Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and brilliant new year

It is Christmas eve and I am digging up the vege patch to plant the next crop of salad seeds. Just wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy new year. I hope you all get the time to relax and read a book or two over the festive season. Do flick me an email if you come across any good trailers I haven’t found yet.
Happy reading everyone and thanks for stopping by. I hope some of this years trailers have inspired you to grab a copy and read. I will be back in the new year. Take care and see you then
Desna

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Prophecy by Ellen Oh “one girl will save us all” coming Jan 2013

Prophecy (book 1)
By Ellen Oh
Harperteen

“The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms . . . is a girl with yellow eyes”

This is not out until Januar 2013 but it sounds so exciting that I am posting this trailer ahead of the book’s publication so you can keep an eye out for it.

Kira is the prince’s bodyguard and must protect him. A demon slayer and an outcast, Kira is despised by almost everyone.
An impending demon invasion sets Kira and the young prince on the run. Along the way, there are demons soldiers to fight and many other adventures to overcome. And what of the legendary lost ruby which may just be the key to victory.

“Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.”

Shiverton Hall by Emerald Fennell : soon to be published, horror and curses and I can’t wait

Shiverton Hall

By Emerald Fennell

Check out what the  Bloomsbury  publishers are saying. Very cool!

“They slowed as they reached the gate; two stone columns, each with its own crumbling angel perched on top. The angels held up a rusty, wrought-iron arch that read, in curling, serpentine letters: SHIVERTON HALL. Arthur Bannister has been unexpectedly accepted into Shiverton Hall, which, as it turns out, is an incredibly spooky school, full of surprises. And it is just as well that Shiverton Hall has made its offer, because Arthur had a horrible time at his previous school, and was desperate to leave. Timely indeed …But Arthur has no time to worry about the strange coincidence.  He is too busy trying to make head or tail of Shiverton Hall, dogged as it is by tales of curses and bad fortune. At least there are a few friendly faces: George, who shows him around; also Penny and Jake. But not all the faces are friendly. There are the bullying Forge triplets for starters. And then there is the acid tongue of the headmistress, Professor Long-Pitt, who seems to go out of her way to make Arthur’s life a misery.

Luckily Arthur has his new friends to cheer him up. Although there are some friends that you don’t want to have at all, as Arthur is soon to find out.
love the cover of this book and the story is right up my alley so I can’t wait for this to be published. (Only a few weeks away and I will be in the shops the minute it comes out)

Favourite Christmas books for kids

Even though everywhere is frantic these days it is wonderful to find time to read children’s Christmas books. This small selection are some of my all time favourites. Not trailers but just beautiful books to share over the festive season.

All time favourite  and even though my copy is all yellowed, spotty and old, I still love it.

The littlest angel
By Charles Tazewell

The littlest angel is only 4 years old and always late for choir and his halo is always slipping off.

This is an absolutely delightful classic. Originally a Little Golden Book.

       The night before Christmas

          By C. Moore and  illustrated by Robert Ingpen

         The illustrations in this version of the classic Christmas story are beautiful, bright and visually stunning.

The best Christmas present in the world

By Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Michael Foreman

Michael Morpurgo never fails to impress. Here “It’s Christmas 1914 in the trenches of  the Western front. And something wonderful has just happened”. Based on that most famous war-time christmas day, this book is lovely. Even amongst the most awful of times  miracles can happen. Love it!

Breathe by Sarah Crossan : dystopian thriller @SarahCrossan

Breathe
By Sarah Crossan

“Oxygen is essential for most living things. For 2.5 billion years, it was the most abundant chemical element on Earth. Until the Switch.”

Breathe is a young adult dystopian novel set in a future where oxygen and the domes that saved humanity, are all owned by a corporation called Breathe. There are no trees and the oceans have died.
The poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for doing things like dancing or sports. The rich Premiums on the other hand live strong healthy lives. Those that oppose the regime are considered to be a threat and are sent from the Pod to die.
Sixteen-year-old Alina is one of those that oppose the order and belongs to a secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. Outside the Pod she has only enough oxygen for two days. There are rumours she has heard of rebels and a mythical Grove, a place offering safety. So begins her search for a place which may or may not exist and time is running out.

I recently enjoyed reading Sarah Crossan’s first book The weight of water, a delightful coming of age verse novel so am looking forward to getting Breathe and diving in especially as all the reviews have been so good.

Fracture by Megan Miranda : win a signed copy

Fracture
By Megan Miranda

Delaney Maxwell falls through the ice, somehow surviving 11 minutes under water until her best friend Decker pulls her out. Recovery and getting back to normal is a struggle as she begins to feel the urge to seek out people who are dying. Or perhaps they are dying because she has sought them out! Whatever is happening to her, Delaney feels alone until she meets Troy Varga. He has just recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities to Delaney’s. Is their ability a special gift or is it a freak of nature type thing or is it much more worse and can she trust her new friend?.
Check out author Megan Miranda’s site to try and win a signed copy. Be quick as it ends soon. It is open internationally.

Plant a kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Peter Reynolds – love it

I love the work of Peter Reynolds. His art work is delightfully subtle. His style is very distinctive.
He has been illustrating the Judy Moody books by Megan McDonald for some time now but I especially enjoy his picture books.

Plant a kiss
This is the trailer for a book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Peter Reynolds. There is something wonderfully innocent in both the story and the illustrations. It is simply just lovely and I do hope they work together again as the combination is beautiful.
Plant a kiss and see what grows!

Undone by Cat Clarke : revenge, betrayal and loyality @cat_clarke

Undone
by Cat Clarke

Jem Halliday has always been in love with her best friend Kai despite the fact that he is gay. It is their secret. It is not the way she wants things but she copes and remains his best friend. However, someone outs Kai online and he is so distraught he kills himself. Jem knows nothing will bring him back but she sets out to find out who is responsible. Jem wants revenge and payback for the loss of her best friend. But perhaps Kai had other secrets! Love, revenge and betrayal! What a mix! I do so want to read this.