Alex ShearerCritiques

Fergal is a self-confessed nerd with an eccentric hobby: tin collecting. He likes the lucky dip aspect of buying tins that have their labels missing. he innocently opens up a tin to find... a bloodied human finger. His next tin discovery is a note with the word 'Help'. From here, with the help of his friend Charlotte, they are are kidnapped and unwittingly are forced into working in a canning factory that produces pet food. A good read for intermediate children.

I really likes this book. I believe that chocolates and sweets are the childhood for most of us, and sweets are the cure for most of us sometimes in life. When the sweets are being banned. Who would save the day? Smiler and Huntley.

Sea Legs is a great chapter book about twin brothers Eric and Clive who have a father who's widowed and he's a steward on a cruise ship. They're father leaves again for a cruise and the twins decide to go with him! They get stowed away and they decide that they're going to have an amazing three weeks. They just have to stay out of their dad's sight as well as not getting into too much trouble.

Quirky little mystery. I will never look at canned food the same way again!

I almost think that the author's note at the end should have been right at the beginning because it really brought the whole book into focus--no wonder "Louis's brother," the first person in this story--has so much to say about how Louis died, having experienced the loss of his own brother. There are some beautifully written parts in the book, expressing the emotions involved in watching someone die and being there, day after day, for as long as it takes. Shearer jumps back and forth in time between experiences in the past with his brother and about his brother and in each case you need to read a little to determine where you are in time with the story. You know there's death at the end but the journey on the way sort of pulls you along.

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I thought the concept was great - I just had some suspention of disbelief issues. It seems totaly unrealistic to me for modern day Britain to vote in a political party whose biggest selling point is getting rid of sugar. Its not just that - the Good For You party was inconsistant. Why is fruit, which is loaded with sugar ok, but natual honey isn't? It makes no sense.

I think that had the story begun with a different pretense I would have been behind it all the way, the characters were very likable and I did grow attached.

It would have been better for my suspention of disblief problem is there had been some terrible world event and and people had to focus on farming or something. Then, over time, the Good For You party is in charge and everyone is happy with that - they don't even know what they are missing. But then, the boys discover some long lost chocolate and the receipe. It could go from there. I don't know, maybe I've been reading too many dystopian society books recently.

I think that this would be a fantastic book for teaching children about being responcible with voting and leadership and what not.

Didn't know quite what to make of this book as it is obviously an analogy for married life that didn't quite work. Bosworth is a young teenage lad who isn't doing well at school. His parents are caricatures who believe that if they arrange a marriage between him and a "good" girl, then he will settle down. After much negotiation, Bosworth is betrothed to Veronica (aka The Virus) who turns out to be exactly like Bosworth ( trouble but her parents hope she will benefit from the productive influence of her husband-to-be). What makes this book strange is that neither of the parties involved is in anyway Indian - they are working -class anglo-saxons! The upshot of it all is that Bosworth decides to run away rather than face the "engagement party" his parents have planned. Surprise, surprise Veronica also runs away and the 2 find themselves living in a caravan by the seaside in the middle of winter for a week. Not sure what kids would think of this book. To me, it was so OVERDONE and nothing like Alex Shearer's other brilliant books. PS I laughed out loud only once...not a good sign.

Only very rarely do perfect books come one's way. When they do, they should be treasured, shared, read and re-read. I haven't read anything as exquisite and beautiful as The Cloud Hunters for years. My only complaint is that I wish there was more. A lot more.

Christien is a young boy on the very cusp of growing up, seeing the world differently, asking questions he would have never asked as a child. I'd peg him at between eleven and fifteen, but the story doesn't clarify. It doesn't matter - Christien's adventure, his coming of age, will speak to everyone, his wry observations of adult life will provoke smiles, the way he views the world make you think. I think he'll stay with me for a long time. Jenine, his class-mate and eventual friend, is equally interesting. Her Cloud Hunter heritage and pragmatic view on life are intriguing, signs of her unusual upbringing.

Together they lead us on a wonderful adventure of self discovery - plotted superbly by the author and - full of the weird and the wonderful. The world-building is superb: a planet made up of floating islands and a more viscous atmosphere, where the 'sun' is the fiery planet core and the 'sea' is the air. Ships sail on air, people swim in the air, and the skies teem with sea-based wildlife. Water is scarce, a precious commodity, traded for all other goods, and only the Cloud Hunters risk their lives to ply the trade. Everyone wants water, but everyone wants to hate the dark, mysterious people who bring it to their islands. It's an amazing setting, and I loved getting to know more about the islands, the people who live on them and the ways in which life is different on this planet. I think the author spent a long time thinking this world through, and I found it to be internally consistent.

Although the world is imagined in rich detail, I think the plot is even more so. We're told the story in first person, privy to Christien's wonder, fear and curiosity, and always aware of his attachment to Jenine. While the world building does bog the story down, only very slightly, I think the plot weaves in and out of Christien's inner monologue well. His eagerness to dream, to experience new things is hampered by the worry of his parents, the expectations of his society and the thought of what is 'proper': good boys and girls just don't become Cloud Hunters.

The Cloud Hunters is a superbly told tale of courage and the power of dreams, one I think is perfect for all readers. It's the book you read when you want to relax, take some time out, get away from it all. It's a book that will stay with you long, long after you have turned the last page, closed the cover, and given a contended sigh.

The Cloud Hunters is available now in the UK and Commonwealth from Hot Key Books. It will be available in October 2013 from Sky Pony Press in the US.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.

Harry the main charcter is a 12 year old boy who gets in a fight with his sister and gets mad and rides his bike. he gets hit by a truck and dies. he goes to this palce that looks like a park where dead people go. He meets a boy named Arther who died a very long time ago and wants to find his mom. Harry and Arther go back to earth to see how Harry's family is doing and say sorry to his sister. when he is done he goes back to the place and Arther meets his mom. they go to the great blue yonder which is a cliff where people go when they are ready to pass on.
I think this book is very good. I suggest this to 10 to 15 year old kids because that the age group of the main character. This book has a good moral and is sad. Once you pick it up you can't put it down because it gets you into. i gave it a three and a half rating because it does get dull at some points in the middle.½

Teenagers Smudger and Huntley are appalled. Thanks to voter apathy, the Good For You Party were elected and have just passed into law the prohibition of Sweets and Chocolate Act. Their favourite food is swept from the shops, but when they discover an overlooked stash of cocoa and sugar and track down a chocolate recipe book their bootlegging business takes off. They need to watch out for the Young Pioneers, junior members of the Good For You Party, dressed in starched uniforms and singing songs, notorious for their good deeds. These include helping old ladies across the road whether they like it or not which has caused many old ladies to hide in shop doorways when they hear the Pioneers coming. They must also watch out for the Chocolate Troopers. If caught they face Rehabilitation Camp. Their friend Dave Cheng has already been and returned with a different personality.

This is a hilarious read, although it did produce more than one chocolate craving!

intermediate kids loved this book, they enjoyed the suspense and twists of the story line. The question remains 'did delinquent or stolen kids get minced up as pet food?' what do you think?

I loved this book. It was an odd story about two odd kids. I laughed my way through this book. The characters and the mystery were well developed and the pace was good too.

Narrated by 12 year old Harry after he is hit by a truck and dies, this is an interesting and ultimately upbeat book. Harry wanders around the Other Side, roaming through the adults who have died and meeting another young boy who has been dead for 150 years. The two pair up as Harry learns his way around the afterlife, even as he wonders about the Great Blue Yonder marked on the map he was given the day he arrived. Instinctively he knows that he cannot move on until he finishes his business on earth, notably forgiving his sister for her harsh words before he died and in turn forgiving hers back to him. Just before he raced off on his bike and was hit, his sister Eggy had told him she wished he would die and he said she'd be sorry when he was dead. Certainly not the last words you want to ever say to a loved one on either side. And so as he and his buddy Arthur zip around the Other Side trying to find Arthur's mother, Harry ponders how he can indeed apologize and free Eggy and himself. When Harry and Arthur go back to Earth, they look in on Harry's old school, his best friend, his enemy, and his family and Harry learns some truths about who he was in life and how his absence has affected everyone and it's not exactly as he's imagined it.

Shearer keeps the tone of the story light and Harry's active imagination, even post-death, is entertaining. Harry is very definitely a 12 year old boy with all that that entails and so middle schoolers will definitely relate to him and his anxieties. The other characters are really incidental to Harry's quest to make things right and we only ever see them through his immature eyes but his dawning understanding of life and his earthly relationships makes this dead character experience believable growth. The moral of the story is well handled and doesn't overwhelm the charming character of Harry or of his experiences after death on the Other Side and back on Earth. A quick read about an unusual situation, this will offer a pleasant variety to most middle school libraries.½

This book soon became boring. It always seemed repetitive, and predictable.½

Cute books for kids, but as an adult I was upset with the ending. It would've been better to keep things a secret and let the kids' imagination to think of possible endings.

A fun and suspensful story of English twin brothers who sneak aboard the cruise ship on which their father works. The idea was to spend their summer vacation with their dad, but things go a little crazy when pirates try to rob the ship and its passengers! Alex Shearer writes a fun, exciting story with great characters.

After finding himself dead from a bike accident, Harry emerges on the Other Side, a strange land where the sun is always setting but never quite disappears, and dead people wander about, waiting to move on to the Great Blue Yonder.

I pretty far fetched, and gross story about two young kids that find a finger and ear in a can.

Good mystery for fifth and sixth graders. No bad material in it; quirky and funny at times. A little outrageous at times, but enjoyable.½

I was annoyed by the title of this book. As a total Anglophile, I kept thinking, "Aren't these people British? Why isn't the title 'Tinned." I am pleased to discover I was more or less right, although I've now shown you all how crazy I am.

I loved the back cover of this book, that had a can label with nutrition information on it.

I loved the beginning of this book, wherein we meet Fergal. Fergal, whom adults think must be clever because he collects cans.

Yes, cans.

Cans without labels, to be exact. He found his first one in the bargain bin, and it was so cheap, since one really couldn't know what was in the can. Fergal liked the idea of the promise the cans held, and had soon amassed a collection of fifty. That's when his mother told him he must open one before he could purchase anymore.

And that's how he found the finger in the can.

It was while snatching up a new can that made an interesting rattle that he discovered Charlotte, another can collector! It turns out Charlotte had found a few interesting things in cans as well, and now they had a mystery to solve.

I loved the gruesome humor in this book, I loved Charlotte, and I loved the mystery.

I did not love the end, which felt a little weird and rushed, although it was the most natural and obvious conclusion. I did not like the sections that began as "Fergal's Diary" because they added no action or content to the story. I have no idea why they were there.

But I loved the last line.

Canned is definitely for the dark-humored among us, will be great for male and female reader (I'd say more of a boy book if you forced me at gunpoint), and best for ages 10 - 13.

I enjoyed this book, even though I didn't think I would - a bit quirky. Middle/senior primary level.

Feral is clever - everyone says so. He collects cans --- ones without labels usually found in the bargain bin. When he opens one of his cans, he finds it empty except for a gold stud earring. More similar cans yield very disturbing finds. Soon he discovers a friend who also collects cans, Charlotte, who has also had some disturbing finds. Together they try to solve the msytery.½

After a fatal bike accident, Harry awakes to discover himself on the "Other Side". The afterlife turns out to be a world where the sun never sets, and the dead make pilgrimages to "The Great Blue Yonder". Harry refuses to leave until he can return to earth as a ghost to give his sister a message.

It's "Elsewhere" for the younger crowd. It feels a little more dreamlike and magical but not quite as interesting to an older reader.

Harry and his sister have a huge fight, yelling at each other such gems as "I wish you were dead" etc and Harry runs out the front door and straight into the path of a truck that kills him. On arriving at the Other Side, he is at first confused, but soon meets up with Arthur - a boy who has been dead a long time but hasn't moved onto the Great Blue Yonder because he is searching for his mother - and Arthur explains what has happened. Arthur even shows Harry how to go back as a ghost and H sees what has happened to his family after his death - especially how guilty his sister feels about their fight- and he tries to make it better so he can move on too. The only trouble is that no-one knows he is there except the cat that reacts very violently towards him - can Harry get a message through to his sister?

Great book with a twist. Carly tries to befriend the new girl Meredith at school but finds her stand-offish and thinks she treats her grandmother very badly. Then the grandmother tells her a terrible story - that she is actually Meredith and the other girl is a witch called Grace who has taken over her body. She asks Carly to help her swap back but is she telling the truth or is she just a crazy old woman?