Malice

Malice

By Chris Wooding

Malice is the comic that everyone wants to read.  They’ve all heard about it, but hardly anyone can get their hands on it.  Malice is kept behind the counter and under beds.  It’s dark and disturbing content shows only glimpses of stories.  But the kids in these stories aren’t made up – they are real kids who’ve gone missing.  And they’ve gone into the sinister world of Malice.

Kids have also heard that if you want to visit Malice, all you have to do is call Tall Jake to come and take you away.  Do a little chant, burn some cat hair and next thing you know, Tall Jake will appear.  Of course, most don’t believe it.  But some kids try it – just to see what happens.

Luke is the first to call this darkness.  When Kady and Seth finally get a hold of one of the comics, they learn Luke’s fate.  He has made it into Malice, and he may not get out.

Despite the danger, Seth decides he wants to go to Malice too.  He is bored with life and always looking for more excitement.  He only half believes it will work anyway.  When he finally gets there, he learns that Malice is darker than even he expected.  But he also meets other kids like Justin and Tatiana, who are living in Malice.  Some are trying to find a way out.  If you can find a white train ticket, you can go back home.

Others want to stay and find a way to stop Tall Jake.  He’s hurting kids after all. Seth and Justin decide to set out together to stop the monster that is behind Malice.  Meanwhile, Kady is trying to help from the outside.

But can three ordinary kids really stop this evil?

Written as both a novel and a comic, Malice allows readers to see right into its dark world.

Highly recommended!

 

Scar Island

Scar Island

By Dan Gemeinhart

Jonathan Grisby is just a boy, but already he has committed a crime that has sent him to Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys. 

 

Slabhenge is no ordinary place.  Located on a remote, rocky island, Slabhenge can only be reached by boat and keeps its young residents isolated from everything comforting and familiar.  The school itself is cold, damp and rat-infested.

The teachers are a cruel bunch and treat the boys like the worst sort of criminals, often torturing them on a device called the Sinner’s Sorrow. 

But an unlikely incident occurs, and the boys find themselves suddenly alone, with no adults whatsoever.  They can eat what they want and go to bed when they like.  

But their newfound freedom quickly disappears when Sebastian takes over.  Sebastian demands that the boys follow him, or else.  Those who do his bidding get the best bedrooms and food.  Those who cross him, beware.

Jonathan must make a choice.  Will he take the easy route and follow Sebastian?  Or will he do the right thing and stand up for all the other boys?

Creepy, disturbing, and totally riveting, Scar Island is a great read.  You won’t be able to put it down!

Constable & Toop

Constable & Toop

By Gareth P. Jones

Sam Toop is just a kid, but he’s the son of an undertaker and has been around death all his life.  Sam can also see ghosts, and London in the mid-1800s is filled with them.  Sam’s a Talker, and ghosts come to him for help with their unfinished business.

Sam doesn’t like being a Talker although he knows that most ghosts are harmless.  But when resident ghosts start to go missing in London, Sam knows something terrible is happening.  Not only that, but living people are being murdered too.  Now there’s a killer on the loose, and somehow he’s linked to the missing ghosts.

Not for the faint of heart, Constable & Toop doesn’t shy away from gruesome scenes, and the grim atmosphere of Victorian London permeates the book.  But if you like ghost stories and mysteries (and don’t mind being a little freaked out), you will love Constable & Toop.

The Last Thirteen: 13

The Last Thirteen: 13

  By James Phelan

Sam, Eva and Alex are average teenagers, but their dreams are intense and sometimes frightening.  Sam has been sent to a psychiatrist to deal with his dreams and the aftermath of a traumatic event.  

But when Sam’s school is raided by “national security agents” and he is whisked away in a helicopter, life gets really crazy.  Eva and Alex suffer the same fate and together they must figure out what is happening to them.

It turns out Sam, and possibly Eva and Alex are among “the last thirteen”, those who dream the future and can help save humanity from a terrible, evil future.  The Academy has taken them from their families and will teach them how to control and use their gifts.

Although they have been taken to a mountaintop school with every amenity and technological advantage, the three teens miss their homes and really just want to be regular teenagers.  How will they make the transition to secret agents who save the world?

This book is the first in a series of very readable, extremely fast-paced action.  Each subsequent book counts down from 13 with the final book in the series being 1.  This series is suitable for grades 5 and up.