A round-up paperback releases for children.
The Lastling. Philip Gross, Oxford University Press £4.99
"The little monk sat calm and upright, in his meditation posture . . . with a meat knife up his sleeve." What starts as a gentle comparison between East and West turns into a tense action adventure in a Himalayan war-zone. Paris, a sassy and easily bored 14-year-old American, toughened by a distant father, sets off on a hunting expedition with her uncle and mentor. Nothing can happen fast enough for the two. At the same time, 12-year old, Thar, an orphaned Tibetan, follows without question, his silent and slow Master, a Buddhist monk, on an unprecedented trek into the mountains. That there is "a life . . . on the edge" is all he is told. The story takes off when boy meets girl. Danger is their constant companion. What they ultimately find is incredible, yet, thanks to the writing, always believable and wonderfully touching. -DD
The City of Ember. Jeanne DuPrau, Corgi £4.99
Lina and Doon live in the city of Ember, a sprawling metropolis surrounded by endless darkness and lit by electric lights. Ember was built centuries before by the mysterious Builders, who left storerooms filled with everything necessary for human survival. But now the storerooms are almost empty, the power lines that have been providing the city with energy and light are starting to fail, and the residents of Ember know that some day the lights will go out forever. Lina and Doon are convinced that there's another world outside Ember, and when they discover an ancient parchment which seems to show the way out of the city, they're determined to escape. The ending is a little predictable, and there are a few plot holes which will cause many young readers to ask obvious questions like "but why didn't they just build a lightbulb factory?", but this is an exciting and well-written debut. - AC
Ruby Tanya. Robert Swindells, Corgi £4.99
When a bomb goes off in a school and a teacher is killed, suspicion falls on the residents of a nearby asylum seekers' camp. Tensions quickly mount between the asylum seekers and their settled neighbours, and the ugly mood threatens the friendship between Asra, who lives in the camp, and the oddly named Ruby Tanya, whose bigoted father, Ed, is leading a campaign against the refugees. Robert Swindell tells the story of a town in crisis from the viewpoints of both Asra and Ruby Tanya, and the result is a thought-provoking book that, despite the explosions and violence, manages to address the subject of asylum seeking and immigration with sensitivity, wit and warmth. At its heart Ruby Tanya is a plea for tolerance and understanding, but its admirable message comes wrapped in a fast-paced and exciting adventure story populated by well-rounded characters. - AC
Bhangra Babes. Narinder Dhami, Corgi Yearling, £4.99
This is the third in a series of teen novels by Narinder Dhami, author of the top-selling novelisation Bend It Like Beckham. The "babes" in question are Jazz, Geena and Amber, three sisters whose main preoccupation is "Golden Boy" - the new and very cool dude at school. He is into Bhangra music, hip-hop, rap. Oh, and himself. But what does a little narcissism matter when the guy is so incredibly dishy? Clouding the horizon is Tank Girl, another new pupil, who quickly becomes Enemy Number One. The sisters spend most of their time avoiding Tank Girl and vying for the attention of Golden Boy. That is, until they stumble on information that makes them realise that Tank Girl may actually a) be human and b) share a tragedy with them. And maybe Golden Boy isn't a suitable nickname after all. Bhangra Babes is a bit of fun, fast paced with plenty of upbeat dialogue. - DD
Teen Idol. Meg Cabot, Macmillan £9.99
Everyone can rely on Jen Greenley. She's the agony aunt in her high school newspaper, and both students and staff know she can be trusted. So when 19-year-
old film star Luke Striker arrives at Clayton High, posing as a new student as part of his research for a new movie role, the principal puts him in Jen's care. She's the only student who knows who the new boy really is - but even she can't stop the secret coming out. Meg Cabot is best known for her Princess Diaries books, and fans of Princess Mia won't be disappointed by Jen. Cabot always places utterly convincing characters in her novels' preposterous situations, and Jen, her friends and even Luke are all likeable, real people even when they're being chased by hordes of screaming fans. Funny, frothy and smart, Teen Idol is perfect escapism from one of teenage fiction's most entertaining authors. - AC
Warriors: Fire and Ice. Erin Hunter, HarperCollins £4.99
There are two types of fantasy-reader: those who like books in which animals behave like humans and those who don't. Children who fall into the former category are bound to enjoy Fire and Ice, the second novel in Erin Hunter's Warriors series. It's the story of Fireheart, a ginger tomcat who is a warrior of ThunderClan (no relation to the legendary cartoon Thunder Cats, alas). ThunderClan are engaged in bitter warfare with several other feline tribes, and as tensions mount between the warriors, Fireheart starts to wonder if he can trust his fellow ThunderClansmen. Packed full of wonderfully pompous lines like "with a cold feeling of horror, Fireheart recalled the words of the WindClan medicine cat", Fire and Ice takes itself very seriously indeed, but nevertheless it's entertaining stuff which should leave fans eagerly awaiting the next instalment. - AC