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Book of the Week
Michael Grant, Egmont, 432pp, 978 1 4052 5429 8, £12.99 hbk
Lies is the third instalment of Grant's series set in the FAYZ – a mysterious bubble which has settled over the town of Perdido Beach, California, trapping its residents – but only those under the age of 15. All of the adults are gone – and on turning 15 the children face a choice of vanishing to the unknown fate of the adults, or resisting and continuing existence in the town.
Seven months have passed since the creation of the FAYZ and the town is turning feral. After the events in Hunger, they have food – of sorts. Now the kids have conquered the challenge of surviving, they need to learn how to live. But coming up with a set of rules to live by which aren't based solely on fear and intimidation is proving a difficult and divisive task, and some of the natural leaders are beginning to lose focus – and hope.
Some are turning to the Prophetess, who claims to walk the dreams and minds not just of those inside the FAYZ, but of the adults in the real world outside. But is what she has to offer real hope – or damnation in disguise?
Meanwhile the tensions between the 'freaks' – a minority who have developed special magical powers – and the 'normals', who haven't – reaches boiling point and a declaration of all out war serves mainly the purposes of the Darkness, the evil force which the inhabitants of the FAYZ must face once more.
Grant is a master of tightly woven plots and the excitement and tension from the first two books are kept up. This book also widens the cast of characters, fleshing out some we are already familiar with and introducing some new ones via a neat device. There are some quite harrowing scenes which some may find offensive or upsetting, but for fans who have followed events in the FAYZ so far this won't disappoint, and will leave you waiting for the next instalment. CBk
Latest Reviews
My Uncle's Dunkirk (8-10)Mick Manning and Brita Granström, Franklin Watts, 32pp, 978 0 7496 9341 1, £10.99 hbk
An evocative and moving account of a young man's experience of the events of 1940, when nearly half a million British and French soldiers were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk. Mick Manning recalls childhood seaside holidays staying with his aunt and uncle. The uncle, who served in the Royal Artillery during World War II, never speaks of his wartime experiences, but it soon becomes clear that he remembers a very different kind of beach from the scene depicted, where children are playing and paddling, and holidaymakers queue to board the pleasure steamer.
In the pages that follow we see the uncle waiting for rescue in May 1940 alongside hundreds of other soldiers, not paddling but wading waist-deep to meet the boats, chilled to the bone by the seawater. Interspersed with the artwork are photos of wartime mementoes – 'my uncle's souvenirs', which include a soldier's pay book, telegrams and permits. Captions trace the sequence of events leading up to the rescue by the Little Ships, and a brief outline describes the course of the war after 1940. The contrast between the safe familiarity of a seaside holiday and the tragic events of Operation Dynamo make this a compelling account. A previous volume on World War II by this author/illustrator team, Tail End Charlie, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award. SU
Girl, 16: Five-Star Fiasco (14+)
Sue Limb, Bloomsbury, 320pp, 978 0 7475 9916 6, £5.99 pbk
Sue Limb, Bloomsbury, 320pp, 978 0 7475 9916 6, £5.99 pbk Jess Jordan is a well-meaning but highly disorganized teenage girl. She and her boyfriend Fred Parsons decide to stage a Valentine's Day dinner dance to raise money for Oxfam. As the date of the party approaches they have failed to organize certain necessary items, such as food, music and lighting. Before the party Jess and Fred are invited to spend a weekend in the country. Jess's friend Flora has a boyfriend from a wealthy Dorset background. At this boyfriend's house one of the weekend's main activities, it transpires, is for the boyfriend's posh mates to torment the life out of Fred.
Fred decides to flee, and to pull out of the Valentine's Day project, leaving Jess to try to make a go of the party on her own. Will the project simply collapse? Will Jess ever be reunited with Fred?
Some writers opt for a narrative outcome that makes for a happy closure. Alternatively – and more challengingly – the writer may choose to deliver a different ending, one that shows how deeply the preceding events have shaped the character and expectations of the protagonist. Limb chooses this more demanding option. This sophisticated narrative strategy sometimes seems at odds with the pacy, colloquial tone of this book with Limb's trademark humour but this is a daring piece of literary craftsmanship. RBu
