We start this week with a quirky and terrifying read, as Felixreads wrote a brilliant review of Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen. Ade lives happily with his mother in their tower block until one day the buildings start to collapse… Will they be the only people left alive?
"I loved everything about this book and definitely recommend it. I really liked the fact that the author talks about Ade's school in very fine detail, which makes everything all the more interesting. I also like how the characters talk in their own, fun way, and how mysterious the events taking place are. I would love to tell you why the buildings fall down, but I won't spoil the mystery".
As the football season grinds into gear what better time to read Charlie Merrick's Misfits in Fouls, Friends and My World Cup by Dave Cousins? Henry IX reviewed it for us superbly and found plenty to enjoy in the story of rubbish club North Star Galaxy's unlikely big for World Cup glory!
"I think this is a good book for anyone who is interested in football. It has cartoon pictures and even though it is actually printed it looks hand written".
Onto teen fiction now and hockey_jess reviewed Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachael Cohn and David Levithan, an unconventional love story featuring Nick and Norah who meet at a concert and go out for 5 minutes. It sounds like a must for fans of John Green, but it was the book's unconventional style that caught our reviewer's attention:
"Each event is shown from one character's point of view and you have the inside thoughts of each of them. You have an overlap of the other's views on the event. This gives you a 360 view of what happened and how they feel the other could have responded. It shows how different yet how similar they are because they have the same turmoils yet they respond in a personal way and learn from the other. This helps you see how their relationship develops due to the actions they take".
We also had an extra-special sneak-peak review this week when Sophie Scribe gave us the inside info on Clariel, the prequel to Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series. As SophieScribe says, "The main character is sixteen-year-old Clariel, daughter of one of the most prestigious families in the Kingdom and a close relation to both the Abhorsen and the King. She loves tracking and hunting in the Great Forest near her home town of Estwael, and so when she and her parents relocate to the capital, Belisaere, she can't wait to escape from the boring life of luxury: potential marriage and politics that will tie her down for the rest of her days". And the best bit is that as this is a prequel, you don't need to read the rest of the books to find out what's going on!
"Unusually for a prequel, Clariel is every bit as good as the previous three books! An enthralling plot, fantastically vibrant and varied characters, an original and fascinating world and a good dose of magic is only part of what makes this epic fable so enjoyable … Clariel is an interesting character. She doesn't exactly do much to make you like her, but I still felt she was a really great person and easy to empathise with, even while you can see what path she is walking. I felt like I could understand all her decisions, even the bad ones - an unlikely heroine that turned out really well!"
We're finishing up with a touch of the paranormal as tashtastic thoughtfully reviewed Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter. Alice's dad can see monsters, and after a car crash so can she. But when she meets bad boy Cole Holland – cute, as expected; top zombie slayer, less expected – and they begin to share visions, things become a lot more complicated.
"I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't the kind of zombie book I was expecting but nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed it. Certain parts could be ever so slightly confusing, but it was still understandable. I would recommend this book if you're looking for a zombie book with a bit of a difference. It's not like the original Alice in Wonderland story so don't expect many similarities or a story that ties in with that."
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
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