Archives de catégorie : Children’s Books

SHOWSTOPPER de Tom Ramsay

A joyful and hilarious queer YA romance set in the mad mad world of musical theatre.

SHOWSTOPPER
by Tom Ramsay
TBA
(via Randle Editorial & Literary Consultancy)

In the bright lights of the West End, a competition – and romance – is heating up to bring the drama, plot twists and exhilarating highs that only musical theatre can.

Gregarious giant Olly is back at the UK’s most prestigious competition for teen performers to prove he has what it takes to be a leading man after he was sabotaged last year; determined to stand out like his favourite Broadway diva Bernadette Peters.

Nervous novice Tarun would rather be anywhere other than centre stage. Nominated after stepping into his school show under much duress; he’s been blackmailed into attending by his Mum and mates and knows nothing about musicals. As far as he’s concerned, ‘Chicago’ is somewhere you get deep dish pizza, and ‘Hairspray’ is something you buy in Boots.

So when the two boys get paired to share a hotel room, Olly can’t comprehend sharing with someone who doesn’t live and breathe the magical world of musicals, whilst Tarun thinks Olly is “way too much” and cannot decipher a single one of his references. But as they get to talking, they discover they’ve more in common than the opening number might reveal. Amidst the drama of rehearsals, could two boys be falling in love?

The novel is filled to the brim with humour, drama and queer joy, and is a laugh-out-loud page-turner that will be appreciated and embraced both by musical theatre fans and by those who are more sceptical. The love of musicals is irresistibly infectious, as is the romance, and it is perfect for readers who loved Heartstopper, Gay Club, and those who are re-discovering Glee (as well as those who remember it the first time around!)

Tom Ramsay works for a West End Producer as Literary Manager and Dramaturg, looking after new work and writers of theatre for the company. This role has included working on an Olivier-nominated play and helping to translate a musical about the life of Marie Curie from Korean to English. In his own writing, he is passionate about telling queer stories with the hope and optimism that he longed to find on bookshelves growing up, with a touch of theatrical magic for good measure.

SCAREGROUND d’Angela Kecojevic

The brand-new spine-tingling middle-grade novel from Angela Kecojevic, featuring a deliciously spooky atmosphere and a feisty female protagonist, perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell and Jennifer Killick.

SCAREGROUND
by Angela Kecojevic
Seven Seas/Neem Tree Press, September 2023
(via Randle Editorial & Literary Consultancy)

Roll up, roll up, the Scareground is in town…

The infamous Tombola fair has not been back to Greenwich since tragedy struck it years ago, but everything changes when black balloons float into town announcing the return of the Scareground. The whole town is abuzz with excitement and anticipation but Mr and Mrs Crumpet, the bakers, forbid their adopted daughter Nancy from going.

Nancy is certain the fair holds the answers to the disappearance of her birth parents, and with her best friend Arthur Green by her side, they meet the peculiar Skelter Tombola and uncover a world full of magic, mystery and the macabre. But behind such wonders hides a darkness Nancy never expected, a place where she must confront her greatest fears. Not least that someone might find out her hidden talent/curse, just one more thing that makes her different and must be kept secret…

Angela Kecojevic is a senior librarian and a creative writing tutor and has written for the Oxford Reading Tree programme. She is also the author whose work inspired the multi award- winning adventure park ‘Hobbledown’. Her characters can be seen walking around the park, something she still finds incredibly charming! She is a member of the Climate Writers Fiction League, a group of international authors who use climate issues in their work.

WISH OF THE WICKED de Danielle Paige

Set in a lush, dangerous world woven with fairy tale mythology, New York Times bestselling author Danielle Paige launches a brand new Fairy Godmother origin story full of intrigue, magic, and romance.

WISH OF THE WICKED:
The Fairy Godmother Series
by Danielle Paige
Bloomsbury, November 2023
(via Writers House)

Bibbidi-bobbidi-blood. Everyone knows that a fairy godmother helped Cinderella get to the ball where she met the prince. No one knows that the fairy godmother’s motives for helping Cinderella might not have been as charming as they seem. Until now.
For centuries, the enchanted members of the Entente used their magic to keep the Thirteen Queendoms in harmony. Until the day that Queen Magrit outlawed magic, executed the Entente, and plunged the queendoms into war.
Only one Entente survives. Alone and magicless, Farrow dreams of nothing but revenge. And the best way to reach the queen is through her son, Prince Mather, who is nearing the age when he will need a bride. But the closer Farrow gets to the prince, the more she finds herself drawn to him. To reclaim her magic and destroy the queen, Farrow will have to question what-and more importantly, who-she’s willing to sacrifice.

Danielle Paige is the author of Stealing Snow and its prequel novellas Before the Snow and Queen Rising, as well as the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series. Before turning to young adult literature, she worked in the television industry, where she received a Writers Guild of America Award and was nominated for several Daytime Emmys.

WHERE HE CAN’T FIND YOU de Darcy Coates

Are the disappearances the work of a human killer… or something far darker?

WHERE HE CAN’T FIND YOU
by Darcy Coates
Sourcebooks Fire, November 2023

Abby Ward lives in a town haunted by disappearances. People vanish in broad daylight, and when they’re found, their bodies have been dismembered and sewn back together in unnatural ways. But is it the work of a human killer…or something far darker?

She and her younger sister Hope are convinced they know who the real killer is. They live by a strict set of rules designed to keep them safe—which is why it’s such a shock when Hope is taken. Desperate to get her back, Abby tells the police everything she knows…but they refuse to do anything. They claim their hands are tied.

With every hour precious, Abby and her friends begin a desperate game of cat and mouse with the man they swear is behind the terrifying urban legend. They have to get Hope back. Quickly. Before too much of her is cut away. And before the truth they think they know is swallowed up by the darkness waiting in the tunnels beneath the home they thought they knew.

Darcy Coates is the USA Today bestselling author of Hunted, The Haunting of Ashburn House, Craven Manor, and more than a dozen horror and suspense titles. She lives on the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cats, and a garden full of herbs and vegetables.

SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP de Tanvi Berwah

Krescent Dune is used to fighting monsters on her island, but she’s unprepared for the monsters lurking in the deep in this new South Asian-inspired fantasy from the highly-acclaimed author of Monsters Born and Made.

SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP
by Tanvi Berwah
Sourcebooks Fire, January 2024

Krescent Dune is buried under the weight of her dead parents’ debt and the ruinous legacy they left behind. The only way she can earn enough money to escape her unforgiving island is by fighting monstrous amphibians in underground fighting pits. She’s never lost a match, until now.

Desperate, Krescent is offered a deal. Her debts will be erased if she joins a hunting party for a dangerous rescue mission deep beneath the island. With no other choice, Krescent is forced to play nice as the group’s bodyguard, even though every step that brings them deeper underground means she must face the terrifying truth that she is trapped with her childhood enemy and people who would gladly kill her if they knew who her parents were.

As the group journeys down beyond where their maps end with creatures never seen before, Krescent begins to suspect there’s more to their rescue mission than first meets the eye. Soon enough, they are abandoned in the deep dark underground, with only monsters seen and unseen for company.

Tanvi Berwah is a South Asian writer who grew up wanting to touch the stars and reach back in time. Her debut YA novel Monsters Born and Made, a book that has something to say and isn’t afraid to say it to your face (Lightspeed Magazine), is out now.