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Interviews | June 19, 2009

Dave: IMG Jim Lynch Makes Landscape Art... Out of Text



jimlynchIf Carl Hiaasen set one of his novels on a residential stretch of boundary line between British Columbia and Washington, or if Richard Russo's characters had relatives in the Pacific Northwest, the result might be something like Jim Lynch's Border Songs. Continue »
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    Border Songs

    Jim Lynch

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This title in other formats:

Revenge of the Witch: The Last Apprentice, Book One (The Last Apprentice #01)

by Joseph Delaney

Revenge of the Witch: The Last Apprentice, Book One (The Last Apprentice #01) Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried — some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive.

Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope, the last apprentice.

Can Thomas succeed? Will he learn the difference between a benign witch and a malevolent one? Does the Spook's warning against girls with pointy shoes include Alice? And what will happen if Thomas accidentally frees Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the county..?

Review:

"Delaney may plumb familiar subjects but expert storytelling and genuinely scary illustrations on Arrasmith's part keep this debut novel fresh. This first in a planned series, the Last Apprentice, introduces nearly 13-year-old narrator Tom, whose parents arrange for him to apprentice with the Spook, as their farm will be given to their eldest son. A haunting description gives readers a sense of why Tom might be fearful of the Spook, who roams the countryside, protecting farms and villages by supernatural means ('His long black cloak and hood made him look like a priest, but when he looked at you directly, his grim expression made him appear more like a hangman weighing you up for the rope'). However, as a seventh son, like his father, Tom 'can see things that others can't,' such as the corpses of long-ago hanged soldiers that moan and sway at the far end of his family's property. This is the stuff of skin-prickling campfire stories: Tom must overcome a series of trials to prove himself worthy of the apprenticeship. Readers can almost hear the thumps in the cellar of a haunted house where the hero must spend the night ('Who could have been digging down there in the darkness? Who could be climbing the stairs now? But maybe it wasn't a question of who was climbing the stairs. Maybe it was a question of what'). After readers race through this tantalizingly creepy tale of solitude and sorcery, they will clamor to learn about Tom's future adventures. Ages 9-12. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Delaney grabs readers by the throat and gives them a good shake in a smartly crafted story....[T]he twisted horror is amply buffered by an exquisitely normal young hero, matter-of-fact prose, and a workaday normalcy." Booklist (Starred Review)

Review:

"This accomplished and complex story will fascinate middle-school readers. The characters...are fully realized and definitely believable in their fantastic world of boggarts, witches, ghasts, and ghosts." Children's Literature

Review:

"While not extraordinary, the writing is competent, and the plotline has enough twists to keep the reader in suspense....Middle schoolers will probably like the edginess of the bound boggarts and hanging ghastlies." KLIATT

Review:

"Readers seeking lots of up-close encounters with the unquiet dead and other creepy entities need look no further." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"This first entry...is an excellent choice for readers who are looking for a more sophisticated alternative to R. L. Stine's Goosebumps books, and the pacing and edgy illustrations at the start of each chapter will appeal to reluctant readers." School Library Journal

About the Author

Joseph Delaney lives with his family in Lancashire, England, in the middle of boggart territory.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
mahamjiha, June 19, 2009 (view all comments by mahamjiha)
best book ever! anyone who enjoys a fiction book will enjoy this! i couldnt put it down! its about thomas j ward the spooks apprentice who is the 7th son of the 7th son and is the son of a greek lamia witch.
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chris gebhardt, May 15, 2009 (view all comments by chris gebhardt)
I love this book. I recomend it to anyone who enjoys a fiction book. I have read every single book in this series. So far only 5 have come out and I will be buying the 6th one soon. This book is about a boy named Tom who is a seventh son of a seventh son.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060766207
Author:
Delaney, Joseph
Publisher:
HarperTrophy
Illustrator:
Arrasmith, Patrick
Author:
Arrasmith, Patrick
Author:
by Joseph Delaney and Patrick Arrasmith
Subject:
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subject:
Horror & Ghost Stories
Subject:
Supernatural
Subject:
Witches
Subject:
Children s All Ages - Fiction - Horror
Subject:
Action & Adventure - General
Subject:
Fantasy & Magic
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Paperback
Series:
Last Apprentice
Series Volume:
01
Publication Date:
August 2006
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
- Up
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
340
Dimensions:
8.00x6.10x.95 in. .66 lbs.
Age Level:
10-UP

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