YOUNG FICTION

EVERNIGHT

by Ross Mackenzie (Andersen Press €10.99)

THERE was a man made of midnight and his name was Shadow Jack . . . so begins this thrilling, dark fantasy that sees the forces of good and evil, the powerful and the dispossessed, battle over a clockwork bird that contains the only spell capable of holding back the approaching darkness of the Evernight.

Lara, a scavenging sewer-dweller beneath the city of King’s Haven, finds the lost bird and is hunted by Shadow Jack, the ruthless enforcer enslaved by malevolent Mrs Hester, who must possess the magic to control the ancient curse.

But Lara is, unknowingly, the only remaining witch from a special coven, who musters her underground friends to fight back. This first in a trilogy conjures up a vivid imaginative world, dripping with genuine menace, violence and rich, complex characters. You’ll be breathless by the end.

Age 10+

A SPRINKLE OF SORCERY

by Michelle Harrison (S&S €9.80)

IF YOU enjoyed the first outing of the Widdershins sisters in A Pinch Of Magic, you’ll be just as enthralled by this sequel. Still living in the ramshackle pub in the shadow of a grim prison on the eerie Crowstone marshes, the three girls take in a soaking wet, exhausted waif who arrives one night, inexplicably accompanied by a will-o’-the-wisp . . .

When men arrive looking for her, they kidnap Charlie, the youngest sibling, instead, forcing the ever-resourceful Betty to go in search of her.

Pirates, curses and folklore swirl around the crashing seas and enchanted islands as Betty uses her magic dolls to dodge danger — but finds that her wits, courage and love are even more potent weapons.

Divided loyalties keep twisting the plotline which has a refreshing vein of sisterly banter and squabbling amid the high-octane supernatural adventure. Age 9+

DEMELZA AND THE SPECTRE DETECTORS

by Holly Rivers (Chicken House, €9.80)

ORPHANED 11-year-old Demelza is bullied at school but takes refuge in inventing great gadgets. She lives with her loving Grandma Maeve, but one night is shocked to discover that Grandma can raise spectres of the recently deceased to say their final farewells to grieving relatives — and that the skill has been passed down to Demelza.

Sworn to secrecy, she confides in her pale, sickly friend Percy whose help she enlists when Maeve is kidnapped by a Snatcher who wants to blackmail Demelza into bringing someone back to life permanently.

Talking skulls, family feuds, red herrings and a spirited (in every sense) heroine underpin this funny, fizzing debut that also acknowledges the madness of grief. Age 9+