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by Michele Fry, Scholar's Blog
The Starlight Conspiracy
by Steve Voake
Steve Voake's The Starlight Conspiracy is a thriller with a Science Fiction element for young adults. Fourteen-year-old
Berry Benjamin's mother recently died, leaving Berry reliant on the generosity of the group of Travellers to which she and
her mother belonged, living in their old blue bus. Unfortunately they're about to be moved from their site and one of them
has reported Berry to the Social Services, so a Social Worker turns up with the promise of a foster home and a place at a
local school. But Berry's not interested. Then she finds a birthday card left by her mother, with a plane ticket to San
Francisco inside.
She decides to leave the only home she's known and head for America, but when she nearly steps into the path of a bus, an
old man miraculously saves her. Despite being hit by the bus himself and then being run over by a car, the old man walks away
unharmed, although Berry's too dazed to notice. He takes her home and she talks to him; when he learns she has a ticket to
the US, he urges her to take a parcel to America for him. Berry's reluctant but agrees to go back and see him the next day
to let him know her decision. She tells him she doesn't want to take his parcel for him, but he slips it into her rucksack,
along with a mobile phone, and two large sums of money in Sterling and dollars.
As Berry is leaving his house, a jogger comes along the lane and knocks her over. She gets away and goes back to her bus,
but then some men turn up wanting the contents of the package. Berry heads to Glastonbury (for which she had tickets
already), on her mother's motorbike and hides out at the Glastonbury Festival. There she meets Elle, who's two years her
senior and has recently run away from his own dysfunctional home. Then the men who want the package turn up and the two of
them are forced to make a quick escape. They escape over the Atlantic, but soon find themselves dodging bullets in a
desperate race across America to New Mexico. But what's in the package? Why is it so important to these men? And just how
did the old man manage to survive being knocked down by a bus and then run over?
This is a gripping book that I ended up reading until late at night because I desperately wanted to finish it. I shall
certainly be looking out for more of Voake's books. This book is out on March 1 in the UK.
Century
This Gothic tale is set entirely in the house and grounds of the Verga family. The house itself is named "Century". Twelve-year-old
Mercy and her younger sister Charity have never questioned their daily routine, living at night and sleeping during
the day, and seeing their widowed father only rarely, whilst their house remains shrouded in perpetual Winter. But then one
day, Mercy, wakes to find a snowdrop on her pillow. This sign of Spring is a subtle hint at the possibility that they could
have a different future.
A chance meeting with a mysterious man named Claudius—who tells her she can see her mother
again—sets Mercy questioning everything she has ever known—including the truth of her mother's death. Slowly and
steadily Mercy traces her parents' story through the past, travelling back in time to see herself as a younger child,
silently witnessing the dramatic events in which Claudius himself plays an enormous part. It's not until she has pieced
together the truth that she and her family can begin to move on. But it's no easy task—her father opposes her,
grief-stricken still over the loss of his wife. Twice Mercy finds herself locked away in a room in Century, as her father
tries to maintain his control of the situation.
This is an excellent tale—intriguing and disconcerting by turns, and with some interesting twists. I confess, that
initially I wondered if the Verga family were vampires—but they're not...
Heretic
Heretic is set in sixteenth-century Protestant England during which Roman Catholics were persecuted, and enemies of the
heretical faith were believed to lurk in every corner. Although Sarah Singleton may seem to sympathise with the Catholic
faith, the story moves back in time to the 13th century, when a mother of two was executed for witchcraft by the Catholic
Church, showing that intolerance has always been an issue, and demonstrating just how dangerous it has been to go against
established religion. The fear of discovery, the pain inflicted on the "unfaithful", and the inability of a child to
protect their family are some of the most moving passages in this novel. Singleton's language is very descriptive, brimming with
elaborate adjectives, similes and metaphors. At the same time, though, there is a dark, gloomy sense of mystery and
intrigue throughout the book: enemies of the faith hide away whilst their persecutors are watching and following them every
step. Woven throughout the tale of sixteenth-century England are fantastical and magical worlds, along with a host of strange
and sometimes dangerous creatures: a green girl from the Shadow Land, faeries who trick and delude you, goblins, and some
blood-thirsty angels who are quite unlike the holy creatures about whom we are used to reading.
This story is no mere tale of good and evil. Even the angels and the faeries are vengeful and cruel, inflicting
torment on those who are thirsty for others' blood. I didn't find this an easy book to read —in fact, I stopped part
way through to read a few other books in quick succession. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of about 14,
to be honest. It's rather more intense than Singleton's Century.
Sarah Singleton's Heretic won the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2005.
For more about Sarah Singleton, check out her website.
Books Reviewed:
The Starlight Conspiracy, by Steve Voake. Faber and Faber, 2007. ISBN: 0-5712-2998-0.
Century, by Sarah Singleton. Pocket Books, 2005. ISBN: 1-4169-0135-3.
Heretic, by Sarah Singleton. Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, 2006. ISBN: 1-4169-0403-4.
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