Guest Review: Illegal by Miriam Halahmy

Title: Illegal

Series: Hayling Island

Author: Miriam Halahmy

Publisher: Meadowside Children's Books

Publication Date: 20 March 2012

Synopsis from Goodreads

If Jemma had lived, none of this would have happened. I'd have been too busy to get dragged into this filthy, illegal business...

Since Lindy's baby sister died, her family have been caught in a downward spiral. Her brothers are in prison and her parents have given up. Soon Lindy is out of her depth too, caught in the centre of an international drugs ring, with no way out. Then Lindy finds help from an unexpected ally: weird, mute Karl from school, and together they plan a daring and desperate escape. But when you're in this deep can you ever be free?

Touching, surprising and painfully honest, Illegal is the second in a cycle of three novels by Miriam Halahmy, and the follow up to her acclaimed first novel, Hidden.

GUEST REVIEW BY BETH OF THE PIECES OF ME

Illegal is the second in Miriam Halahmy’s series of books based on Hayling Island and after reviewing Hidden back in October (HERE) I was really keen to get my teeth into Illegal. It did not disappoint.

Illegal deals with some seriously adult issues, which at times had me wondering if it was indeed a YA book but it deals with them in a mature but readable way which I think is part of its charm and well, genius.

Throughout Illegal our protagonist is Lindy, who featured in the first novel as a sort of bullyish character but once you get going with Illegal, you soon realise how hard life is for Lindy and her family. From the loss of her brothers to prison, to her baby sister passing away, Lindy has for too much to deal with for a young teenager and this is compounded when she begins to work for her dodgy drug-dealing cousin Colin. Lindy thinks she’s doomed to the Bellows fate of being sent to prison and never getting out and continues her work for Colin as she has no way out.

Through her time spent working for Colin, she gets to know Karl, ‘the boy who doesn’t speak’ from school and she begins by bullying him as she has done everybody else but Karl sticks around. His character is extremely interesting as he begins to open up and both Lindy and we as readers get to know him better. Lindy knows she needs to free herself from Colin and her jailbird future and with Karl’s help; she begins to hatch a plan.

This novel is fantastic, truly enjoyable and Lindy shines as an unlikely protagonist and shows herself to be truly genuine and likeable. I really enjoyed getting to know Lindy and empathised with her difficult and near unmanageable life. Dealing with grief, family issues, social services and darker issues including drug dealing, Illegal is a fantastic tale of how you don’t have to fall into the traps laid out for you and you can make more of your life if you want to.

A brilliant novel which left me anticipating the third in the series.

Guest Review: 15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins

Title: Fifteen Days Without a Head

Author: Dave Cousins

Publisher: OUP

Publication Date: 5 Jan 2012

Synopsis from Goodreads

Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach just wants a normal life, but it’s not easy when your mum is a depressed alcoholic, and your six-year-old brother thinks he’s a dog. When Mum fails to come home one night, Laurence tells nobody, terrified he and his brother will be taken into care if anyone finds out. Instead, he attempts to keep up the pretence that Mum is still around: dressing up in her clothes to trick the neighbours and spinning an increasingly complicated tangle of lies. After two weeks on their own, running out of food and money, and with suspicious adults closing in, Laurence finally discovers what happened to his mother. And that’s when the trouble really starts . .

GUEST REVIEW BY BETH OF THE PIECES OF ME

When this novel reached me, I expected a zombie slash comic story with jokes and guts round every corner. I couldn’t have been more wrong and the title is more than a little confusing! In fact, 15 days Without A Head deals with some seriously hard hitting issues in an accessible and easy to read way. I think the novel is aimed a few years younger than most those Emma sends across but this doesn’t detract from its quality and for a debut, I can’t knock it.

Our protagonist is Laurence and the story is told from his point of view. He comes across as a really nice guy, struggling as hard as he can to deal with his mother’s alcoholism whilst also acting as mum and dad to his younger brother Jay. Within the first few pages of the book, Laurence is screamed at, hit and then his mother simply disappears, leaving no trace and no sign she’s going to be back. This leaves Laurence and Jay in an impossible situation. They’ve already dealt with social services in the past and this isn’t something Laurence will let happen again, so he simply pretends his mum is still home and tries to survive, convincing Jay she’s just at work.

To add another definitely comic twist to the novel, Laurence has been impersonating his father on a radio phone-in competition to win a holiday, answering question after question in a slightly dodgy Scottish accent. Laurence believes that winning the holiday will turn his mother’s fortunes around but now she’s gone, he doesn’t really know why he’s carrying on. Add into the mix a new friend in the form of Mina and Laurence somehow has to find a way to keep his neighbour Nosy Nelly from finding out about their mum being gone and also try and juggle school and looking after Jay. Surely this is all too much for a fifteen year old to deal with?

This novel is extremely well written and pitched at the right level so the hard hitting issues are dealt with in a way which bring you from laughter to tears and back again all in the space of ten minutes! It deals with a range of issues including alcoholism, single parenthood and poverty in a way that reflects the difficulty of living with such issues without being judgemental.

A brilliant debut and a triumph for Dave Cousins, it’ll be great to see what comes next from him.

Musical Moments: Song of the Month - February 2012 - Chosen by Katie Dale

This months Song of the Month is chosen by Debut Author Katie Dale, it is with pleasure I hand over to Katie:

This is one of my all-time favourite songs, and it really resonates with Someone Else’s Life as it describes exactly what Rosie is going through. At the beginning of the novel she has a lot to deal with: the death of her beloved mother – “something you cannot replace” – and the risk that she’s inherited her mum’s fatal genetic illness, Huntington’s disease. Then when she discovers that her mother was not really her mother after all – that Rosie was switched at birth – her whole life falls apart, and she doesn’t have a clue where to turn.

Luckily, her lovely ex-boyfriend, Andy, is on the scene to help pick up the pieces and “fix” her, helping Rosie try to find where her “home” really is, even if that means travelling all the way to America in search of answers...

Title: Someone Else's Life

Author: Katie Dale

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books

Publication Date: 2 Feb 2012

Synopsis from Goodreads

When seventeen-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty-per-cent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when she tells her mum’s best friend, ‘Aunt Sarah’ that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie was not her biological mother after all... Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, hitching along on her ex-boyfriend’s GAP year to follow her to Los Angeles. But all does not go to plan, and as Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply-buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonising decision of her own - one which will be the most heart-breaking and far-reaching of all...

Read the first chapter HERE

Spotlight:The Influence of Libraries by Sara Grant

It is with pleasure I welcome Sara Grant to Book Angel Booktopia today to share how libraries have made an impact in her life. Over to Sara:

How libraries influenced me....

I was born and raised in a small town in the United States. We didn’t have a bookstore or Amazon, but we had a beautiful library. It was a quiet, magical space that echoed with stories and the click-clack of hard-soled shoes on the tiled floor. It was my first portal to the world of books.

I would always visit the same shelf first – the one with The Boxcar Children. I’m sure I checked out other books but this is the one I returned to again and again. I can still see its faded cover, worn spine, and the black line drawings that graced the inside pages and also recall the adventures of the orphaned Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny.

I recently visited this library again – twenty-five years after I moved away. I was invited to give a talk on creative writing to coincide with the publication of Dark Parties in the United States. I donated a copy of my book to the library. It was a strange and satisfying feeling to have my book on those shelves that I had visited so long ago.

Title: Dark Parties
Author: Sara Grant
Publisher: Indigo
Publication Date: 22 Dec 2011

Synopsis from Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...
Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

Review: Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Title: Dark Parties

Author: Sara Grant

Publisher: Indigo

Publication Date: 22 Dec 2011
Challenge: BBC

Synopsis from Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...

Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

REVIEW

Dark Parties is a very unique dystopian world, an entire society created in what can only be described as a plastic bubble called the protectosphere.  Not much insight is divulged as to why the protectosphere was created. History has been re-written within the sphere, government corruption and  nefarious plots abound. Adding to the tension and world building within the narrative. Nothing appeared to be what it seemed.

Written in first person narrative from Neva's perspective. The daughter of a government official she has more freedom and protection than most. Yet her actions come under scrutiny due to her grandmothers escape from the protectosphere. Even though the general population is lead to believe that the land outside of the protectosphere is dangerous.

The writing style is beautifully tactile and enveloped the senses. Working with teens I see the strive for individuality on a daily basis, even if they do all end up with the same hairstyles (especially the boys) the way in which that individuality has been striped from society was poignantly portrayed. I just cannot imagine a world/society where everyone looks the same, in every way. It is quite chilling to think about and had shades of  what Hitler was trying to achieve came to mind especially with the name Homeland used. Resorting to marking themselves via scars and permanent marker in order to stand out. As Viv from Serendipity Reviews points out in her review (HERE) the symbolism of the snowflake is very striking within the story-line. Each snowflake is completely individual yet the society within the protectosphere all look the same *shudders*

The characters and their interactions worked really well together. Begging the question - how well do you really know someone? People do not always do what you expect them to do. Self preservation generally takes the foreground.

The plot has a number of surprising twists that really kept me on my toes. I still have a lot of questions about certain aspects and would really like to see a second book to deal with these outstanding issues. I really enjoyed the glimpse into Neva's world but would really like answers to certain aspects of the plot, as I keep mentioning. My rating reflects my need for answers. A truly unique dystopian.

Musical Moments: Song of the Month: January: Chosen by Dave Cousins

Book Birthday Celebrations & Song of the Month

Title: 15 Days Without A Head

Author: Dave Cousins

Publisher: OUP

Publication Date: 5 Jan 2012 (TODAY)

Synopsis from Amazon

Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach just wants a normal life, but it's not easy when your mum is a depressed alcoholic, and your six-year-old brother thinks he's a dog. When Mum fails to come home one night, Laurence tells nobody, terrified he and his brother will be taken into care if anyone finds out. Instead, he attempts to keep up the pretence that Mum is still around: dressing up in her clothes to trick the neighbours and spinning an increasingly complicated tangle of lies. After two weeks on their own, running out of food and money, and with suspicious adults closing in, Laurence finally discovers what happened to his mother. And that's when the trouble really starts . . . A compelling thriller filled with some hilarious and surreal moments. Fifteen Days Without a Head is a tender, honest story about family, forgiveness and hope.

Here is the reason that Dave chose this song as the them song for 15 Days Without a Head

I heard this song for the first time in the Baz Luhrmann movie of Romeo and Juliet. I was writing 15 Days Without a Head at the time, and it struck me how well it matched the mood and even some of the storyline. The start of the song is sparse and quite melancholy, but there's a real sense of tension, of something about to happen. Sure enough halfway through the track, the music finally explodes – the lyrics even talk about waiting for someone to come and kick the door down to get you – a situation Laurence finds himself in at one point. If anybody ever makes a film of the book, I'll suggest this for the soundtrack!

Musical Moments: Song of the Month: December

This months Song of the Month has been kindly chosen by Sara Grant.

Song of the Month – Aging Well by Joan Baez with Dar Williams 

Aging Well is one of my favourite songs. I can’t remember where or how I first heard it. It’s not a well-known song, and Joan Baez was more popular with the generation before mine. It’s the eleventh song on a live, best-of album where Joan Baez sings duets with a variety of artists. From the first moment I heard it, I was immediately attracted to the song and its message.

The heart of my young adult novel Dark Parties and Aging Well is feminine empowerment. Both story and song are about rebelling and re-claiming who you are. They are also about feminine camaraderie. As a writer, I find the following lyrics particularly poignant:

Well I know a woman with a collection of sticks

She could fight back the hundreds of voices she heard

And she could poke at the greed, she could fend off her need

And with anger she found she could pound every word

But one voice got through, caught her up by surprise

It said, "Don't hold us back we're the story you tell"

And no sooner than spoken, a spell had been broken

And the voices before her were trumpets and tympani

Violins, basses and woodwinds and cellos...

Aging Well is one of those songs I come back to again and again. It lifts me up and reminds me that the best is yet to come...

Title: Dark Parties
Author: Sara Grant
Publisher: Indigo
Publication Date: 22 Dec 2011

Synopsis from Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...
Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

Saturday Spotlight: Guest Post: Libraries Open up the World by Savita Kalhan

It is my great pleasure to welcome Savita Kalhan to Book Angel Booktopia today to talk about the role libraries have played in her own life. Thank you so much for this guest post Savita.

Why Libraries are so Important to Me...

When I was a child the most important place in my life was the town library. The children’s library was housed in a separate structure to the main library, which was a grand old building. The kid’s library was basically a very large terrapin hut. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it was big and it was full of books, and they were free to borrow!

I come from a very traditional Hindu background and my parents were extremely strict. Basically we weren’t allowed to go out anywhere. Luckily I had lots of siblings, I’m the eldest of seven, so there was never much time to get bored. But we did get cabin fever!

The only place we were allowed to go to was the library. We were taken there every Saturday morning and got to stay for as long as we wanted. I ended up reading almost every single book in the library by the time I was 12, and asked the Head Librarian of the adult library if I could join, even though you had to be 14. She let me – as long as she checked the books I was intending to borrow first.

So from a very young age, libraries and librarians have been my friends. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them, and I doubt very much I would be a writer today if it wasn’t for my them.

Books opened up the world for me. It’s as simple as that. They’re still opening up the world. The ongoing threatened library closures make me sad and angry – how can you deny such pleasure, enjoyment, knowledge, to the children and people who rely on the free and easy access to books that the library provides?

Title: The Long Weekend
Author: Savita Kalhan
Publisher: Andersen
Publication Date: 2 Oct 2008 

Synopsis from Goodreads 

Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home. They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with man who means to harm them. But Sam doesn't know how to get them out. They were trapped, then separated. Now they are alone. Will either of them get out alive? This gripping and hypnotic thriller will have you reading late into the night.

Musical Moments: Song of the Month: November: Chosen by Savita Kalhan

Title: The Long Weekend
Author: Savita Kalhan
Publisher: Andersen
Publication Date: 2 Oct 2008

Synopsis from Goodreads

Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home. They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with man who means to harm them. But Sam doesn't know how to get them out. They were trapped, then separated. Now they are alone. Will either of them get out alive? This gripping and hypnotic thriller will have you reading late into the night.

I am in the middle of reading this book and I have to be honest with you each time I pick it up my heart pounds. It is a parents worse nightmare, so I am being gentle with myself and reading it little by little so I don't get too traumatized. You know what a complete wimp I am, seriously I open the book and my heart jumps into my mouth. Now  I would say that is powerful writing wouldn't you. A very important topic and a book that will be going into a lot of recommendations in the school library. Something that should be brought to the attention of Young Adults who tend to live in their own little bubbles. 

Here is what Savita had to say about the song chosen for this month's Song of the Month: 

In The Long Weekend, the two main characters, Sam and Lloyd, are listening to music in the back of the flash car as they are being whizzed through the rain and the countryside towards what will turn out to be the most frightening, the most terrifying, weekend of their lives.

But they don’t know that yet.

They are listening to a band called BUSTED, who had by then recently split up, but the boys can still remember and sing all the lyrics. In this moment they are simply two eleven year olds feeling happy and care-free – it’s Friday night and all they’re looking forward to is getting back and playing on the X-box, messing about, having a laugh, hanging out. So they sing the lyrics to The Year 3000 at the top of their voices.

Then, very quickly, their lives change forever...

Muscial Moments: Song of the Month chosen by Miriam Halahmy

Title: Hidden
Author: Miriam Halahmy
Publisher: Meadowside Children's Books
Publication Date: 30 Mar 2011
Synopsis: From Amazon

Hidden is a brave debut novel, tackling the complex issues of immigration and human-rights laws, through the eyes of teenage Alix. A literary, coming-of-age novel dealing with prejudice, judgement, courage, preconceptions and the difficulty of sorting right from wrong. Challenging, charming, compelling. Fourteen year old Alix lives at the bottom of Hayling Island near the beach. It is a quiet backwater, far removed from world events such as war, terror and refugees. Alix has never even given a thought to asylum seekers, she has enough problems of her own: Dad has a new life that doesn't include her, Grandpa is dead and Mum is helpless and needy. Then one day on the beach Alix and Samir pull a drowning man out of the incoming tide: Mohammed, an illegal immigrant and a student. Mohammed has been tortured by rebels in Iraq for helping the allied forces and has spent all his money to escape. Alone, helpless, and desperate not to be deported, Mohammed's destiny lies in Alix's hands. However, hiding an injured immigrant is fraught with difficulties. Faced with the biggest moral dilemma of her life, what will Alix do, and who can she trust?

The song which ran through my head while writing HIDDEN was Bridge over Troubled Water by Paul Simon. Here is the best version on YouTube sung by Art Garfunkel

Every line in this song says something about the themes of this book. The Bridge in the title is the bridge from Hayling Island to the mainland but it is also the support and friendship for Mohammed, the tortured asylum seeker whom Alix and Samir rescue from the sea. As Garfunkel sings about how he will 'take your part when darkness comes'  and when' friends can't be found' I can see Alix and Samir as they stand by Mohammed in the face of mounting  obstacles. 'Sail on silver bird...your time has come to shine...I'm sailing right behind...' are amongst the most beautiful expressions of love and friendship in modern lyrics. An unbeatable song.

Guest Mini-Review: Hidden by Miriam Halahmy

Title: Hidden
Author: Miriam Halahmy
Publisher: Meadowside Children's Books
Publication Date: 30 Mar 2011
Synopsis: From Amazon

Hidden is a brave debut novel, tackling the complex issues of immigration and human-rights laws, through the eyes of teenage Alix. A literary, coming-of-age novel dealing with prejudice, judgement, courage, preconceptions and the difficulty of sorting right from wrong. Challenging, charming, compelling. Fourteen year old Alix lives at the bottom of Hayling Island near the beach. It is a quiet backwater, far removed from world events such as war, terror and refugees. Alix has never even given a thought to asylum seekers, she has enough problems of her own: Dad has a new life that doesn't include her, Grandpa is dead and Mum is helpless and needy. Then one day on the beach Alix and Samir pull a drowning man out of the incoming tide: Mohammed, an illegal immigrant and a student. Mohammed has been tortured by rebels in Iraq for helping the allied forces and has spent all his money to escape. Alone, helpless, and desperate not to be deported, Mohammed's destiny lies in Alix's hands. However, hiding an injured immigrant is fraught with difficulties. Faced with the biggest moral dilemma of her life, what will Alix do, and who can she trust?

GUEST REVIEW BY BETH
This book can be accessed at many levels and I think it’s brilliant for introducing extremely complex and difficult issues in a way anybody can access from racism to more complex immigration and asylum issues. Halahmy confronts some serious stuff in a really great way.

Halahmy presents us with a really naïve but equally unbiased view of Mohammed, who could easily be prejudiced against. In Alix, we have a narrator who despite prejudices which, she acknowledges and tries to overcome herself, is basically an empathetic, unprejudiced and brave protagonist. She is a warm and likable character who works hard to keep her personal problems away from the forefront of the huge and terrifying worlds that both her friend Samir and Mohammed have experienced. I have to say I feel a bit sorry for Alix, although her problems are improving by the end, I felt she deserved a friend who she could share her seemingly small problems with but instead she pushes them aside to support others, a great trait to bestow upon any protagonist!

A really clever novel which tackles BIG issues in a subtle and manageable way! Looking forward to the others in the series. 

Review: The Truth About Celia Frost by Paula Rawsthorne

Title: The Truth About Celia Frost
Author: Paula Rawsthorne
Publisher: Usbourne
Publication Date: 1 Aug 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

Celia Frost is a freak. At least that's what everyone thinks. Her life is ruled by a rare disorder that means she could bleed to death from the slightest cut, confining her to a gloomy bubble of safety. No friends. No fun. No life. But when a knife attack on Celia has unexpected consequences, her mum reacts strangely. Suddenly they're on the run. Why is her mum so scared? Someone out there knows - and when they find Celia, she's going to wish the truth was a lie... A buried secret; a gripping manhunt; a dangerous deceit: what is the truth about Celia Frost? A page-turning thriller that's impossible to put down.

Review:

Firstly just let me say WOW this book was nothing like I was expecting, it is completely action packed with incredible twists and turns that you just do not see coming.

Although I will admit it is easy to figure out the 'bad' guy in this story the motivation and callousness were really shocking.

I adored Celia herself, sympathised with her life - sheltered and over-protected, a loner though not by choice; I was overjoyed when she met Sol. I really liked the wonderful way their friendship developed. They are both rather 'young' for their age probably due to them both having over-protective mothers (common ground lol) . They really bring out the best in each other. They identify something within each other that nobody else has recognised, an aspect that they identify with and compliments themselves. I would go do far as to say they are kindred spirits. Plus their blossoming relationship is just so CUTE.

Even Janice, Celia's mother, was completely relatable to a degree, although extreme in her protection of Celia she has her reasons which are divulged throughout the plot. The way in which she gives her life over to raising, protecting and nurturing Celia is a really good example of unconditional love. It isn't the type of love that should be taken for granted but it should be treasured. Any idiot can have a baby but being a good parent is something entirely different.

A lot of topical issues are raised within the story, medical ethics among them. It made me really think about the lengths I would go to if one of my children were in that position *shudders*. Even after reading it a while ago the questions continue to swirl around my head whenever I think of the story.

The use of music within the narrative and how it allows both Janice and Celia to switch off from their problems was described amazingly insightful and was so easy for me to relate to. I think I have recently stated that music is also subjective, we tend to like certain things because we can relate to them, and this isn't just about the lyrics. It is the music itself. I am sure other people who listen to music as much as I do will understand the point I am trying to make.

A truly impressive debut, I cannot wait to see what Paula Rawsthorne produces next. If you are looking for something completely different in the world of YA then this is most definitely your book.

Saturday Spotlight: The Edge

I am completely fan-girling today. The Edge Authors have kindly written a guest post for me, they are such a fantastic bunch of Authors and inspirational to me as a Librarian and the pupils who read their wonderful books. I recommend you follow them and read their books, you won't regret it. 

Sara Grant:  The Edge is a project of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). I invited several SCBWI members who had young adult novels coming out in 2011 and early 2012 to help me create The Edge. Most of us are debut novelists. Writing can be a solitary process. On The Edge we promote each other's work and help each other through the publishing process. We hope to find opportunities to work with libraries, schools and teens. We have a joint blog and are starting to work together on panels and other events for teens and writers. I feel very honoured to be listed among this group of amazing writers.

Dark Parties Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Neva was born and raised in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. Hundreds of years ago, her country constructed an electrified dome to protect itself from the outside world. What once might have protected, now imprisons. Her country is decaying and its citizens are dying.

Neva and her friends dream of freedom.

A forbidden party leads to complications. Suddenly Neva’s falling for her best friend's boyfriend, uncovering secrets that threaten to destroy her friends, her family and her country -- and discovering the horrifying truth about what happens to The Missing. . .

Dark Parties will be published in the U.S. by Little, Brown on 3^rd August 2011 and in the U.K. by Orion on 20^th October 2011.

About Sara Grant

Sara Grant was born and raised in Washington, Indiana, a small town in the Midwestern United States. She graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, with degrees in journalism and psychology, and later she earned a master’s degree in creative and life writing Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Sara now works as a senior commissioning editor for Working Partners, a London-based company creating series fiction for children. Dark Parties – her first young adult novel – was published in March in Germany (as Neva) and comes out in the US in August and in the UK in October.

Sara volunteers for SCBWI-British Isles. She has served as editor on Goldfish, the first anthology of Goldsmiths College’s creative and life writing programme, and is co-creator and co-editor of Undiscovered Voices, a bi-annual collection of writing from unpublished SCBWI members in the UK.

Savita Kalhan:
I was invited to join the Edge Authors as it was being formed earlier this year and I’m very proud to be amongst such a dynamic group of writers. What all eight of us have in common is that not only are we all committed writers for teens and young adults but our work has an edge to it that is relevant to teenagers and young adults. The themes in our work range from bullying and peer pressure, to asylum seekers, living in witness protection and child abduction.

Our blog, The Edge, is just the beginning of what we can offer. We hope to promote reading and writing and discussion of all the themes covered in our work to teenagers and young adults, book bloggers, and also to the gatekeepers such as librarians and teachers – and to anyone else who loves reading. Historically, teenagers and young adults have been somewhat neglected when it comes to literature tackling difficult issues. This is changing very slowly and we’re hoping to help that change along.

Synopsis - The Long Weekend

Two friends, Sam and Lloyd, get into the wrong car after school on a Friday night, each thinking the driver is the other friend's dad. They are taken to a mansion in the middle of nowhere and manage to convince themselves that this is part of a treat organized by Lloyd's dad - the alternative is far too terrifying. But when the boys find themselves trapped and separated, it soon becomes very clear to them that the man intends to harm them. Then boys struggle to find a way to escape the man's clutches during a harrowing weekend of fear and terror. No one knows where they are. No one is coming to save them. Will they escape unharmed?

Katie Dale : Although we all write for young adults, The Edge authors are very diverse, covering a wide variety of genres, from dystopia and paranormal to gritty realism, but we each tackle difficult subjects – abandonment, asylum seekers, child abduction, the fight for freedom, knife crime, medical ethics, the search for identity and witness protection, to name a few. Consequently, we felt that by grouping together for blogs, workshops and interviews we could offer teens a more varied and enriching experience, more value for their time, introduce them to a range of different genres, as well as raising sometimes controversial contemporary issues for discussion and debate - we aim to get teens thinking and talking about today's edgy issues through reading gripping, edgy fiction.

Someone Else's Life (published by Simon and Schuster, Feb 2012):

When seventeen-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty-per-cent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when she tells her mum’s best friend, ‘Aunt Sarah’ that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie was not her biological mother after all...

Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, hitching along on her ex-boyfriend’s GAP year to follow her to Los Angeles. But all does not go to plan, and as Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply-buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonising decision of her own - one which will be the most heart-breaking and far-reaching of all... "

Dave Cousins

Why we started The Edge

Put the members of The Edge together in a room and the talking starts. Get us on the subject of teen fiction, and you’d better pull up a chair and join in, because we’ll keep going until someone turns out the lights. We love stories that raise questions (even those we may not feel that comfortable answering); tales with characters facing difficult situations; books that leave you a slightly different person to the one you were when you started them. Though the subjects we cover are diverse, all our books have at their heart an issue, a sense of injustice that compelled us to write. We’re passionate about stories – our own and other people’s – and we like to talk, especially with our readers, because what they think matters the most. Which is why we became The Edge.

How will these books benefit teens?

Readers like to recognise themselves and their own experience in the stories they read, and teenage protagonists are at the heart of all our books. Stories can provide escapism, offer different perspectives and a wider world view, even a sense of companionship – the reassurance that you’re not the only one who is having a bad time! We also take care to put the best words in the right order – to write well, so the reader’s experience is a rewarding one. Our books will raise questions, make readers laugh and cry, maybe even keep them awake at night – but most importantly, we believe they’ll keep young people turning the pages … of these and many more books in the future.

Fifteen Days without a Head

by Dave Cousins

Oxford University Press, January 2012

Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach just wants a normal life, but it’s not easy when your mum can’t cope without a bottle of wine, and your six-year-old brother thinks he’s a dog.

When Mum fails to come home one night, Laurence tells nobody, terrified the boys will be taken into care. Instead, he attempts to keep up the pretence that she is still around: dressing up in her clothes to fool the neighbours, and spinning an increasingly complicated tangle of lies. After two weeks on their own, running out of food and money, and with suspicious adults closing in, Laurence finally discovers what happened to his mother. And that’s when the trouble really starts …

“A tough and turbulent tale of growing up the hard way, but with heart and soul on every page." – Keith Gray

“Unputdownable! I adored Fifteen Days without a Head. Heart-warming and heartbreaking at the same time, with the most loveable and memorable characters. SUPERB!" – Candy Gourlay

Paula Rawsthorne:
I feel lucky to be part of THE EDGE a group of dynamic writers whose novels provide stories for teenagers and Young Adults that will get then reading and talking.

Sara Grant, the author of Dark Parties, got us all together as she recognised that we were members of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators who were drawn to writing fiction (in various genres) that wasn’t afraid to tackle difficult issues. The first time we all met we realised that our novels encompassed such issues as- knife crime, medical ethics, child abduction, asylum seekers, rebellion, to name but a few. By the time that meeting had finished we were all fired up to take The Edge forward and offer panel events, workshops, talks etc to Young Adults, organisations working with them and anyone interested in gripping novels with teenagers at their heart.

Soon after our initial meeting we had our website up and running (http://edgeauthors.blogspot.com/) and we were taking turns to post thought- provoking weekly blogs on all aspects of YA fiction. We put the feelers out to libraries, nationwide, to see if they were interested in us doing an events with their teenage groups- the response has been great!

We believe that young adults deserve the widest choice in fiction and deserve stories that can be thought provoking and entertaining at the same time. The Edge hopes that they provide that and they want to spread the word to teenagers that making time to read a great story is time well spent.

Paula Rawsthorne author of The Truth About Celia Frost. Published by Usborne 1st August.

http://www.celiafrost.co.uk/

Title: The Truth about Celia Frost

Author: Paula Rawsthorne

Publisher: Usborne Publishing

Publication Date: 1 Aug 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

Celia Frost is a freak. At least that s what everyone thinks. Her life is ruled by a rare disorder that means she could bleed to death from the slightest cut, confining her to a gloomy bubble of safety. No friends. No fun. No life. But when a knife attack on Celia has unexpected consequences, her mum reacts strangely. Suddenly they re on the run. Why is her mum so scared? Someone out there knows and when they find Celia, she s going to wish the truth was a lie... A buried secret; a gripping manhunt; a dangerous deceit: what is the truth about Celia Frost? A page-turning thriller that s impossible to put down.

Keren David:
Keren David has worked as a reporter, a political correspondent, a news editor, a comment editor, feature writer and in Amsterdam she was editor in chief for a photographic agency. Keren worked for The Independent for many years, and has written for many other national newspapers and magazines. In 2007 she signed up for a course in Writing for Children at City University where she started to write When I Was Joe. The sequel Almost True was published in September 2010. Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery will be published in August 2011. http://www.wheniwasjoe.blogspot.com/

Title: Lia’s Guide to Winning the Lottery

Author: Keren David

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books

Publication Date: 4 Aug 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

Money can’t buy you love. But it can buy many other very nice things. Lia’s mum is a nag, her sister’s a pain and she’s getting nowhere in pursuit of the potentially paranormal Raf. Then she wins £8 million in the lottery, and suddenly everything is different. But will Lia’s fortune create more problems than it solves? Everyone dreams of winning the lottery - but what’s it really like? Find out in this hilarious story by Keren David, whose acclaimed debut novel, When I Was Joe, was Highly Commended for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.

Miriam Halahmy:
Miriam Halahmy has published fiction and poetry. Her work has been included in anthologies, read on the radio and performed on stage. She taught in London schools for twenty five years and now runs creative writing workshops and mentors developing writers. She is a frequent guest at writers' conferences and literary festivals, leading workshops. Hidden is Miriam’s debut Y.A. novel and it is the first in a cycle of three novels. The second and third books will be published in 2012. She is a member of English PEN, SCWBI, the Scattered Authors' Society, the Society of Authors and the Highgate Poets. http://www.miriamhalahmy.com/

Title: Hidden

Author: Miriam Halahmy

Publisher: Meadowside Children's Books

Publication Date: 30 Mar 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

Hidden is a brave debut novel, tackling the complex issues of immigration and human-rights laws, through the eyes of teenage Alix. A literary, coming-of-age novel dealing with prejudice, judgement, courage, preconceptions and the difficulty of sorting right from wrong. Challenging, charming, compelling. Fourteen year old Alix lives at the bottom of Hayling Island near the beach. It is a quiet backwater, far removed from world events such as war, terror and refugees. Alix has never even given a thought to asylum seekers, she has enough problems of her own: Dad has a new life that doesn't include her, Grandpa is dead and Mum is helpless and needy. Then one day on the beach Alix and Samir pull a drowning man out of the incoming tide: Mohammed, an illegal immigrant and a student. Mohammed has been tortured by rebels in Iraq for helping the allied forces and has spent all his money to escape. Alone, helpless, and desperate not to be deported, Mohammed's destiny lies in Alix's hands. However, hiding an injured immigrant is fraught with difficulties. Faced with the biggest moral dilemma of her life, what will Alix do, and who can she trust?

Bryony Pearce:
Bryony Pearce lives with her husband and two children in a village on the edge of the Peak District. She completed an English Literature degree at Corpus Christi College Cambridge in 1998 and afterward worked in the research sector. She went freelance in 2004 so she could devote more time to writing. Her debut YA novel, Angel's Fury (review here) , will be published by Egmont on July 4th, 2011. If you’d like to know more about Bryony, please visit her website http://www.bryonypearce.co.uk/

Title: Angel’s Fury

Author: Bryony Pearce

Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd

Publication Date: 4 July 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

Every atrocity. Every war. Every act of vengeance. One fallen angel walks the earth to bring mankind to its destruction...Turning love into hate, forgiveness into blame, hope into despair. Through the fires of hell he will come to haunt one girl's dreams. But what if everything she ever dreamed was true? Every time Cassie Smith tries to sleep, she is plagued by visions of a death: A little girl called Zillah. A victim of the holocaust. In desperation Cassie is sent for treatment in an old manor house. There she meets other children just like her. Including Seth...Seth who looks so familiar. Her dream becomes nightmare. And then reality.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I did. Thank you to The Edge Authors once again.