Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Frozen Charlotte
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1986
WEBSITE: http://www.alex-bell.co.uk/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: British
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1986, in Hampshire, England.
EDUCATION:Trained as a lawyer.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Citizens Advice Bureau, adviser.
AVOCATIONS:Siamese cats, the music of Old Crow Medicine Show, horror films featuring Vincent Price, eating vegetarian tapas, visits to New Orleans.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Success came early to British author Alex Bell. She was barely twenty-two years old, bored with the constraints of law school, when her first novel was published. Although the debut was not without flaws, the critical reception was sufficient to encourage her pursuit of a writing career. Bell’s first books were intended for adults, but she has found even greater success with her young-adult fiction.
The Ninth Circle and Beyond
In The Ninth Circle, a man awakes in a pool of blood in his Budapest apartment, with a box of foreign currency on the table and absolutely nothing else—not even a single memory of his past. He assumes that he is the Gabriel Antaeus who inscribed his name inside the cover of the blank journal that he found in a dresser drawer. He begins to fill its pages with the events of his new life—in case of another memory loss. He finds presumably random scraps of circumstantial clues to his identity. Gabriel seems to be a British widower mourning the tragic loss of his wife and daughter. He seems to be the author of a theological treatise on Dante’s concept of hell.
Gabriel befriends a mysterious Italian scholar who might help him recover his memory. Instead, Stephomi encourages him to befriend the equally mysterious Casey, a pregnant teenage neighbor. The plot thickens, but Gabriel is so desperate for answers that he seems to accept every new clue as fact, until the line between reality and the supernatural fades into the distance, even for the reader, as Tanya Brown noted in her review at Strange Horizons. Brown revealed various stylistic flaws in this debut novel, but she credited the author with “considerable potential and creativity.” She added that Bell “blends elements of history, legend and theology … into a coherent, if occasionally sketchy, secret history,” which a Publishers Weekly contributor described as “a satisfyingly twisty thriller.”
Bell’s next book, Jasmyn, is the story of a woman whose world was upended by the untimely death of her husband, but even worse chaos lay ahead. At his funeral, dead black swans plunge from the sky, and Jasmyn learns that her beloved Liam had been hiding a frightening secret life, cursed by his own interference with purveyors of evil magic. A reviewer at Book Smugglers called this “a fantastic, deceptively emotional novel,” culminating in a “heartbreaking revelation that Jasmyn makes in the catacombs of Paris.” The novel “stands alone as a beautifully conceived yarn from beginning to end,” according to the critic.
The Adventures of Lex Trent
Bell employed a more lighthearted tone when she turned to a younger audience. Lex Trent versus the Gods introduces the mischievous Lex Trent, a poor orphaned farm boy who wants more—much more. By hook and by crook he transforms himself into not one, but two exciting action figures who seek fame and fortune in “the Globe,” a fantasy world of gods and magic, griffins, fairies, and wizards. By day Lex presents himself as a hardworking, conscientious apprentice at a high-end law firm. By night he is the cunning cat burglar known as “the Shadowman.”
At age seventeen “Lex Trent is the ultimate anti-hero,” wrote the blogger at Book Zone for Boys, a cocky rogue whose penchant for chicanery knows no bounds. When the Goddess of Fortune chooses him to be her champion in the Games of the Gods, he has two options: win riches and glory or spend eternity as a human chess piece—or worse. Lex is supremely confident of his skills as liar, cheater, and thief, but the Gods have skills of their own. Elizabeth Finlayson reported in School Librarian: “The plot bounces forward at a crisp pace … laced with a fairly sophisticated, understated humour which is a delight to read.” “Once the action kicks in,” emphasized the Book Zone for Boys writer, “the pace becomes breathless,” but “this book really stands out because of the author’s fantastic imagination.”
Lex Trent: Fighting with Fire is the second volume of a proposed trilogy. In this installment, Lex is closing in on the prize: the Sword of Life. The quest will take him to the Wild West (of his world, not ours), where he intends to impersonate a cowboy as he cheats his way to the top. He may have to begin by ridding himself of the boring chaperone from his law firm. A reviewer at Fantasy Book Review commented favorably on this “thrill a minute fantasy adventure that entertains first and foremost,” an adventure that is “all-action from page 1.”
The Frozen Charlottes
Having drawn teenage boys into her circle of fans, Bell turned her attention to middle-school teen girls with Frozen Charlotte, an eerie story that has attracted widespread critical attention. When Sophie’s friend drowns after they play with a Ouija-board phone application, she is burdened by grief and an unsettling sense of dread. She seeks a change of place on the Isle of Skye in northwestern Scotland, where her uncle has turned an abandoned Victorian boarding school into a remote cliff-top mansion. It will be a mistake.
The restored school is creepy, locked behind a gate that must always remain closed, and no one seems happy to see her. Sophie’s cousins are stranger than she remembers them. Reclusive Cameron has a damaged hand that she must never mention. Lilias is strangely afraid of bones and terrified of the collection of Victorian dolls known as Frozen Charlottes. The beautiful Piper seems suspiciously normal, given the strange aura surrounding everyone else. Rebecca is gone; she died years ago, another forbidden topic of discussion. The antique dolls are now stored in her former bedroom, next door to Sophie’s room.
Sophie senses danger from the very beginning, or maybe it is just residual fear from the Ouija-board scare. No; the menace is here and now, and it is connected to those spooky dolls. Evil is afoot, and it is directed at her. Sophie must stop the horror before it destroys her.
At YA and Kids Books Central, reviewer Karen Yingling commented that “Sophie was a great character … trying to make the best of a bad situation.” Booklist contributor Donna Scanlon observed that “Bell combines supernatural and psychological terror … , which escalates at breakneck speed.” She “doesn’t bother with too much subtlety,” noted a commentator at Kirkus Reviews, “as she presents a straight-out horror story.” For Yingling, “the delicious air of uncertainty makes this book even more harrowing.” Elizabeth Kahn predicted in her School Library Journal review: “Teens looking for a novel to keep them up at night will find it in this one.”
Frozen Charlotte was conceived as part of a trilogy. The second volume, Charlotte Says, is actually a prequel that takes the reader back to the beginning, when Jemima arrived there as a teacher. She doesn’t remember much of her mother’s tragic death by fire until the mysterious arrival of a box of Frozen Charlotte dolls. They trigger disturbing memories of a séance, a violent incident with her stepfather, and the fatal fire. The dolls also seem to be linked to increasingly dangerous accidents at the school. Jemima must stop the evil spirits within the dolls, no matter what it takes.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, November 1, 2016, Donna Scanlon, review of Frozen Charlotte, p. 57.
Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2016, review of Frozen Charlotte.
Library Journal, September 15, 2009, Jackie Cassada, review of The Ninth Circle, p. 52.
Publishers Weekly, September 7, 2009, review of The Ninth Circle, p. 32.
School Librarian, autumn, 2010, Elizabeth Finlayson, review of Lex Trent versus the Gods, p. 173; summer, 2015, Bev Humphrey, review of Frozen Charlotte, p. 124.
School Library Journal, October, 2016, Elizabeth Kahn, review of Frozen Charlotte, p. 103.
ONLINE
Alex Bell Website, http://www.alex-bell.co.uk (June 18, 2017).
Book Smugglers, http://thebooksmugglers.com/ (June 1, 2009), review of Jasmyn.
Book Zone for Boys, http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.my/ (February 10, 2010), review of Lex Trent versus the Gods.
Buried under Books, https://cncbooksblog.wordpress.com/ (April 13, 2017), review of Frozen Charlotte.
Fantasy Book Review, http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/ (February 16, 2010), author interview; (June 18, 2017), reviews of Lex Trent versus the Gods and Lex Trent: Fighting with Fire.
Guardian Online (London, England), https://www.theguardian.com/ (September 18, 2015), Angel Tiall, review of Frozen Charlotte; (June 14, 2016), review of The Haunting.
Serendipity Reviews, http://www.serendipityreviews.co.uk/ (November 16, 2016), review of Frozen Charlotte.
Strange Horizons, http://strangehorizons.com/ (July 28, 2008), Tanya Brown, review of The Ninth Circle.
YA and Kids Books Central, http://www.yabookscentral.com/ (December 26, 2016), Karen Yingling, review of Frozen Charlotte.
Series
Lex Trent
1. Lex Trent Versus the Gods (2010)
2. Fighting With Fire (2011)
thumbthumb
Novels
The Ninth Circle (2008)
Jasmyn (2009)
The Polar Bear Explorers' Club (2017)
thumbthumb
Series contributed to
Red Eye
1. Frozen Charlotte (2014)
Red Eye Series 4 Books Collection Set (omnibus) (2015) (with Simon Cheshire, Graham Marks and Lou Morgan)
The Haunting (2016)
Charlotte Says (2017)
Alex Bell was born in 1986. She always wanted to be a writer but had several different back-up plans to ensure she didn’t end up in the poor house first. For some years these ranged from dolphin trainer to animal shelter vet but then, at fifteen, she had an epiphany involving John and Robert Kennedy and decided to become a lawyer instead.
To that end she eagerly started a Law degree. Whilst at university, she wrote a grand total of six complete novels (admittedly there was not much of a social life during this time). The second book got her an agent with Carolyn Whitaker of London Independent Books but, unfortunately, not a publisher. [Whitaker died in 2016 and all references to the agency are in the past tense, as if it closed when she did.] The third book, written during her first summer holidays off from university, found a home with Gollancz. The Ninth Circle came out in April 2008 with possibly the most beautiful cover ever created. Since then she has published novels and short stories for both adults and young adults.
After deciding to use her Law degree for good, instead of for evil, she also works as an advisor for the Citizens Advice Bureau. Most of her spare time consists of catering to the whims of her Siamese cat.
Alex Bell was born in 1986. She always wanted to be a writer but had several different back-up plans to ensure she didn't end up in the poor house first. For some years these ranged from dolphin trainer to animal shelter vet but then, at fifteen, she had an epiphany involving John and Robert Kennedy and decided to become a lawyer instead.
To that end she eagerly started a Law Degree only to find it so boring that she was at a very real risk of going completely insane. To mitigate this she started writing again. The second book got her an agent with Carolyn Whitaker of London Independent Books but, unfortunately, not a publisher. The third book, written during her first summer holidays off from university, found a home with Gollancz. The Ninth Circle came out in April 2008 with possibly the most beautiful cover ever created (matched only by her second book, Jasmyn).
Not one to learn from past experience, Alex started the Legal Practice Course in London. There she met some great people and had a lot of fun messing about during lessons that were clearly meant to be extremely solemn affairs. Thankfully, she dropped out just before the point where all students must submit to the personality-removing process that is a compulsory part of being an esteemed member of the legal profession.
Now she happily dwells in an entirely make-believe world of blood, death, madness, murder and mayhem. The doctors have advised that it is best not to disturb her, for she appears to be happy there.
From Author page of Charlotte Says: About the Author
Alex Bell is the award-winning author of FROZEN CHARLOTTE and THE HAUNTING in Stripes' YA horror series, Red Eye. Alex also writes middle-grade fantasy. Her favourite things include Siamese cats, Old Crow Medicine Show music, vegetarian tapas and visiting New Orleans. She also has a weakness for any schlock horror film starring Vincent Price. Alex lives in Hampshire. Visit www.alex-bell.co.uk
Alex Bell was born in 1986 in Hampshire. She studied Law on and off for six long years before the boredom became so overwhelming that she had to throw down the textbooks and run madly from the building. Since then she has never looked back. She has travelled widely, is a ferociously strict vegetarian and generally prefers cats to people.
"I suppose having been a law student I was able to tap into my own experiences when writing about Lex’s legal background, but I’m not sure I completely agree with the adage that you should write about what you know. I think that would be too boring. I don’t have any personal experience with flying ships or enchanters or moody Gods, but I wrote about them in Lex nevertheless. The whole fantasy/sci-fi genre is based on writing about what you don’t know."
Alex Bell, in an interview with Fantasy Book Review in February 2010
Frozen Charlotte
Donna Scanlon
113.5 (Nov. 1, 2016): p57.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Frozen Charlotte. By Alex Bell. Nov. 2016.304p. Scholastic, $18.99 (9780545941082); e-book, $18.99 (9780545941099). Gr. 8-11.
When Sophie's best friend Jay convinces her to play with a Ouija board app on his phone, she has a really bad feeling about it. Her bad feeling seems warranted when Jay drowns on the way home, and though she's shaken by the event, she decides to try to move on and follow through on plans to visit her uncle and his three children on the Isle of Skye. On arrival, she gets a warm welcome from her cousin Piper but a less than friendly greeting from Cameron, the oldest, and Lilias, who's now the same age as their sister Rebecca was when she died in an accident. But that bad feeling that started with the Ouija board continues with a creepy folk song, some ominous dolls, and the truth about her dead cousin. <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Scanlon, Donna. "Frozen Charlotte." Booklist, 1 Nov. 2016, p. 57. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA471142935&it=r&asid=02ffaa0ba1bcefc198d37752654cf472. Accessed 3 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A471142935
Alex Bell: FROZEN CHARLOTTE
(Sept. 15, 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Alex Bell FROZEN CHARLOTTE Scholastic (Adult Fiction) 18.99 11, 29 ISBN: 978-0-545-94108-2
After Sophie’s best friend dies in a tragic accident, she travels to the isle of Skye in Scotland to visit her relatives, who live there in an old, possibly haunted mansion.As soon as the white, English teen arrives she encounters hostility from nearly everyone, perhaps partly due to the fact that the family is still grieving her cousin Rebecca, who died some years earlier. Her little cousin Lilias, whom Sophie at last wins over, is terrified of the tiny dolls stored in her dead sister’s room. The Victorian-era dolls are called Frozen Charlottes, designed and named after a fairy tale about a girl who froze to death. Sophie is given the room next door and immediately begins experiencing possible ghostly attacks. She believes that Lilias is right to be afraid, as the attacks seem to originate with the tiny dolls, which appear to have moved whenever she looks at them. Sophie eventually will learn that there is a villain present who may be working with the dolls, and her own situation becomes ever more precarious. Bell <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Alex Bell: FROZEN CHARLOTTE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA463215934&it=r&asid=634a035ab3e658ec20f84591bbe4d8a8. Accessed 3 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A463215934
Bell, Alex. The Ninth Circle
Jackie Cassada
134.15 (Sept. 15, 2009): p52.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Bell, Alex. The Ninth Circle. Gollancz, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Nov. 2009. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-575-09465-0. pap. $14.95. HORROR
A man awakens in a pool of blood on the floor of a house in Budapest. Though he has no memories of his past, or even his name, he pursues mysterious clues that lead him first to a stranger who seems to know about him and, ultimately, to the knowledge that will reveal to him a terrible truth. VERDICT First novelist Bell captures the first-person feel of a diary of the damned in this intimate confessional story, which should resonate with fans of H.P. Lovecraft's epistolary novels and of contemporary supernatural horror that relies more on psychological suspense than physical gore for its eerie effects.
By Jackie Cassada, formerly with Asheville Buncombe Lib. Syst., NC
Cassada, Jackie
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Cassada, Jackie. "Bell, Alex. The Ninth Circle." Library Journal, 15 Sept. 2009, p. 52. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA208703624&it=r&asid=b83f421151cfc9d6c63994cf0f390eed. Accessed 3 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A208703624
The Ninth Circle
256.36 (Sept. 7, 2009): p32.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Ninth Circle
Alex Bell. Gollancz (Trafalgar Square, dist.), $14.95 paper (272p) ISBN 978-0-57508-465-0
Gale Document Number: GALE|A207705103
Bell, Alex. Frozen Charlotte
Elizabeth Kahn
62.10 (Oct. 2016): p103.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
BELL, Alex. Frozen Charlotte. 304p. ebook available. Scholastic. Dec. 2016. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780545941082.
Gr 7-10--For Sophie, it was a Ouija board that seemed to trigger the events that turned a visit north to Scotland to see her cousins from a pleasant trip to something much more sinister. Her friend Jay drowns just before she leaves, and it is with a heavy heart that she arrives on the remote island where Uncle James and her cousins Lilias, Piper, and Cameron live. Her other cousin, Rebecca, died in a tragic accident years earlier. Their home is an old school that closed after the deaths of a student and teacher 100 years earlier. Some might blame these deaths on the Frozen Charlotte dolls (china dolls popular during the Victorian era) that litter the property, and Sophie learns that these dolls still seem to have a hold on those living in the old house. During Sophie's visit, Cameron's prized piano is smashed to bits and Piper's boyfriend's eyes are pierced with needles. Sophie must figure out which of her cousins she can trust and decide how to foil the plan to destroy her. Though all the adults in the story seem to be blind to the existence of the dolls and the havoc they wreak, Sophie tries to deal with the peculiar activities around her in a levelheaded way. Readers are brought along for the ride and soon discover with her who has a true heart and who has evil lurking within. <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Kahn, Elizabeth. "Bell, Alex. Frozen Charlotte." School Library Journal, Oct. 2016, p. 103. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA466166934&it=r&asid=1d6b9ba93e05252f30df2bd8d725be10. Accessed 3 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A466166934
Bell, Alex: Frozen Charlotte
Bev Humphrey
63.2 (Summer 2015): p124.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Bell, Alex
Frozen Charlotte
Red Eye/Stripes, 2015, pp352, 6.99[pounds sterling]
978 1 8471 5 453 8
When Sophie's best friend shows her an Ouija board app he's installed on his phone she is scornful and sceptical. Events that follow however change how she feels radically, and when she travels to the Isle of Skye to recuperate from a trauma with her uncle and cousins, her life changes forever. All is definitely not as it should be in the lonely house perched on a cliff and there's a palpable sense of menace that can be felt from the first minute she goes through the gates--gates that must never stay open. It's hard for Sophie to know who she can trust and she soon realises that she will have to unravel the sinister story behind the glass case of tiny china dolls that is always kept locked. I read this in one adrenalin filled sitting, never getting to a quiet part where I felt I could put the book down. Definitely not a book for younger children, it's scary, full of suspense and filled with secrets and lies. The fast moving narrative and nonstop action and edgy mystery holds your interest and quickens the heart rate right up until the fairly shocking, dramatic last chapters. Be prepared for the sting in the tail (tale!)--just when you begin to relax and think all is safe!
Humphrey, Bev
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Humphrey, Bev. "Bell, Alex: Frozen Charlotte." School Librarian, Summer 2015, p. 124. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA419268481&it=r&asid=a1315d410032cbe06f358915eab53b85. Accessed 3 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A419268481
Bell, Alex: Lex Trent Versus The Gods
Elizabeth Finlayson
58.3 (Autumn 2010): p173.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Bell, Alex
Lex Trent Versus The Gods
Headline, 2010, pp344, 6.99 [pounds sterling]
978 0 7553 5518 1
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
17-year-old Lex Trent had been born a penniless farm boy who soon tired of the agricultural life 'getting straw in your hair and blisters on your palms' and had turned to a life of crime for which he found he had a natural aptitude. His story is set in a fantasy world, The Globe, buzzing with magicians and crones and presided over by a number of rival gods and goddesses. The Goddess of Luck, having heard of Lex's reputation as a swindler, cheat and liar, recruited him as one of her official followers, in return for her patronage. By nefarious means he became an apprentice lawyer in a prestigious firm in 'the legal capital of the Globe', Wither City--could this be the City of London* He conned the senior partner, convincing him that he was a most conscientious and dedicated student; another partner, Mr Montgomery Schmidt, however, was one of the few people who could see right through him. The novel recounts the adventures and interactions of these two characters: the loveable rogue and the apoplectic Mr Schmidt.
<
Elizabeth Finlayson
Finlayson, Elizabeth
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Finlayson, Elizabeth. "Bell, Alex: Lex Trent Versus The Gods." School Librarian, Autumn 2010, p. 173. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA242962015&it=r&asid=f827a83268dd902097abaaf3df556f65. Accessed 3 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A242962015
The Ninth Circle by Alex Bell
Tanya Brown
Issue: 28 July 2008
The Ninth Circle by Alex Bell
Reviewed by Tanya Brown
The Ninth Circle cover
On a hot day in August a man regains consciousness in a small, run-down apartment. There's blood on the floor and a blank place where his memory should be. On the kitchen table is a cardboard box stuffed with a fortune in foreign banknotes. He recognises the view from the window—he's in Budapest—but not the view in the mirror. He wonders whether he is dead.
In a drawer beside the bed he discovers a journal, empty save for his name inside the front cover. He begins to write down everything that he can remember, everything that befalls him ...
Gradually Gabriel Antaeus, the protagonist of Alex Bell's The Ninth Circle, rediscovers his identity, piecing it together from circumstantial evidence and from the clues that a mysterious benefactor has deliberately left for him. He's an Englishman of independent means, living alone in Budapest after the death of his wife and child in a car crash. He's physically strong and brave; intellectually capable, too, if the manuscript he finds in his desk is anything to go by. Entitled Dante's Hell: A Theological Study, it purports to be an in-depth account of the structure of Hell. Gabriel mocks its "wild and unsubstantiated theories," but he's secretly pleased to discover that he's a writer. His is a lonely life, though, and he's starved for company. He longs for somebody to talk to, someone who can help him rediscover his identity.
His wish is granted. Whilst visiting an ancient church, Gabriel encounters Zadkiel Stephomi, a young Italian scholar, and they fall easily into friendship. Stephomi is sympathetic, irreverent and iconoclastic. Though he can't, or won't, help Gabriel to recover his lost memories, his companionship boosts Gabriel's confidence, to the extent that he befriends his neighbour, pregnant teenager Casey. Casey, like Gabriel, is alone in the world (save for her nine year old brother Toby), and Gabriel finds himself wanting to protect her—though it's not entirely clear what she needs to be protected from.
The layers of revelation are handled well, and the reader's often a step or two ahead of Gabriel as he rejoices over his latest discovery. Eager to rebuild his life, Gabriel is almost too ready to believe each new revelation, each twist in his tale: his credulity leads him to skim over the details that don't quite fit into place. Sometimes he seems almost wilfully stupid, ignoring Stephomi's self-contradictions and veiled allusions: at other times it's easier to sympathise with his desperate need to make sense of what is happening around him.
There's a lot to make sense of. Gabriel saves a woman from muggers, but she never acknowledges his presence. Casey claims that her baby has no father, and that she hasn't had a boyfriend since she was fourteen. A dying child recites a message about the Ninth Circle, who have taken everything from Gabriel. Stephomi gives Gabriel his card, but it's destroyed by a burning man from a dream. A beautiful dark-haired woman also haunts Gabriel's dreams, but she is not his lost wife. In Gabriel's Budapest, the mysterious and the mundane intersect, and he walks between the two worlds, belonging to neither.
The elements of dark fantasy and of thriller might not mesh as well as they do if Gabriel were fully aware of his situation and his past, but his ignorance—we might almost say innocence—enforces an open-mindedness that allows him to accept the sight of his new best friend being attacked, apparently by a demon, as easily as he accepts that Casey is being hounded by thugs. That acceptance doesn't mean that he doesn't press Stephomi for an explanation of the attack, though. Stephomi reveals that he, like Gabriel, is of the In Between, gifted or cursed with the ability to see "the angelic and demonic realms which overlay our own." Stephomi's abilities, he suggests, may spring from his past as a lecturer on religious philosophy. Gabriel is somehow certain that his own gift has something to do with the Ninth Circle—whether it's the inmost circle of Hell, as his own work argues, or something to be found in the ordinary world of market traders and muggers, of Christmas shopping and tourist bars.
As The Ninth Circle progresses, the layers of reality begin to bleed into one another to such an extent that it's hard to tell whether the focus of the novel is some Miltonian epic of good and evil, or one man's quest to discover the truth about his past. The distinct threads of the plot are woven tightly together but they never quite knit. It's hard to believe that Gabriel is a unique case, and harder still to credit the more mundane elements of his past—unless the Ninth Circle has transformed him more than he can ever comprehend.
The Ninth Circle is a first novel by a young writer, and unfortunately it shows. There's little sense of a distinctive voice, and some descriptive passages feel overwritten and bland. When Gabriel calls on his friend in the aftermath of a supernatural visitation, it takes him some time to become aware that there is anything unusual about his surroundings:
"I had a late night."
And that was when I noticed some of the odd things about the room. There was a great crack down the centre of the large mirror over the dressing table, and strange jagged grooves, almost like clawmarks in the wooden edges of the couch and coffee table as well as ripped tears running down the length of the curtains ... the room had a strangely chilled air. (p. 99)
All the detail's there, but without impact. Conversely, the tone sometimes veers too far towards the melodramatic: Gabriel's discovery that he knew Stephomi pre-amnesia comes as a shock to him, but perhaps not an "awful truth in all its hideous and grotesque reality" (p. 77).
Budapest is a two-dimensional backdrop, a construct of churches and monuments, with neither local colour nor much sense of otherness. Gabriel is not an especially likeable protagonist. He's humourless, and lacks depth and passion: though this might be a result of his amnesia (and his lost past) there's no sense that his previous life was any richer. And Casey only comes to life when she's defending her piercings and dyed hair: "I don't dress like this to hurt my parents or draw attention to myself or make a statement. I just do it because I think it looks nice. Disappointed?" (p. 150)
Flaws aside, though, there's <
Tanya Brown lives in Surrey and has been reading and arguing about books lo these many years.
Lex Trent Fighting With Fire by Alex Bell
Lex Trent Fighting With Fire book cover
Free preview
Rating 8.5/10
A thrill a minute fantasy adventure that entertains first and foremost.
2010 saw the release of Alex Bell's Lex Trent Versus The Gods, the first book in a planned trilogy and it was an enormous amount of fun to read. Full of griffins, fairy godmothers, witches, wizards and enchanted ships and with an enigmatic and mischievous lead in Lex, it was a refreshing take on a winning formula. 2011 sees the release of the second book in the series, Lex Trent Fighting with Fire and we take a look to see if it can provide the same thrills and excitement as its predecessor.
Lex Trent is the reigning champion of The Games and can't resist the challenge of defending his title. The final round will take place in the Wild West, allowing Lex the chance to claim the legendary Sword of Life. With Lex's mix of skill, quick-wittedness (and with Lady Luck on his side) surely he can't lose...
The first thing that you notice about Alex Bell's Lex Trent books is that they are very well written, cleverly utilising humour and instantly involving. In my review of Lex Trent Versus the Gods I mentioned that fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books and Stewart and Riddell's Edge Chronicles would really enjoy these books. This still stands true but I now think that Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series and Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy may be better comparisons.
No time is wasted on unnecessary exposition or characterisation and it is <
Are you are looking for a <
This Lex Trent Fighting With Fire book review was written by Floresiensis
Lex Trent Versus the Gods by Alex Bell
Lex Trent Versus the Gods book cover
Free preview
Rating 8.5/10
A refreshing take on a winning formula.
Cheats never prosper. At least that's what everyone else would have you believe. But Lex Trent knows better. Lex knows that, with a bit of luck, the quickest route to success is to lie, swindle and cheat all the way to the top. Unfortunately Lex has taken his scams a step too far… Rather than see his neck in a noose, he's forced to go on the run in a world of irritable Gods, fearsome magicians and strange beasts. But luck is still on his side, just.
The Gods' favourite pastime is The Games… and Lex has just become one of the human playing pieces. With fame, glory and untold wealth at stake, Lex isn't going to lose (especially as that so often involves dying) – in fact, he fully intends to beat the Gods at their own game.
Stories that involve mortals and their Gods have long been loved by fantasy fans and the imminent release of the films Clash of the Titans and Percy Jackson and the Olympians shows that this is still very much the case. In Lex Trent versus the Gods Alex Bell gives us the traditional elements that make these stories so appealing but comes at it from a fresh new direction with the help of a couple of neat twists.
In the traditional corner we have the orphaned farm-boy; in the “Wait a moment, that's not right” corner we have the aforementioned orphan boy as a selfish, deceitful and deceptive (prerequisites some may unkindly say) lawyer-in-training who goes by the name of Lex Trent. Lex is also, unbeknown to all, the notorious thief The Shadowman.
Authors are always encouraged to write about what they know, and with six years training as a lawyer under her belt Bell is on solid ground. Her life experience helps lend a feel of authenticity to proceedings and this, coupled with an impressive imagination, has resulted in the creation of a very believable fantasy world that bears comparison with Stewart & Riddell's Edge Chronicles.
It is also pleasing to note that the Gods mentioned in the book's title are not the Greek or Roman deities that are the norm but an omnipotent collection of meddlesome higher beings of the author's own devising.
So we follow Lex as he makes his way dishonestly around the world showing that you can take whatever it is you want (if you have Lady Luck on your side that is). The nature of Lex Trent's character poses an intriguing question; will Bell keep Lex sneaky and double-crossing until the end or - as most parents and do-gooders would hope – make him see the light and find redemption?
Lex Trent versus the Gods is, above all else, great fun. Griffins, fairy godmothers, witches, wizards and enchanted ships populate its pages and the fast-paced plot and humorous narrative will appeal to both book-lovers and computer-gamers. It's not all light-hearted though, as there is also a far more serious-minded theme running throughout the book, and that is the fear of getting old; the loss of dignity and a deteriorating mind. This is shown in the form of the soulless wake (that afflicts two characters), an illness akin to Alzheimer's and an interesting inclusion within a fantasy book. It is to be wondered just how large a part Sir Terry Pratchett's diagnosis with the illness played in this.
Lex Trent versus the Gods is a wonderfully enjoyable book with a refreshing take on a winning formula. Strongly recommended for fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld and Riddell & Stewart's Edge Chronicles.
About the author
Alex Bell was born in 1986 in Hampshire. She studied Law on and off for six long years before the boredom became so overwhelming that she had to throw down the textbooks and run madly from the building. Since then she has never looked back. She has travelled widely, is a ferociously strict vegetarian and generally prefers cats to people.
This Lex Trent Versus the Gods book review was written by Floresiensis
Book Review: Jasmyn by Alex Bell
Title: Jasmyn
Author: Alex Bell
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy, Fairy Tale
Publisher: Gollancz
Publication Date: June 2009
Paperback: 320 pages
Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel.
Why did I read this book: The first thing that caught my eye was the gorgeous cover art. It almost reminds me of old school Disney animation (I’m thinking Sleeping Beauty), but much darker, as though Dave McKean got his hands on it. Once the cover caught my eye, I read the synopsis and immediately thought to myself, I MUST have it! Gollancz was kind enough to provide us with a review copy, and I read through it in a single sitting…
Summary: (from AlexBell.co.uk)
One day, without warning, Jasmyn’s husband died of an aneurysm.
Since then, everything has been different.
Wrapped up in her grief, Jasmyn is trapped in a world without colour, without flavour – without Liam. But even through the haze of misery she begins to notice strange events. Even with Liam gone, things are not as they should be, and eventually Jasmyn begins to explore the mysteries that have sprung up after her husband’s death… and follow their trail back into the events of his life.
But the mysteries are deeper than Jasmyn expects, and are leading her in unexpected directions – into fairytales filled with swans, castles and bones; into a tale of a murder committed by a lake and a vicious battle between brothers; into a story of a lost past, and a stolen love. She’s entering a magical story.
Jasmyn’s story.
Review:
You know those books, the ones that when you finish them you feel like your heart is being twisted in your chest – with love for how wonderful the book was, but inexplicable sorrow too because the book has come to an end? Such is Alex Bell’s beautiful, haunting contemporary fairy tale, Jasmyn.
Jasmyn is a 27-year old widow, her beloved husband of less than a year having just passed away by sudden aneurysm. Jasmyn’s world is thrown into darkness with Liam’s death, leaving her alone and lost in the world. And that’s when the strange things begin to happen – at Liam’s funeral, six black swans fall dead out of the sky. Jasmyn starts to feel that she is being watched by a shadowy figure, and a few weeks after the funeral, a strange pushy man shows up at Jasmyn’s home, completely unaware of Liam’s death and claiming to have known him through work. With the help of her brother-in-law, the strangely spiteful and cruel Ben, Jasmyn uncovers a whole secret life Liam kept from her, leading her down a path into a fantastic world filled with cursed swans, star-crossed love, and shocking revelation. Jasmyn learns that Liam has meddled with some potent magic, and more importantly, that Liam is not at all the man who she believed him to be.
I haven’t had the pleasure of reading Ms. Bell’s first novel, The Ninth Circle (a fact I will certainly have to remedy very soon), but Jasmyn <
Though Ms. Bell has a knack for striking characterization, her greatest strength is her gift as a storyteller – though the writing at times struggles, the story she tells is truly, madly, deeply enthralling and more than enough to make up for any other shortcomings. Jasmyn is a mix of fairy tale, fantasy and character-driven thriller, and it is a potent brew. Though the “twist” in the plot can be seen coming from a mile away, the story is so damn compelling, with characters I was so passionately rooting for, I could care less. This is a fairy tale, after all, and that is part of Jasmyn‘s appeal – this is an emotional, appealing read and my inner romantic was incredibly moved by this book.
As for Jasmyn‘s drawbacks, these are largely technical and to some extent a matter of taste. The writing shortcomings include some clunky dialogue, liberal use of ellipses (the dreaded “…”) especially in the early chapters, and some pacing issues. I also wish that some of the fantasy elements (the swan knights, the myths, the eerie, enchanted castle) were explored further instead of just dumped into the story. That said, these gripes are easily overlooked considering the strengths of the book. In fact, these writing flaws only mean that Ms. Bell can get better as she hones her craft in further novels.
The bottom line is, I loved Jasmyn. I laughed, I cried, I felt that desperate heart-twisting sensation that only great stories can inspire. This is <>, and one that I highly recommend.
Notable Quotes/Parts: Oh, the final<< heartbreaking revelation that Jasmyn makes in the catacombs of Paris>> is easily my favorite part of the novel. But I won’t spoil that for you…
Additional Thoughts: Seriously, this cover art is gorgeous. Here’s the cover for her first novel, The Ninth Circle which looks to be done by the same artist.
You can read more about this new author online at her website, or over at her blog.
Verdict: Absolutely recommended. (In fact, I liked it enough that I’m sending it back over the pond to Ana in Cambridge, just because I think she’ll love it too.) Alex Bell is an author to watch, and I cannot wait to read what she comes up with next.
Rating: 8 Excellent
Reading Next: Slights by Kaaron Warren
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
#ZoellaBookClub Review: Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell
When Jay said he'd downloaded a Ouija-board app onto his phone. I wasn't surprised. It sounded like the kind of daft thing he'd do. It was Thursday night and we were sitting in our favourite greasy spoon cafe, eating baskets of curly fries.
First published in January 2015
Republished in October 2016
Published by Red Eye, an imprint of Stripes.
Summary
We're waiting for you to come and play. Dunvegan School for Girls has been closed for many years. Converted into a family home, the teachers and students are long gone. But they left something behind...Sophie arrives at the old schoolhouse to spend the summer with her cousins. Brooding Cameron with his scarred hand, strange Lilias with a fear of bones and Piper, who seems just a bit too good to be true. And then there's her other cousin. The girl with a room full of antique dolls. The girl that shouldn't be there. The girl that died.
*****
What a creeptastic book!
I don't get scared that easily these days, but just the mention of the ouija board filled me with fear. I've heard too many true life accounts of using them to ever want to mess with one myself. I found myself screaming at the characters, Sophie and Jay to get rid of it as I read the first chapter! No good will come of it! And by God,I was right! And then add in the mix of Chucky style dolls into the plot and I was running for safety.
Dolls are pretty creepy looking anyway, but this book takes their creep factor to a whole new level. The fact that they were buried in the walls, would have made me reconsider my house buying choices.
The whole scene in the cafe really really creeped me out. And stupidly I stayed up way too late reading it. A quick lesson learned after imagining the waterlogged girl from The Ring in my dreams, made me move this book to a day time read.
The story is set in an old Victorian school that was shut down many years ago. There's a lot of speculation and stories about why it closed down, involving horrific accidents and unsolved deaths. Sophie is unsettled even before she arrives, but she knows she has to find out what really happened to her cousin who died when she was young. Little does she realise that she has brought her back from the dead.
This book twists and turns through a gripping plot, leaving you as confused as Sophie as to who she can trust. All the kids in the house are pretty screwed up, so it's not surprising Sophie becomes desperate to leave.
The ending is excellent and surprising. Certain events happen that I wasn't expecting.
I'm so pleased that there is going to be a prequel, because the hints about the house's back story were really intriguing.
If you love your horror Chucky style, this book is definitely for you.
Featured Review: Frozen Charlotte (Alex Bell)
Monday, 26 December 2016
Beth Edwards, Assistant Blog Manager
News & Updates
Latest Staff Reviews
480 Hits
0 Comment
Featured Review: Frozen Charlotte (Alex Bell)
About This Book:
An instantly gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller filled with haunted dolls, creepy settings, and horrific twists.
When fifteen-year-old Sophie's best friend dies abruptly under mysterious circumstances, Sophie sets off to stay with her uncle and cousins on the remote Isle of Skye. It's been years since she last saw her cousins -- brooding Cameron with his scarred hand; Piper, who seems too perfect to be real; and peculiar little Lilias with her fear of bones.
Sophie knows that in her uncle's house, there are rules she must follow: Make no mention of Cameron's accident. Never leave the front gate unlocked. Above all, don't speak of the girl who's no longer there, the sister whose room lies empty of all but the strange antique dolls she left behind.
As Sophie begins to explore the old house, a former academy for girls shut down long ago, she discovers unsettling secrets that shed light on a dark and dangerous history. But there are some secrets Sophie never expected to uncover. Secrets about her own family. Secrets that suggest Sophie may be in more danger than she could have ever imagined.
*Review Contributed By Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer*
Don't play with the creepy dolls!
Sophie seems to have very bad luck when it comes to the supernatural, but she's never entirely sure that unexplained forces are to blame. Is it really the Ouija board app that causes her best friend Jay to drown? Wracked with grief and no small portion of guilt, Sophie is sent off to the wind swept Island of Skye to be with her cousins and uncle. This doesn't seem like a particularly good idea-- Cameron has had an accident that leaves him sensitive and withdrawn, and no one is allowed to talk about it. Lilias is obsessed with the dolls that belonged to her dead sister. Piper seems normal, but that may only be a front she uses so that she can manipulate everyone around her. When the dolls, a relic from the house's past use as a girls' school, start to come to life in extremely frightening ways, the adults seem to be completely clueless. Not only are the dolls a threat, but her cousins' dysfunctions rise to the surface as well. Can Sophie save herself from the mounting forces of evil?
Good Points
<
The cousins are also well portrayed. Does she have an emotional or mental problem? Is she really possessed by dolls? Is Piper good or evil? What's up with Cameron? He seems like a good guy most of the time, but when will his accident be explained? <
Perfect for fans of Katie Alender, Monaghan's Mary series and Rachel Hawkins' Hex Hall books, Frozen Charlotte was a textbook Gothic novel. Desolate house, insane relatives, and creepy killer dolls that are possessed by pure evil, and spreading that evil to family members. Actually, DON'T recommend this to readers who don't like creepy dolls, because you will be responsible for their nightmares!
Book Review: Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell
April 12, 2017 by Lelia T
Frozen Charlotte
Alex Bell
Scholastic Press, November 2016
ISBN 978-0-545-94108-2
Hardcover
Everything began innocently enough. Sophie and her best friend Jay sitting in a cafe. He’d downloaded an ouija board app on his smartphone and was insistent they try it. Despite a sense of dread, she goes along reluctantly, but something seems to hijack the app, sending them really scary messages. Then the lights go out and all hell breaks loose. Someone in the cafe kitchen is badly burned and Sophie swears she saw a tall, ghostly figure atop one of the tables. Spooked by the experience, she pleads with Jay to take the towpath home when riding his rickety bike instead of going by way of the heavily traveled streets. The next day, she learns to her horror that he lost the brakes on his bike, slid into a canal and drowned.
Thus begins a series of scary and inexplicable events for Sophie. Her parents have a long anticipated anniversary trip to San Francisco, but are willing to cancel it because of what happened to Jay. Knowing that they’ll lose a bunch of money if this happens, stiffens her resolve to go stay with her strange relatives in an old girl’s school on the Isle of Skye they converted into a super menacing mansion.
Once there, things alternate between creepy and creepier. (Imagine highlights from “The Shining” if the cast were ripped from “The Munsters” minus any comedy and you’d be off to a good beginning.) Her uncle is an artist and essentially clueless about what’s happening, one of her cousins, Rebecca, died years ago under mysterious circumstances, but her ghost keeps reappearing (is she coming back to warn Sophie, or scare the heck out of her?) Then there’s her slightly older cousin Cameron, a brilliant pianist who suffered a terrible injury to one hand, severely hampering his dreams of becoming a world famous musician. Sophie can’t decide if he hates her or everyone in general. Next comes Piper, who is insanely beautiful and the same age as Sophie. At first, she seems like a breath of fresh air, but the longer Sophie’s around her, the more confused she is about who the real Piper is. Then there’s Lilias, the youngest girl who once tried to remove her own collarbone with a butcher knife. She’s hostile toward Sophie in the beginning, but the longer they’re around each other, the more they need to trust and rely on each other.
Add in that her aunt is locked up in a mental hospital, that there is an army of super creepy dolls remaining from when the school was in operation, coupled with a trash-talking parrot and generally gloomy weather and you have a grand recipe for a top notch YA horror story. Even if you start figuring out who was responsible for what nastiness before the end, it won’t matter because reading this makes for a grand and scary ride. Let’s hope the power doesn’t go out while you’re doing so.
Reviewed by John R. Clark, MLIS, February 2017.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Review: Lex Trent versus The Gods by Alex Bell
Law student Lex Trent’s world is inhabited by fearsome magicians, ageing crones and a menagerie of Gods and Goddesses. And while Lex is seemingly dedicated to his legal studies he’s always enjoyed a challenge – which is why he leads a double life as the notorious cat burglar ‘The Shadowman’ who has been (luckily) evading capture for years.
But Lex’s luck is about to run out, because the Goddess of Fortune has selected him to be her player in the highly dangerous Games. Losing is not an option for Lex (particularly as it so often involves dying) but can he really win each of the perilous rounds? Given that the reward for doing so is money, fame and glory – all things that Lex is quite keen on – he’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure he will… and he’s certainly got good experience of cheating.
I am not a huge fan of fantasy, but I really cannot work out why. I love The Lord of the Rings - it is one of my all time favourite books, but other supposedly excellent fantasy works just don't interest me. Even Terry Pratchett! There... I've said it, and I know that will upset a lot of people. Don't get me wrong - I have read some of his books, and enjoyed reading them, but I don't sit there waiting for the next book to be published, and I can probably count on one hand the number of Pratchett books I have read. So, having been sent a copy by the nice people at Headline, it was with no small degree of trepidation that I opened this supposedly brilliant YA fantasy book that one reviewer had already likened to this aforementioned comedy/fantasy author. Would this be the first scathing review on this blog?
And the answer is..... no! In fact, far from it. I loved this book, despite it being a fantasy story, and the main reason is the fantastic titular character that Alex Bell has created. <
As well as the brilliant development of Lex's character (and that of the other principle characters in the story), this book really stands out because of the author's fantastic imagination - she has created a fantasy world where the Gods have their own churches, take human form to interact with their mortal subjects and where these very same Gods delight in The Games, where they play with humans as if they were pieces on a chess board. In fact, refuse to take part in The Games and this is exactly how you may find yourself for the rest of eternity. In this fantasy world we also find many mythical creatures, ships that fly above the waves rather than through them, and incredibly, a world split in two, with the two halves joined by ladders of all things!
Some boys may need a little patience as they start this book as it takes a while to get going. The opening chapters are used to set the scene and introduce us to Lex, but once the action kicks in they will certainly feel rewarded for their perseverance as from this moment the pace becomes breathless, with Lex going from one nail-biting escapade or swindle to the next with barely a pause. Lex Trent versus The Gods is published by Headline and is in stores now.
Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell – review
‘Alex Bell managed to make this book unpredictable with a roller coaster of plot twists that kept me guessing until the very end’
AngelTia11
Guardian children's books site teen reviewer
Friday 18 September 2015 15.00 BST
Last modified on Tuesday 2 May 2017 19.31 BST
As soon as I received this book I was intrigued: by the cover, the title and the synopsis. I decided to read maybe just the first few pages to get a feel for the writing and atmosphere of the book but reading the ‘first few pages’ was a huge understatement. I was hooked and finished the entire book within a couple of hours.
Sophie is the main character of the book and the tragedy that strikes her friend Jay after messing around with a Ouija board app is what spurs her onto finding the ghost of her dead cousin. After arriving to stay at the house, she can instantly see that something is wrong and each of her cousins is extremely strange. Whilst she tries to find the cause of Jay’s death, a series of events will happen that will change her life forever.
Sophie is an extremely likeable character. She’s sensible but determined, and the more realistic elements of her life mixed in with supernatural elements of the Frozen Charlottes gives the book an eerie touch.
Frozen Charlotte
You can tell just from reading the first chapter that Alex Bell is talented. Her writing does a great job of engaging the reader right into the world of this story. Horror books are difficult to write, primarily because books don’t have sound effects and jump scares like horror movies do. In some instances if a horror book is not well written, it can just come out as corny and cheesy, and not scary at all.
As a lover of horror and thriller books, I have read my fair share of these. Alex Bell, however, had managed to make this book unpredictable with a roller coaster of plot twists that kept me guessing until the very end. The premise of this book genuinely terrified me; especially since I was reading at night and it was so satisfying. It’s been a long time since I’ve put down a horror book after reading it and kept jumping at small noises and keep looking over my shoulder.
What I liked most about the book was that it didn’t resort to a tacky “scary” ending or cliff-hanger that is really just a way of getting out of tying off the ends of the story. Frozen Charlotte had an air of mystery and terror throughout the entire book, keeping readers like me on the edge of their seat for the entire thing.
How do I get involved in the Guardian children's books site?
Read more
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a satisfyingly creepy read. This book has become one of my all time favourites and I’m crazy about it… If you are craving a honest to god, creepy, scary book read this. Trust me – you will not regret it.
The Haunting by Alex Bell - review
‘A strong, bold Red Eye book that will keep you hooked in’
KrispyKreme12
Guardian children's books site teen reviewer
Tuesday 15 14 June 2016.00 BST
Last modified on Tuesday 2 May 2017 18.46 BST
To be honest, it has been quite some time since I read this book. But the memory of it has been stuck in my head ever since. That thrilling shiver always enveloping me. A creepy, heart shading book that will keep you hidden within its fear forever: “Some curses grow stronger with time.”
Emma is permanently restricted to a wheelchair after an accident which happened at the Water Witch when she was 10. Now she is 17 and revisiting the site where the accident took place, she meets her Grandma as well as an old friend there too. It only takes her a moment to realise that something isn’t quite right. The WaterWitch is still haunted and that the ancient inn still has ghosts, with one spirit more vengeful than ever.
The Haunting
I love Emma, she is confident despite being in a wheelchair. She’s brave although she has no idea what’s happening around her and at all times she is supportive and caring. Her negative characteristic is her selflessness as she only pays attention to other people and not to herself.
This story kept me engaged with its creepy and surprising content. I couldn’t put this book down. I would recommend it to everyone. However, it might be more suitable to an older age group as this book will give you nightmares.
A strong, bold Red Eye book that will keep you hooked in.
How do I get involved in the Guardian children's books site?
Read more
On a scale 9.5/10! Amazing and Unique!