Lloyd Jones, Rob. Wild Boy & the Black Terror.

Lloyd Jones, Rob.  Wild Boy & the Black Terror.  Candlewick Press 2015  327p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-7636-6253-0  ms/jr  Mystery/Detective  VG-BN

This is a wildly creative novel about a villain who hopes to poison all of London and Wild Boy, a former circus freak (owing to hair that grows all over his body) with extraordinary abilities in solving crimes.  It would be a toss-up as to which quality of Rob Lloyd Jones’s writing is more powerful: his descriptions of climate, locations, time periods and characters; his excitingly vivid plot with its continual and seamless conflicts; or his ability to weave words together to create intrigue.  The plot begins with a reminder that Wild Boy already has the reputation of being a monster, and as with most rumors, his reputation has been blown out of context.  Wild Boy’s sidekick, Clarissa, is herself a former circus performer, and the two have teamed up for life.  Their mentor is Marcus, a member of the Gentlemen, a secret group that protects London.  The new crime?  A demonic force has the capability of rendering its victims fearful as they slide into death.  This demon is attempting to find a black diamond, of which only four remain, thus avenging some atrocity that occurred in India years before.  When Queen Victoria’s servant, Prendergrast, opens a package meant for the queen, he becomes the first victim of the demon.  As the rising action progresses, Marcus is also hit with the disabling poison.  Wild Boy and Clarissa have to save him, and the only way they can do that is to track all evidence to the perpetrator and get a sample of his blood to create an antidote.  Three men stand out as being capable of this crime.  Readers will particularly enjoy putting together the evidence to figure out who is trying to avenge past deeds by terrorizing London.     

Summary: Wild Boy and Clarissa must use their unusual abilities to save London from the Black Terror, a poison that turns victims’ fears into nightmares before they die.  Wild Boy must find rare black diamonds to catch the demonic force known as Malphas.         

Crime-Fiction                                               --Martha Squaresky

Woelfle, Gretchen. All The World's A Stage

Woelfle, Gretchen.      All The World's A Stage        

Holiday House           2011   163p   16.95   978-0-8234-2281-4             

ms                               VG-BN 

 This novel of Elizabethan London is presented as a play in five acts.  This fascinating account of this era givesyoung readers a chance to experience life both as a poor orphan and a member of

the theater company with its myriad of tasks and opportunities.  The ╥reality╙of the time is enhanced by the pencil drawings that add to the sense of time and place.               

 Kit Buckles, newly orphaned and now apprenticed to a gang of pickpockets,

is sent to relieve theater patrons of their purses at the Theatre Playhouse. 

Caught in the act, he has to choose between prison and being an unpaid worker

for the Chamberlain╒s Men.  Kit chooses the latter and finds that life as a part

of this company agrees with him.  During the winter of 1598, the ongoing dispute

between the company and their landlord becomes critical.   After they are locked

out, the company makes plans to secretly dismantle the existing theater and

rebuild it again as the Globe on another site along the Thames.  Kit finds his

way in life during this tumultuous period.  He tries his hand at many chores and

discovers friends and companions that suit him from the company╒s apple girl to

Will Shakespeare himself.

 This fascinating account of this era gives young readers a chance to experience

life both as a poor orphan and as a member of the theater company with its

myriad of tasks and opportunities.  The ╥reality╙ of the time is enhanced by the

pencil drawings that add greatly to the sense of time and place.  The book ends

with an author╒s note, a glossary, and a bibliography.  It is sure to lead to

further reading on the topic and, perhaps, a nudge towards the works of

Shakespeare himself.       Ogintz, Susan

  

Alchemy and Meggy Swann

Cushman, Karen. Alchemy and Meggy Swann
Clarion see Houghton Mifflin 2010 167p 16.00
978-0-547-23184-6 ms/hs E-BN
Meggy Swann arrives in sixteenth-century London at the request of her unknown father. Now thirteen, and crippled since birth by a congenital hip disease, she walks slowly with her sticks and has been tormented both by the pain and the belief that her disability is a curse of the devil. When she finally reaches the small barren house in which her alchemist father lives, she is rejected for not being the healthy son that he expected. Her father’s old apprentice Roger, who is leaving to become a player, rescues her from imminent starvation, doling out the remaining housekeeping money, teaching her how to go about the great city, and introducing her to a wide variety of colorful characters. She must find some way of supporting herself and discovers that she has a talent for rhyming and ballad-making. As Meggy becomes more comfortable in her new home, she picks up bits and pieces of overheard conversations and gossip that lead her to believe that her father is being paid to provide a poison to kill a nobleman. Her fears of seeing his head up on London Bridge makes her determined to stop him.
Meggy Swann joins the pantheon of strong and capable young women found in Cushman’s novels. Beautifully written, Cushman combines wit, humor, and mystery with the poignant tale of an unloved child. The plot unfolds gradually and believably and London is vividly evoked. This well-researched and insightful book vividly evokes life in England’s capital and offers a thoughtful and realistic look at the hardships of the time.
This is a powerful book, rich in emotion and feeling, and will surely be snatched off the shelves.
Highly recommended for all middle school collections. Ogintz, Susan
Father and daughters-Fiction

Beck, Ian. PastWorld.

Beck, Ian. PastWorld.
Bloomsbury see St. Martins 2009 355p 16.99 978-1-59990-040-7 ms/hs

It is 2048 in London. The Corporation has created PastWorld as a diversion for people to visit and see what the world was like to live in without all of the modern technologies. However, it seems that murder and mayhem are the same in both worlds. The author has written a fast paced and intriguing story of two people, Eve and Caleb, whose world will connect in a most unusual ending. In 2048 in Pastworld, London is foggy and living conditions have only the bare basics available to them. Yet people sign up to board airships to get dressed in period costumes and experience the curiosities of the theme park. Eve has lived in the simulation all of her life. She escapes her protector to find out about her life and joins a circus. She takes to the high wire to dazzle crowds with her abilities. Caleb on the other hand comes to the theme park with his father, who worked for Buckland Corporation and was one of the creators of the simulation. The readers will love reading the spell binding escapades of both Eve and Caleb along with Bible J. and other colorful characters. The story is fast paced with many twists and turns to keep the readers entranced and guessing. The tenseness builds until the final chapter when pieces start to fall in place with an catastrophic and spell binding ending that also is heart warming to the readers. McNeil, Linda

Peacock, Shane. Vanishing Girl.

Peacock, Shane. Vanishing Girl.
Tundra Books 2009 307p 19.95 978-0-88776-852-1 ms/jr This is the Boy Sherlock Holmes’ third case as he strives to be known as master detective of all time. In this case Sherlock hears about a young girl mysteriously disappearing from Hyde Park. He feels haste is of the utmost because he needs to impress Irene Doyle, stay ahead of that street urchin, and lastly to beat Scotland Yard. In this case Sherlock hears about a young girl mysteriously disappearing from Hyde Park. Sherlock feels haste is of the utmost because he needs to impress Irene Doyle with his capabilities, stay ahead of that street urchin, Malefactor, and his gang, and lastly to out solve Scotland Yard. Sherlock expands his sleuthing capabilities as he goes to both the countryside and the sea coast to follow some leads that eventually lead to an exotic country estate the villagers think is haunted. Sherlock braves the midnight hours and haunting creatures to explore the lair of the culprits. He must act fast and solve the mystery of the kidnapped girl before Scotland Yard gets credit. The author has once again written a faced paced novel that young readers will thoroughly enjoy to the fullest. Young Sherlock’s ability is getting more refined with each episode. Readers will see that he still works for the apothecary and wants to better himself by learning everything he can. Readers will find it all, romance, hostility, loneliness, determination, persistence, and an unfailing desire to be the best detective in the world. Mystery/Detective McNeil, Linda

The Parliament of Blood

Richards, Justin. Parliament of Blood, The
Bloomsbury see St. Martins, 2008, 358p 16.99 978-1-59990-140-4 ms/hs

Vampires in London! Are you sure? George Archer, Liz Oldfield, and Eddie Hopkins (coconspirators from The Death Collector) join forces with George’s mentor at the British Museum to foil the overtaking of the British Parliament by Vampires. Oddly enough it all started with the disclosure of a mummy from the Department of Unclassified Artifacts.
This is a second book from the author of The Death Collector. In this book, the same cast of characters commences upon another adventure in Victorian London. Generally, one would assume that working in the antiquities section of the British Museum would present a mundane working environment. This does not seem to be the case when a mummy from Saqqara is unwrapped in the Egyptian Room.
The drama immediately starts to unfold on page 22+ as Sir Harrison Judd stumbles while helping to uncover the mummy causing blood to drip on the mummy. Immediately, the wrappings seem to dissolve and a weathered parchment like face appears. Then the wrappings tremble and emaciated a hand appears from under the fabric. At this point chaos ensues and George is off on a whirlwind adventure that is both mysterious, intriguing, and heart stopping at times.
The story will appeal to readers of the occult genre. The characters in the story are very believable and will have the readers identifying with their struggles. L. McNeil