What Miss T Read

Nothing much happens in Sycamore, the small village where Clara lives - at least that's how it looks. She loves eating ripe mangoes fallen from trees, running outside in the rainy season and escaping to her secret hideout with her best friend Gaynah. There's only one problem - she can't remember anything that happened last summer... When Life Gives You Mangoes is an action-packed middle grade novel filled with friendships, families and full of mystery. 12-year-old Clara can't remember what happened last summer, all she knows is that she is now considered 'different' to the other children in Sycamore and her Mama and Papa continue to argue in hushed tones about what's best for her. Her friendship with best friend, Gaynah, is now filled with petty arguments and she no longer longs to surf the sea as she used to. When new girl, Rudy, arrives fresh from England, Clara is determined to befriend her and start afresh with less judgment, but the past doesn't al

Magic awaits, all you have to do is believe... When thirteen-year-old Olia, steps through a magical doorway, she discovers another land. A land tangled by magic, where hope is lost, and a scheming wizard holds all the power. Soon Olia learns that she is destined to save this land, but with time running out and her new friends and family in danger, she must search for the magic within herself - to save everything and everyone she loves. The Castle of Tangled Magic is the highly-anticipated next novel from Sophie Anderson who brought us the wonders that are The House With Chicken Legs and The Girl Who Speaks Bear. It only came out at the start of the month but already the Edu Twitter world is alight with 5 star reviews and a buzz of excitement for this new release.  The Castle of Tangled Magic revolves around our protagonist, Olia, a thirteen-year old girl, who lives in Castle Mila along with her family, including her newborn sister and wise old grandma, Babusya. The castle has been par

  Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why--or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch - and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. When I read the synopsis for this book I was so excited to be part of The Write Reads blog tour for it. It's a Cinderella story, poor unfortunate girl gets rich, but with twists and puzzles galore and I absolutely devoured it.  Avery Grambs is the average teenager trying to survive, but when she's told that she has inherited a huge fortune from billionaire Tobias Hawthorne, her life is thrown into disarray: she's never heard of Tobias Hawthorne for a start; he has four very entitled grandsons who ar

  You fancy a book about crime-solving vampires I hear you cry? Well Josie Jaffrey has come up trumps with book her brand new Seekers series. I will admit that when I first read the blurb I wasn't sure how such different topics that were completely unrelated could ever combine successfully; however, I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was sucked in and enjoyed the blend of genres.  The story follows Jack, our central crime-fighter. Having been a vampire for 20 years she is part of the Seekers, an Oxford based group of vampires (or Silver as they are called in the book) who are employed to stop humans finding out about their kind. They roam the streets amongst humans, acting in the same way as police officers, trying to protect their existence.  When a man is thrown from the top of a building, completely drained of blood and in full public sight it's undoubtedly the work of a Silver and it's up to Jack and her Seeker friends to try and solve the mystery before the hu

After the excitement of his adventures on the Highland Falcon Thief, Harrison Beck can't wait for the opportunity to go on another amazing train journey. So when his Uncle Nat invites him aboard the California Comet, the iconic three day train journey from Chicago to San Francisco, he leaps at the chance to travel. But when the daughter of billionaire entrepreneur August Reza goes missing en route, Hal finds himself with another mystery to solve. Can he uncover the kidnapper before the journey's end? Kidnap on the California Comet is the second instalment of the Adventures on Trains series written by the wonderful M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. The first book, The Highland Falcon Thief  was a delightful mystery involving a jewel thief (read my review here ) and introduced us to Hal, our main train sleuth and his transport-loving-journalist-uncle Nat. I absolutely loved The Highland Falcon Thief and as with all series was apprehensive that this wouldn't be as great but the du

There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille have been taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their lives. But when Jam meets Pet she begins to question what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt the evil lurking in Redemption's house... But how do you save the world from monsters when no-one will admit they exist?  I'd heard great things about Pet before finally picking it up in my local bookshop last week. I love the anticipation that strikes when reading a book that has been so widely discussed and reviewed, the worry of whether it will live up to expectation, the excitement of reading something that everyone is talking about. Pet was very different from my expectation, deeper, more involved than I thought it initially sounded, but a story with many messages woven inside it and a very worthy YA read. Jam lives in the city of Lucille, a place where the monsters have been banished and the angels mainta

Ebenezer Tweezer is a youthful 511-year-old. He keeps a beast in the attic of his mansion, who he feeds all manner of things (including performing monkeys, his pet cat and the occasional cactus) and in return the beast vomits out presents for Ebenezer, as well as potions which keep him young and beautiful. But the beast grows ever greedier, and soon only a nice, juicy child will do. So when Ebenezer encounters orphan Bethany, it seems like (everlasting) life will go on as normal. But Bethany is not your average orphan . . . When the synopsis of this book flew into my inbox I already knew it was going to be a good one. With a main character called Ebeneezer Tweezer this book was never going to disappoint and I'm excited to be part of The Write Reads blog tour for it.  The Beast and the Bethany  is the perfect grizzly tale. A cross between The Nightmare Before Christmas and the  Mr Gum books   with brilliant humour and silliness galore, as well as the sense of impending doom which th