Month: January 2024

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Diamond Jack by Anna Rainbow

When I was asked to take part in the blog tour for this book I thought that I would check on what other books were out there, which featured highwaymen rather than outlaws or pirates.  I did this because the only title that had sprung to mind was “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes, illustrated by the incredible Charles Keeping.  What I discovered is that there really aren’t that many titles featuring this type of outlaw; so in order to remind myself of the titles I have put them on a Pinterest page  https://www.pinterest.co.uk/booklib61/highwaymen-in-childrens-books/ .  However I would be delighted to hear about more fiction titles that feature highwaymen and will endeavour to add to my list whenever I hear of a title.

Anna Rainbow has written a fantastic story, set in an alternative world where magic has only recently been banned.  There is a feeling that the story reflects some of the atmosphere from the alternative history stories of Joan Aiken, as well as others where the chronology and royal line has been tweaked.  The story centres around eleven year old Bramble Browning and her friend Ernest  (a fanatical fan of highwaymen and the iconic ‘Diamond Jack’ most of all).  Life takes a strange turn when her older sister goes off to visit their aunt overnight and their grandfather (who looks after them) is kidnapped from his shop, by three evil highwaymen.   Bram suddenly get an overwhelming desire to go and look in an old shed in the garden, but has no idea why?  What she discovers, hidden away is a face mask, which when she tries it on makes her appear to be an adult, specifically the notorious highwayman ‘Diamond Jack’.  The question is whether Bramble can use the mask to save her grandfather, as well as foil a plot to kill the queen and put the queen regent on the throne?  Our heroine is joined by a group of friends who are determined to help those in need and to prove that  ‘Diamond Jack’  only steals in order to help those who are poor and in need of help.

I absolutely love this story, the only down side being that I keep getting an ear-worm of “Stand and Deliver” by Adam Ant every time I look at the brilliant cover, illustrated by Isabelle Follath.  This is very much a story about family and friendship and in particular we have the way that Bramble’s sister Lena tries to protect her, even though she had done similar things when she was Bramble’s age.   The use of the magical masks (there are three in total) can perhaps be seen as reflecting the way that most people hide behind a public face, which can be very different from what they are like inside.   Bramble’s best friend Ernest is one of those wonderful characters that you take to your heart.  He is loyal, kind and loves celebrating the fact that he enjoys making clothes, as well as being a great believer in the good that his favourite highwayman does.  What a totally amazing and fast paced story this is;  you really need to hang on tight as you ride ‘hell for leather’ through the adventure of a lifetime.  The stars are definitely out and shining for this book and I highly recommend it.  What a great television series this would make.

 

About Anna Rainbow

Anna grew up and still lives in North East England and works as a Clinical Psychologist with people with disabilities. Anna loves music and has always been in various choirs, singing quartets, bands, and orchestras.

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Winner takes Gold by Eloise Smith

For most of us, the world of elite sports is something that we hear about in the news.  It is also a world where we watch in awe, particularly when major events such as World or Olympic championships occur.  With the Olympics taking place in Paris this summer millions of people around the world will be watching the events and some of the most popular will be the gymnastics.  The author of this book, Eloise Smith is a former world class fencer and she wrote about this world in her first book “Sister to a Star”.  Her new book has a slight change in direction, as she enters the world of young gymnasts.

The central character of this story is a young 12 year old called Pearl,  who is fanatical about her gymnastics and is determined to follow her late mother’s dream and make it to the Great Britain team.  When she and her best friend Ryan are chosen to attend an elite training centre called  ‘Leaping Spires’, they are thrilled and understand that it will require all of their grit an determination to succeed.  However, what neither of them expects, is discovering that there are dangers to be faced and not just from their exercises.  The centre seems to be suffering from more than the average number of injuries, so that Pearl begins to suspect that some form of sabotage is at play.  The problem is, who can she trust  and who is carrying out the sabotage?

This is a fantastic story that looks at a world which most of us know very little about.  However we have seen instances over the last few years where trainers and coaches have been accused of bullying, harassing and even worse.  The author has really brought the whole sport alive for us and I am sure that any young gymnast will be absolutely enthralled by the plot, characters and the information about the various types of equipment and the moves associated with them.  However, there are several really important themes that are brought into focus in this story.  The first is the sense of loss that Pearl feel at the death of her mother, who was also her trainer;  this leads to her total fixation on succeeding, but in doing so , she misses the fact that others are also suffering from this loss.  Perhaps the most chilling element of the story is the way that the trainers expect the gymnasts to push themselves beyond what is healthy or wise and to put their sport before family, friends and normal life.  We have to remember that Pearl is just a 12 year old girl who has suffered a great loss and is clinging on to the one certainty in her life.  However, she is confused by what she sees and hears and even begins to mistrust her greatest friends, so I raced through the book with my fingers crossed that all would be well.

What a real cliff-hanger of a story which really moves along at a tremendous pace.  This is helped by the fact that the chapters are very short and you think “one more chapter”  before going to bed.  The characters are fantastic and the reader becomes truly involved in what is going on.  The fact that we are now in an Olympic year will only add to the enthusiasm for this story and I consider it as one of my 5 star choices for this year.

 

The Author

(from her website

Me, a little over-excited.

In my former lives I’ve been an Olympian, triple Commonwealth fencing gold medallist, Oxford English graduate and award-winning executive creative director in advertising. Now I’m a children’s author, following my wildest dream of all . . .

My first book draws on my experiences in fencing and film sets: Sister To A Star is a thrilling mystery about warring twins in a swash-buckling Hollywood movie. My second book uses my understanding of high-level sport: Winner Takes Gold is a gripping adventure about sabotage on an elite gymnastics camp.

In my spare time I relax by skiing, climbing, running and yoga. All while raising two boys who bring me more joy than all my dreams put together.