Sister to a Star by Eloise Smith and Federica Frenna

If you are looking for a story full of glamour, adventure, mystery and sibling rivalry then this is definitely the book for you.  The two sisters, Evie and Tallulah are as different as chalk and cheese, with Tallulah having ambitions to become a famous film star;  Evie on the other hand wants to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps and become a stage sword fighter.  When they find themselves in Hollywood, it looks as if their dreams might come true, but Evie finds herself being constantly pushed aside by her sister’s ambitions.  Things change when it looks as if Tallulah is kidnapped and Evie sets off with some new friends in a bid to find her sister.

I hope that this has whetted your appetite for this exciting tale and that this post from the author Eloise Smith will bring the characters to life.  Thank you to Chicken House and Eloise Smith for this and for the opportunity to take part in the blog tour.

 

SISTER TO A STAR: A book for girls?
By Eloise Smith

Sister To A Star by Eloise Smith

Middle grade books tend to be highly gendered. Titles beginning ‘The boy who . . .’ or ‘The girl who . . .’ are fearsomely popular amongst 9 – 12 year olds. Common wisdom dictates that girls will happily read books with boy protagonists, whilst boys reject books with female protagonists.

However, when I set out to write Sister To A Star, I didn’t want to write a ‘book for girls’. Growing up, I loved action adventure movies: Indiana Jones, Star Wars, James Bond, even Ghostbusters. So all my favourite characters were male. I imagined myself escaping pits of snakes like Indy, fighting with light-sabres like Luke Skywalker and electrocuting villains like Bond, before delivering witty one-liners like Peter Venkmann.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

 

 

 

 

 

Princess Leia waiting to be saved in Return of the Jedi

I could never get very excited about their female sidekicks, who seemed so passive and dispensable as they waited to be saved.

 

 

 

So I decided I wanted to write a high-octane action adventure, full of fights, duels, dare-devil stunts and narrow escapes. What the traditionalists might call a ‘book for boys’. The only difference of course, I was that it would have a girl lead. She would be just like my action heroes – really physical, driving the action, fighting, climbing, jumping, tight-rope walking, escaping fire, wild animals and any number of thrilling horrors. Hell, she could even save her own female sidekick. And so emerged my protagonist, Evie.

Evie and Tallulah from Sister To A Star
I balanced Evie with her more conventionally feminine twin, Tallulah. She can dance and act, loves pretty dresses, hair and make-up and dreams of being a movie star. She’s as girly as Evie is tomboyish. Neither is positioned as a better or worse way to be a girl – just different.

Ultimately, it’s only by embracing each other’s skills can the twins win the day. So this is neither victory for the clichés of girly girls nor tomboys. It’s about encouraging readers to avoid gender stereotypes traps, and be their best self. In the words of the stunt fencing coach in Sister To A Star:

“Just be the best you, don’t worry about everyone else.”

Sister To A Star by Eloise Smith is available at Amazon, Waterstones, WH Smith and The Book Depository. Happy reading!

A Head full of Magic by Sarah Morrell

Hashtag Press, 9781913835156

This is a strikingly original look at magic and the various ways that it is perceived and understood in different cultures.  Thank you to Hashtag Press for giving me the opportunity to read this and to be part of the joyous celebration for its publication.

The heroine, Fleur is just a normal year six pupil, who lives with her English Mother and West India Nan.  The only unusual thing is that she doesn’t like birds, especially the parrot (called Sir Barclay Wigbert Titus Smythe) who shares Nan’s room in the attic.  Apart from that, she is focused on surviving the last term at her school and avoiding the bully Celeste, who seems to have taken a dislike to her.  But strange things are happening in the community, with mysterious flying figures, lost slippers in the road and even more strange, Nan seems to be part of this.  The final, and really disturbing occurrence is when  Fleur discovers she can understand what the animals are saying.  It starts off with Sir Barclay, but she soon finds that she can communicate with everything from insects to large animals.  After finding the courage to talk to her Nan about all of this, she discovers that she is a Hexter (someone with magic) and her  version makes her an Animalator.  Nan explains about many of the other versions and says that she is able to fly invisibly, hence the  lost slipper.    It turns out that the rather nasty Celeste has the ability to recognize magic, but does not have any skills that she can use, hence her dislike of Fleur.  But can Fleur deal with this problem, help her Nan and come to terms with her amazing new powers; above all, can they manage to reunite Sir Barclay with his lost love Dame Genevieve?

What a fabulously funny story, with some really feisty and  smart characters.  You can’t help but love Nan with her wonderful spirit and sense of family;  despite being 89 years old, she is the glue that holds everyone together.  However, for me, it is Sir Barclay who really steals the show;  he is a totally snarky parrot, with a wicked turn of phrase but he also has the determination to help the family in any way he can.  I do hope that we will be treated to more stories as Fleur learns to control her powers and perhaps find her father, who had left home when his father died.  This is definitely aiming to be a five star story.

 

Thanks to Literally PR

About the Author
Sarah lives in Yorkshire and worked as a Criminologist until
she fell in love with writing and quickly swapped a life with
crime for a life with rhyme! She is married with three awesome
kids who keep her on her toes whilst she is plotting and
sharing her latest stories.
Sarah has self-published two picture books. The King and
the Cockerel was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards
in 2018 and Molly’s Magic Brolly picked up a Silver Award
in 2019. She is currently working on a number of middle
grade and children’s picture books and has a couple of book
club novels up her sleeve too. When she is not writing, she
loves nothing more than to run, bike or swim in the hills
of Holmfirth and recently entered her first Triathlon. Next
New Year’s Eve, she will not be making any sports related
resolutions.
Sarah is an active SCBWI Member and a Volunteer
Ambassador for Candlelighters Charity.
Follow Sarah @SMorrellAuthor
www.sarahmorrellauthor.co.uk