Our Children's Book of the Month: Darkmouth

Shane Hegarty's new gripping tale for readers from 9-12 is setting the bar high for adventure tales - which is why we've chosen it as our Book of the Month.
Fans of Artemis Fowl, The House of Secrets series and even Percy Jackson will utterly adore this.

Twelve year old Finn doesn't really have much get up and go, and just wants to do what every young boy wants to do. That would be fine, except Finn is about to be the latest in a long line of "Legend Hunters". The town of Darkmouth is the last town in Ireland where portals open and let through human-eating monsters (including Hogboons and Wolpertingers) which he needs to destroy. The big problem is, he isn't really very good at it. His father, the current Legend Hunter, is desperate to show him how to be the best he can and to follow in family tradition, but Finn can't understand why it is so important. Unbeknownst to Finn a prophecy has been made and it's all about him! Until he realises how important it is, Darkmouth and its residents will never be safe.

The story is full of fun and page-turning excitement, not to mention a few mishaps with a Desiccator and a few of the neighbours cars. Boys and girls alike will have their half term brilliantly filled with this great book. It's also peppered with wonderful illustrations by James de la Rue.

And if you really enjoy it, there's good news - this is only the start of what looks to be an awesome series.

If we got you curious, head on over to the main Waterstones Blog for an excerpt. :)

Love, Nina

Our Fiction Book of the Month: Perfidia

James Ellroy is no stranger to crime fans. His L.A. Quartet novels have, at the latest, been put on the map for even non-crime readers by their popular cinema adaptations The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential.

Ellroy, dubbed as the "demon dog of American crime fiction" by director Reinhard Jud back in the nineties, and whose dark past is a strong source for his writing (the unsolved murder of his mother inspired The Black Dahlia), has just started a second L.A. Quartet, this time set in the Second World War, with Perfidia being the first in the series. It's an epic door stop of a book, with the powerful L.A. noir atmosphere fans have come to love so much, in the context of a world-changing event: the attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

Both the Guardian and the Independent have given it smashing reviews, so it might well be that summer read you've been waiting to sink your teeth into.

 

 

But as none of us would want you to just take our word for it, here is a cheeky sample.

 



Our September Children's Book of the Month: The Maze Runner

When I read The Maze Runner by James Dashner a few years ago, I was gripped, and tearing my hair out that it initially didn't seem to find the recognition it deserved. It was similar with The Hunger Games, but sometimes books just need to come into their own.

Surely Hollywood's garishly blinking arrow has helped draw attention to it, too, with the movie being released soon. It's sad that it perhaps needed the Dystopia Rage kickstarter of The Hunger Games, because it's a terrific book in its own right. But the main thing is, it's being read. Hurrah and huzzah! And because we love it, we made it our Children's Book of the Month.

 

The story starts with young Thomas waking up to a lift door cranking open, and a bunch of kids staring at him. He doesn't know how he got there and what happened to him, but he now finds himself at the centre of a humongous stone maze. In the day, there are exits opening, leading out into the maze, and he soon learns that for a long time the strange kids venture out there, trying to find a way out. One sinister thing is that the maze changes overnight, so any progress made in a day becomes redundant. The other is that they have to be back by sunset, because then the gates close, and anyone trapped outside in the maze will be at the mercy of the Grievers... horrific monsters, half animal, half machine.

As if that wasn't enough to deal with, there are also tensions among the kids, as Thomas finds out soon enough...

 

This is the start of an utterly riveting teen dystopia series that lovers of the Gone series by Michael Grant and The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins will utterly enjoy. Mind, while it is classed as Teen literature, it makes more than a cracking read for any adult fan of the genre, too. Have a peek at the first chapter here. Some find it takes a little while to get going, but just a little persistence will bring much reward and make it nigh impossible to extract it from your hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Non-Fiction Book of September: Travels with Epicurus

Little fills us Westerners with so much terror (and consequent denial) as the idea of aging. Our constant pursuit of eternal beauty, energy and health has caused us to see old age as undignified, something to be feared. A shame, really, considering that traditionally in ours and still in many other cultures, our elders were considered a source of wisdom and serenity.

In recent years, a movement called the New Old Age has taken off... and while it surely is commendable to want to remain fit and active into old age, could it be that it is just out of a reaction to that ageist attitude that still prevails, as if one has to prove oneself and justify one's existence past retirement age? Which just goes to show that the original problem is still alive and well.

Klein addresses precisely that when he travelled to the Greek Islands to explore the locals' attitude to aging.

The Huffington Post wrote a fantastic review, which says "Klein returned to the Greek village and philosophers he has visited for decades to discover authentic ways of aging. In his funny and wry account, 'Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life', he concludes that old age is a privilege to be savored, rather than a disease to be cured or a condition to be denied."

And Marcus Berkmann, author of A Shed of One's Own, writes in the Daily Mail: "Reading this book after a period of overwork and high stress, I was bowled over by its easy charm and hard-won wisdom. I shall be buying it in bulk as presents for my equally overburdened peers, and I suspect a few older people will enjoy it, too."
Read the first chapter here.

Patty

Our Fiction Book of the Month: "All the Light We Cannot See"

Our book of the month, "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr, has already created quite a stir in the U.S.. The Washington Post described it as: "I’m not sure I will read a better novel this year than Anthony ­Doerr’s 'All the Light We Cannot See'. Enthrallingly told, beautifully written and so emotionally plangent that some passages bring tears, it is completely unsentimental — no mean trick when you consider that Doerr’s two protagonists are children who have been engulfed in the horror of World War II."

The Boston Globe equally enthuses, and the L.A. Times loves that "Doerr's novel is ambitious and majestic without bluntness or overdependence on heartbreak — which is not to say it won't jerk those tears right out of your head."

On this side of the pond, reactions have been similar: The Guardian states that "this novel will be a piece of luck for anyone with a long plane journey or beach holiday ahead. It is such a page-turner, entirely absorbing".

There's good reason we heart it so much, see?

If you're still unsure, don't fret: read the opening chapter here or pop in the shop to have a gander.

Toodles,

 

Patty :)

Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist

They do say not to judge a book by its cover, but in this case we can make an exception. The cover is definitely an eyecatcher. And the pages between are just as stunning. The story is mysterious, bordering on eerie. The characters not what you expect, after the first glimpse they become as intricate and in their own way intriguing and beautiful as the cover that cloaks them. 

I won’t give any of the story away other than that a young woman arrives in Amsterdam of the 1600s, newly married to a rich merchant, to move into his grand house, only to be greeted in a cold, if not hostile manner by his haughty, austere sister and some quite lippy servants. No trace to begin with of the husband, who, even after an eventual arrival, extends no more interest in his new bride than a polite handshake. The young woman is justifiably befuddled and disillusioned – it’s not what she imagined her marriage to start like. And then her husband buys her this elaborate, extremely expensive dollhouse, which is a carbon copy of the house she’s just moved into.  The young woman doesn’t know what to make of any of it. And things get stranger yet. Arguments in the household she cannot make sense of. Odd glances thrown, but nothing explained. And when she hires a miniaturist to help her furnish her dollhouse, she starts receiving odd presents with mysterious messages attached... and the dollhouse starts influencing her life in an uncanny way she can make as little heads or tail of as the rest of her new environment.

What really makes this book in the first place is its almost tangible atmosphere. You are transported to a historical Amsterdam that glitters in frost and the mysteries woven through its fabric, you inhabit the characters like your own skin. And do I sound silly when I say it *feels* Dutch? I’m a sucker for being transported to places in my mind and given a taste of their essence, and this a Ben and Jerry’s of a sampler. For a debut, it’s absolutely mindblowing. It’s a stunning movie for the mind and the senses. It was our book of the month for good reason, and just for its beauty it’s worth buying the hardback, because ... well, because as a paperback or even e-book, it will just feel like having Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker on a shredded old tape. I got a netgalley proof, and I’m buying the hardcover, baby. 

Toodles,

Patty

Our Fiction Book of the Month for July

Our Fiction Book of the Month for July, The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, is not just a feast for the old peepers. Of course, I was instantly charmed by the intricate vintage-y dollhouse cover art (and surely not just I have been guilty of obtaining a book just for its outer beauty?)... and not just I. Check out this incredible piece of chalk art created by Jess from Waterstones BishopsStortford.

(I totally would try that with our A-board, too, but whenever I do, the creatures in the picture just whimper "Kill meeeee!" But one digresses...)

            


Or this incredible display done by Waterstones Nottingham (yeah, cheers for showing us all up, Notts ;)!)

                            

But this book is nothing short of a beaut on the inside, as well. Read the first few pages of the book here.

See? Told ya.

Burton's little masterpiece has been compared to "Girl with a Pearl Earring", "The Goldfinch" and the writings of Sarah Waters. But regardless whether you like those three, give it a shot. We do heart it.

Charmed,

 

Patty

Our Non-Fiction Book of the Month for July

A contemporary of Queen Victoria, Dowager Empress Cixi has been compared to Lucrezia Borgia in her ruthlessness.

Jung Chang, author of the much beloved "Wild Swans", presents us with a fascinating portrait of a strong but controversial character.

Read the Guardian review here and the Telegraph review here.

There is also a great blog interview with Chang on our website.


P.S. If you enjoy this, or the subject of women in China in general, do not miss this gem: "The Good Women of China", a stunner written by journalist Xinran.

Don't miss our Children's Book of the Month for July!