The Enemy by Charlie Higson (Puffin)

Halo by Zizou Corder (Puffin)

Nobody’s Girl by Sarra Manning (Hodder Children’s Books)

Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace (Andersen Press)

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick (Orion)

Unhooking the Moon by Gregory Hughes (Quercus)

For more information visit the Booktrust Teenage Prize website.

You may be asking yourself who is this Jack Christie? He is the son of a professor who was part of a team that created the Taurus time machine. He gets involved in fighting against a shadowy cabal known as the Revisionists who want to change the present by altering history.

In his first adventure Day of the Assassins, the year is 1914. The place: Sarajevo.

The mission: assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Should they intervene? And, more importantly, will they survive?

By picking up the second book in the series the last question is answered but if Day of Deliverance is your first taste of the Jack Christie Adventures I would recommend reading Day of the Assassins first!

Who are:

The Revisionists? A group of scientists and their followers, who, using sophisticated computer simulations to model interventions in the past want to use their technology to change the past to improve the present.

VIGIL? Former colleagues of the Revisionists who believe that changing the past would be dangerous and work to make sure that the Taurus is kept secret and that no one is permitted to meddle with history.

About the Author
Johnny O’Brien was inspired to write the novel after seeing some of his grandad’s war medals in an old cupboard. “A few years ago my dad showed me some medals that his dad (my grandfather) had received during the First World War. He explained that my grandfather had been injured in the war and had later lost part of his leg. Apparently, my grandfather was reluctant to speak about how he got the injuries or how he won the medals. I don’t really know why. But I know what he did was brave – because I have a citation at home signed by the ‘Minister of War’ – Winston Churchill. Anyway, unlike millions of others, my grandfather survived the war and went on to have children and live to a ripe old age – although I never knew him. It got me thinking though. He made important choices in his life – he chose to fight in the war. It seems he chose to do something brave. Later he chose to have a family. If he had made different choices, of course, I might not be here.”

Sizzling sausages, tossers and trousers – Transatlantic translation

Keren is the author of the brilliant When I was Joe nd the soon to be published Almost True.

To enter the competition, reading groups just need to tell us, in 300 words, why their reading group should be ‘reporters’ on this year’s Teenage Prize for Groupthing. The reporting will take place from September to November.

The winning reading group will receive a flip cam which can be used to produce short videos of reviews of the books, debates, and events to tie in with the Prize. They will also receive one set of books and three sets of tickets to attend the awards ceremony in November in London.* The videos will be shown on Groupthing and the Booktrust website.

Please submit your entries to judith-shipman@readingagency.org.uk by 5pm on Friday 20 August.

The winning reading group will be announced the week beginning 23 August, and the flip cam and books will be delivered to the reading group in time for the shortlist announcement on 7 September.
There will also be a set of books for the runners-up.

*Please note that travel expenses to the awards ceremony are not included.

TLMJuly2010

The Choir Boats was selected by January Magazine as a Top Ten YA Novel for 2009.
Reviewers describe it as “Gulliver’s Travels crossed with The Golden Compass and a dollop
of Pride and Prejudice,” and “a muscular, Napoleonic-era fantasy that, like Philip
Pullman’s Dark Materials series, will appeal to both adult and young adult readers.”

The good work is spreading!

The amazing First Prize is two (2) return air tickets to Japan, courtesy of All Nippon Airways!**
The Second Prize is a fabulous TOSHIBA laptop computer.
Third Prize is a superb digital camera from RICOH UK Ltd
Runners-up will receive and a selection of manga publications, available in the UK from various UK manga publishers amongst others prizes.
The winners’ works will also be displayed in a special MANGA JIMAN EXHIBITION at the Embassy of Japan.

This competition is open to all UK residents. All creations should be original and between six (6) to eight (8) A4-sized pages in length and although entrants are free to choose their own theme, restrictions do apply, and importantly the manga should in some way make reference to nami or ‘wave’. The closing date for the submission of entries is Monday, 1 November 2010.

Should you wish to enter, please read the full MANGA JIMAN COMPETITION 2010 RULES & REGULATIONS and then carefully fill out and submit the official entry form along with your entry by post or in person to Manga Jiman 2010 Competition, JICC, Embassy of Japan, 101-104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT.

* The competition is open to all legal residents of the United Kingdom who are, or will be, over the age of fourteen (14) by 1 January 2011.

**Terms and conditions apply.