Thrilling things

Blake, Jon: The Deadly Secret of Dorothy W.
Hodder, 2003

Jasmin is disappointed. Her favourite author is ill and he can’t read his stories at the library. Instead a very strange Mrs Wordsearch comes to lecture the children. She is so boring the Jasmin thinks she must’ve been employed to put children off reading. By chance Jasmin and the most tiresome boy in her class, Kevin, win a place at Dorothy Wordsearch School for Gifted Young Writers and things start looking fishy. After reading to the mysterious Mr. Collins pupils usually disappear. But why? Jasmin unravels the secret of Mr. Collins and notices she is to write literally for her life.

Dicks, Terrance: The Chinese Ghost Incident
Piccadilly, 2000

Professor Stirling and his son Matt are summoned to Hong Kong, because there has been a strange string of accidents at a building site near to the harbour. Now one of the night watchmen is dead and vicious rumours are suggesting that the site is haunted. Matt gets uncanny visions of an angry ghost who is trying to say something important. Luckily Matt believes in these messages and he and his father manage to escape the attack of Triads, the Mafia of China. This is a rather violent story, which appeals those who are into action stories in general.

Garvey, Dennis: Invasion of the Judy Snatchers

(The Funnie Mysteries 1)
Disney Press, 2000

Doug’s sister Judy is really friendly and helpful and not at all behaving normally and Doug is worried that she might have been taken over by the pod people. Doug and his dog Porkchop decide to keep Judy under surveillance to stop the aliens from taking over the whole of Bluffington. There are four other stories in this book as well. Are you as clever as Doug in following the clues and cracking the funny mysteries?

Johnson, Pete: Mind Reader – Blackmail
Puffin Books, 1999

Matt has an eerie power: he can read minds with a special crystal. He has promised to Mrs Jameson never to reveal the secret of the crystal. One day Matt can’t keep the secret to himself any longer and he tells his best friend Cally about the crystal. After a while a mysterious note is taped to Matt’s locker at school. The note says: ”I know about the crystal.” Matt is sure he knows who the blackmailer is and he tells it to Cally – but  is he right?

Kidd, Richard: Deadly Famous
Corgi Yearling books, 2001

Sally is wondering why there’s a hole in the corner of one of Neville Windrush’s paintings. Her uncle Stanley tells the story which happened a long time ago, in 1966, when he was a boy. Stanley works as a delivery boy at the butcher’s on Saturdays. He delivers a parcel of liver to an artist who lives in an old mill with his one-eared tom-cat Vincent. That is the day they make friends. In 1966 it rains so much that the River Windrush floods twice and Neville vanishes mysteriously. His car is found hanging in a tree, but no sight of Neville. Later the river is dragged and only his jacket and a shoe is found this time. The stories of a missing artist in newspapers rocket up the price of his paintings and Stanley is shocked to discover that his friends work is worth much more when he is dead… In this book the author has named the chapters after famous songs of the 1960’s.

Lawrence, Caroline: The Enemies of Jupiter (The Roman Mysteries 7)
Orion Children's Books, 2003

This story takes place in Ancient Rome, year 80 A.D. Jonathan’s father, Doctor Mordecai gets an important message from the Emperor Titus to come to Rome. A fierce fever is killing the people of Rome and doctor’s help is needed immediately. The Emperor requests Jonathan and his friends to come as well, because there is a mystery to be solved. The Emperor has heard a prophetic warning about Prometheus opening a Pandora’s box and devastating Rome. Some of the words used in this book may look strange, but there is a vocabulary at the back of the book that clarifies the words and their meanings.

Prince, Alison: Oranges and Murder
Oxford University Press, 2001

Joey is a coster boy who sells oranges in London. Other boys say he is actually a son of a lord and sometimes Joey wonders if there is some truth in it. He doesn’t even look like his father, Curly. When Joey is 13, an adult really, he decides to start his own business. He also wants to learn how to read and he turns to Quill Quennell, a screever who writes anything to anyone when the price is right. Quill asks strange questions from Joey and he seems to know something from Joeys past. After a while Quill is stabbed to death and Joey notices he is suspected for the murder. He has to go into hiding but he is determined to find out why Quill was murdered.

Ryan, Chris: Survival (Alpha Force 1)
Red Fox, 2002

Twenty kids from all over the world are packed in a ship named Phoenix for the whole summer. It is a working voyage researching the nature of Indonesian Archipelago. So they think. All the participants must be fit, speak English and have some special skills. The kids are divided into Watches which all have five members and they must work as teams. The A-Watch has problems in just bearing each other. Alex, Li, Paulo, Hex and Amber end up marooned on a desert island and their mission is to survive. The island is crawling with dangerous animals such as killer komodo dragons. The only way to stay alive is to combine all their knowledge and work as a team.

Thorne, Matt: Greengrove Castle
Faber and Faber, 2004

This book takes place in the future that reminds a lot of the past. There are 39 different communities in England and each is based around a castle. Eleanor leads an ordinary life with her parents until she turns 12. Anderson of the secret organisation Castle Seven tells Eleanor that she is one of the five children selected to live in Clearheart Castle. The children must be trained at first. They have to learn horseback riding, sword fighting and diplomatic skills to be able to interact with their neighbours of Greengrove Castle. There are also quests and missions in which the chosen children have to  participate on behalf of their community. Signs of betrayal and intrigue start to emerge and Eleanor has to decide who she can trust, if anyone.