Review : Contagion by Teri Terry

Callie has been missing for almost a year now and her brother Kai, is thinking the worst and giving up on hope. Suddenly, Shay, a teenage girl from another part of Scotland, shines light onto the case, for she saw Callie just before she disappeared.

Together  Kai and Shay set out to find Callie, on the way they run into a treacherous flu and uncover secrets that may just change everything. As they get ever closer to the truth, Kai and Shay's relationship strengthens bringing them much needed hope in times of horror, whilst they try to save Scotland.

Is it possible for Shay and Kai to escape the flu alive, find the cure and missing Callie before it’s too late?

Contagion is an amazing book. It grasped me by the throat and wouldn’t let me go until I had devoured every word. The dramatic last chapter leaves you hanging at the end; I am so excited for book two!

This is one of my most favourite books and it brought so many emotions in huge waves. I really enjoyed reading it, and everyone deserves to read such an exciting book! I recommend this for YA readers. 

Getting Published with Storytime Magazine

Getting a story published is an extremely exciting experience, as many writers would probably agree. But it can take a very long time, especially for a novel.

My story is short but contains all the information it needs as well as extra detail. My story was not like it is now when I first wrote it, in fact, many things changed, all because of the editing process. Editing your book is the most important thing and once you have done edits yourself, your editor: the person that is trying to help you publish your story, will come up with more things to help you improve it. My editor, Maxine, was really helpful and pointed out mistakes I had made. This can seem a bit cruel or disheartening, but Maxine was really kind and she improved my story for the better. The editing process can take up to years for many books, and for myself, it took a few months, as it is a shorter story.

Next, getting published. The best part for me! You will have had a deadline for your editing to be completed, as a couple of months after will be the time your story will be open to the public. With my story, I had to wait for 2-3 months and then my story was published in the May 2017 edition of Storytime, which is subscription based children's magazine, but you can buy back copies by visiting there website. 

Although this may seem slightly complicated, I first wrote my story for the 500 words competition. I happily got down into the last 2,000 of the 90,000 entries of that year, and when I didn’t get through any further, I thought that if I can get down to the last 2,000 in the 500 words competition, I am going to try to get published, and that’s what I did!


When my story came out, I was so excited to see it in print with the beautiful illustrations by the Brazilian artist, Junior Caramez. I loved sharing the story with my friends and family and also with children at local primary schools and my local library events, which I hope you will come back to read more on in my next blog!!

Callum fox and the Mousehole Ghost review BY AC HATTER

Callum fox and the Mousehole Ghost is told from two points of view, firstly by Callum Fox in present time, who goes to stay with his grandparents in sleepy Mousehole a Cornwall village, there strange things start to happen. Being knocked over by an ambulance Callum can see things others can’t, GHOSTS! Even though Callum knows that this is cool, no one will believe him, not even his new friend Sophie. Then things change once again seeing a ghost called Jim an old friend of Callum’s grumpy old Granddad’s, wants to move on with the help of Callum and Sophie. Meanwhile in in the Future, Jim is going to Mousehole evacuating from London, in the time of world war two. He is thrown into a house where he meets his new best friend Bob Fox. After a day out working Bob and Jim see a German plane crash. Trouble kicks in when both children help the pilot Gunter escape.

This is a great book, with lots of excitement, danger, and fantasy. My favourite character is; Sophie: she is very funny, keen, and joyful. She loves fishing, and teasing Callum. She is a great character, what stands out the most about her, is that she has bright red hair.




If you like this book you might like;

In Goosebumps: Cry of the cat, by R.L. Stine.

100% Wolf, by Jane Lyons.

Rat heaven, by Jeanne Willis.

Flood and Fang, by Marcus Sedgwick.

Bea's Review : Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol

Two glowing eyes, one large smile and a very cheeky attitude it’s the Cheshire cat. Join Alice and the strange animals of wonderland as she takes a mysterious stroll trying to find her way home to a normal life. Through her magical journey Alice meets evil head chopping queens, unusual talking animals and a rabbit that’s late for an important festival. This adventure starts by a large fall through a ginormous rabbit hole but will it finish the way Alice wants it to with a blanket and a family next to a warm fire or will Alice be trapped with nasty queens and curious creatures. I like this book as its funny and has lots of cliff hangers, it is really well written and it’s just and amazing book that you will never forget. I recommend this book as I think you will enjoy it, if you like mysterious places and creatures, also this book makes you feel like you’re in the adventure and it helps you to learn the creature’s personalities. Once you’ve picked up you can’t put it down!!!