Shadowfell - Book 1

SHADOWFELL:
Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier

A Land In Trouble, A Girl On The Run,

Trust Is A Hard Lesson To Learn!

 

Alban is a land of great danger and sorrow. The people of Alban live in fear, fear of the raids that separate families, fear of the fires that destroy homes, and fear of the Enforcers who commit these acts in the name of the King. The old ways are being shunned, outlawed, anyone thought to be different is taken to serve the King, and any who refused or speak out against the injustices are quickly silenced for good.

At fifteen, Neryn has already been a victim of the King's rule having lost her grandmother in a raid and her village in a fire. But as one of the canny Neryn will never be safe from the Enforcers who hunt her. Left alone in the world with no family and no place that is safe for her; Neryn follows the only path she can to a place of safety that may not even exist, to Shadowfell.

Despite her connection to the Good Folk and the help they can provide, Neryn encounters many trials and hardships on her journey to find a safe haven. Even as the Enforcers track her every movement and the Good Folk follow her every step, she is challenged by her desire to find safety and a hope for the future. In a land where kindness and generosity are rare, Neryn discovers that the hardest lessons learnt are the most important.

Shadowfell is the only hope for a land in turmoil, the only safe place for a girl on the run. More then a story of one girls journey across a hostile land, this is a timeless tale of a life, love, friendships, hopes and fears. A beautiful and magical new series that introduces you to a world both cruel and kind, with characters as complex as they are intriguing. A story that will touch your heart.

Kingdom Of Alban - map

Juliet Marillier Webpage

Juliet Marillier @ Pan Macmillan

On sale: 01 July 2012
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781742611341
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Shadowfell
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Midnight Palace

The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

"The Best Place To Start A Story Is At The Beginning"

For the past few years the Midnight Palace has been home to the secret club of the Chowbar Society, a select group of people who live by two hard and fast rules. The first is to share all knowledge they possess, learn and come by. The second is to protect each member of the group with their lives. Now at sixteen years of age and legally adults, the members of this group are meeting up for the last time.

Growing up as orphans in 1930's Calcutta, the seven members of the Chowbar Society all believed themselves to be children with no past and therefore the future was free and open. However one of these members was about to discover not only a dark past filled with lies, murder and the family he never new existed, but there was still the threat of danger alive today from a man long dead out to kill again.

The Midnight Palace is a tale of friendship, family and demons from the past. While the ghost of those long dead return, restless and seeking out the living for their own haunted purposes, it is the living that will have to sacrifice one of their own for a chance at peace. A dark and tragic tale of friendship, loss and love written as only Carlos Ruiz Zafon can produce.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon Webpage

Carlos Ruiz Zafon @ Text Publishing

On sale: 30 May 2011
Price (AU): $22.95
ISBN: 9781921656941
Recommended age: 13+
In a word: Mystery
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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White Horse

White Horse by Alex Adams

"The Plague That Killed The World's Population"

The jar was the beginning; it appeared out of nowhere, delivered by no one to be found sitting in her living room. No one can say how it arrived, this ancient jar, or where it came from. But all that was secondary, the only thing to matter now was what the jars sudden presence in her home and in her life meant. The jar was a mystery, and the only thing she knew for curtain was that this mysterious jar frightened her.

It started with the weather, then it was the war. But it wasn't just one country against another, if it had been there might have been somewhere safe to run to, but it was the whole world and nowhere was safe. Now there were monsters lurking were before there were only people. With no where safe, she ran in the direction of the one person she loved, because at the end of the world where else would she want to be.

Having lost everyone she ever cared for, somehow she still manages to carry on. Because despite the disease, the death, and the monsters, despite the end of the world, life still goes on. Armed only with hope, she will walk halfway across the world to find a new beginning for the future, or she will die trying, for what else has she to live for.

White Horse is a gripping tale of the end of the world and those who are left behind to survive it. This is the story of one ordinary woman who makes a heroic journey across a wasted and broken earth in search of hope, love and life on the other side of the world. As the story unfolds the truth about the jar, the war and her love is uncovered. This is a survival story that tells of strength and humanity in a world that is no longer what it was. An intelligent, passionate and keenly written story that will hold you captive.

Alex Adams Webpage

Alex Adams @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 May 2012
Price (AU): $29.99
ISBN: 9780857209962
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: White Horse
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Faery Tales & Nightmares

Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr

Wicked Faery Tales And Lovely Nightmares!

Between these pages lurk beings of harsh beauty and great terror. While one girl is born with Winter within her, another girl will dream the Summer into being. When one girl finds a new life in death another, girl will find a new identity in a woodland creature. And as one girl finds love can be both a blessing and a curse, another girl will learn that love can wait.

Entering a realm that has the potential to be a great nightmare or a fearful faery tale, there may be some familiar faces to guide you on your way. As some beings struggle to break the habits of a lifetime, they may instead find a stolen moment with the one they love. A struggling artist will find new purpose in life, a boy will find a new family and acceptance, and a couple will risk all for a chance at love.

Faery Tales & Nightmares are a mixture of short stories that are romantic, bloody and dreamy in their element. While some stories within are timeless in their faery tale quality, others stories are short tales that are apart of a wider series of books from the authors Wicked Lovely series. Despite having never read any of the Wicked Lovely books, these short stories are an enjoyably unique collection of love, magic and the darkness within.

Melissa Marr Webpage
Melissa Marr @ Harper Collins

On sale: 01 February 2012

Price (AU): $19.99
ISBN: 9780007456871
Recommended age: 13+
In a word: Faery Tales
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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Books of Faerie #1.2

BOOKS OF FAERIE:
The Hounds Of Ulster by Maggie Stiefvater

Always Wanting More!

It used to be enough for him, they used to be enough. Together they were punk Irish gods. Together their music was amazing. It was the one thing that kept them close, but now it seemed it was the one thing pulling them apart, that, and the girl. But it was no ordinary girl coming between them, she was one of them. But with the promise of something more then what he has, more then he could achieve on his own, a sacrifice must be made in return.

The Hounds Of Ulster tells the tale of music, friendship and the girl that came between them. But it is also the story of heartbreak and loss, for it seems that all those who achieve greatness always pass before their time. However it is those left behind who suffer all the more for their loss. A short but poignant prequel story to Balled about a friend, gone but not forgotten.

Maggie Stiefvater Webpage

Maggie Stiefvater @ Scholastic

On sale: n/a
Price (AU): free from authors webpage
ISBN: n/a
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Loss
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: to those reading the series
Star rating: four out of five
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Books of Faerie #1.1

BOOKS OF FAERIE:
Yes Or No by Maggie Stiefvater

On Word Can Change Your Life!

There was so much meaning in words. Words to him we're like a promise, something to stand by and not to be taken lightly. Ordinarily he was nothing, nobody, but once a month when he did his readings he was transformed by his words in someone. Once a month he mattered. But he wanted more then that once a month could offer him, but to get it would cost him everything.

Yes Or No could change his life, would change his life. After meeting a girl who promises Steven the world and a chance to be a better poet, Steven is infatuated with being more, with having his words reach more people. But in order to have that he must answer one question. Is he willing to give up everything to get ? A short but intriguing prequel story to Ballad about a boy and his muse.

Maggie Stiefvater Webpage

Maggie Stiefvater @ Scholastic

On sale: n/a
Price (AU): free from authors webpage
ISBN: n/a
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Deals
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: to those reading the series
Star rating: four out of five
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Swift #0.5

SWIFT:
Renegade by R J Anderson

Martin's Story!

On the run from the Empress, he never guessed the lengths she would go to in order to bring him back, or if not bring him back, end him. He never realised just how far he would push himself to escape. But pushed too far, Martin almost completes the Empresses wishes for himself. Falling out of the sky, one minute a bird, the next a boy, Martin never hoped to survive. But then a girl appeared.

Renegade is the story of Martin's escape from the Empress and his meeting with a human girl who not only saves his life, but would go on to play a vital role in Ivy's story Swift. With insights into his past and his relationship with the woman he would go on to kill, Renegade is one short story that's long in history, filling in events that have taken place between the old faery series ending with Arrow and the new piskey series starting with Swift.

R J Anderson Webpage

R J Anderson @ Hachette Children's

On sale: 01 May 2012
Price (AU): free with Swift
ISBN: 9781408312636
Recommended age: 10+
In a word: Martin
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: to those reading the series
Star rating: four out of five
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Swift #1

SWIFT:
Swift by R J Anderson

A Piskey Like No Other!

There were only a couple of times a year when the piskeys ventures out of the Delve and into the world above, only a couple of times of year when it was made safe for piskeys to leave their underground home. With all the spells and wards in place no one expected danger to find them, but when Ivy's mother disappears there can be only one explanation, the spriggans have caught her.

Five years later and the impossible happens, the spriggans have returned. But as only Ivy alone has seen the creature no one believes her, that is until piskeys start disappearing from the Delve and the creature is caught. But what this spriggan has to say will have Ivy question all that she knows and lead her to betray her kind in search of the truth.

With nothing left to lose Ivy takes the word of a stranger, worse still, the word of a spriggan, over her own piskeys as one choice leads into another and eventually she finds that the truth is not as simple as she believed. With no one to trust and danger closing in around her and those she cares for, time is running out for Ivy and her fellow piskeys.

Swift introduces a new series of magical beings troubled by the past, trapped by their environment and unable to move on from their current situation. Alongside this clan of piskeys and knockers are some familiar faeries from the previous Faery Rebels series, and with this new tale comes some new and exciting adventures. As an added bonus this book includes the free short story Renegade.

R J Anderson Webpage

R J Anderson @ Hachette Children's

On sale: 01 May 2012
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781408312636
Recommended age: 10+
In a word: Piskeys
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Green Monkey Dreams

Green Monkey Dreams by Isobelle Carmody

 

"So, You Seek The Key To The Dream Of Life"

  

The High Path is a road of sorrow. With all good intentions we are led on a path of sacrifice, hardship and loss only to find that in the end we are left alone in the world, separated from those we love through the choices we have made, and left to face the consequences of an unknown future alone. But even when all is lost the will to go on still remains.

The Way Of The Beast speaks to the darker side of our human natures. Beneath the smiles and kind gestures lurks a darkness that is capable of causing great pain to those we care for through broken promises, crushed dreams and shattered hearts. At times there are no answers, no prays heard, only the darkness and the lost innocence of youth.

The Worldroad teaches life lessons, and while some are able to inspire and bring hope, others maybe learned all too late. It is our choices in life that make us who we are, lead us where we are going and teach us what we need to know. There are no right or wrong paths, only choices that must be made.

Green Monkey Dreams is a beautiful collection of short tales that are full of hope, tragedy and bittersweet moments that haunt you long after their reading. A skilfully written collection of magical tales of the fanciful, the quirky and the everyday. Each story is a doorway to another land, another time or anther reality where everything is at once both new and familiar in just the same way that these stories are at once both unique and timeless.

Isobelle Carmody Webpage

Isobelle Carmody @ Allen & Unwin

On sale: 01 June 2012
Price (AU): $19.99
ISBN: 9781742379470
Recommended age: 15+
In a word: Fantastic
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Fairy Ring

The Fairy Ring by Mary Losure

"Elsie and Frances Fool The World"

It all began with Frances, a young girl who, being new to England, one day discovered fairies at the bottom of the garden. Unfortunately it seemed Frances was the only one to see these fairies and so without proof no one believed her, that is apart from her cousin Elsie of course. But that didn't stop the teasing that followed.

Elsie, being of kind heart and somewhat mischief nature, decided to put a stop to the teasing of her cousin Frances by providing proof of the existence of fairies. Something that was easier said then done, however with a strong will, an artistic flair and a borrowed camera she had managed to do just that.

The Fairy Ring is a true story told of how two girls, innocently enough, fooled the world and those with the passion enough to believe. As spiritualism was becoming increasingly popular at the time, fairies and nature spirits were a popular talking point, and with so little known about the subject proof of the existence of such beings were highly sought after. But little did Frances or Elsie realise just how seriously their proof would be taken.

Mary Losure Webpage
Mary Losure @ Walker Books

On sale: 01 July 2012
Price (US): $24.95
ISBN: 9780763656706
Recommended age: 12+
In a word: Fairies
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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