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Monstrous Devices – An Imaginary Damien Love Guest Blog: Monstrous Devices – An Imaginary

Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Let me start with the stupidest one first. I am aware it is kind of silly, but for some reason it drove me batty. Alex is bebopping all over the place with his cell phone, able to make calls and texts, but WITHOUT AN INTERNATIONAL PLAN. Also, his mom was able to text him, and he was texting her, but there wasn't the hassle of area codes. It was just like he knew how to make international calls no prob. Alex, 12 year old jetsetter. Things that should have been obstacles, even trifling ones, were just easily ignored or solved. Mysterious and frightening...a well-crafted adventure that's filled with desperate chases, narrow escapes, fight scenes, and twists.' * Publishers Weekly, starred review *The story is very fast paced, and kept me engaged all throughout. The author's writing is very fresh and easy to glide through, with vivid imagery of the setting and robots and magic. He took magic and science and mixed them up together to create some dangerous tin monsters, human and mechanical assassins and a story filled with action. Another assured debut that takes its protagonist somewhere unexpected... Fans of Anthony Horowitz will love Monstrous Devices.' * Irish Times * It snows a lot in Monstrous Devices. This is a Yoko Ono/ John Lennon song, but I think this slow-motion-then-raging cover by Galaxie 500 might be the best version. R.L. Stine has paved the way for all other children’s horror writers, bringing the genre to young readers in a way that nobody else has. The Goosebumps series is just the right amount of scary, with some humour thrown in, and featuring children and settings that readers will find relatable. There’s also the added bonus that young fans of his stories have not only an extensive series of Goosebumps books to enjoy, but dozens of awesome stories to move on to when they’ve outgrown those. Growing up, I loved R.L. Stine’s books in the Point Horror series – I think they turned lots of teens into readers. Dan Smith is an author who knows the horror genre incredibly well, and he brings just the right elements of it into his children’s books. Below Zero is my favourite of his longer novels – it is genuinely chilling (and with a perfect chilly setting that brings the action and scares to life) and brilliantly written. His current Crooked Oak series with Barrington Stoke is also fantastic and the perfect way into horror for young readers. The Bigwoof Conspiracy by Dashe Roberts

Monstrous Devices by Damien Love - LoveReading4Kids

All Alex knows for sure is his old metal robot toy seems to have powers fascinating and terrifying that are key to their hasty trip from Paris across to Prague.

Golems are interesting, frightening creatures, aren't they? One could also argue that automata are similarly interesting and frightening. So a book that combines both with adventure and chase scenes (including one on the rooftops of Paris) is a book I want to promote to my readers. Alex's life is somewhat like that of Milo's in The Phantom Tollbooth, albeit with a bit of bullying added, and the excitement of the toys his grandfather brings him lessens that somewhat. But this time, the gift is a little too exciting and Alex's life will never be the same. There are many questions not answered, which makes me believe that this will be the first in a series (leading to one huge question: can the series maintain the quality of this book?).