In My Mailbox 51

This meme was started by the fabulous Kristi who was inspired by Alea. Check out their blogs for more information. All summaries are from the book jackets.

For review:

My So-Called Afterlife - Tamsyn Murray

‘Aaargh!’ Stumbling backwards, the man’s face flooded with horrified embarrassment. ‘How long have you been standing there?’
My mind fizzled furiously. He could see me. He could actually see me! I could have hugged him! Well, I couldn’t, but you know what I mean.

Fifteen-year-old Lucy has been stuck in the men’s loos since she was murdered there six moths ago and Jeremy is the first person who’s been able to see her. Just her luck that he’s a seriously uncool geography type - but at least he’s determined to help.

Once he’s found a way for her to leave the loos, she’s soon meeting other ghosts, including the gorgeous Ryan. However, when Jeremy insists that she helps him track down her killer, she has to confront her greatest fear…

A fabulous surprise from Piccadilly Press. This is a UK debut author so I’m especially excited to read it.

Desperate Measures - Laura Summers

‘Jamie and me have run away,’ said Rhianna, ‘and now you can too, Vicky.’
I took her hand in mine. It was freezing.
When we first started school, they thought Rhianna could manage without any help. But every morning, Mum would whisper to me, ‘Keep an eye on your sister, Vicky.’

So I did. I looked out for her. Kept the bad kids away. Protected her from danger. And now Mum was dead, I would always have to look out for her. For ever and ever, amen.

Vicky and Rhianna are twins but they couldn’t be more different. For their fourteenth birthday, Vicky wants a card from the hottest boy in school. Rhianna, brain-damaged at birth, wants a Furby.

Instead they get a nasty shock. Their foster parents can’t cope and it looks as if Vicky and Rhianna and their younger brother Jamie will have to be split up.

How can they stay together?

Desperate times call for desperate measures…

Another excellent surprise from Piccadilly Press and another UK debut that I‘m really looking forward to.

Vampirates: Empire of Night - Justin Somper

The stakes rise…

Sidorio, fuelled by grief and revenge, is intent on becoming King of the Vampirates and building a new empire to bring terror to the oceans. But he faces growing opposition from both Pirate Federation and from the more benign vampirate realm, led by Mosh Zu and Lorcan Furey.

Twins Grace and Connor Tempest, still reeling from the recent discovery of their true parentage and its explosive implications, are thrust deep into the heart of the conflict. As old friends and foes are thrown together unexpectedly, the twins find their allegiances shifting in ways no-one could ever have imagined…

Join the Tempest twins in this fifth dramatic encounter as they battle for the empire of the vampirates.

I’ve seen this series around but have never really looked at them. They sound pretty exciting! Thanks to S&S!

Dark Life - Kat Falls (UK Proof)

When the oceans rose, entire continents were swallowed up by the rising water. Now humans live packed into high rises on small tracts of land, while those willing to forge new frontiers settle deep beneath the waves.

Ty has lived under the sea his entire life, helping his family to farm the ocean floor. But when outlaws attack, Ty finds himself in a fight to save the only home he has ever known. Joined by Gemma, a girl from Topside who is looking for her missing brother, Ty ventures into the frontier’s rough underworld - and discovers some very dark secrets. Secrets which threaten to destroy everything…

A world where the deep can be dangerous, the darkness can be deadly and sometimes it’s all you can do to stay alive…

I’m so pleased I got an early copy of this from S&S. It looks fantastic!

Striker Boy - Jonny Zucker

Nat Dixon is Premier League Football Club Hatton Ranger’s mystery new signing - and their only chance at avoiding relegation.

It’s every young footballer’s dream come true, and Nat feels though he’s fulfilling his destiny…

But what his fellow players, the fans and the press don’t know is that Nat is only 13 years old…

A thrilling story of one boy’s plunge into an incredible world of Premiership football and deadly danger, that will have football fans gripped from start to finish.

I’m won’t be reading this one as I have no interest in football whatsoever. But if any of you, or sons, brothers, nephews etc., would like it, send me an email and I’ll send it out to you.

I also got quite a few repeats this week: The Worst of Me by Kate le Vann, Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles and the first three books in the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. Look out for a contest for these coming up soon.

Bought:

The Carbon Diaries 2017 - Saci Lloyd

It’s so weird being inside history. I keep waiting for someone to press the stop button.

It’s 2017 and London is a city on the edge, fighting for survival in the new carbon rationing era. As ever, Laura Brown is right on the front line charting events with acerbic wit as Europe descends into student revolt, strikes and a bitter water war.

These are revolutionary times, and it’s down to Laura to deal with the big stuff - how to keep her love life under control, her parents chilled out, and that dream of world domination with her band, the dirty angels, alive.

I really enjoyed to first book so I’m interested to see how much worse London has gotten!

Sophie