Night School by C. J. Daugherty

Allie Sheridan has just been arrested for the third time in a year. She hates her school and her parents don't know what to do with her. No-one can fill the hole left when her brother ran away. As a last resort, her parents make the decision to send her away to Cimmeria Academy, a boarding school Allie has never heard of and who's location is a mystery. Instead of hating it, Allie starts to make friends, improve her grades and really starts to feel at home. That is until someone gets murdered. Then Allie starts to realise that there is a huge secret at Cimmeria, a secret that is shared by the teachers and even some of the pupils. A secret that Allie somehow gets caught up in...

So the first thing I thought when I looked at the cover and saw the title was "Oh not another vampire novel!" Thankfully I was completely wrong. There is not a single vampire in this book. Or a werewolf. Or an angel. Or anything else that would tie it to the dark/paranormal romance genre (even though that is what this cover strongly suggests). Hurray!

This is a novel filled with suspense and suspicion and will keep you guessing until the end (and into the next one!). And yes, Daugherty manages this without a single supernatural creature. She uses secrets, mystery and danger to reel the reader in and keep them hooked. Her writing style flows well and the pacing is good. She creates a convincing world and her characters are completely believable. I love Allie! She is complex, with her troubled past, but also genuine. She suffers from the same doubts as most girls, falls into the same traps and is completely likeable. Even though there is some romance involved, it doesn't overwhelm the book or become the focus of the plot, even if it does have the inevitable triangular element. The whole novel is well written and I struggled to put it down. I honestly cannot wait to read the next one (currently due for release in January 2013! Yay!) and I really hope that it will deliver all that it promises.

If you like Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon, you'll love Night School!

I give it 8/10!

Title: Night School
Author: C. J. Daugherty
Publisher: Atom
Teenage Fiction

The Worst Princess by Anna Kemp & Sarah Ogilvie

Princess Sue knows how to be a good princess, having read all of the books and grown her hair to the floor, but she longs for adventure and life outside of her castle. At long last her prince arrives and she can see her freedom, right up until he shows her to her new tower. Fed up with this, she enlists the help of a big scary dragon over a cup of tea and finally gets the happily ever after that she desires.

This is a picture book that adults will find fun too. It's a fun twist on the traditional happily ever after princess story. The plot is amusing and entertaining. The illustrations are colourful with care taken to include bits of detail in addition to the plot (such as an unhappy looking fish about to land in a smiling crocodile's mouth) and so will keep children entertained that little bit longer. The Converse style shoes that Sue wears are a nice touch that instantly jumps out letting you know that Sue is not your typical damsel in distress. Together, the writing and illustrations create brilliant characterisation as well as a really engaging book. Brilliant for your not-so-girly princesses!

I give it 8/10 :)

Title: The Worst Princess
Author: Anna Kemp & Sarah Ogilvie
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Picture Book

Where is Fred? by Edward Hardy & illustrated by Ali Pye

Fred the caterpillar loves to play hide and seek. This is especially important as Gerald the crow would love to eat Fred for his lunch. Join Gerald as he hunts high and low for his meal, becoming ever more suspicious at the familiar-looking white fluffy objects on various people...

I really enjoyed this picture book! It's lots of fun with colourful and brilliant illustrations. It's well written and the use of different font styles is fantastic as it really adds that extra bit of character to the book. Gerald is the sort of silly character that children will love. It's a great book to read aloud with a child (or group of children) as you have the interactive element of finding Fred as well as the humour provided by Gerald, the fun illustrations and Fred's surprise at the end (with the potential for a nice science tie-in).

I give it 10/10!

Title: Where Is Fred?
Author: Edward Hardy
Illustrator: Ali Pye
Publisher: Egmont
Picture Book