Tag: Penguin Random House

The Shape of Night – Tess Gerritsen

Spoilers Ahead!

The prologue sets this book up as something with the potential to be deliciously creepy so I was eager to continue reading. I absolutely fell in love with Tess’ Rizzoli & Isles series (both book and TV versions) but have only read one of her standalone books prior to this one, Playing with Fire.

I read a couple of early reviews prior to beginning this book that mentioned ghost erotica. I thought, ‘Nah, it’s Tess. She wouldn’t go there, surely.’ Yeah, so I was wrong. If someone told me that I’d been punked, that some other miscellaneous author wrote this, it would make much more sense to me than it really being Tess. I wouldn’t have requested this book for review had the blurb even hinted at this content, but here we are.

Running from a secret shame and seeking oblivion at the bottom of a bottle (or, more accurately, many bottles), Ava escapes to Brodie’s Watch, a hilltop mansion overlooking the sea.

I’d hoped for a serene place to write, a place to hide. A place to heal.

Ava is a food writer who needs to work on her very overdue next book and a gorgeous, somewhat isolated house that was formerly owned by a sea captain seems like the perfect location. It isn’t long before Ava becomes aware of the home’s unsettling past and some more recent mysteries that the residents of Tucker Cove aren’t especially forthcoming about.

To the casual visitor, Tucker Cove seems quaint and picturesque, but it’s also a village that guards its secrets and protects its own.

I’d already ordered this book from the library for my mother before I began reading it and since neither of us have ever voluntarily read anything that could be confused with erotica before, I’ve warned her of what’s in store. (Now, that’s an interesting conversation to have with your Mum.) If you’re into 50 Shades of Spectral BDSM you’ll probably enjoy those scenes but when I was reading some of the more graphic bits I was a bit like:

As soon as I suspected this ghost’s intentions I was ready to call my Winchester boys so they could deal with him. I personally would have taken this book much more seriously if there hadn’t been sex with a ghost/demon. Sorry, Tess, but whenever I stumbled upon snippets like I want him to light the match and set me on fire, to prove that the living can satisfy me the way the dead do I ended up getting the giggles. It wasn’t supposed to be funny but it struck me as so absurd I couldn’t help finding humour in it.

Because it’s still a Tess book (it is; I double checked the title page) there’s got to be a dead body. Even though our main character is a food writer, not a police officer or medical examiner, I expected there to be some mystery surrounding this person’s identity. As soon as the body was found I thought there was only one person it could be, and sadly I was right.

Artists create, they don’t destroy. They don’t kill.

I won’t tell you if an artist is the culprit or not but obviously Ava isn’t acquainted with Dennis Rockmond from his two Season 3 Rizzoli & Isles episodes, ‘This Is How a Heart Breaks’ and ‘Melt My Heart to Stone’, if she doesn’t at least consider the possibility.

I expect a challenge where Tess’ stories are concerned, oftentimes not knowing who did it or why until just before (or when) it’s finally revealed. This time I knew who the big bad was as soon as I met them. I also figured out early on what Ava’s shameful secret was, so wasn’t surprised by anything (other than the whole BDSM thing).

“You are the one I’ve been waiting for.”

I’m unsure if this is a real inconsistency or if I missed something but when Ava first encounters the sea captain she winds up with bruising, yet no subsequent encounters leave a lasting mark on her. It infuriated me that it’s not challenged when the sea captain refers to Ava as his possession and even more so when she was okay with that!

I have to believe that with a cat called Hannibal, the main character drinking Chianti at one point had to be a deliberate choice by the author, one that I very much appreciated.

I’m not interested in pigeonholing writers. I usually enjoy it when authors write outside the lines of what I’ve come to expect of them. I think there are going to be a lot of surprised Tess fans out there where this book is concerned though, besides myself and my still pretty much unsuspecting Mum.

About the cover: There is no way that cat in the cover image is anywhere near the 26 pounds that Hannibal, Ava’s cat, is supposed to be in the book. It seems poor Hannibal had to diet before he was allowed to pose for his big moment. For comparison, this is what a 30 pound Maine Coon looks like. Meet Omar from Australia.

So, where to from here? I will definitely be reading any future Rizzoli & Isles books, no questions asked. However, after not loving two standalone books by this author in a row, I think I will be holding off to read some early reviews before deciding if their next standalone is for me or not.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bantam Press, an imprint of Transworld Publishers, Random House UK, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

We’ve all done things we’re ashamed of …

When Ava arrives at Brodie’s Watch, she thinks she has found the perfect place to hide from her past. Something terrible happened, something she is deeply ashamed of, and all she wants is to forget.

But the old house on the hill both welcomes and repels her and Ava quickly begins to suspect she is not alone. Either that or she is losing her mind.

The house is full of secrets, but is the creeping sense of danger coming from within its walls, or from somewhere else entirely?

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Atticus Van Tasticus – Andrew Daddo

Illustrations – Stephen Michael King

“Together we’re goin’ piratin’.”

Ahoy, me hearties! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day and I be watchin’ o’er Atticus and his crew from the crows nest of The Grandnan.

Ye see, when Van Tasticus lads and lassies reach their tenth birthday they get to plunder one piece o’ treasure from Grandnan Van Tasticus’ giant shed. They be needin’ to choose their bounty wisely as that be the only loot they get.

When it be Atticus’ birthday his landlubbing days be o’er as he be choosin’ a ship. Blimey!

Atticus and his crew set sail, seekin’ treasure and adventure. There be walkin’ the plank, a stowaway and some surprises.

This be the first in a new series. There be smiles for ye scallywags and details in the pictures that ye ol’ seadogs will appreciate, from well known paintings in Grandnan’s shed to Muscles and Mullet channelin’ their inner Rose and Jack on the bow of The Grandnan.

If ye be worryin’ about what yet scallywag be readin’, thar be a crew member that be sayin’ “crap”.

I plundered me a signed copy of this book. If ye be putting yer mark on a pirate book, this be how ye do it right! Aaarrr!

I be givin’ this treasure four Jolly Rogers. 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A ten-year-old pirate captain? Absurd? Not in the world of Atticus Van Tasticus, a fabulously funny new illustrated junior fiction series from the brilliant and whacky creative minds of Andrew Daddo and Stephen Michael King.

1750, when times were tough and teeth were rotten …

As part of an ancient family tradition, young Atticus Van Tasticus narrowly escapes a life down the coal mines – or worse, going to school – when he gets to choose the gift of a pirate ship from his Grandnan’s treasure pile. 

It’s a choice that will change the course of history – well, OK, his story, at least. Atticus pulls together a rag-tag bunch misfits – AHEM – a tough, brilliant crew, and sets out to wreak havoc – I mean – live a piratin’ life. 

With little else to his name, Atticus has a taste for adventure, beauty and danger – where any minute might be your last, and your next minute could be your best ( … if only they could get off the dock).

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Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me – Anna Mehler Paperny

This book is part memoir and part journalistic investigation, with a fair amount of acknowledged subjectivity based on the author’s experiences with depression, suicidal ideation and attempts, and various treatments. In trying to explain the contents of this book I couldn’t go past this quote:

It’s an uncomfortably personal exploration of a sickeningly common illness no one likes talking about, one that remains under-treated and poorly treated and grossly inequitably treated in part because of our own squeamishness in confronting it or our own denial of its existence as an illness and the destruction it wreaks when left to its own devices.

I found myself cycling between wondering how wise it was to be describing the methods used in so much detail because it could potentially be read as instructions in the wrong/right hands and admonishing myself for wanting to control the narrative because people who live with suicidal ideation are already silenced in so many ways.

It’s difficult to sit and think about depression and suicide for any extended period of time and I did find my mood changing as I read, especially the early sections where the author recounts her “entry point into a labyrinthine psychiatric care system via the trapdoor of botched self-obliteration”. I think I’d be more concerned if reading a book like this didn’t have any impact on me, though. I was able to binge watch some TV to effectively switch the channels in my brain for a while for some respite. I am keenly aware that this is a luxury someone experiencing chronic depression and/or suicidal ideation do not have.

While some of the information contained in this book is specific to Canada and/or America, overall there’s something for pretty much everyone. Given the prevalence of depression, it’s likely to have touched your life in some way, either personally or through someone you love.

This book:

  • Demystifies suicide – no, asking someone if they are considering suicide does not cause someone who isn’t suicidal to suddenly become so
  • Offers some protective measures – loved ones, curiosity, procrastination
  • Discusses various treatment options – “pharmacological treatment of mental disorders has all the precision of surgery conducted with a chainsaw”
  • Outlines some studies and research
  • Highlights the additional barriers to getting treatment if you’re not white or you’re poor or from a remote community or a child or Indigenous or from a culture that shames seeking mental health treatment or, heaven forbid, any combination of these – “We fail the most marginalized at every level, then wonder why they worsen”; and
  • Provides insights into depression and suicide through stories of people who’ve experienced them up close and personal.

I found some of the language used in this book referencing mental illness iffy at best: “nuts”, “crazy”, “nutbars”. While I’m never going to be okay with those words myself, I don’t have the right to tell someone who’s describing their experience what words they’re allowed to use to do so.

Subsumed by such an agency-stealing disease, we need all the empowering we can get.

While it covered a lot of information I already knew (I’ve read a lot previously in this area), I learned about some studies and potential future treatments I wasn’t aware of and the details of the author’s experiences in hospital opened my eyes.

I appreciated the author’s honesty and her down to earth approach, which made difficult topics more accessible for me. The amount of interviews with various health professionals, researchers and others who are consistently dealing with mental illness provided a well rounded exploration, with a variety of points of view.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone whose work involves interaction with people who experience mental illness as it holds valuable insights into what it’s like to have to live with an illness that people silence, shame and shy away from.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

In her early twenties, while outwardly thriving in her dream job and enjoying warm familial support and a strong social network, award-winning journalist Anna Mehler Paperny found herself trapped by feelings of failure and despair. Her first suicide attempt – ingesting a deadly mix of sleeping pills and antifreeze – landed her in the ICU, followed by weeks of enforced detention that ran the gamut of horrifying, boring, hilarious, and absurd. This was Anna’s entry into the labyrinthine psychiatric care system responsible for providing care to millions of Canadians.

As she struggled to survive the psych ward and as an outpatient- enduring the “survivor’s” shame of facing concerned family, friends, and co-workers; finding (or not) the right therapist, the right meds; staying healthy, insured, and employed – Anna could not help but turn her demanding journalist’s eye on her condition and on the system in which she found herself. She set off on a quest to “know her enemy,” interviewing leading practitioners in the field across Canada and the US – from psychiatrists to neurological experts, brain-mapping pioneers to heroic family practitioners, and others dabbling in novel hypotheses.

She reveals in courageously frank detail her own experiences with the pharmacological pitfalls and side effects of long-term treatment, and offers moving case studies of conversations with others, opening wide a window into how we treat (and fail to treat) the disease that accounts for more years swallowed up by disability than any other in the world. 

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The Magician’s Secret – Zachary Hyman

Illustrations – Joe Bluhm

“The imagination is the most powerful force in the world.”

Charlie loves spending time with his Grandpa, who not only used to be a magician but also lets him eat sugary treats. They have the most fun, though, when they explore the contents of the Magic Story Chest, an old wooden trunk in the attic.

Grandpa can weave the most marvellous tales from the seemingly ordinary objects in that trunk, adventures that come alive in Charlie’s imagination. An hourglass from Tut’s tomb.

The Red Baron’s scarf.

Grandpa even has an exciting story to tell about a coconut shell.

When Charlie’s father tells him that Grandpa’s stories aren’t true, Charlie isn’t sure what to believe so he asks Grandpa about it.

This is such a lovely story about the magical bond between grandparents and grandkids, and the importance of imagination. I adored Charlie’s Grandpa and wanted to keep investigating the contents of the Magic Story Chest with him. I bet he still had lots of wonderful stories left to tell. I would happily read this story over and over again.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

This action-adventure picture book featuring a grandfather and grandson duo celebrates the power of imagination and the magic of make believe.

Charlie loves when Grandpa comes to babysit because he always brings his magical imagination. Grandpa was a magician who knows the most amazing tricks; he can pull a rabbit from a hat and make a coin disappear. But what Charlie loves most are his wonderful adventure stories, and they all begin with something his grandfather has saved in his Magic Story Chest.

An hourglass is a reminder of how he defended the treasure in King Tut’s tomb from raiders. A long white scarf inspires the story about Grandpa’s dogfight with the notorious Red Baron, the great First World War fighter pilot. A coconut shell heralds the story about his encounter with a nasty Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Charlie’s parents, though, aren’t too sure they like Grandpa’s stories and warn Charlie that they’re just “tall tales.” What is Charlie to believe? How can his grandpa convince him that all you need to do is believe and a dream can be turned into something real?

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The Truth About Keeping Secrets – Savannah Brown

When you live in a fishbowl, everything seems bigger, magnified, and no one was safe. People said that, in Pleasant Hills, everyone got their scandal. Fifteen minutes of infamy. I was to get more.

Sydney’s father, the only therapist in Pleasant Hills, has died. Sydney isn’t convinced her dad’s car accident was accidental. After all, he knew all of his clients’ secrets and maybe one of those secrets got him killed. And why was June Copeland, golden girl of Pleasant Hills, at his funeral?

The November of my junior year became permanently etched into my mind as the first month of June.

Told in a strangely beautiful way, this is a story about a grief that’s so pervasive it feels like it could eat you alive, fear so tangible it may choke you if you don’t find a way to escape or confront it, and obsession disguised as love.

Abstract is scarier than physical. Unknown is scarier than known – not because of what it is, but because of all the things it could be.

With the heightened drama of adolescence and undercurrents of potential danger and ongoing mystery, I found myself hooked from the first page and wished on more than one occasion that it was socially acceptable to highlight my library book.

June convinced me that we were all open books if only we found the right person to read us.

I was caught up in Sydney’s grief and loneliness from the beginning and liked her, even when she was being a crappy friend, because she was so relatable. I could easily imagine someone thinking and feeling the way she did, and I respected that her grief wasn’t pretty and contained. Her strengths and quirks felt authentic.

I adored Leo and wish I could have gotten to know him better. For a while it seemed like he would get the page time he deserved but gradually he began to feel like he was only there to provide Sydney with a specific skill set.

I enjoyed the mystery surrounding June and liked her complexity but one thing she did that annoyed the hell out of me was, like, how often she, like, said, “like”, like that. I found her character fascinating but, honestly, each time she said “like” I wanted to claw her eyes out. I did have some nostalgic “dude” moments with her though, offset by ‘wow, is “dude” back?’

I did pick up on a few clues early on that gave away some of the spoilery bits but that may be my life experience showing rather than an indication that this book was predictable.

I can’t believe a 22 year old wrote this! I didn’t even know who I was at 22 and here this woman is, writing a book that made me want to keep digging deeper into the lives of book friends I only met a few days ago. I’m definitely going to be looking out for this author’s next novel.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Sydney’s dad is the only psychiatrist for miles around their small Ohio town.

He is also unexpectedly dead.

Is Sydney crazy, or is it kind of weird that her dad-a guy whose entire job revolved around other peoples’ secrets-crashed alone, with no explanation?

And why is June Copeland, homecoming queen and the town’s golden child, at his funeral?

As the two girls grow closer in the wake of the accident, it’s clear that not everyone is happy about their new friendship.

But what is picture perfect June still hiding? And does Sydney even want to know? 

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Rumple Buttercup – Matthew Gray Gubler

I need to read this book every day for the rest of my life! Also, Rumple Buttercup is my new best friend!

Rumple lives in a drain beneath the town, hiding from the people he’s sure will reject him because he’s weird. He spends his time watching people interacting with one another and enjoying their lives but he is desperately alone so he makes his own friend out of trash, Candy Corn Carl.

I adore Rumple and love that this book is a celebration of weirdness. Let’s face it; we’re all weird in our own way. Anyone who has ever felt like they don’t belong, aren’t good enough or are too different to be accepted by others will relate to Rumple and hopefully realise, as Rumple does, that “Everyone is weird and that’s what makes us great”.

I would have read this book no matter what, simply because Matthew Gray Gubler wrote and illustrated it, but it’s so much more incredible than even I expected! This debut has a wonderful message for kids but people who have aged out of childhood also need to be reminded that it’s okay to be different. Let’s celebrate our individuality!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Rumple Buttercup has five crooked teeth, three strands of hair, green skin, and his left foot is slightly bigger than his right.

He is weird.

Join him and Candy Corn Carl (his imaginary friend made of trash) as they learn the joy of individuality as well as the magic of belonging.

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Super Sidekicks #1: No Adults Allowed – Gavin Aung Than

Junior Justice (JJ) is sick of being the sidekick of the most famous superhero in the world so he decides to form his own team. Together with Flygirl, Dinomite and Goo, these heroes are ready to prove to the adults that they’re capable of doing more than laundry.

JJ is the world’s greatest martial artist, a master in multiple disciplines including Mongolian tickle fighting. Flygirl is the world’s most acrobatic flyer. Dinomite has a degree in quantum mechanics and can speak 47 languages but all anyone wants him to do is transform into different dinosaurs. Goo is, well, pink goo. When Goo is kidnapped by evil Dr Enok it’s up to his new friends to rescue him.

This graphic novel had some great messages for young readers, including looking out for your friends and working together as a team. I found Goo adorable and couldn’t wait for his friends to save him from his creator, Dr Enok, who delighted in abusing and torturing my pink gooey friend.

The illustrations are a lot of fun. I love that this new superhero team is based on Sydney; the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge are featured in several images. I particularly enjoyed the expressions shown on the chapter pages; each chapter number is covered in Goo and they show how he’s feeling in that chapter.

I would have devoured this graphic novel as a kid and am looking forward to the Super Sidekicks’ next adventure, Ocean’s Revenge.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Superheroes have it easy. They don’t have to clean their secret headquarters, wash the alien bloodstains out of their costumes or be responsible for taking Super Mutt out for a walk. No, they leave all that for their sidekicks like me, while they get all the credit! 

I’m Junior Justice, but you can call me JJ, and I think it’s time we made our own team. 

The Super Sidekicks!

Are you with me? 

Being a superhero sidekick isn’t as fun as you think. You do all the work, beat the bad guys and save the planet, only for your grown-up partner to get all the credit. Junior Justice is sick of it, so he and his sidekick pals, Flygirl, Dinomite and Goo, have decided to form their own super team. 

But before they can start saving the world they’ll have to prove to the adult heroes that they’re more than just sidekicks. And once the evil Dr Enok discovers his favourite pet Goo has left him to join a super team, the world might need saving sooner rather than later!

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SHOUT – Laurie Halse Anderson

This is the story of a girl who lost her voice and wrote herself a new one.

I expect I’m one of the only ones reading SHOUT before they’ve read Speak. I’ve had Speak on my ‘I absolutely have to read this book’ list for as long as I can remember but still haven’t read it. I searched my local library for it but they don’t own it. I tried for several years to buy it on Kindle but it wasn’t available to purchase in my country (I just checked and it’s still not an option). I finally bit the bullet and added it to my Book Depository order last year and it’s been looking at me ever since from my shelf, quietly asking me why I haven’t opened its pages.

Honestly? It’s intimidated me. It’s the book about sexual assault and while I’ve read so many others, I think I’ve worried about what it will bring up for me when I do finally read it. So, long story slightly shorter, my plan is to SHOUT, then Speak, and then SHOUT again. I’m interested to see if my perspective on SHOUT changes after I’ve read Speak. I guess time will tell.

The first section of this book is essentially memoir in free verse. Laurie takes the reader on a journey through a series of childhood memories; a father haunted by war when alcohol isn’t numbing his memories, a mother silenced, her own experiences of school, work and surviving sexual assault. I really loved reading about Laurie’s experience as an exchange student in Denmark and would happily devour as much information as I could about those 13 months; what I’ve read has sparked an interest in Danish culture.

The second section, which begins almost two thirds of the way through the book, broke my heart as Laurie shared just a handful of stories about her interactions with other survivors, whose young bodies have been invaded and lives changed, most often by those they know and should have been able to trust. Although this section made me cry one of the things that got to me the most was something hopeful – the colourful ribbons tied to fences in Ballarat, Australia in support of the abused, which ultimately created Loud Fence. The images of those ribbons of support broke me.

This section includes responses from readers, students who have heard Laurie speak, teachers and librarians; those who need to share their story, those who don’t understand what was so bad about Melinda’s experience in Speak, those who want to censor “inappropriate” reading material.

I’m not sure how to sum up the third section other than to say that it was the shortest section but also the one in which I shed most tears. Laurie’s final poems about her parents simply gutted me.

Although it’s clearly stated in the blurb I still hadn’t thought there’d be as much memoir as there was in this book. I’d expected a greater percentage of poems to be directly addressing sexual assault, even though there are plenty that do. When my expectations didn’t line up with reality I thought I’d be disappointed but I wasn’t and I’m already ready for a reread. I expect that I will revisit this book each time I read one of Laurie’s books that are mentioned here, to search out her favourite scenes and glimpses of the story behind the story.

There’s a vulnerability here and it’s entwined with strength, determination, courage, resilience and so much compassion. While I finished this book with a contented sigh I’m still yearning for more. Luckily for me, as this is the first of Laurie’s books that I’ve read (shame on me!), I still have plenty to explore.

Thank you, Laurie Halse Anderson, for sharing some of your life in this book, for breaking my heart, growing my empathy, giving me so many amazing passages to highlight and inspiring me. I will see you on Ultima Thule.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless.

In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she’s never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society’s failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice – and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.

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Outside – Sarah Ann Juckes

This is a story where the less you know before you read it the better so while I’d usually provide content warnings before my review they’ll be at the end of this one, so it’s up to you if you want to read them or not.

Ele lives Inside a Tower with the Others and collects Proofs of the Outside. She dreams of being an Outside Person instead of an Other but knows there are Dragons, Giants and Ogres Outside. Inside is anything but a fairytale because of Him but Inside is all she knows.

Ele is one of those girls whose story and spirit will super glue themselves inside your mind. Her resilience and spunk under unimaginable circumstances inspire me to want to be as brave and capable of facing my fears as she did hers. Her love of reading endeared her to me and, like [book: Matilda|39988] before her, she reinforced my belief that with books and your imagination you can endure and ultimately overcome any adversity.

Her voice, which I originally found disconcerting and disorienting, became easier to read the more I got to know her. Having only known Inside she doesn’t speak like any other character I’ve read. I loved her descriptions of objects that you and I take for granted and sometimes it took me a while to figure out what it was that she was experiencing.

Maybe it’s because I’ve read so much fiction and nonfiction with similar themes or because I try to focus on all of the details in books I plan on reviewing but I picked up on clues of some potential surprises early on. I was disappointed that there were no big revelations for me but from what I can tell based on early reviews I’m an anomaly. I did keep waiting for the police (or anyone in authority, really) to show up and I found it somewhat suspicious that it took so long but also acknowledge that for the story to unfold the way it did they couldn’t get involved too early.

Free Bonus Short Story! If you sign up to join Sarah’s Reader’s Club at her website you’ll be emailed Inside. It’s available in MOBI, ePub and PDF formats. It accompanies Outside and is really, really good, but I cannot stress this enough – please read Outside first or you’ll be in Spoiler World before you know it. I’m not sure if there’s an expiry date on this offer but the link worked at the time I posted this review.

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Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children’s UK for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The Proof of the Outside follows the story of Ele, who is held captive in a small room by a man known as ‘Him’. Ele is determined to prove there is a world Outside. And when she finds a hole in the wall, the proof starts leaking in. In this dark and compelling debut novel, Ele’s strong and heartbreakingly optimistic voice shines through, revealing an important lesson about the power of stories to save lives.

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Sir Simon: Super Scarer – Cale Atkinson

So many pop culture references! I love this book!

I’ve read it twice so far and I picked up so much more the second time around. I began to suspect something was up when I began to find random Stephen King references in the illustrations early on during my first read. I started specifically looking for them and found more of those and plenty of other beauties. I won’t tell you all of the references I found because that would take all the fun out of finding them yourself but some of the standouts for me were:

  • Pennywise
  • 237
  • Slimer
  • Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
  • Jason’s mask
  • Freddy Krueger’s shirt
  • Audrey II
  • A cat clock that looked suspiciously like it was borrowed from Doc Brown.

And my absolute favourite? The Proton Vac!

That’s nowhere near all of the ones I’ve found and I’m under no illusion that I’ve found them all – yet!

Oh, and the story’s a lot of fun as well. Sir Simon Spookington has haunted a lot of things in his career but this is his first time haunting a house. He’s excited to be haunting grandparents as old people are on top of The Pyramid of Haunting. With his free time (because, as we all know, old people sleep all the time! 😜) Sir Simon is looking forward to working on his novel, but things don’t exactly go to plan.

SO. MUCH. FUN. 👻

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A delightful, funny story of friendship, ghost chores, a spooky house and a professional haunter.

Meet Sir Simon, Super Scarer. He’s a professional ghost who has been transferred to his first house. And just in time! He was getting tired of haunting bus stops and forests and potatoes. And to top it off, this house is occupied by an old lady – they’re the easiest to haunt!

But things don’t go as planned when it turns out a KID comes with this old lady. Chester spots Simon immediately and peppers him with questions. Simon is exasperated … until he realises he can trick Chester into doing his ghost chores. Spooky sounds, footsteps in the attic, creaks on the stairs – these things don’t happen on their own, you know!

After a long night of haunting, it seems that maybe Chester isn’t cut out to be a ghost, so Simon decides to help with Chester’s human chores. Turns out Simon isn’t cut out for human chores either.

But maybe they’re both cut out to be friends …

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