Heaven's Waiting Room by Clare Wilson

Review by The Mole

Portia is having a funny summer - time is dragging, nothing is happening and no-one is speaking to each other. Then Mary comes along and breaks the news to her - she's dead. All those worries about whether to go to university, what was happening between her parents and the bothers of a younger sister suddenly dissolve to be replaced by more stressing issues that being dead brings. Why was she still hanging around her house? When and how did she die? What are the rules for afterlife on earth and how does she fill her time in eternity?

Heaven is full and there's no space for the number of souls trying to get in. A tale of bad management - someone needs to say something - a story that is at times light hearted,  sad, tense, terrifying but always gripping. Not a book (in my opinion) for when you are down but certainly when you want something lighter to read and enjoy a bit of fantasy. Something that I find disturbing in a lot of books is the impression that the afterlife is better than real life but here we find it may not be that way at all.

I was looking for something light after several excellent psychological thrillers and found it in this lovely book.

Genre - Fantasy, YA

The Ancient Exile by Clare Wilson

Review by The Mole

Tom MacKay, young Staff Wielder, is still training with his granda in Cairn Holme when he is once again summoned back in time by Aneirin. Ten years have passed for Aneirin but for Tom it is just a year ago. A threat has appeared in the sky and Aneirin needs Tom's help to find a hermit on a remote island who they hope will know how to end this threat.

This is the second book in the Staff Wielder series (Book 1 is The Long Staff) and we see Tom still learning to use the power of the staff but growing, becoming more confident and capable.

Another exciting adventure but once again there is a sequel, so Tom will be back once again but I suspect that this will be in a bigger, more central role as he 'comes of age' properly.

I read this without having read the first book and I found it worked well for me BUT... by reading it you will know the outcome of the first story so I recommend you read them in order. Despite the monsters encountered in this book it is still a non terrifying story that will grip young readers - both boys and girls - and keep them reading to the end.

Publisher - Olida Publishing
Genre - children's fiction, 8+, fantasy, magic


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The Long Staff by Clare Wilson

review by Maryom

Staying with his grandfather for the summer holidays Tom discovers he is the next in line to be the wielder of a magical staff passed down through many generations of his family. When Tom wakes in the middle of the night to find the staff glowing, he reaches out to touch it and finds himself whisked back in time to help out a previous Staff-wielder who is being threatened by evil forces. Tom must quickly learn to control the power of the Staff if he is to help at all and get back to his own time. It's the sort of adventure that Tom has dreamed of having while reading such stories, but maybe it's not so much fun now he's actually part of it!

The Long Staff is a good-versus-evil, time-slip magical adventure for the 8 to 12 range reader. It includes many of the classic ingredients for this sort of tale - the young boy aware of the powers he possesses, a more experienced mentor, an evil that must be opposed. Set against a backdrop of Highland Scotland this is an exciting, but not terrifying, story with well-drawn, well-rounded characters that should appeal to both boys and girls.

This is only the first of a series, so Tom will be back for more magical adventures.

Maryom's review - 3.5 stars
Publisher - Olida Publishing
Genre - children's fiction, 8+, fantasy, magic


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