Love's Labours Lost

I was hoping to save this for a more appropriate time. However there are times when life delights in reminding you that there's no time like the present. So here we are, with a post that I might well regret one day, or not: we shall see.
What is love? Any of you now singing the lyrics to the song by Haddaway are showing your age! Love is a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It can all depend on where you are in your life.
I personally believe that love is two separate entities: the magical and the physical. Magical love is that phase we all go through at the start of any relationship. The romance, tenderness, obsessive yearning, vibrancy and passion that comes with every fresh discovery on your joint journey. It's a thing so precious and fragile that it's easy to watch it vanish as reality and routine kicks in.
Fast forward a few years and that magical love you have for your partner transforms into something much more tangible. So gritty in fact that you sometimes wonder if it's even there at all. It's there though, look closely, dig deep and you will find it.
It's in that tired smile he gives when he offers to put the kids to bed after a ten hour shift because he can see she's been with them all day. It's in the way she gets excited when he takes her to a concert in spite of the fact that she can't stand his taste in music, which they're about to go and hear. In the smile and the cuddle he gives her while she cries her eyes out and leaks snot all over his shoulder. Or in the way she tries to hold back a moan because he's going on about football and she knows it makes him happy.
Or maybe it's in the book that he goes out of his way to pick for her for Christmas. The one that he's specifically picked because her obsession with her career forced him to up his game and buy her the perfect text. The book that, sadly whilst hankering after this magical, mystical love  she's been missing she's ignored for ten whole months.

Now allow me to digress in order to express a very strong personal opinion. Love Can be either magical or physical, but it is ALWAYS a two way street. You may feel love for someone who doesn't love you back (and my heart goes out to you if you do). You may feel like it's the most intense emotion you've ever had in your life. But it's fantasy, it's visions and expectations that you've built up that will come crashing down around you once you realise they simply can't be met. 

Don't blame the person who doesn't love you either, it's not thier fault. Just allow yourself to let them go with love while you pick yourself up and move on. 

Proper love takes work on both sides, it's not effortless. And when you feel like your love is being taken for granted, all you can do is speak your heart and remind yourself that they work hard for you cos they think you're worth an effort. It might not all be sunshine and rainbows but you keep working for them, they keep working for you and somehow you both get through. 

Any relationship, friendship, partnership, involves both parties doing their best for each other. The moment one or the other stops the love dies and it can be really difficult to resurrect. 

Like the words at the heart of this book 'The Lost Words'. A poetry book aimed at reintroducing lost words into the public consciousness. 

It features a series of acrostic poems that revolve around the natural world. It's entire purpose is to create awareness and encourage people to learn more about the nature around them.
Set out as spells it tries to turn the real into magical, invoking imagery of a lost, mystical world of wonder.

The poems are interspersed with gorgeous pages of illustrations which add to the book's magic. The language is rich and diverse, the illustrations, detailed and dynamic. It is a beautiful combination of text and colour that the reader can wallow in for hours. 

Since poetry is not my strong suit I won't pretend I can fully analyse it. But I do know that the poem about conkers struck a real chord with me, instantly transporting me back to warm autumn nights in my childhood, conker picking with my siblings and friends. 

The subject content is suitable for everyone but I wouldn't use it with children any younger than 8 because of the vocabulary. 

The illustrations should be shown off to any children though. They are simply wonderful, warm with rich golden colours. 

This is book 39 of my 52 book list and my chosen poetry book. And if one day I do run out of love because things stop working, I can look at this and say that there was once love there. And that I tried, just like the people behind this book have. 

Book Title: The Lost Words
Author: Robert McFarlane
Illustrator: Jackie Morris
Pages: 128
Published: 2017
Suitable for: children aged 8 upwards ideally
Interesting words: conjuring, flit, sphere, glint, billow.

The Right Time to Grow up

I'm a big kid, I don't deny it: in fact I strut about happily boasting it for all to hear. My head is a sheltered realm which allows me to float off into daydreams or blurt out immature jokes at a moment's notice. It doesn't reflect on issues of the world or allow me to indulge in genial, typical conversation. Instead it chooses to keep me young by selfishly adhering to it's own closed in bubble.

My heart is the same, it delights in things that make it feel young. Weight of any kind can only be endured and carried for so long before it explodes from me, bursting out and being passed on to the nearest people faster than a burning lump of coal.
I enjoy leading yet loathe the responsibility that comes with it. I hate any kind of responsibility or decision making. I give that up to others as soon as it lands in my lap. Don't now confuse responsibility with honest hard work: I'm far from lazy. I am happy, more than happy to take on any jobs given to me and I'll always do them to the very best of my ability.
But ask me to decide, delegate or shepherd and I can't handle it. I'd much rather work with people than over them or under them. I suppose that's one of the many reasons why I have prided myself for years on comparing me to the principal character of this week's book.

"All children, except one, grow up."

An opening line of such potency that it is still clearly recognisable 107 years later. For those that might not know it, this is the first line from 'Peter and Wendy', better known these days as 'Peter Pan'.

Peter Pan as a character first made an appearance in 'The Little White Bird', an adult novel written by Scottish author and playwright J.M. Barrie. Not done with the character of Pan, Barrie featured him at the centre of a stage play in 1904 entitled 'Peter Pan' or 'The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'. Such was the appeal of the story that it was then adapted to the novel we all know and love, which was first published in 1911.

The story revolves around the three Darling children: Wendy, John and Michael, who one night encounter a young boy named Peter Pan. Peter literally flies into their world, coming into their bedroom with his trusted fairy friend Tinkerbell to search for his missing shadow. It is returned to him and there's an exchange of gifts given as 'kisses' (an adorable scene in which thimbles and kisses get somewhat confused)!

Lured in by Peter's charismatic charm (not to mention his ability to fly) the children run away with him to the magical world of Neverland, a place that has existed in their dreams for ages and that suddenly appears as glorious reality. There are wild animals, redskins, mermaids and even pirates! It sounds like an adventure paradise!

But the children are soon confronted with the fact that a world of daydreams made real isn't always a good thing. Reality and fantasy are very, VERY different.

Wendy takes on the role of mother, not just to Peter, John and Micheal but also to Peter's crew of lost boys (all 6 of them). She must face the responsibility of caring for all 9 boys whilst struggling to remember her own parents and dealing with conflict from a petty, jealous Tinkerbell who is competing for Peter's affections. But there is one reality that is far scarier than playing at good housekeeping and that is dealing with pirates.

The pirates, led by the ruthless Captain James Hook, have a serious score to settle after Peter (in a previous encounter) cuts off Hook's hand and feeds it to a hungry crocodile. Curiously, the crocodile also eats a working clock, so Hook can always hear it coming and thus, is able to evade it for most of the story.

So the pirates hunt the lost boys and the crocodile hunts Captain Hook, eager to finish it's meal. Things go well for the children at first, all of whom ran away from their lives in the real world and none of whom really remember it. Life carries on quite happily until a clever plan of Hook's comes with devastating consequences.

The book is awash with universally relatable themes that all revolve around growing up. There are so many that, for ease I've simply bullet pointed a few:

• our paths and what we will become - as in Wendy leaving the nursery to become the boys' mother
• our fears of being constrained to a life of drudgery - Peter runs away from home after hearing what his parents think she should do when he grows up
• anxiety - Wendy's failing attempts to keep her parents' memory alive for her brothers as the guilt of taking them from home starts to consume her
• regret and remorse - set out in a chapter that is harrowing for parents to read, a chapter where we see Mr and Mrs Darling's heartbreak over losing their children (if only they had done things differently)
• rejection - we learn through Peter's tragic tale of returning to his home only to find his windows barred and him quite forgotten by his own mother! 
• atonement - seen in Tinkerbell's gallant self sacrifice
• faith and belief - well, do you believe in fairies? 

But perhaps the most important theme, the one that I could spend an age prattling on about is TIME. All through the book we are confronted with symbolism and imagery related to the fear of time. The most notable of course being the very real sound of the 'tick tock croc'. 

Both Peter and Hook are terrified of time. Peter fears it because with it he stands to lose everything, especially his youth which would then make him have to be responsible. He 'thins out' (which I took to mean kills off) lost boys if they grow too much. I read this to my complete horror in chapter 4. 

Hook fears it because, for him it comes with something inevitable that he can not escape no matter how hard he tries: that thing being death. This is why, bloodthirsty as he is we can still find some underlying sympathy with Hook's character. 

There is not a major character in the story that I don't strongly identify with. Even Wendy, who like so many loves the fun of having children but not so much the chore of raising them. I'll hold my hand up and admit that raising children isn't the easiest job in the world. For me it's just one that is so worth doing as there is so much love to be shared. 

Barrie's style of writing doesn't actually reflect it's time: it's rather ahead of it. Very short and to the point it talks to us as though it's being narrated rather than written. The vocabulary however is a definite indicator of age. There are also references that in today's world would certainly be considered to be offensive. The story could be read and analysed in a million different ways.  You could write an entire thesis on it and still feel like you haven't said enough! 

It's the ideas on the struggle to hold on to our youth and innocence that still resonate to this day. Take this quote from chapter 5: 

" 'Some day' said Smee 'the clock will run down and then he'll get you.' 

'Ay,' he (Hook) said 'that's the fear that haunts me.' "

There are very few people who have never felt the pressing of time ticking in their ears. 

This theme is so genuine and it shines through the entire book. You can tell that it is rooted in the author's own tragic real life experiences. It is a beautiful fact to note that he donated the rights to Peter Pan to London's Great Ormond Street children's hospital, who still own them today. 

At the heart of this story is a message to all, we can not out run time. It will come for all of us, for every second we age is a second irretrievably lost. But there is hope, keep young in mind and heart and at least, while you age you'll have an adventure. For what is growing up if not the greatest adventure we can have? 

Book 38 out of my 52, a book published more than 100 years ago and a beautiful example that, while we may not live forever our ideas and adventures can! 

Book Title: Peter and Wendy
Author: J.M Barrie
Pages: 289 (approximately)
First published:1911
Suitable for: children of all ages - there are versions of the story suitable for nursery children upwards
Interesting words:  ardently, fastidious, formidable, swarthy, plaintive, aghast, amicably, aloof, cadaverous, quixotic, miasma, repute, indomitable

How Graphic is your Novel?

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret, something that I rarely share with anybody: I hate graphic novels. There I said it. I'm fortunate that I have a broad minded family. Living with three guys, okay 1 grown man and 2 young men was bound to open my mind a little.

But there are two regular topics of conversation at home that I yawn at quite often: football and comics. At least I suppose that with comics I take a general interest. I want to know the story behind the creation of 'Watchmen' or why 'The Killing Joke' has such an incredible reputation. I love how Asterix needs a drink to give him super strength - sorry Popeye spinach doesn't quite cut it - and I have a lot of time for the occasionally acerbic humour of Peanuts! Bless Charlie Brown has qualities I find in myself all the time! 

I hail the genius of comics that have spawned entire movie or television franchises. One of my favourite television shows of the past decade is based on a graphic novel series about the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse (cough, cough, Rick Grimes rules)! Early this year I stumbled across a graphic novel series that utterly blew me away - Deathnote - a series that asks the question, what would you do if the power to control death was in your hands?

And while I'm here let me not forget the brilliant books by Brian Selznick (The Adventures of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck) that blur the lines between comic, novel and graphic novel with such style and grace that the illustrations stay in your mind for ages!

By and large however, I can't stand graphic novels. I struggle to follow the boxed off, random word bubble format that most graphic novels follow. I find them bitty, hard to digest and confusing at best.

This week I needed something that would tick the graphic novel box whilst also being easy on the eye and not too difficult to follow. Hello book adaptation!

I was recently discussing the Twilight book series with a colleague at work. I expressed my extreme disdain for a wimpy looking vampire who gets blingy in the sunlight (really Miss Meyer?). 

Inspite of my blatant dislike of Edward's obvious physical flaw I couldn't argue against how much those books (and their subsequent movies) had made an impact on my life. New Moon was far and away my favourite of the series, it being a mixture of both Wuthering Heights and Romeo and Juliet (sigh). 

I devoured the books, totally lost in their magic. I watched the films over and over. I was even one of those twi hards who saw all of the films back to back in a cinema movie marathon. Oh yeah, I lapped it up. 

Upon spotting this adaptation in my library I was instantly struck by how painfully beautiful Bella looked. I read it through VERY quickly, reaching the book's end and realising to my abject horror that they'd broken the book into two graphic novels ( I should've checked the cover properly first haha). I've never loathed the words 'to be continued' so much! And that's with me knowing how the story ends! 

Suffice it to say that the book was a very easy read. Pure pulp, much like the original books themselves. Nothing to really stretch the vocabulary or the intellect. But then pulp isn't something to be vilified. As readers it shouldn't be our secret guilty pleasure. It's something that allows us every now and then to just drift into another world without taxing our brains too much. I personally think that is something to be celebrated, especially as it gets people doing what other books might not do, which is read. 

As a mother and an educator I want children to know about the beautiful variety of books out there. But if they keep returning to a particular author or series then I will certainly not stop them from reading something that they love. That would be like denying them food just so they can try the many different fruit flavours of water! 

The illustrations in the book are stunning! All black and white with splashes for colour to ram home specific events in the story. The colour of vampire Victoria's hair is so vividly red that I'm almost tempted to see if I can go out and replicate it! 

For those who've done well enough to avoid the series completely I will try to break the plot of this book down. Bella (very young human) is in love with Edward (young but not young veggie vampire). Edward and his vampire family hunt animals instead of humans to quench their thirst and appease their moral consciences. Bella is desperate to join their ranks. Edward is having none of it. They simply love each other too much to do what needs to be done which is respect each other's wishes. 

When Edward one day tells her that he never really loved her and he and his family up sticks and leave without a trace, he sets in motion a chain of events that sees Bella's increasing desperation lead to tragic consequences. Throw in a ridiculously handsome (my good gravy he was fit) werewolf Jacob who also has feelings for Bella and you've got a recipe for pure disaster! 

It's a great book, but if you're not too keen on spending the time reading the full novel, this version enables you to take in the plot quickly and easily. At around 250 pages (not exact as it wasn't numbered) it was exactly what I was looking for this week. Hmmm, think my boxsets might be hanging around somewhere! 

This is book is book 37 of my 52 book list and my graphic novel. 

Title: New Moon The Graphic Novel Volume 1
Author: Stephanie Meyer
Illustrator: Young Kim
Published: 2013
Pages: 250 (approximately)
Suitable for: children aged 11 and up (maybe 12, depends on your view of vampire romance!)
Interesting words: scattered, reckless, reared 

Coping with the world's end

Before I do anything else I'm going to take a moment to talk about routine and how it can be a blessing and a curse. I've touched on this subject before but with me returning to work after the summer holidays I found myself mulling it over once again. This week I strived to encourage friends and family in the education sector not to give up on books simply because the grueling routines were back. I'm passionate about making time for reading no matter how hard that might be.
But that's the funny thing about advice, it's easy to offer / tough to take.
I haven't read a thing all week.

That's not to say my week has been overly difficult, it's had a couple of challenges but it's had some beautiful moments too. But the hectic pace had left me exhausted and by yesterday, when a health complaint of mine reared it's ugly head again I'd just about given up on everything. I was simply in one of those moods where I was feeling lethargic and unable to even focus on the simple task of reading much less anything else.

This morning arrived with me still feeling poorly and sorry for myself, I reached a dismal acceptance. My blog would not get done this week. I'd failed at the one thing I was desperate to see finished.
Now it's at this point I have to relate a valuable yet painful lesson that I've been learning for the past few years (it's a life lesson that, to be fair to me, some people never learn). This lesson is this: 'don't expect the world to come and bail you out when things are at crisis point'. I woke up this morning miserable, praying that someone or something would make me happy, just as I've done many times before. But happiness isn't something that comes from others. Why should I put that pressure on the world around me? My loved ones don't deserve it, after all they're just trying to get on with their own lives and be who they are.

No, happiness is what I make it. To get through today I would have to turn inwards, summon every ounce of inner strength and work on improving myself and my situation in the hope that I could make myself happy. As the saying goes, heaven helps those who help themselves (forgive me if I've got that saying wrong).
Now another thing I've come steadily to believe more and more is that, if you've love in your heart and the will to keep trying, the universe will have your back. It's a personal belief that has grown dearer and dearer to me as I've grown emotionally. It's important to keep love in your heart, love for others, for the world and most importantly self love. How can I expect others to prop me up if I can not love and support myself?

So with both my lesson and my faith in mind this morning I faced the end of my blog world by systematically going through my 'to read' pile and cross referencing it with the dwindling list of challenges left to me.

Then there it was, a book chosen not for the challenge at all but as an extra to read because I'm a fan of the author. I honestly sat staring at it for a moment, a book that I'd chosen purely out of self love which served no purpose other than to be something of a joy for me to read.
A book that by a startling coincidence could easily be used to fill not one, or two, but three separate challenges on my list!!!! And it was one I wanted to read desperately! Thanks universe!

The author, Geraldine McCaughrean first came to my attention with her officially recognised sequel to the legendary story of Peter and Wendy  by J.M Barrie. She won the right to create a sequel to the J.M. Barrie's original in a centenary competition and her book 'Peter Pan in Scarlet' did not disappoint, selling over 30, 000 copies of it's initial release and then being translated into 37 different languages.

That however, is not the story I sat down to read today. Why am I holding off before revealing the title of the book? Well because this was my very first self pitying thought when it occurred to me that I wouldn't get my blog finished.

Where the World Ends is based on a true story that sadly has very little in terms of fact to go off (due to the age of the story and lack of evidence behind it). But happen it did and that lends it a tangible dramatic grit that many fictional stories, no matter how incredible, can lack.

It is set in 1727 around the island of St Kilda, part of an archipelago way out past the island of Skye in the north west of Scotland. To be more specific the entire story focuses on a group of three men and nine boys who sail out from the island to the local (I use that term loosely) island stacs where they perform the yearly duty of killing and harvesting birds and wildlife for the purpose of food, trade and so on. Every year a group will venture out to the warrior stac and remain there for up to three weeks while they wait for their kin to come and collect them.

Only in this particular summer three weeks become five, then seven and it doesn't take long for the group to realise that they are stranded out on this stac with no help coming to them. Thus begins a struggle for survival and hope for deliverance from their fate. They have the solid fears of isolation, possible starvation, and lack of equipment to contend with and lets not forget the big two demons, inner rivalry and insanity. As time goes on cracks in the group begin to widen, particularly when one of them announces that he's seen the end of days and that really, they've been left stranded in the world by the angels who've rounded everyone else up for judgement.

Quill, the book's central character does an epic job of holding things together, telling stories to the younger boys to keep their minds active, even comforting the older men who break when they succumb to the harsh reality of the fact that no one will come to their rescue. What follows is a tumultuous existence, the group battling the elements and each other as the story winds up to a cataclysmic and tragic conclusion.

The book has it's obvious villains, the sanctimonious Col Cane who thinks he's in touch with God himself and the biggest boy, bully Kenneth who works to make others' lives a misery. But really they're small dramas when compared with the mammoth efforts of the boys to remember their own identities and their places in the world. Hope, faith and determination are the biggest emotions in play here, emotions I felt echoed in my soul as I raced to read the book from start to finish. I have promised myself that now it's served a purpose I'll read it again and take my time, just to savour it properly.

It's 336 pages are split into chapters of varying length which is based largely on the books pace, the biggest of the chapters are in the middle section of the book. The language is fantastic I found myself dashing to grab a notepad to write down quotes! It's hard not to pick up on a visceral piece of imagery such as this:

"The August dawns sliced their way clearly through the horizon."

or better still this:

"Remembered pictures are like water, the harder you try to hold on to them, the more surely they run away... ...it is unbearable to lose the memory of a face."

or how about this?

"After the world ends, only music and love will survive." Sigh! How romantic!!!

But the staggering thing that marks this book out is the vocabulary! I like to pride myself on being a bit of a wordsmith, but when I find myself reaching for the dictionary or calling lazily out to my husband in another room to check on the meaning of words every few mintues then I know I've been sufficiently challenged! Younger readers might struggle with the language altogether as the combination of extremely varied vocabulary and occasional rural speech might be tough. I'd encourage those who find it a chore to persevere.

There is the very rare use of a swear word and several hints at things that might be deemed inappropriate for younger readers too. I'd personally recommend it to readers aged 11 and up. Though I'd certainly encourage teachers to read it to younger classes if they don't mind skipping one or two words or scenes (I know this might lose some of the flavour of the book but better that then not to share it at all).

Quill's journey through this story and his growth from boyhood into manhood is a deeply emotional one, his faith and love at times being all that stands between life and death. He is every inch the hero of the story, his fortitude providing a rock of shelter for all others, even though he somehow manages to feel responsible for things that go wrong. Guilt is just one of the many burdens he carries, until he is so haunted by his demons that it's clear he will never be the same again. Most importantly, the book stresses his need to depend on himself to get through, as none of the others in the group could carry the weight that he has to. But that doesn't stop them from coming to his aid, so when he needs to work alone he does, but he also is wise enough to take help when it's offered.

I can learn a lesson from him. Now to move forward with that love in my heart, inner fortitude and clearer approach to getting this blog done!

This is book 36 of my 52 book list and an inspirational work of fiction based upon a true story.

Book Title: Where the World Ends

Author: Geraldine McCaughrean

Published: 2018

Pages:336

Suitable for: children aged 11 upwards

Interesting words: remnants, sumptuous, manse, stolid, belligerent, sanctimonious, ineffable, concatenation, cleits, I could go on and on! 

Something lurking in the water

Horror, its an overwhelming concept: something so broad in scale and yet so singular in terms of our own personal taste. We all know instinctively what scares us. That thing that junps out of the shadows without warning, the hideous,unamable creature who's repulsive physiognomy we can't distinguish, or the monster lurking just behind the door patiently waiting for an ignorant human to cross the threshold.
We all have those specific little things that scare us senseless.

We're known to glorify them, even challenge ourselves to see just how much horror we can tolerate. One of last year's biggest selling cinema releases was a second  film adaptation of a 1980s' horror novel.  I myself being deathly afraid of spiders have attempted to watch Arachnophobia on at least 3 seperats occasions. It was thanks to the stubbornness of my husband and sister that got me through it.
What causes these fears? Is it something that stems from childhood? Was I once bitten by a patheticially non-radioactive spider when I was a little girl? I know my fear and fascination with zombies is rooted in being shut in a darkened room with Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' on the telly (thanks again to my little sister). There's nothing like the sunken eyes of zombie Jackson and the chilling voice of Vincent Price to inspire fear!
Anyway, I digress, as I say most of us are scared of something (I can hear somebody saying "I'm not" just to be different - jog on showoff)!
Me? I've always known what scares me. I've been a massive fan of Stephen King since the tender age of 11 - I read 'It' way too young.

Before I cover this week's chosen book I have to give credit to the children's book series that turned my son from a reluctant reader into an avid one. It has sold more than 350 million copies worldwide, which is eerily as many as Stephen King has sold himself. I refer of course to the Goosebumps series written by R.L. Stine (often hailed as the Stephen King for kids). These books filled a much of ignored gap in the market, allowing children to delight in scaring themselves through the medium of reading. They've been adapted into a long standing t.v. series and 2 Hollywood movies on top of generating all kinds of merchandise. Well Well played Mr Stine, thank you for allowing my youngest son a more natural build up to the works of adult horror and for getting him to read in the first place!

I'll take care to mention that I've used the word ignorant a fair bit in this blog post. My usage has been intentional. In fact it is the subject of ignorance that led to my choice of book this week.
Many months ago my husband gave me a newspaper article that he thought might pique my interest. I looked briefly at it, acknowledged his effort with a thank you, placed the article on my desk and got on with my day. It was three whole weeks before I even looked at it again. When I read it I realised it was all about book recommendations. I applauded myself on knowing a couple of the titles (yay me) but then came across a book series that intrigued me. Bookshops were a bust but the local library had one copy of the series' second installment.

 The cover appeared distinctly unremarkable. I spent some time wondering who in the world of journalism had lost their wits so completely that they'd tout it as a great read. The blurb redeemed it a little, but not enough for me to want to read it immediately. So it sat on the top of my 'to read' pile for months. I kid you not, it's incurred the maximum charge from the library. Last week I was traveling to London and I picked it up on a whim as I needed something to tide me over on the train.
Pike centres around Nicky, a young boy who lives at home with his single father and older brother Kenny. Kenny has clear mental and emotional needs but at no point are we ever really told what those needs are. In that respect we're left to do a little detective work.
One day, while the two boys are out with their dog on a fishing trip at Bacon Pond Nicky discovers something. After Nicky has to swim out and rescue the struggling dog he sees something he simply can't understand, something strange and very very wrong: a gold rolex attached to a dismembered hand which is partly attached to...
...well Nicky knows, you'll just have to read more to find out!

Desperate to improve their financial situation Nicky decides he has to retrieve this watch, it could provide his family with much needed cash. But the waters of Bacon Pond are dangerous. Stories of the omnivorous pike have spread through the town like wildfire. As if to ram the point home, Nicky is forced to out swim them when he swims out to rescue his dog in that very first chapter.
The pike are not the only threat. The town's local gangster is on the loose, with some scores to settle, particularly after the disappearance of his father. Will the gangster seek retribution against Nicky and his family? What happens to the several major characters that have just plain vanished (characters which include Nicky's mum)? Who is the mysterious stranger that skulks around the pond at random hours of the day? And what the hell is lurking deep down in that murky water?
Well, where do I start? The book itself is only 127 pages long, an easy read for reluctant readers. Written in the first person, the language used is every inch the reflection of the book's main character. This leads to a beautiful feeling of gritty realism, the only negative being the fact that this child swears a lot (yes, I'm well aware most boys his age do).
It won't stretch young readers in terms of vocabulary but the plot will at least hook them and get them reading. While I wouldn't ordinarily class it as a horror it does use a tool that most horror movies and books have sadly forgotten: the tool of suspense.
The first chapter throws a well timed shock your way, before the next couple lull you into a false sense of security while you get to know the characters. When the next intense scary chapter arrives the reader is a little unprepared. What follows is Nicky's increasingly frantic plan unfolding as he tries to get the watch. It's a slow methodical rise to a climactic point which seems to last an age! I nearly went blue holding my breath!
It is expertly crafted, with phrases that stand out for extra effect, such as this one on the very first page:
"...if you looked closer you could see... ...the shimmer of energy that passed through the solid body under the scales."
It doesn't matter that it's the second book in the series. It stands well enough on it's own.
If as a parent, you're confident that your child can handle swearing then I suppose they could get away with reading from the age of 9. The ideal age in my opinion would be around 11 or 12.
It'll succeed where other books might fail, in giving kids a good scare!
Book 35 of my 52 book challenge, my scary book and maybe a reason why I should pay my husband a little more attention!

Book Title: Pike

Author: Anthony McGowan

Pages: 127

Published: 2015

Suitable for: children age 11 upwards

Interesting words: frayed, murk, dappled, impact