Currently Reading

Currently reading: Vulture by Bex Hogan.

Sunday 29 January 2012

Gods And Warriors logo unveiled...

Things are about to kick into gear people!! Oh yes! August sees the publication of the first book in Michelle Paver's long and eagerly anticipated new series, 'Gods and Warriors'. Well now the logo for the series has been unveiled! Looks good! Cannot wait for what is to come!!

Hollow Pike by James Dawson [Review]

Written by: James Dawson.
Published by: Indigo/Orion.
Format: Paperback.
Released: 2nd February 2012.
Rating: 5/5.

Official synopsis: "Something wicked this way comes... She thought she'd be safe in the country, but you can't escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she's being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn't believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn't believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you're alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps."

Early last Summer, word started to spread through Twitter and the Bloggoverse about a new book being published in February 2012 by Orion's new YA imprint, Indigo, intrigue began to build as we were given the first tantalising glimpse of Hollow Pike by one James Dawson. All we knew at the time. Witchcraft.

The cover was released a few weeks later closely followed by the official synopsis and since then the anticipation has been steadily growing with a large selection of my fellow bloggers and readers alike all getting pretty excited about this book right here. And finally last week, I got a copy! I'll admit I did a little squee dance and was so excited. Started to read it pretty much straight away and couldn't of been more surprised than I was.

Hollow Pike was NOTHING like I'd expected it to be. I had images of haggard old women around cauldrons, steaming with potions. I expected there to be spells. But there was none of that. And you know what? It doesn't need it. Hollow Pike is so much more than I expected it to be in more ways than one. 

Lis has been suffering debilitating nightmares for weeks. She's scared, and puts it down to what is going on at home and hopes that the move to Hollow Pike will help them to come to an end... How wrong could she be? The dreams are vivid, dark and downright terrifying. They hold you captivated - breathless - until Lis wakes up.

Bullying and social perception plays a large roll in the book. Lis has been forced to move to Hollow Pike to escape her life back in Wales where she is looked down upon by all of her school mates. Bullied, and outcast she chooses to live with her sister in this sleepy little Yorkshire village (it is made up I should add... so don't be too scared by what happens there...). Things start of well at her new school, and her sister Sarah (her partner Max and son - Lis's nephew) love having her there and she actually seems to have been taken under the wing of the in-clique.

But then things start to go wrong as she is more and more intrigued by the outcasts of Hollow Pike. Three young teenagers. Kitty. Delilah. And Jack. Looked down upon by their peers, they show no fear and in fact, it's the people who make fun of them that show fear. For there are rumours that a long gone history of witchcraft is about to resurface.

I don't really think I can say much more without spoiling it... So all I'll say is: there are creepy old ladies, birds and lots of them, twists, turns, and a murder (which again is something I was not expecting...).

Hollow Pike has it all. Blood. Magic. Murder. Friendship. Love. Sacrifice. And a beautiful house which Lis's sister lives in (seriously, I want that house when I am older... blueprints, James?!).

It's a haunting, captivating and moving read, set at a perfect pace with beautiful writing. Watch out people because James Dawson is about to take you on one hell of a ride you will most definitely not forget. I cannot wait to see what he writes next!

My thanks have to go, again, to the ever amazing Nina at Orion for this. I have been pestering that poor woman for ages about this book, so glad it was all worth it! :D

Friday 20 January 2012

The Long Earth Cover Art

Discworld creator, and general genius Terry Pratchett is releasing two books this year, neither Discworld releated but that doesn't seem to be a bad this. Later in the year we're getting Happy Families, set in the Victorian era, but before that we get The Long Earth. It's due for publication on 21st June and is a collaboration piece between Terry and a gentleman called Stephen Baxter. It is an adult book (I think...) but it looks and sounds awesome and Terry is just so good that it'll be a crime to miss it, I believe.

It sounds a little like this:
   
The possibilities are endless (just be careful what you wish for...)1916: the Western Front, France. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong, and the wind in the leaves in the trees. Where has the mud, blood and blasted landcape of No man's Land gone?
2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop MonicaJansson has returned to the burned-out home of one Willis Linsay, a reclusive and some said mad, others dangerous, scientist. It was arson but, as is often the way, the firemen seem to have caused more damage than the fire itself. Stepping through the wreck of a house, there's no sign of any human remains but on the mantelpiece Monica finds a curious gadget - a box, containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a...potato. It is the prototype of an invention that Linsay called a 'stepper'. An invention he put up on the web for all the world to see, and use, an invention that would to change the way mankind viewed his world Earth for ever. And that's an understatement if ever there was one...
...because the stepper allowed the person using it to step sideways into another America, another Earth, and if you kept on stepping, you kept on entering even more Earths...this is the Long Earth. It's our our Earth but one of chain of parallel worlds, lying side by side each differing from its neighbour by really very little (or actually quite a lot). It's an infinite chain, offering 'steppers' an infinite landscape of infinite possibilities. And the further away you travel, the stranger - and sometimes more dangerous - the Earths get. The sun and moon always shine, the basic laws of physics are the same. However, the chance events which have shaped our particular Earth, such as the dinosaur-killer asteroid impact, might not have happened and things may well have turned out rather differently.
But, until Willis Linsay invented his stepper, only our Earth hosted mankind...or so we thought. Because it turns out there are some people who are natural 'steppers', who don't need his invention and now the great migration has begun...


Ooh. Sounds good. And it looks a little like this:


Alex Rider gets new look...



Scorpia Rising, the ninth and final Alex Rider book by the incredible Anthony Horowitz was released last March and sported a completely different look for our favourite teen spy. Closing the series with a colossal bang, part of me was a bit annoyed that I would never have a complete set as they'd changed the look a few times over the series, then switch to hardback, then back to paperback... And I did wonder if this new look that we saw with Scorpia Rising would seep into the rest of the series. And finally it has... Below are the covers for the first eight books, ranging from Stormbreaker to Crocodile Tears. 











I for one really like this direction. It's clean and uniform. And some of the covers are quite striking. I am in love with the Eagle Strike cover. Bravo Walker. Bravo!





Wednesday 18 January 2012

Waiting On Wednesday: Chronicles of Egg Book 1

Later this year, Puffin are set to publish the first book in the Chronicles of Egg by Geoff Rodkey. It's called Deadweather and Sunrise and looks a little like this...


Looks awesome huh? And it sounds a little like this...

DEADWEATHER, a sweaty little pirate-infested island, is home to EGG, thirteen years old and prey to a pair of cruel and stupid older siblings. But when Egg’s family disappears in a freak accident, he finds himself living on SUNRISE island with the glamorous Pembroke family and their feisty daughter Millicent. Finally, life seems perfect. Until someone tries to throw him off a cliff. Suddenly, Egg is lost in a world of cutthroat pirates and powerful villains. Only Millicent - and a one-handed, possibly deranged cabin boy – can help him as he hurtles into the deadliest adventure of his life...

Well  I for one cannot wait to read it! It's out 7th June and definitely sounds like one to watch!

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Advent by James Treadwell [Review]

Written by: James Treadwell.
Published by: Hodder UK.
Format: Hardback.
Released: 2nd February 2012.
Rating: 4/5.

Official synopsis: "For centuries it has been locked away 
Lost beneath the sea. Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight. But now magic is rising to the world once more. And a boy called Gavin, who thinks only that he is a city kid with parents who hate him, and knows only that he sees things no one else will believe, is boarding a train, alone, to Cornwall. No one will be there to meet him."

I'm going to be perfectly honest from the start, I found this a weird book to read, almost difficult in places. And again, being honest, I'm not entirely sure why.

When the proof/arc landed through my letterbox last September, I was intrigued. It was stunning. A white paperback with a black wrap-around cover. And the premise was fantastic. Magic returning to a world that has no clue it exists. Brilliant. Again, like with The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker, I felt it was too early to read it for a Feb 2012 publication, so I put it aside. Last week, I received a finished copy, and thought great, now my proof can stay in perfect condition. I picked it up, started to read and I'll admit I was hooked.

But there's something off about the book and still now, a week after finishing it, I'm not sure what it is. It's brilliantly written, the prose is rich and enticing, and the premise is still there but it isn't entirely what I was expecting at all. The book flips from present day Cornwall to a time when magic was still feared in the 1500's. Sometimes I felt like the flips in time came at the wrong place - when something exciting was about to happen, and it'd be a chapter before you could jump back - kind of breaking up the flow of the story. I suppose it's a good thing because it certainly made me want to read on to see what would happen next, but at times I felt myself sigh. Not again...

Anyway, the premise itself is very strong in the book and with Treadwell's prose it's haunting and terrifying in equal measure. 

Gavin as an actual character is great. I think Treadwell gets the teenage voice spot on, before flipping to the speech style of the sixteenth century. Gavin is lost really. His parents have packed him off to Cornwall but when he gets there, his expected welcome from his aunt isn't there... No one is there to greet him.

The book has a certain gothic feel that chilled me to the bone and has left me eager to see how the story continues in the second book of the planned trilogy. Hopefully it can draw me in even deeper than Advent did. Whilst I didn't love it, it is a good book and looks set to be a massive success!

Monday 16 January 2012

The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker [Review]

Written by: Susanne Winnacker.
Published by: Usborne.
Format: Paperback.
Released: 1st February 2012.
Rating: 4.5/5.

Official synopsis: "The Other Life: who we were before the virus. How we'll never be again. It's been 3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since Sherry has seen daylight. When things went wrong up above, she was sealed off from the world in a bunker with her family. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage mutant killers. When her dad is snatched, Sherry joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers. But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all? The seeds of first love are sown amongst the death and destruction of a nightmare future in this incredible debut novel. Beautifully formed and gut-wrenchingly gripping, it's essential reading."

The Other Life is the first book to come from Susanne Winnacker, and another book added to Usborne's growing YA list. I received this proof sometime last Summer and as soon as I read the synopsis on the back, I thought ooh... this sounds good. I read the first chapter and loved it, but felt that it was too early to be reading it with it not actually due for publication until next month... So I decided to put it away for a rainy day once 2012 had gotten here...

Fast forward to last week and I found myself mulling over a few titles, The Other Life being one of them. I looked at the cover and for the first time noticed that the butterfly isn't a simple butterfly. There's 2 characters, who I not know to be Sherry and Joshua..., and some creepy looking clawed hands. Those of the Weepers. This realisation made me go ooh... I picked it up and re-read the first chapter and once that happened, the rest is history.

I've already tweeted Susanne, so she knows how I feel about the book. It was an explosion of "GOOD LORD THIS IS AMAZING..." and so on... But I should explain further.

The Other Life is set in the not too distant future in LA. We know it to be the sun-kissed home of celebrities and Hollywood, but Sherry knows it as home. But the LA we see in this book is completely different to the LA we all know about today. Sherry and her family have been locked away in a bunker, hiding from a disease which has ravished parts of America. Rabies. People are dying, and a state of emergency is called. The government asks its people to remain calm and tells them that they will be notified when it is safe to emerge... But three years later, nothing is happening and the broadcasts have stopped. Soon, Sherry and her family run out of food and desperation sinks in. Surely after three years it'll be safe?

Wrong.

Now there is something new to contend with. Weepers. Mutilated humans who have been turned by rabies into flesh craving, blood hungry monsters. Their favourite dish? Humans. Now, I know what you're thinking... Ugh... Another zombies-turned-into-zombies-by-disease/famine/war/whatever-else-makes-zombies book? and when I first read about them I thought the same, but these are different. Yes, they have a zombie element about them, but they are original. They're called Weepers because a milky substance falls from their eyes, giving them the appearance of crying; their flesh falls away - this made me think of lepracy and just general decay. It's almost like they're no longer human or living, to me, I felt like they were rotting humans and nothing more... Apart from the fact they don't go around blurting out "Brains... brains...". They actually have some sense of intelligence and their eyes look intelligent too. I can't really explain it very well, I'll leave that to Susanne, but still. Wow!

The book is brilliantly written and I don't really want to say much more about what happens because it really would spoil it. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you going, the writing as I've already said is freaking amazing. Susanne has created something beautiful here that really stands out the current flood of dystopian fiction. 

I really cannot wait for the sequel, The Life Beyond due out in 2013!! So far away!

Sunday 15 January 2012

In My Postbox #48


In My Mailbox idea from Kristi @ The Story Siren, and all links take you to Amazon UK.

No three month break between In My Postbox updates this week! Haha! Hey guys! This week has been pretty sweet on the book front. Got some cool books, read some awesome ones and here they are...


REVIEW:

Casper Candlewacks in Claws of Crime by Ivan Brett (loved the first one, so cannot wait to get into this one!!).
Poison Heart by S.B. Hayes.
Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer.
Enemies by Tim Bowler.
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (this one sounds good and the cover is awesome!)


BOUGHT:

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (SIGNED!!! I have already read this, and it is amazing. My review is here).


GIFT/WON:

Angel Fire by L. A. Weatherly (this is the US hardback edition and it is beautiful. Won it as part of Lee's 1500th follower Twitter quiz! And its signed with a lovely message. Thanks so much for this, Lee! I freaking love it!)

As always, thanks again to all the amazing publicists, publishers, and authors for such amazing books! You all rock!

So there we are folks. That is all. Have a great week!



The Fault In Our Stars by John Green [Review]

Written by: John Green.
Published by: Dutton/Penguin.
Format: Hardback.
Released: 10th January 2012.
Rating: 5/5.

Official synopsis: "Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means) Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly, to her interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind."

The Fault In Our Stars is the first book by John Green that I have ever read. I've heard fellow bloggers rave and rave and rave about him, but I've just, for one reason or another, picked up one of his books. When it was announced that this book was coming out in 2012, and I heard the premise, I knew that maybe, just maybe, this was the book to kick-start my John Green reading experience. And the fact that he was signing 150,000 copies of the book also made me want a copy even more! Even so, when I got my copy earlier this week, courtesy of the amazing Book Depository, I was a bit apprehensive. This book is all about cancer, there's no denying it. I've lost several family members through cancer, and even had a cancer scare myself when I was 16. If Green was really as good a writer as people said he was, how was I going to react?

Also, I didn't want the book to be a let down... Anyway, I started reading. And instantly I was caught up in Green's writing. It's so fluid, almost lyrical and I couldn't take my eyes away from the page. As already mentioned, yes, it's a book about cancer. But it's so much more than that. It's about the pity you receive when you have cancer and so so many other things beside. It almost has a cynical view of the disease, and how people feel towards those that pity them. 

Despite it's dark themes and premise, this book has so many laugh out loud moments that at points, you almost forgot that the main character, a strong willed sixteen year old called Hazel, is here dying. Yes, she's a miracle in the sense that she's still alive, but she cannot get around the fact that she will die - and sooner rather than later. As she finds out through her friends at Support Group who also are dying...

What I really like about the book though is that I never once truly pitied the characters. I felt for them, cared about them, and were sad for them, but I didn't pity them. It showed that not everyone who is ill wants people to fuss around them, to worry and to hover.

I have to say, I'm finding it hard to sum up how I feel about this book, and no doubt this review is a little messy, but I'll be honest with you. I loved it. Every second. Every word. Every page. John Green has crafted something so beautiful, so read, so brutally honest and yet so funny that I fail to see how people can dislike this book in any way shape or form. It spoke to me (although, when you read the book you'll see that not all books speak to people as the authors wish them to - don't worry, I'm not being weird here... it's part of the book...), after reading it, and I'll admit a few tears, I sat back and really evaluated the life I have. It's that sort of book. Infuriatingly thought provoking, but in a good way.


It was a really haunting read and it made me think, do people going through cancer really feel this way? How would I of been if my scare hadn't been just a scare? Would I be the same in Hazel's situation? and I have to say that at times reading it, I had a little knot in my stomach. Haunting... But beautifully and masterfully written. I know I throw this word around a lot, but it was so addictive. Like I just could not let go.


Only one minor criticism that I have, and it is very minor, and I just remembered it because I used the word in the last sentence... Like is said. A LOT! And I mean a lot. Not just by one character, but several. And I have to admit, it started to nag me, but otherwise... amazing. I don't really like it when characters call another by their full, or first and middle, names. It just niggles me, and it is used in this book a lot, but I choose to overlook it as the book is just too damn good!

I cannot thank John Green enough for being such a genius. I cannot wait to get stuck into his back catalogue of work, and look forward to whatever he publishes next. You just have to read this one. Just do it.

Saturday 14 January 2012

News: UK Cover art for Lauren Oliver's Pandemonium revealed!

At long last, the artwork for Lauren Oliver's Pandemonium has been revealed and it's a beaut! Eye catching, it's the sequel to last years Delirium. It's out on 1st March and sounds like its going to rock!

What do you think of the cover?

News: Becca Fitzpatrick announced title for final Hush, Hush book

Earlier this week, on a GoodReads chat with Blood Red Road author, Moira Young, Becca Fitzpatrick announced the title for the fourth and final book in her hugely successful, and awesome, angelic series. 

Finale (yes, that's the title!!) is set to close the story that began in Hush, Hush and continued on through Crescendo and last years Silence. 

I for one am not quite sure what I think about the title. It does sound quite epic. Finale. FINALE. Finale... I just... it sounds weird to me to have a title like that. I'm hoping it grows on me. It's cool and very original and clever but still. I remember being annoyed when they changed the title for Book Three from Tempest (which I loved!!) to Silence, but I have to say that Silence has grown on me. 

I just hope the story can live up to such an epic name. And I cannot wait to see the cover art. Becca always gets such amazing covers. How can they top the cover for Silence though, eh?!

Friday 13 January 2012

News: Brothers to the Death gets final artwork

The fourth and final book in Darren Shan's epic The Saga of Larten Crepsley is due for publication in April. Called Brothers to the Death, the actual artwork for the cover was released a few weeks ago, but now the final cover as it will be available come 26th April has been unleashed with title work and of course Darren's name, and for me, it makes this cover all the more amazing.

I love the colours used and the fact that throughout the cover art for the series, we're not only seeing Larten at different stages of his life, but also the world as it's changing. First it was a dilapidated middle-agey church and now 1930's New York. Brilliant! Cannot wait to get my hands on the book! 

What do you guys think?


News: US cover for Rebel Heart unleashed!

Rebel Heart is the second book in Moira Young's Dust Lands series. Sequel to Blood Red Road, which is freaking amazing, it's not even out till October (OH MY GOD... WHY SO FAR AWAY?!) but the US publisher have released the cover! I think it's awesome! Love the colouring! And if the new UK cover for Blood Red Road is an indication of the UK look for Rebel Heart, I might import a copy... Plus it'll be hardback! *swoon*...

What do you guys think?


Monday 9 January 2012

News: Trailer released for Hollow Pike!


Hollow Pike is one of my most anticipated books for 2012 and it's written by the lovely Mr. James Dawson! Out on 2nd February, why not check out the trailer below. As if you need any more reason to buy it than the cover art alone, the trailer only makes me want this book all the more!

Sunday 8 January 2012

Trailer: Don Calame's Beat The Band

Beat The Band is the sequel to last years hilarious debut offering from Don, Swim The Fly. Coop, Sean and Matt are back for another adventure! Official synopsis below, and check out the trailer that's just been released for it!

"Who gets more girls than a rock god? No one.' In the hotly-awaited sequel to the hysterical Swim the Fly, Coop finds himself partnered with social outcast 'Hot Dog' Helen for a class project on safe sex. Desperate to find a way of saving his rep, Coop decides that winning the school Battle of the Bands contest is the perfect solution. Surely the small fact that neither he nor his best friends, Sean and Matt, can actually play an instrument will stop them achieving rock-and-roll awesomeness."


Can't wait! It's out 1st February

In My Postbox #47

In My Mailbox idea from Kristi @ The Story Siren, and all links take you to Amazon UK.

I cannot for the life of me believe that it's been nearly three months... yes THREE MONTHS... 3! since I did my last Postbox update. Wow! Things have been crazy what with moving, Christmas, work and other stuff that goes on at that time of year (parties... I'll say no more...) but I have a bumper post today! I am going to apologise in advance for it's size, and also for any books I've missed that I might of been sent in this time. I've tried to find every single one and have been referencing with previous posts here on the blog to see what I have and haven't featured, but what with moving, everything was packed away and with over 400 books (yes, really...) they are all over the place and still, mostly, in boxes. So I've found all the ones I could and here they are...


The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz.
Soul Beach by Kate Harrison.
In Darkness by Nick Lake.
Mortlock by Jon Mayhew.
The Demon Collector by Jon Mayhew.
The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima.


Saving Daisy by Phil Earle.
Wonder by R. J. Palacio.
Playground by 50 Cent (no, really!)
The 13th Horseman by Barry Hutchison.
Black Arts by Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil.


Legend by Marie Lu.
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld.
The Killables by Gemma Malley (really cool detatchable badge that you can see there in the place of the K on the title! SO COOL! Hodder always do such amazing proofs!).
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (SIGNED... as you can see below... Read as part of my Christmas reading... love this book. Meant to get the review up for Christmas eve but just didn't get around to it and it feels wrong to review it now it's not Christmas... maybe next year!).
Department 19: The Rising by Will Hill (also signed but I don't have a pic of that the moment... doh!).







The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini (I started the series with a paperback of Eragon and always wanted a hardback copy... my copy of Eldest was hardback but in tatters so decided to get a complete set... worked out cheaper and it looks amazing!).



Next we've got Advent by James Treadwell. This copy actually came today... kind of a coincidence considering I finally started reading my proof copy last night and am thoroughly enjoying it at the moment. Just as with the black wrap-around on the proof, the cover has some iridescent bits that shine blue, red, and different colours when in different lights. So cool. Hodder always make such beautiful books! :D Some bookmarks/promo things came a few days prior in a little slipcase which is so cool! And it's quite big. Here is the finished copy next to the proof...



I'll admit that I realised I'd forgotten two books... So pics are taken from my twitter account, and from my old house, hence the green carpet and now we have a brown one... Haha. They are as follows...


The Haunting of Charity Delafield by Ian Beck (reviewed this a few weeks ago now... review here!)
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (my first ever embargo'd book I've been sent! :D Official letter and everything! Can you guess how excited I was? Haha! Eek! :D).

Surprisingly, no books for Christmas which was weird... First Christmas in ages that's happened. Did buy a few for Kindle though thanks to the 12 Days of Kindle...

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy.
Lost Christmas by David Logan.
Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien.

I also got a pretty awesome CD! Rihanna's Talk That Talk album which is bloomin' brilliant! Saw her at the NIA Arena in Birmingham the week after this was released and she was awesome!



Also got this beauty of a calandar... yesterday actually (Sat 7th Jan)... THE HUNGER GAMES! Argh!




Well, this isn't a book but still... finally in this week's IN MY POSTBOX, it's the Collectors Edition collection of Harry Potter. All 8 films on DVD and blu ray. And it's beautiful. I love it!

So there... wow... I don't ever intend to leave it that long again to do a Postbox post! Haha. Hope you all have a great week, happy reading! :)



Saturday 7 January 2012

News: HarperCollins sign Chris Columbus for new series

A few days ago now I received a press release from Harper Collins announcing an exciting new series set to his bookshelves in the next few years, courtesy of the man that helped bring Harry Potter to the screen and wrote one of my all time favourite films... GREMLINS!!! Check it out below!


New York, NY/ London (January 5, 2012)—HarperCollins Publishers announced today that it has preempted rights to a three-book middle-grade series, House of Secrets by iconic Hollywood director and producer Chris Columbus, co-authored by acclaimed young adult novelist Ned Vizzini. This is Columbus’s debut series for young readers with the first book slated for global publication in Spring 2013. 
The three-book North American deal was negotiated by Alessandra Balzer, Co-Publisher of the Balzer + Bray imprint at HarperCollins Children’s Books, with Dorian Karchmar at William Morris Endeavor. UK & Commonwealth rights were acquired by Rachel Denwood, Publishing Director from Cathryn Summerhayes at William Morris Endeavour. Rights have been sold in twelve foreign territories so far. 
“Master storytellers Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini have created a high-stakes fantasy,” said Balzer. “From the very first page I knew we had to publish this series. It’s an incredibly imaginative adventure with clever plot twists and nonstop action—not to mention a family that readers will immediately fall in love with. House of Secrets has all the hallmarks of a new
classic." 
Denwood added, “Combining classic adventure with sublime offbeat humor, and with three brilliant siblings at its heart, this has the potential to be the next big series. It's going to be epic.”  
“The opportunity to write this novel is a dream come true," said Columbus. "I have lived with the characters of this novel and their world for many years, and was saving them for something very special. Working on House of Secrets with Ned has been a thrill.” 
The Pagett kids had it all: loving parents, a big house in San Francisco, all the latest video games . . . But everything changed when their father lost his job as a result of an inexplicable transgression. Now the family is moving into Kristoff House, a mysterious place built nearly a century earlier by a troubled fantasy writer with a penchant for the occult. Suddenly the siblings find themselves launched on an epic journey into a mash-up world born of Kristoff's dangerous imagination, to retrieve a dark book of untold power, uncover the Pagett family's secret history and save their parents . . . and maybe even the world. 
For over twenty-five years, Chris Columbus has written, directed and produced some of the most successful box-office hits, which have established him as a major force in contemporary Hollywood filmmaking. Columbus directed and produced the first two films in the blockbuster Harry Potter series and produced the third. More recently, Columbus has directed features such as the hit film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, based on the bestselling children’s book series, and will begin producing the sequel Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters later this year. As a director, Columbus has been at the helm of such films as Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Mrs. Doubtfire, Nine Months, Only the Lonely, and Stepmom. As a producer, Columbus was also behind the highly successful family/adventure/comedy film, Night at the Museum and its sequel Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. And as a writer, he launched his career with the legendary films Gremlins and Goonies. This past summer, Columbus released his latest film, The Help, starring Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek, Jessica Chastain and Viola Davis though his 1492 Pictures banner. 
Ned Vizzini is the author of It’s Kind of a Funny Story (also a major motion picture), Be More Chill, Teen Angst? Naaaah..., and the forthcoming The Other Normals. Ned has spoken at over 200 universities, schools, and libraries around the world about writing and mental health. He has written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, and season 2 of MTV's Teen Wolf. His work has been translated into seven languages. You can visit Ned online at www.nedvizzini.com.


Ooh! Can't wait!