Ninjas, Dragons and Dodgy Internet Dates!

I’ve been doing a fair bit of reading over the past two weeks, but I’ve not got around to posting anything about it on here until now - been a bit busy writing! My first read was ‘Across the Nightingale Floor’ by Lian Hearn.

This first book in the ‘Tales of the Otori’ series is a bloody tale of Japanese style warlords and ninjas. Within a chapter I had mentally tagged it as for mid-teens, (if it were made into a film it would probably have an 18 certificate, but as a book I would give it a 15) as I don’t believe it suitable for any younger. The story does have elements of under-age sex (though it is not perceived as under-age in the society in which it is set) and a lot of graphic violence. This aside, I found it a wonderfully woven tale that many adults will enjoy for its rich description and unusual fantasy elements. I particularly liked some of the main character’s special ninja powers - preternatural hearing and the ability appear to be in two places at once. I’m now looking forward to finding the time to read the second.

My second read was ‘The Fire Within’ by Chris d’Lacey. The Look inside feature does not work here - go to amazon if you wish to use it.

This is a tale particularly suitable for those children who are reading ahead of their years as it has a gentle storyline about rescuing an injured squirrel. The dragons in the story are cute pottery dragons that have a life of their own (hence The Fire Within) and Chris has given the story a warm and friendly feel in an everyday setting that will appeal to younger readers. It was not my typical read, but the story is well told and I instantly passed it on to my 9 year old daughter, who is now racing through it.

My third read was ‘Amy’ by Mary Hooper.

I’ve had this on my shelf for a while. It’s a quick read aimed at teenage girls (I’d happily give it to 12 year olds and upwards as Mary has been very sensitive in the way she has written this) - I try to read a selection of books for both girls and boys. This cautionary tale of internet chat and date rape drugs tells of a girl who falls out with her two best friends only to find herself isolated from the rest of her year group. She recoils from actual friendships and spends increasing amounts of time on the internet frequenting chat rooms until she meets Zed, whose chat attracts her. The storyline is fairly predictable, but I think that girls of a suitable age will enjoy being one (or several steps) ahead of the naive Amy as she sets up a secret date with the mysterious Zed. I found the writing uncluttered and easy to read. I can see why Mary Hooper is a popular author amongst early to mid-teen girls.