5 great new fiction to read as warm summer days approach

mysthsIsn’t springtime wonderful?!

Birds are chirping and who knows what the weather is going to do! So head down to your nearest library and escape into some of these fantastic new books!

 

Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani ChokshiImage courtesy of Syndetics

Accused of stealing the god of love’s bow and arrow, Aru has ten days to find the real thief or risk being kicked out of the Otherworld.


Image courtesy of SyndeticsPrincess Leia: Royal Rebel by Calliope Glass

Ever wonder how Princess Leia became the leader of the Resistance? When did she first join the fight against the Galactic Empire? What was her home planet like? How did she help destroy the Death Star? Who are her closest allies and greatest enemies? And how did she go from being a senator to a general? In this biography–filled with illustrations, character profiles, and fast facts–you’ll learn the complete history of Princess Leia and her fight to free the galaxy.

 


Lady Mary
by Lucy WorsleyImage courtesy of Syndetics

Mary Tudor’s world is turned upside-down when her father, Henry the Eighth, declares his marriage to her mother is over and that Mary isn’t really his child. How can he do such a thing? Banished from court and separated from her beloved mother, Mary realises her family will never be as she hoped. Alone for the first time in her life, Mary must fight for what is rightfully hers. Despite what anyone says, she will always be a princess. It is in her blood. But without her fierce mother by her side, will Mary find the strength? Is there anyone Mary can trust? And how will she survive?

 


Image courtesy of SyndeticsBeyond Platform 13 by Sibeal pounder

The Island of Mist is under siege and Odge Gribble and Prince Ben are in hiding. Desperate to find out why the mist is disappearing, Odge travels through the gump to Vienna, to find a mistmaker expert. But in yet another case of mistaken identity, Odge finds Lina, a nine-year-old girl looking for adventure. With the help of friends old and new, and some very interesting magic, Odge and Lina must discover the secret of the mist, before they lose their beloved island completely.

 


Tui Street Heroes by Anne KayesImage courtesy of Syndetics

Who can help when you’re faced with vicious creatures that are meant to be extinct or people who don’t care whether you live or die? The Tui Street kids are writing ‘hero’s journey’ stories at school, but soon find themselves involved in adventures more difficult than they could ever have imagined

 

 

Summer-time reading starts with a visit to your local Library! Try these new children’s fiction…

Looking forward to long hot summer days where you can relax with a book? Well, the weather is still a bit patchy at the moment, but you can always get in a bit of practice by trying these new fiction books.

 

Image courtesy of SyndeticsA Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee

Annabel Grey is primed for a proper life as a young lady in Victorian England. But when her mother disappears, she’s put in the care of two eccentric aunts who thrust her into a decidedly un-ladylike life, full of potions and flying broomsticks. Swept up in an urgent quest, Annabel is pitted against another young witch, Kitty, to rescue the sacred Moreover Wand from the dangerous underworld that exists beneath London. The two girls outsmart trolls, find passage through a wall of faerie bones, and narrowly escape a dragon, but it doesn’t take long for Annabel to see that the most dangerous part is her decision to trust this wild, magical girl.

 

 

The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy StrangeImage courtesy of Syndetics

1919. Mama is ill. Father has taken a job abroad. Nanny Jane is too busy to pay any attention to Henrietta and the things she sees – or thinks she sees – in the shadows of their new home, Hope House. All alone, with only stories for company, Henry discovers that Hope House is full of strange secrets: a forgotten attic, ghostly figures, mysterious firelight that flickers in the trees beyond the garden. One night she ventures into the darkness of Nightingale Wood. What she finds there will change her whole world…

 

 

Image courtesy of SyndeticsAn Elephantasy by Maria Elena Walsh

What would you do if you woke up one morning and found a huge and lonely elephant at your door? An elephant with a letter hanging from its ear, saying: “My name is Dailan Kifki, and I beg you not to be alarmed at the fact that I’m an elephant…”? Well, you would probably adopt him too, wouldn’t you? But when Dailan Kifki falls ill and ends up at the top of a tree, only the fire brigade can get him down. Unfortunately, the fireman who arrives seems more interested in flying away with the elephant than bringing him back to earth.

 

 

Crimson Poison by Susan MooreImage courtesy of Syndetics

Nat Walker is the orphan heiress to her parents’ games empire. While the mystery behind their deaths remains unsolved, Nat must fend off the unwelcome and avaricious attentions of her aunt, who is keen to “adopt” her and her millions. When her guardian, Jamuka, is called back to Mongolia by a clan emergency, Nat discovers vital information about the poison that is killing his people. She decides to follow him, and in doing so, becomes drawn into the deadly game of revenge, corruption and world domination that is playing out against the snowy white Steppes.

 

 

Image courtesy of SyndeticsMagic Feet by Sherryl Clark

“Soccer season is here! Ellyse can’t wait to pull on her boots and start dribbling. Unlike club cricket, where she’s the ONLY girl on the team, her best friends Charlie and Jazz also play soccer and it’s so much fun! But things don’t go according to plan right from the start. Ellyse finds herself the ONLY girl on her club team AGAIN and, to make matters worse, there’s a new player on the field – and he has attitude. *Sigh*. Ellyse decides to take charge. If she wants more girls on her team, why not start a soccer team at school? Problem solved… right? Wrong. Ellyse soon realises that there’s more involved in recreuiting new players than she ever imagined. Plus, there’s a bully to contend with… Has Ellyse bitten off more than she can chew this time around?”–Back cover.

Fun New Fiction!

Truth or Dare by Meredith Badger

A window gets broken at school but can Mia and Michiko tell the truth about what happened? One story -two sides.

 

 

 

 

Stories for 7 Year Olds by Great NZ Authors

An awesome collection of stories by NZ Authors including Anna Kenna, Elizabeth Pulford, Kate DeGoldi, Barbara Else and Penelope Todd!

 

 

 

Image Courtesy of SyndeticsStarring Jules #3; Super-Secret Spy Girl

Second grade is over and Jules is on her way to Quebec to film a spy movie, but she misses all her friends, and with only a hockey player and a diva starlet as cast mates in a place where nobody speaks English, she is feeling lonely–and her mother will not even let her go bungee-jumping.

 

 

Twelve Minutes to MidnighImage Courtesy of Syndeticsby Christopher Edge

Penelope Tredwell is the feisty thirteen-year-old orphan heiress of the bestselling magazine, The Penny Dreadful. Her masterly tales of the macabre are gripping Victorian Britain, even if no one knows she’s the real author. One day a letter she receives from the governor of the notorious Bedlam madhouse plunges her into an adventure more terrifying than anything she ever imagined. A thriller with a fast-paced cinematic style, Twelve Minutes to Midnight is an electrifying story from an exciting new author.

 

Night of the Perigee MoonImage Courtesy of Syndetics by Juliet Jacka

All Tilly Angelica wants for her thirteenth birthday is to be normal! But with her changeover party looming and her mad, magical family gathering from near and far, Tilly is set to inherit a terrifying or tantalising talent of her own. But what if she inherits Hortense’s talent of super-smelling, with a huge honker to match? Will her best friend Olivia think she is wonderful or too weird for words? As the enchanted Angelicas gather and Arial Manor becomes a madhouse, Tilly’s troubles are tripled by her creepy cousin Prosper, and his sinister plot to bewitch the family by harnessing the powers of the perigee moon.

Epic mysteries are fun!!!

Have you ever been wandering around an old castle or a crumbling mansion? Did you hear the stories of the past told by  its ruins or its demolished walls? Did anything odd happen to you that you felt you were going on an adventure?

If so, here is a bunch of medieval-royal-epic mysteries you might enjoy… !

The water Castle, by Megan Frazer Blakemore

Ephraim Appledore-Smith is an ordinary boy living an ordinary life. But all that changes when his father suffers a stroke, and his family moves to the Water Castle – their ancestral home in the small town of Crystal Springs, Maine.

Mallory Green’s ancestors have always been the caretakers of the Water Castle – and the guardians of its magic. She’s been raised to protect the legend of the Fountain of Youth, rumored to exist on the grounds. But ever since her mom left, she’s stopped believing in magic.

When Ephraim learns of the fountain, he’s sure finding it can cure his dad. With Mallory and Will’s help, Ephraim embarks on a mission that brings them deep into their families’ shared history, through every mysterious room in the Water Castle, and on a quest that will blur the lines between magic and science, creativity and discovery, leaving you to wonder: DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE UNBELIEVABLE???

8 and +

Story’s end, by Marissa Burt

Long ago, a King ruled the land of Story… During his reign, Heroes, Villains and characters of all kinds lived out tales filled with daring quests and epic struggles.

Then the king disappeared, and over the years, nearly everyone forgot that he had ever existed. Now an evil Enemy has emerged, determined to write a new future for Story that he will control. And an ordinary girl named Una Fairchild is inextricably tangles up in his deadly plan…

9 and +

 

Thrice upon a Marigold, by Jean Ferris

Once… Twice… Thrice the fun!

There’s always trouble on the way to happily-ever-after in Zandelphia-Beaurivage, but don’t tell King Christian and Queen Marigold. They’ve just welcomed little Princess Poppy to the royal family. Life at the palace seems happier than ever- until the princess is kidnapped by the kingdom’s ex-torturer-in-chief and ex-poisoner-in-chief as an act of revenge!

Rescuing the princess from the bad guys won’t be easy- it might take the king, the queen, the royal guards, a librarian, a blacksmith, a retired wizard, a white elephant, and a fire-breathing dragon! Can this royal kidnapping caper finally end in a happily-ever-after for all?

8 and +

 

 

Fancy some time travelling fun?

Slave Girl by Alexa Moses

Thirteen-year-old exchange student Jenna has nabbed an appointment in New York’s coolest hair salon, but when her teacher insists she stay with the group at the boring Metropolitan Museum, she storms off and stumbles into what she thinks is a fancy-dress party. And it is a party. In ancient Egypt. 3500 years ago.

Once Jenna accepts she’s really travelled back in time, she realises she has to work out a way home – with only her big mouth, a smart phone and a pair of second-hand Marc Jacobs sandals to get her out alive.

Jenna’s attempts to bluff her way out of her precarious situation are often brave, sometimes ingenious and guaranteeably funny.

Crispy Cool New Fiction!

Get stuck into this awesome line up of new fiction for the summer holidays. Perfect reading for lazy summer days.

A Mutiny in Time By James Dashner.

This is the first book of this super cool series! Time has gone wrong, and best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste, together with the young Hystorian Riq, must use the infinity ring to travel back to one of the Great Breaks–a mutiny on the Santa María–to correct history and defeat the SQ.Check it out!

 

 

 

 

 

The Giant- Slayer by Iain Lawerence.

When her eight-year-old neighbor is stricken with polio in 1955, eleven-year-old Laurie discovers that there is power in her imagination as she weaves a story during her visits with him and other patients confined to iron lung machines.  A truely mystical and mischievous book!!!! You simply must read this !!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Tournament Trouble by Frances Watts.

Flamant Castle is having a tournament! But when one of the squires is injured during practice, Sir Benedict ask s Tommy to take his place. There’s just one problem: she has never ridden a horse before – every time she tries to ride Bess, the horse throws her off! Time is running out! How will Tommy be able to compete? Borrow this book today and discover if she will succeed!

 

 

 

 

Bessica Lefter bites back by Kristen Tracy.

Now that Bessica’s been named half mascot, she finally feels like she’s fitting in. But Alice, the other half mascot, hates her.  The pressure is on for middle-schooler Bessica to be the funniest, wildest bear mascot for her school, or risk being humiliated by a rival tiger mascot. So between homework, feeding gorgeous Noll Beck’s lizard, dealing with her grandma having a boyfriend, and deciding whether crashing Sylvie’s party is a bad idea, Bessica is memorizing as many cool cheers as she can. Her life is on the line.

 

 

 

 

The Lost Empire of Koomba by Tony Abbott.

A hidden door. A magical staircase. Discover the World of Droon! Keeah, Julie, and Neal are determined to save Eric from the enchantment that’s transformed him into Gethwing’s number-one goon. Their quest leads them to a lost empire deep in the desert, where tiny bandits are hiding, a rare and powerful elixer that just might be Eric’s only hope. Gethwing is determined to stop them and the Moon Dragon has a powerful new henchman at his disposal: Lord Sparr. Book three of the Secrets of Droon series!!!

 

 

 

 The Amazing Illustrated Floodsopedia by Colin Thompson.

This could be one of the most important books of wizard stuff ever written, or not. Some of the most disgusting yet irresistible recipes ever eaten by man, including the Choc-Chip Omelette, the Easter Egg carved from a single lump of pig gristle, and the wonderful Deathcap Delight, are just three of the recipes here is this funny and brilliant book.  Check this out, if you dare!

Princess of Pushkar

If you like reading historical fiction then take a look at The Princess of Pushkar: In the Shadow of the Palace. This book is set in India during the 10th century and tells the tale of Rani, a princess who along with her sisters have been captured by Queen Kriti of Malwa. The sisters believe that their father will come to rescue them but sadly this does not happen and Rani finds herself in the position of having to save herself along with her sisters. This is an action-packed roller-coaster story with all the glamour and drama of Bollywood.

Kids’ Review by Ell

kidsreviewJan_0710Kira-kira by Cynthia Kadohata

 

It is an amazing book that made me feel like I was watching, or was part of, everything that happened. It helped me to realise that there are people in the world that go through hard times, and now I know how they get through it all, with hope and Kira-kira (glittering) when they think about great glittering and happy moments. I recommend Kira-kira to all people aged 9 and up. It is influential in heaps of ways. If you want a book that will really make you think then read Kira-kira. When I read it I could not get myself to put the book down it was so good! 5 stars.

 

By Ell of  Wellington