Osbert

Osbert
Author: Christopher William Hill
Publisher: Orchard Books
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2012
Genre: Children's stories
ISBN: 9781408326350

The first book in the gruesomely funny Tales from Schwartzgarten series. Meet Osbert Brinkhoff, the unlikeliest of avengers. His is a tale of dark delights and ghastly goings-on, of injustice and revenge. The villains are vicious. The settings are sinister. And good does NOT always prevail... If you prefer cleavers to kittens and fiends to fairies...then welcome to the GRUESOMELY FUNNY Tales from Schwartzgarten.

The Woebegone Twins

The Woebegone Twins
Author: Christopher William Hill
Publisher: Orchard Books
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2013-10-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1408316714

A gruesomely funny series for fans of Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket. When twins Greta and Feliks are sent to the ill-omened Schwartzgarten Reformatory for Maladjusted Children it seems their fate is sealed: that is until they are rescued by the glamorous Olga Van Veenen, a fabulously wealthy children's author, plagued by writer's block. But Olga's life is apparently in danger, threatened by a second-rate novelist who wishes to see his rival dead. When Olga and her faithful retainer, Valentin, disappear from the eerie and imposing Castle Van Veenen, many miles north by train from Schwartzgarten's Imperial Railway Station, Greta and Feliks conclude that the murderous novelist has finally exacted his revenge on Olga. Only by using their wits are the twins able to rescue their guardian before it is too late. As if by magic, Olga's writer's block lifts, and she quickly produces and publishes a new book for children. The novel has eerie similarities to the twins' adventures in Castle Van Veenen, and Greta and Feliks begin to question whether their guardian has deliberately placed them in danger for literary inspiration. But Olga Van Veenen has come too far to have her reputation muddied by the allegations of the twins, and will stop at nothing to silence them forever. With cover and chapter head artwork by Chris Riddell.

Osbert the Avenger

Osbert the Avenger
Author: Christopher William Hill
Publisher: Orchard Books
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2012-10-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1408316684

Like Roald Dahl - but different! The first book in the gruesomely funny Tales from Schwartzgarten series. Meet Osbert Brinkhoff, the unlikeliest of avengers. His is a tale of dark delights and ghastly goings-on, of injustice and revenge. The villains are vicious. The settings are sinister. And good does NOT always prevail... If you prefer cleavers to kittens and fiends to fairies...then welcome to the GRUESOMELY FUNNY Tales from Schwartzgarten. -Osbert the Avenger is the first in a thrilling series of four books, all set in the fictional city of Schwartzgarten -With shades of Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl, the Tales from Schwartzgarten are as hilarious as they are dark -These brilliantly woven mock-gothic horror stories have huge child appeal

The Liszts

The Liszts
Author: Kyo Maclear
Publisher: Tundra Books
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1770494979

The Liszts make lists. They make lists most usual and lists most unusual. They make lists in winter, spring, summer and fall. They make lists every day except Sundays, which are listless. Mama Liszt, Papa Liszt, Winifred, Edward, Frederick and Grandpa make lists all day long. So does their cat. Then one day a visitor arrives. He's not on anyone's list. Will the Liszts be able to make room on their lists for this new visitor? How will they handle something unexpected arising? Kyo Maclear's quirky, whimsical story, perfectly brought to life with the witty, stylish illustrations of Júlia Sardà, is a humorous and poignant celebration of spontaneity.

The Other Alice

The Other Alice
Author: Michelle Harrison
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2016-07-28
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1471124282

What happens when a tale with real magic, that was supposed to be finished, never was? This is a story about one of those stories . . . Midge loves riddles, his cat, Twitch, and – most of all – stories. Especially because he's grown up being read to by his sister Alice, a brilliant writer. When Alice goes missing and a talking cat turns up in her bedroom, Midge searches Alice’s stories for a clue. Soon he discovers that her secret book, The Museum of Unfinished Stories, is much more than just a story. In fact, he finds two of its characters wandering around town. But every tale has its villains – and with them leaping off the page, Midge, Gypsy and Piper must use all their wits and cunning to work out how the story ends and find Alice. If they fail, a more sinister finale threatens them all . . . A rich and twisting tale of magic, riddles and the power of imagination, from a classic author.

Hostage Three

Hostage Three
Author: Nick Lake
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2013
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1408838370

A taut, emotionally loaded, devastatingly powerful thriller from the acclaimed, Carnegie-longlisted author of In Darkness and Blood Ninja.

The Lily-Livered Prince

The Lily-Livered Prince
Author: Christopher William Hill
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2014-10-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1408316722

A gruesomely funny series for fans of Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket. Meet Eugene, the most portly of princes, and Kalvitas, the most courageous of chocolate makers. Theirs is a tale of cakes and cowardice, bullies and battles, as they set out to defeat a terrifying tyrant. The characters are CURSED. The deserts are DEADLY. And people are NOT always as they appear... With cover and chapter head artwork by Chris Riddell.

Marius and the Band of Blood

Marius and the Band of Blood
Author: Christopher William Hill
Publisher: Orchard Books
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2015-11-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1408316730

A gruesomely funny series for fans of Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket. Meet Marius Myerdorf, the newest recruit of Schwartzgarten's most secret of societies. His is a tale of adventure and abduction, friendship and fearlessness, as The Band of Blood race against time to unmask two of the foulest fiends in the history of the Great City. The deeds are DASTARDLY. The twists are TERRIFYING. And happy endings are NOT always guaranteed. If you prefer CLEAVERS to KITTENS and FIENDS to FAIRIES... ...then welcome to the gruesomely funny Tales from Schwartzgarten. With cover and chapter head artwork by Chris Riddell.

The Quietness

The Quietness
Author: Alison Rattle
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2013-03-07
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1471401022

A gripping, moving and haunting Victorian drama from a debut author When fifteen-year-old Queenie escapes from the squalid slums of nineteenth-century London, she has no idea about the dangers of the dark world she is about to become embroiled in. Initially thrilled at being taken on as a maid for the seemingly respectable Waters sisters, Queenie comes to realise that something is very wrong with the dozens of strangely silent babies being 'adopted' into the household. Meanwhile, lonely and unloved sixteen-year-old Ellen is delighted when her handsome and charming young cousin Jacob is sent to live with her family. She thinks she has finally found a man to fall in love with and rely on, but when Jacob cruelly betrays her she finds herself once again at the mercy of her cold-hearted father. Soon the girls' lives become irrevocably entwined in this tension-filled drama. THE QUIETNESS is a novel of friendship and trust in the darkest of settings.

Constable & Toop

Constable & Toop
Author: Gareth P. Jones
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2012-10-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1471400123

A darkly comic Dickensian ghost story from Blue Peter Award winner Gareth P. Jones: it's not the dead you'll need to worry about! Sam Toop lives in a funeral parlour, blessed (or cursed) with an unusual gift. While his father buries the dead, Sam is haunted by their constant demands for attention. Trouble is afoot on the 'other side' - there is a horrible disease that is mysteriously imprisoning ghosts into empty houses in the world of the living. And Sam is caught in the middle - will he be able to bring himself to help? Blue Peter Award winner Gareth P. Jones has woven a darkly comic story, a wonderfully funny adventure that roams the grimy streets of Victorian London.