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YA Review: The Museum of Second Chances

Title: The Museum of Second Chances (Re-issued in 2021 as Subject Twenty-One)
Author: A E Warren
Edition: Paperback
Rating: 4/5

The Museum of Second Chances isn’t published as YA, but it is entirely YA-compatible, so I am very happy to review it here!

What if humans created a superior species using genetic engineering? What if Homo Sapiens were then held responsible for the damage to the planet, and forced to make reparations? And what if we used genetic engineering to bring back extinct species – including Neanderthals?

Book One of the Tomorrow’s Ancestors series introduces a world where unaltered humans are treated as manual workers, and denied luxuries as punishment for their destruction of the natural world. Teenager Elise is determined to move out of her manufacturing job, and her life changes when she is hired to work as a companion to one of the Neanderthals in the museum in the base where she lives. Her task is to spend time with him and make sure his life as a glorified zoo animal is interesting, while ensuring that he only has access to technology and food from 30,000 years in the past. Elise learns quickly that her job is not as straightforward as she hoped, and that there is more going on in her base – and in the museum – than she realised.

Elise is a sympathetic and engaging character, and right from the start I cared about her story. She is surrounded, at home and at the museum, by a cast of well-drawn and interesting colleagues, neighbours, and family members. I particularly liked her relationship with the museum nurse as it developed through the book, and her relationship with her brother. My favourite character has to be Kit, the Neanderthal she works with. His grudging acceptance of her companionship grows into something more as she finds ways to bend the rules, and make both their lives more interesting.

The ending is a cliffhanger, so I’m glad I bought Book Two!

Have you read The Museum of Second Chances? What did you think of the story? And what about the world AE Warren has created? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

The Museum of Second Chances has been re-issued as Subject Twenty-One!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.

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YA Review: Sentinel

Title: Sentinel
Author: Joshua Winning
Edition: Paperback
Rating: 4/5

Cover at for Sentinel

Young Adult urban horror/fantasy set in and around Cambridge? Yes please!

The blurb on the back of Book One of the Sentinel Trilogy promises ‘unconventional heroes, monsters, murder and magic’, and the story doesn’t disappoint. Fifteen-year-old Nicholas Hallow’s world is turned upside-down when his parents are killed in a train crash. A letter from his father to an old friend sets out what should be done if anything were to happen to his parents, and Nicholas finds himself uprooted from his home and placed in the care of a godmother he knows nothing about. Chased by evil entities he doesn’t understand, and with his future decided by adults who refuse to explain the danger he faces, Nicholas attempts to find his own answers. Will he find the truth, or will the demons find him first?

Sentinel is a fun read. There are dramatic scenes that explode vividly from the page like sequences from a film, and quieter, more reflective sections that give the reader a chance to get to know Nicholas, and the people around him. The constant refusal of the adults to explain anything to Nicholas becomes more frustrating for him as the story progresses, and while this frustration is shared by the reader, it serves a chilling purpose at the end of the book. Nicholas is relatable as a grieving, powerless teenager, attempting to understand the secrets that define his life, but it is the supporting characters who bring colour and depth to the story. Sam, the elderly friend of the family, and Liberty, in particular, provide the book’s unconventional heroes, and the principle antagonist is absolutely delicious in her evil scheming.

The settings for the story are well drawn, and the scenes set in Cambridge are fun to read if you are familiar with the locations. The sequence at the Fitzwilliam Museum felt very close to home, and the descriptions of Midsummer Common provided a solid real-world anchor for Nicholas’s experiences. There are hat-tips to Narnia (I counted three), an interesting system of magic, symbols, and folklore, and a house that felt like a character in its own right.

Judging by the ending, things can only get more exciting in Book Two!

Have you read Sentinel? What did you think of the story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.

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Post-Brexit Dystopia

“Hey, Toph!”

A woman with short pink hair opens the kitchen door, noise spilling through from the room across the hall.

“Hey, Trish.” I give her a smile.

She walks into the kitchen and pours herself a glass of water, leaning against the work surface to drink it.

“Hard at work?”

I shrug. “Exams.” Trish rolls her eyes.

“I wish they’d leave you alone. Let you get on with learning instead of this constant testing.” I can’t help smiling. I’ve never found a subject that Trish couldn’t turn into an argument.

“What’s today’s torture?”

“History.”

She shakes her head. “Don’t get me started, Toph. It’s all lies – don’t forget that!” She puts the empty glass down, her black sleeve riding up to show the tattoo on her wrist – twelve stars in a neat circle, with a broken heart in the centre.

(Making Trouble: freebook.tallerbooks.com)

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Thank you!

A huge THANK YOU from Taller Books to everyone who has supported, promoted, and enjoyed the Battle Ground Series. It has taken two years, two months and nine days, but all five books and the prequel novella are now out in the wild.

At risk of sounding like an Oscar winner, there are some people we need to thank. Our proof readers, without whom Ketty wouldn’t have her own story, Bex’s journey in Book Four would be considerably less interesting, and the typo count would be so much higher. Our beta readers, who calmed our nerves, and whose suggestions made the books more polished. Everyone at YALC who encouraged us and provided a platform to promote Book One. Jericho Writers, NaNoWriMo, and everyone who gave us advice on writing and publishing the books. Our designer, Medina Karic, who worked with our rough sketches to produce such gorgeous eye-catching covers. Former colleagues, who encouraged Rachel to start writing when she suddenly had time on her hands. The Book Club, for showing us how fantastic YA can be, and all our local writers, for encouragement, support, book signings, and mornings in the Waterstones cafe.

And a huge THANK YOU to our readers, for taking a chance on an indie author, and for all your wonderful feedback. Thank you to everyone who has posted a review, tweeted about the books, made Instagram Stories and sent us photos of our books in their hands. It all means more than we can say.

Thank you.

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Victory Day Blog Tour Highlights – Bonus Day

A bonus review from the Victory Day blog tour, from Cheryl M-M.

For a taste of the ‘frighteningly realistic’ worst-case scenario, start the series with Battle Ground, or with the FREE prequel novella, Making Trouble.

Thank you to all the blog tour reviewers. It has been amazing to see what readers have thought of the Battle Ground series, and we’re very happy to receive 5-star reviews and strong recommendations for all five books. Thank you to everyone for your support!