Category Archives: Book Reviews
Bella Broomstick by Lou Kuenzler – Blog Tour – Author Interview and Blog Tour
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the new Middle Grade series Bella Broomstick by Lou Kuenzler. When Faye asked if I was interested I thought back to reading The Worst Witch when I was younger and said yes.
Summary
Bella Broomstick is a hopeless witch. So hopeless that nasty Aunt Hemlock is sending her to live in Person World – with the warning that she must never do magic again! But when Bella finds a kitten in trouble, a spell is the only way to rescue it. What is Bella to do? For where there is magic, trouble is never far away!
What I thought
Oddly enough I’d listened to The Worst Witch stories earlier in the year and it’s interesting re-reading stories you loved as a child when you are older. Reading Bella Broomstick as an adult matched up to my re-read so I’m pretty sure the younger me would have loved Bella and Rascal as much as she loved Mildred and Tabby.
In Bella Broomstick I really enjoyed the fact that the setting was the ‘Person World’ and I adored the theme of finding your place and finding your self confidence in your uniqueness. The younger me definitely needed that sort of message (and older me needs reminding every now and then). The illustrations in the book really contribute to the story, especially as they are “drawn by Bella herself.”
I have to admit though that I did want a little more of Wane the chameleon – he’s the evil version of Pascal from Tangled and would have been a fun foil for Rascal. Maybe next time ;o)
Interview with the delightful author
- In a lot of books we see the human person heading to the magic world, what made you decide to switch things round?
I think it was exactly that – I love the Harry Potter stories, of course. That got me thinking, what if somebody from the Magic Realm came to our world. Perhaps they’d find it strange and “magical” too.
- What magical stories did you enjoy reading as a child?
For pure bonkers magic, I loved Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree series – the idea that with just one wish you could leap into a new land. Genius. But there was also a book called Silver Snaffles by Primrose Cummings in which a little girl enters a magic world where horses can speak. I grew up on a farm and was lucky enough to have a pony of my own … The hours I spent sitting in her stable hoping the hayrack would open up and I too would find the secret world! Perhaps that’s why Bella Broomstick can talk to animals – a little bit of wish fulfilment on my part.
- There are a number of animals in the book, which was your favourite to write about and why?
I really enjoyed writing Rascal the kitten because, as his name suggests, he is very mischievous which kept me on my toes. He’s quite big headed too. But, most of all, I enjoyed writing Wane the mean, shape-shifting chameleon. Creating baddies is always the best fun.
- What would you hope children that might get called hopeless in real life take away from this book?
I hope they will come to realise that sometimes the things we (and other people – including grown-ups) think are important at certain stages of our lives are not necessarily the most enduring things. Celebrate what you are good at – Bella worries about finding magic tricky when perhaps, instead, she should celebrate the fact that she can speak fluent animal languages. I am dyslexic and found school really hard. One way or another, I often ended up feeling a bit hopeless … the only thing I was any good at was making up stories (even though I found it really difficult to get them down on paper). All these years later, it turns out that having a pretty wobbly grasp of my times tables isn’t the end of the world. But, as a children’s writer – with the help of a great spell checker on the computer and very patient editors – having a lively imagination hardwired to childhood has finally paid off!
- How important do you think the illustrations are in this book? (I really enjoyed them).
Aren’t they fantastic. We really wanted it to look as if Bella had drawn them herself. Kyan Cheng has created a really wonderful doodle style and I think the pictures add lots of humour to the stories. It is always great for newly-fluent readers to have pictures along the way. I particularly love the illustrations of the long lists Bella writes (such as Worst Spells Ever). And Chang’s superb, shadowy image of Wane the chameleon sends shivers down my spine.
- Can you name some other animal languages – we’ve got cat chat, what about elephants, dogs, etc.
Ah … there’s Toad Talk, of course. Hornet Hum. Grasshopper Gulp. Dog Dialogue – I don’t know if Bella has ever chatted to an elephant but she could try Trunk Talking, I suppose! She does love Cat Chat best of all though … and is promising to learn Flamingo (one of the trickiest types of Beak Speak) very soon.
Thanks so much for these fabulous questions. I had a lot of fun – and a bit of head scratching – coming up with the answers.
Lou
Do check out the earlier posts on the tour, and if you’ve got children who like fantasy please introduce them to Bella (especially if they are having a bit of a hard time at school).
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15 to 16 in Books
15 Best of 2015
I had more than 15 5 star books (after all I did read 130 this year) but here are my top 15 picks.
Image from Goodreads
1. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (I just couldn’t put this down, it is very unique and left me breathless. I loved it so much 7 people got copies for Christmas – and print copies too. This is a book you have to own physically).
2. Red Rising by Pierce Brown (2015 saw me pick up the amazing Red Rising, that I’d first read in 2014 in anticipation of the sequel. I also listened to the audiobook. A year has been too long to wait for Morning Star).
3. Golden Son by Pierce Brown (My first read of Golden Son caught me a little by surprise because of the time gap between the events of Red Rising but this expansion to the world has made me even more anxious to read the conclusion to the trilogy. This also got a second read via audio – Tim is a brilliant narrator).
3. The Death House by Sarah Pinborough (recommended to me by @catrad this is a beautiful read that bought me to tears and has made Sarah one of my must read authors).
4. The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle (One of my last reads, reminded me of the Death House in tone – just beautiful).
5. Am I Normal Yet? (The Normal Series 1) By Holly Bourne (A great contemporary read that explores mental health and feminism. Made me want to join the Spinster Club).
6. Asking for It by Louise O’Neill (I have actually reviewed this one here because this book is so important).
7. The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury (I met Melinda before this book was released. She has a wicked sense of humour and this book is wickedly fantastical).
8. Demon Road by Derek Landy (I read this after listening to the entire Skulduggery Pleasant series last year and loved it even more than those).
9. It’s About Love by Steven Camden (Steven’s second book blew me away. A love story between Luke and Leia – who aren’t secretly brother and sister. Yes, it’s about love but also about so much more).
10. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (The third Cormoron Strike book was my favourite. It was very creepy – some chapters are written from the killer’s perspective, but because it focused so much on Strike and his partner Robin we got to really see their characters develop).
12. Geek Girl – All Wrapped Up by Holly Smale (Geek Girl 4: All That Glitters also came out this year but this short Christmas story about Harriet and Nick’s first date just made me feel all warm and snuggly. It was perfect…although not for them).
13. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (I read this really early in the year and will need a re-read before the sequel but the setting of this really stood out).
14. Soulmates by Holly Bourne (Not what I was expecting from a book called Soulmates. Such a fabulous idea and along with reading Holly’s other two books I have another addition to my must read author list).
15. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling Illustrated by Jim Kay (This book is beautiful and the illustrations really bring an extra touch of magic to a story I am very familiar with now).
I also read my first Pratchett books – admittedly ones I’ve already seen televised Hogfather/Going Postal and I will be reading more in 2016. Sad I left it so late to join the Discworld.
16 Anticipated in 2016
I’ve still got lots of 2015 releases to catch up on but that won’t stop me getting the following.
Image from Goodreads
1. Gemina (The Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Seriously need this book but it won’t be released until later in the year. Oh well, I’ll just re-read Illuminae then).
2. Morning Star by Pierce Brown (conclusion to the Red Rising trilogy. I have a Cosplay of Mustang to work on and am hoping that I can get my series signed by Pierce – when we find out his UK tour dates).
3. How Hard Can Love Be? (The Normal Series 2) by Holly Bourne (We move onto Amber’s story and I am looking forward to reading more by Holly).
4. The Sleeping Prince (The Sin Eater’s Daughter 2) by Melinda Salisbury (A broader look at the world Melinda has created. I’m excited to delve in).
5. 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough (Must read author now but the synopsis alone makes me shiver).
6. Desolation (Demon Road 2) by Derek Landy (Evil, Hell Hounds on motorbikes, sounds so Supernatural. Perfect).
7. Geek Girl 5: Head Over Heels by Holly Smale (I simply love this series and its protagonist Harriet).
8. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir (More about Laia and Elias – I love their names and their story so far).
9. Rebel of the Sands by Alywn Hamilton (I first heard about this at YALC and the sampler made me very anxious to read more).
10. Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows 2) by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows wasn’t just about the heist but the characters too and I want to know more about them all).
11. Did I Mention I Miss You? By Estelle Maskame (I’d heard so much about the first two books in the series – abbreviated online to DIMILY and DIMINY – that I read them both over Christmas and hey, I’m invested now).
12. Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell (World Book Day UK Book) (I came across this title, don’t really know much about it but loved Carry On this year so I’ll definitely be getting this).
13. Mind Your Head – Juno Dawson (A non-fiction book on mental health by the author of This Book is Gay. Really interested to read this, another important topic to open up to teens).
14. City of Blades (The Divine Cities 2) by Robert Jackson Bennett (I read the first book a couple of years ago and want to see where things go).
15. This is Where The World Ends by Amy Zhang (Loved her first book, hoping this one is as powerful)
16. Riders by Veronica Rossi (The Under the Never Sky series has been one of my favourites and this new series about a teen becoming one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse sounds right up my alley).
And will we get Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Illustrated ???
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard is also a sneaky 2016 extra because I’ve already read it. I was lucky to get hold of an ARC. Read it people you will love it, and it’s out next week.
And I’m sure there are many more I’ve seen and want to read or that I don’t know about. I’ve already found some 2017 releases I’m already excited about.
So, what books from 2015 did I miss and what do I need to add to my wish list for 2016?
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Geek Girl: All Wrapped Up – Book Review
Guess what happens a month today?
Yes, you’ve guessed it I’m a Christmas Geek – I love it, but do I love it as much as Harriet Manners the quintessential Geek Girl?
Here’s just a few things she knows about Christmas (with my additions in brackets):
In the Ukraine, Christmas trees are decorated with spider’s webs
(Is that really decoration or fear of cleaning?)
The First Ever Christmas card was sold in 1843 and depicted a family drinking wine
(Accurate)
All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas would equal 364 separate presents
(Even Dudley Dursley couldn’t complain about that number)
The word mistletoe comes from the Old English word mistletan, which means poo twig, because it spreads itself through seeds in bird droppings that land on tree branches
(Haha – poo twig, that’s worse than thinking it’s infested with Nargles)
The most romantic Christmas fact ever – in 1913, a couple were fined fifteen dollars for kissing in the streets of New York City on Christmas Day
(Awwww, somebody needed visiting by three ghosts).
What Harriet doesn’t know an awful lot about though is dating… but when you’ve kissed Lion Boy that’s the next step…if he gets round to ringing you.
All Wrapped Up is a festive Geek Girl special from Holly Smale which fits into the events of the first book.
Harriet is supported to reach her next relationship milestone by the usual suspects including my favourite stalker Toby and a rather suspect list on ‘how to ace a date’ that really should simply say – be yourself.
Having recently been on a first date of my own at the time of reading this I felt Harriet was channelling my inner thoughts and paranoias, even though our ages are “a few years” apart. Dating – the universal evil! Holly’s comic style works well in short form and I found myself giggling along. There’s a comfort in coming back to Harriet, and it was nice to revisit her as she started out.
The romance factor is this book is high, there’s ice-skating and plenty of falling. Things are not straightforward, but it’s a perfect Christmassy tale with a warm ending. Wait until a chilly day, come in from the cold, make yourself a hot chocolate and settle down on the sofa with All Wrapped Up.
The book contains All Wrapped Up: a short story of what happens after that first kiss, as well as the previously limited edition short Team Geek, a Q&A with Holly, and some other festive extras – including a survey that you can test your gift giving skills with (although you might be banned from future family Christmases if you employ it).
Huge thanks to Serena from HarperCollins for my copy (and the list of geeky facts), the fact that I didn’t have to chew your arm off to get it does not affect my opinion of the book. 5 stars.
kirstyes 