The 10pm Question by Kate De Goldi

What Are Your Worst Fears?
review by Maryom

Frankie Parsons isn't like the rest of the kids in Year 8. While they enjoy life, totally carefree, he spends all his time worrying about anything and everything - are aching muscles a sign of meningitis? is his headache actually an aneurism? has the cat passed on fleas to the family? To keep his fears at bay, he recites lists - of birds or animals. The only person who understands his fears, and listens to them, is his Mother. But while she can still comfort and reassure Frankie, she has problems and fears of her own. Then a new girl arrives at school with her own problems and her own way of dealing with them, and disrupts Frankie's orderly world.
There's a rather slow start to this tale, but the ever-worried Frankie and his slightly weird family gradually come to life as you read on. Kate De Goldi paints a sensitive and thought provoking picture of children coping with the vagaries of parents, whether brought on by illness or lifestyle.

Maryom's review - 4 stars

Publisher - Templar Publishing

Genre - Children's (12+)

The 10pm Question can be purchased from Amazon.co.uk

Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin

Made me wonder
Review by TheMole

A story of three children who chance upon a fantastic discovery that takes them into perils and situations that leave the reading reeling and thinking. Sunni and Doran visit Blackhope tower, a museum that has an intriguing clause in the bequest that 1 room, the Mariners Chamber, may have no changes made to it whatsoever. Over the years this has been honoured and the room houses a fine painting by Fausto Corvo - an artist with colourful story. There they meet Blaise and while Sunni and Blaise talk about the painting and the artist, Doran gets bored. And so begins a fast paced and fascinating tale that left me wondering.... How do authors like Teresa Flavin come up with such imaginative plots? How do they extend a simple idea to all the complexities that they do? And how do they do it so well? The characters vary in their depth with the 'good guys' being better developed than the 'bad guys'. Whether this is because the author is a naturally 'good guy' or whether it's to stop the reader becoming attached to the baddies I don't know but whatever it is it did leave me, throughout the reading, remembering that this is a 'tweens' age group book (I have a 13 year old and I can see her enjoying it). Some children's books you lose track of the age group it was intended for because of the way it is written (not because of it's content). This recognition of it's age group did not detract from my enjoyment of the book though. I found it to be well plotted, well written and paced beautifully for the younger reader. Highly recommended!

TheMole's review - 4.5 stars

Publisher - Templar Publishing

Genre - Children's 10+

Buy The Blackhope Enigma from Amazon