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Author Guy Bass introduces SCRAP, about one robot who tried to protect the humans on his planet against an army of robots. Now the humans need his... One evening, after hearing Five remonstrating that she is a bad apple, she pushes a crate of things near to Five that leads to changing her life forever. Aisling Fowler wishes that she’d grown up in a magical, mountainous kingdom, but was actually raised on a diet of books and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Set in the snowy northern forests of an imagined prehistoric world, Fireborn is Fowler’s middle-grade debut.
Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - Before I gush about how much I loved this book let me give you a little teaser. Children from different clans decide to join the Hunter's lodge for different reasons. Some because they are not wanted by their families or their clans or they are seeking the power that the Lodge offers, but every child in the Lodge is there for a reason. In this book, we follow four of those children. Children who have given up their names, and clan identities to serve as a single body at the Lodge. Now named, Five, Six, Seven and Twelve. After a fight in the yard, Five and Twelve are sent to the dungeons as punishment but they got more than a sleepless night. Set in the snowy northern forests of a prehistoric world, Fireborn is the middle-grade debut of the decade. By turns exciting, funny and heart wrenchingly sad, it marks the introduction of an unstoppable new voice in children's storytelling. Monștri înfiorător ce-ți fură căldura corpului și te transformă în stană de gheață, ce te capturează într-un cocon de mătase ca să te devoreze încetul cu-ncetul sau ți se strecoară în vise, păcălindu-te să le devii fel principal la festin, o hoardă de spiriduși malefici, cu puteri magice, care iau cu asalt o cetate de necucerit, trădări peste trădări, patru copii fantastici care se împotrivesc expansiunii întunericului și un Câine de piatră ce poate distruge zeci de creaturi periculoase dintr-o singură încleștare a fălcilor. Ah, da, și să nu uităm de veverița adorabilă și extrem de inteligentă care salvează situația atunci când nu tremură de frică încolăcită sub vreo haină călduroasă de blană. Știu că multe dintre recenziile mele încep cu o înșiruire de genul, dar nu cred că aș putea găsi alte cuvinte mai potrivite prin intermediul cărora să descriu acest roman incitant. „Născută din foc”, de Aisling Fowler, ne aruncă în mijlocul unui masacru ce, odată dezlănțuit, nu prea mai poate fi oprit, cel mult întârziat. Cu toate că am fost nevoită să încep romanul de două ori, pentru că prima dată nu m-a atras absolut deloc, am fost cucerită în cele din urmă de universul macabru pe care-l construiește autoarea și de personajele energice, care nu pregetă să se arunce cu capul înainte în vâltoarea luptelor. Pe lângă dimensiunile Fantasy și YA, care sunt evidente, nuanțele Horror își fac simțită prezența la tot pasul, umplând golurile lăsate pe alocuri de ritmul șovăielnic al întâmplărilor. Acțiune este din plin, în ciuda scenelor puțin forțate. Însă imaginea de ansamblu este una excelentă. Life is lived so differently in each of the clans, but some have it much harder than others, (the cave clan and the bog clan particularly, so I'd want to stay well away from them!). I'd probably choose the river or forest clan. There are still dangerous dark creatures to contend with, but plenty of beauty and wonder too.
Interview
This book should come with a CANNOT BE PUT DOWN warning. Children are going to fall in love with this heart-stopping adventure, and I was with Twelve and Dog every thrilling step of the way.” —Jenny McLachlan, author of The Land of Roar There is one overall main lesson in this story and that's, it's never too late to be the person you want to become. Fully grown adults like myself can learn from that too.
Fireborn is a middle-grade book set in a fictional prehistorical world where different clans are protected by the Hunting Lodge a place where hunters live and train. i knew absolutely nothing about this book. i saw it randomly in my local waterstones and i got it because the edition that was there was simply too stunning to pass up. the gorgeous sprayed edges? i have a lot of pretty books but this one was truly love at first sight. since it’s a middle grade fantasy (for ages 9-12 i believe) i knew it would be a easy read and a good break from the usual stuff but i didn’t expect it to be just as good as it is. Zusammen sind Zwölf und Sechs ein super Team. Sie haben zuvor nie miteinander geredet doch sie haben gleich einen Draht zueinander und verfolgen das gleiche Ziel. Aber sie beide haben Geheimnisse, die ihr Verbindung auf die Probe stellen. Zwölf, Sechs, Fünf, Sieben und Hund stellen an sich eine unvergesslichen Gruppe dar, die alle Probleme überwinden können, wenn sie zusammenhalten. I absolutely loved Fireborn. Such a cinematic journey in both the literal and emotional sense! I cannot wait to read what happens next' L. D. Lapinski, author of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency I really liked the way the author slowly explored her past through dreams and memories throughout the book. It helped a lot to understand what had happened to her and why she acts the way that she does.This remarkable debut pulsates with energy and drama…” —Daily Mail, Best Children’s Books of the Year Aisling Fowler mixes in some of my favorite fantasy tropes that I can’t help be drawn to. We have animal companions, in the form of ‘Dog’ the stone guardian of the Hunting Lodge who is let loose as events happen in the book. He is the parent in the story, always being the light of reason and keeping the party in line. And then there is Widge the Squirrel, who is cute as anything, despite my aversion to squirrels.
Fireborn was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it lived up to every single expectation I had and more! Full of adventure and magic this beautiful middle grade is such a captivating story. I can't wait for my kids to read it and they have patiently been waiting for me to finish 🤣 Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap... Twelve has spoken the Pledge and now she is a Huntling. She has given up her name to train in the art of fighting monsters, and she won’t choose a new one until she has earned it. But when her friend is taken, Twelve sets off on a dangerous journey to rescue her. Teaming up with Dog, the stone Guardian of the Hunting Lodge, Twelve ends up on an epic adventure that will change her life, her name – and her entire world.I wouldn't cope well at all - I'd be terrible with the weapons and freeze up as soon as I came face to face with a monster. Honestly, I don't think the Hunters would have me! The setting was magical, and so richly described. The forest, the mountains, the damp were all so vividly imagined, and drew us in. The world building was amazing. Twelve has spoken the Pledge and now she is a Huntling. She has given up her name to train in the art of fighting monsters, and she won't choose a new one until she has earned it. But when her friend is taken, Twelve sets off on a dangerous journey to rescue her. Teaming up with Dog, the stone Guardian of the Hunting Lodge, Twelve ends up on an epic adventure that will change her life, her name - and her entire world. Set in the snowy northern forests of a prehistoric world, Fireborn is the middle-grade debut of the decade. By turns exciting, funny and heart wrenchingly sad, it marks the introduction of an unstoppable new voice in children’s storytelling. Twelve is a fierce warrior even if she is often brave on the outside when her inner self is in complete turmoil. She has seen so much in her young life and suffers from nightmares because of it. She is quite the loner and yet Seven is so kind and nice to her. When Seven is taken by Goblins Twelve feels it is her responsibility to save her.
The LoveReading LitFestinvited Aishling to the festival to talk about her debut novel and the start of a thrilling fantasy series. Absolutely crammed full of magic and monsters, this was a wonderful read and just perfect for any middle grade readers who enjoy a tale of mythical beasts and terrifying adventures. It is exactly the kind of book I loved as a younger reader, one in which you are never truly sure who you can really trust, and I'll certainly be recommending it to as many people as possible. I loved the character of Twelve so much, she was strong and resilient but also flawed which is something that I absolutely loved becasue we got to see her change and learn from her mistakes and her flaws throughout the course of the book. Five, Six, and Dog made up a great team with Twelve, and seeing them all interact was so fun and interesting, especially as certain things got revealed and their growing friendship was tested. I also loved the monsters and the goblins becasue they were written very well and were suitably evil, which means that they posed a great challenge to Twelve and the hunters. And Victory, I have so many spoilery thoughts so I won't share them here! On top of that. The side characters of Five, Six, and Seven are amazing too. Especially Five! I have to say that I liked him loads. He is annoying, he is a loud mouth and is insensitive to most things around him, but I did enjoy his arc. The world building is solid, and we see the environment as the gang travel through it, although the story does centre on the monsters at times and there were some questions that I wanted answering.I always point out when I am reading middle grade fantasy that whilst not being the target audience, the sign of a good book is that despite the fact that I am not the target audience, it is relatable to whoever is reading it. And in all honesty, my demands from a good book are exactly the same as what they were when I was a kid. In fact they haven’t changed at all. I want a well written story, with characters that have depth and are believable and a plot that is going to keep me reading until the very end. There were loads of things that I liked about this book. Aisling Fowler’s writing is fantastic. Her writing style is really easy to read and she maintains the pace all the way through the book. Ember is a dark world full of magical and sometimes very spooky and scary creatures. Some are common traditional ones like for example goblins but there are also new intriguing ones. They add perfectly to the fast paced plot that gets you hooked on the story straight away.
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