes to his defence. And when the bullies seek vicious retaliation the following day she flees, finding unexpected refuge in the house of the very unusual Andrew Balderson. From this strange meeting springs a journey to Sweden in Mr Balderson’s ancient van, with William as an initially undiscovered stowaway. When they crash and almost die in the harshest of Swedish winter nights they are found by Stefan and cared for by him and his grandmother and the significance of their journey, the key and, indeed, Mr Balderson himself, is gradually revealed. This is an accomplished book


and


enthralling ambitiously


on many levels delivers many surprises.


which operates and


Ibbotson


takes the reader with him in exploring the nature of attachments, a tolerance of the unusual, a vivid


evocation of wild landscapes and the distinctive rhythms of very different lives. The weave of Norse mythology through the fabric of the novel both enlightens and entertains. VR


The House of Light HHHHH


Julia Green, OUP, 226pp, 9780192771568, £6.99pbk


Bonnie lives in a dystopian world where everyone’s life is ruled by an authoritarian regime.


Even living in


a wild and windswept coastal village she and her Granda cannot escape the attentions of the Border Police and one day she hopes to follow her mother, who had left home to find freedom when Bonnie was a small child.


Life changes


and possibly find her mother as well. The relationship between this young girl and her crusty old grandfather is beautifully shown, together with the less tangible desire for her mother; both elements emphasizing the strong bonds of


family despite differences.


The arrival of Ish and then the journey that they all undertake also highlights the difficulties and dangers faced by those who have to flee their homes, whatever the reason. When reading this story you have a real sense of the difference between the world that most of us know and the world that the characters inhabit. The story really resonates with the reader and I think that many young people will find that it relates to the way they think about the way we live. It is a beautiful story. MP


Mera Tidebreaker dramatically


when Bonnie finds an upturned boat, and later a young boy called Ish; could this mean that she has the opportunity to escape from her grim life?


Her attempt to cross the


sea puts Bonnie, her Granda and Ish in great danger, but the desire for freedom keeps them going. Julia Green has given us yet another


thought provoking and at times heart wrenching story that bridges the gap between middle grade and younger teens. The story itself flows easily but the themes that are explored require the reader to think about many issues that actually affect us in this day and age.


The author has created a world


that is bleak and hard, with little or none of the comforts that we are used to; Bonnie has grown up with this but longs to escape to a better life


HHHHH


Danielle Paige, Illus Stephen Byrne, DC Ink, 9781401283391, £12.99, pbk


Mera Tidebreaker is a graphic novel which explains the origins of two long-established, but perhaps lesser- known, superheroes of the DC comic universe, Mera and Aquaman.


Princess Mera, of the Xebel penal colony, creates an opportunity


to


seize control of her own destiny by undertaking a mission to assassinate Arthur Curry, the heir to the kingdom of Atlantis. However, on their first meeting, Arthur ends up rescuing Mera from the ocean and ultimately saving her life. As she recovers from her injuries, Mera realises that she and Arthur have a lot in common, and the two characters gradually begin to fall in love. With the undersea armies


of Xebel and Atlantis relentlessly


battling to impose their superiority over the other, Mera and Arthur find that their situation starts to spiral out of control. The story concludes with the characters being forced to make difficult decisions about their futures, having to choose between their duty to their respective kingdoms and their love for each other. Though readers never really learn


the full reasons behind the complex political situation that exists between the two communities, enough details are provided to help us feel familiar with the world between


created. the Dialogue main characters is


entertainingly written, with both characters having a stubborn and slightly awkward side to their personality. The captivating plot moves forward rapidly and contains a balanced combination of action and romance, although the ending feels slightly rushed. The book is delightfully illustrated, with the story being told monochromatically. Page after page is coloured completely blue


and


green, with the sole exception being Mera’s orange hair. Using colour this way is a brave move but, in this case, it pays off completely as the shades used give a constant sense of the predominantly underwater setting. With the enormous pressure that


she’s under from her society, Mera makes many mistakes throughout the story. However, she remains resolute and determined, creating a perfect role model for young readers. The use of a couple of low-level swear words mean that the book needs to be used with some caution in Year 6, but I highly recommend it for graphic novel fans across Key Stage Three. JB


14+ Secondary/Adult


Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black


HHHHH


Marcus and Julian Sedgwick, ill. Alexis Deacon, Walker, 322pp, 978-1-4063-5792 9, 12.99, hbk


You may remember David Almond’s recent


brilliant re-working of the


Orpheus/Eurydice myth in A Song for Ella Grey. Now the Sedgwick brothers, aided by Alexis Deacon, take that same descent into the underworld; this time to explore the cruelty and misery of modern warfare. This tale of two brothers, one a conscientious objector and firefighter, the other a soldier, takes place in London in the winter of 1944-5, as the V2 rockets wreak terror and devastation. This is no ordinary tale


of the Home


Front in the Second World War. Both men are unknowingly caught in the same bomb blast and, separated, linger at the hallucinatory edges of death. Harry escapes from hospital to wander


the nightmare streets hunting for Ellis. With him is another


conception and authorship, and in its scope. About two brothers, one a poet, the other an illustrator, it is written by Marcus and Julian in alternating prose and poetry. And Alexis Deacon takes on the persona of Harry the illustrator,


contributing drawings


hospital escapee, Agatha, a Jewish refugee hoping to be reunited with her parents. They descend further underground, just as Londoners did to flee the bombing, but what they find in the depths is not a temporary sanctuary, but a dark night of the soul. This is an ambitious book: in its


from Harry’s own notebook intended for his anti-war opus Warriors of the Machine. The three creators take us back convincingly to a particular time and place, they find the portents of a worse time to come, and they take us beyond then and now to seek a more profound understanding of ourselves. They seek to say something about what is best and worst in us. I am reminded of two of my favourite films: Powell and Pressburger’s A Matter of Life and Death (1946) and Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), both of which, in their different ways, mix fantasy and reality to similar telling effect. CB


Joe Quinn’s Poltergeist HHHHH


David Almond, ill. Dave McKean, 84pp, 978 1 4063 6319 7, £10.99, hbk


This is the third collaboration between David and Dave, but the first that could be properly called a graphic novel, a form that Dave has made his own. Any fan of David, and I am one, will recognise the visionary themes he returns to here: the light and darkness in which we all live; in which miracles and hauntings can still be found; and in which desolation and exaltation are never far away. And this story is preceded by a preface in which he acknowledges the story very much as his own, rooted in his past, the Tyneside world he grew up in, and the loss and longing that he recognises in his youthful reading and that have shaped his writing. The haunting this time is a poltergeist, a spirit that has long been associated with the turbulent emotions of adolescence. It is in Joe Quinn’s house, throwing


Books for Keeps No.236 May 2019 29


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