Friday 24 October 2014

Book Review- Tanith Low in the Maleficent Seven by Derek Landy

Title: Tanith Low in The Maleficent Seven
 Author:  Derek Landy
Series:  Skullduggery Pleasant 7.5
Published:  8 May 2014 by Harper
Length: 283 pages
Source: publisher
Other info: Landy has also written a lot of Skullduggery Pleasant novels, the world of which this book is set.
Summary : This time, the bad guys take the stage. Tanith Low, now possessed by a remnant, recruits a gang of villains – many of whom will be familiar from previous Skulduggery adventures – in order to track down and steal the four God-Killer level weapons that could hurt Darquesse when she eventually emerges. Also on the trail of the weapons is a secret group of Sanctuary sorcerers, and doing his best to keep up and keep Tanith alive is one Mister Ghastly Bespoke. When the villains around her are lying and scheming and plotting, Tanith needs to stay two steps ahead of her teammates and her enemies. After all, she's got her own double-crosses to plan – and she’s a villain herself.

Review: Tanith Low has a remnant inside of her, which made her stronger and more powerful and more suited to . Two teams of seven want a set of God Killers, and
I was very excited to read this. I've been recommended Skullduggery Pleasant for years, (and apologies, I still haven't read it) and one of the key things I’ve noticed people like is the world. This being sent to me for review, and this being set in the same world, I was looking forwards to this.
The world building lives up to its hype, incorporating a mix of the folk tales, and more traditional fantasy staples.
I liked Tanith's backstory and the meaning for her name. I l liked all the major characters, especially Tanith, Sabine and Jack, and they were well fleshed out,  and I'm looking forwards to seeing more of them when I (eventually) get round to reading the Skullduggery Pleasant books.
The book is short (well, nearly 300 pages, but it feels short) and pacy, and I feel the overall story was quite simple, but I liked fact that the characters and their views on what they were doing add conflict and interest. I thought the  dialogue felt quite samey, sassy, and funny, in some places, especially  when comparing the two teams' interactions, but I liked the characters too much to mind. 

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to an action led novel in a world I’d love to return to one day.

Tuesday 7 October 2014

We Need Diverse Books Display

A levels come with crazy amounts of work. So, I'm going to make it clear that I am not going to be stopping blogging any time soon (hopefully). It just can't be the priority of my life. I am still always going to enjoy books and reading though!

Proof I still love books: I got permission from my school librarian to make this display, and Sarah, Rebecca and I did. In one of the main corridors. There’s also a display inside the library, with bookstands of the books we have in stock (photos to follow).

These books I have either read and enjoyed, or I know many people who read and enjoyed them.

This list is in no way complete, I just chose the books that were either in the library or were likely to be in major bookshops in the UK and that would be suitable for people 11-18 years old.

I'm really proud of this display. For one, it was hard to decide which of my favourite books would be appreciated by many others, and find some other books (there are very few books with middle eastern and muslim characters that I know of).
Then there was the decisions on how to arrange it. We were thinking of intersectionals in the middle, then groups around the side by what kind of characters each book had (queer characters, Asian characters, disabled characters etc.) We decided against it because composition was more important than information for this display, as we have a list organised by type printed. Then we just started arranging with major intersectionals in the middle and by colour around the outside and by chance the symmetry and colour worked out really well. Also, Sarah really likes the centre of Hollow Pike and The Night Itself and and that they're facing in opposite directions.

The empty space is for people to come into the library, and fill out a heart with recommendations of their own on. What else would you add?

Close ups and list of books under the cut.