This post is a little late and I have actually started (or even finished) a few of the books on my February book pile (middle grade).
Advance copies - thanks to Beachside Bookshop
Crook Haven: The School for Thieves by J.J. Arcanjo Hodder Due for release March 2023
Publisher blurb: 13-year-old Gabriel is a brilliant pickpocket, a skill which he uses to keep his often empty belly not quite so empty. And then one day, he's caught. But instead of being arrested, he is invited by the mysterious Caspian Crook to attend Crookhaven - a school for thieves. At Crookhaven, students are trained in lock-picking, forgery and 'crim-nastics', all with the intention of doing good out in the world, by conning the bad and giving back to the innocent. But ... can you ever really trust a thief? With a school wide competition to be crowned Top Crook and many mysteries to uncover, Gabriel's first year at Crookhaven will be one to remember...
I am up to page 197 of 313 pages and I am thoroughly enjoying this book. It will greatly appeal to fans of Harry Potter. In fact if someone out there is writing their PhD thesis on books with plot lines that are either reminiscent or derivative of good old Harry Potter then I suggest you add this book to your reading pile. Having said that I am not usually a fan of school for wizards stories but this one is actually very engrossing, inventive and clever. I will talk in detail about this book, the first in a planned series by a debut author, later this week.
Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King Walker Books released February 2023.
I have already finished this one - read more here.
Running with Ivan by Suzanne Leal A&R released February 2023
Publisher blurb: Thirteen-year-old Leo Arnold hates his life. He doesn't want a new school, a new house or a new family. And he definitely doesn't want to be sharing a room with his new stepbrother, Cooper. What Leo wants is to be somewhere else, far away. So when he uncovers an old music box and turns the key, he is astonished to find himself in Prague, surrounded by whispers and fears of a second world war. A war that ended decades ago. In Prague, Leo meets Ivan, a Czech boy, and the two become friends. But when World War Two finally erupts, the unimaginable becomes real and the boys are imprisoned. Fearing the worst, Leo and Ivan frantically search for an escape. A search that sends them running. Running against time. Running for their lives.
I am always interest in reading books set during World War II but I am not a huge fan of time slip so I will be interested to see how this book transitions from the present to the past.
Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Drondfield illustrated by David Ziggy Greene Puffin due for release January 2023.
Publisher blurb: When everything is taken away from you, love and courage are all you have left. In 1938, the Nazis come to Vienna. They hate anyone who is different, especially Jewish people. Fritz and Kurt's family are Jewish, and that puts them in terrible danger. Fritz, along with his father, is taken to a Nazi prison camp, a terrible place, full of fear. When his father is sent to a certain death, Fritz can't face losing his beloved Papa. He chooses to go with him and fight for survival. Meanwhile, Kurt must go on a frightening journey, all alone, to seek safety on the far side of the world. In this extraordinary true story, Fritz and Kurt must face unimaginable hardships, and the two brothers wonder if they will ever return home . . .
I have started this book but knowing it is about the holocaust (based on a an adult book The Boy who followed his Father into Auschwitz) I am sure reading this true life account will take some courage. I already know I would pair this book with The Happiest Boy on Earth: The incredible story of The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku. I will talk about this important and very moving book later in the year. It is a new Australian picture book.
Books I purchased for February (see list below of completed books too):
Gold Rush Girl by Avi
I am a huge fan of Avi - I loved the Poppy book series. Gold Rush Girl (2020) has been on my book shopping list for a long time. Kirkus said this book is: A splendidly exciting and accessible historical adventure.
Blurb: Victoria Blaisdell longs for independence and adventure, and she yearns to accompany her father as he sails west in search of real gold! But it is 1848, and Tory isn't even allowed to go to school, much less travel all the way from Rhode Island to California. Determined to take control of her own destiny, Tory stows away on the ship. Though San Francisco is frenzied and full of wild and dangerous men, Tory finds freedom and friendship there. Until one day, when Father is in the gold fields, her younger brother, Jacob, is kidnapped. And so Tory is spurred on a treacherous search for him in Rotten Row, a part of San Francisco Bay crowded with hundreds of abandoned ships. Beloved storyteller Avi is at the top of his form as he ushers us back to an extraordinary time of hope and risk, brought to life by a heroine readers will cheer for. Spot-on details and high suspense make this a vivid, absorbing historical adventure.
Without even opening this book I know I would pair it with The Ballad of Lucy Whipple.
Borrowed from the library:
Greenglass House by Kate Milford
Blurb: New York Times Bestseller * National Book Award Nominee * Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again... Soon Milo’s home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House—and themselves.
I have already started this one. I do enjoy books set in hotels and this one seems to be quite an intriguing and atmospheric mystery.
This month I have also read:
Cop and Robber by Tristan Bancks
The Lorikeet Tree by Paul Jennings
The Girl who talked to Trees by Natasha Farrant illustrated by Lydia Corry
Finally in a few days I will talk about this splendid poetry book. I have borrowed it from a friend but now I think I might need to purchase my own copy! Nosy Crow always deliver such beautifully designed books - this one even has one of those book mark ribbons.
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