Review: The Warrior in the Mist - Ruth Eastham

The Warrior in the Mist by Ruth Eastham, published by Shrine Bell on 24th August 2017

Goodreads synopsis:
Aidan's village is under siege. A fracking company has moved on to the land.
Once drilling is complete, the paddocks looked after by Aidan's family will be gone, along with his home and the horse he loves.

Aidan and his best friends Emmi and Jon have one last hope. Legend has it that the warrior queen Boudicca is buried close by. If only they can find the tomb... prove this is the site of her last great battle against Roman invaders...

As the mists of time separating ancient history from present day swirl and fade, Aidan must face a deadly enemy. He must fight to uncover the truth of the ghostly sisters, before it is too late.

Review:
I've previously read 'The Memory Cage' by Ruth Eastham which was very good, so I was looking forward to starting 'The Warrior in the Mist'. The blurb sounded interesting and I also like supporting British authors. 

The story is set in Carrus Village where a fracking company has moved onto the land.  Aidan and his friends are determined to try to stop them from destroying their homes.  The only way they can think to do this is to find the lost tomb of Queen Boudicca and her daughters which will win the land protected status.  Aidan, along with his friends Emmi and Jon are clever and capable teenagers who soon start connecting the dots and grow closer to the location of the hidden tomb.  However, someone wants to stop them from doing so.  I honestly didn't guess who the baddie was going to be, so it was a good surprise when it was revealed who was standing in their way and the lengths they were prepared to go to in their desire to stop the teenagers

I liked the theme of protecting the environment which ran throughout the story and the battle between the destruction versus the preservation of the land.  It's unusual to see something like this featured in a book for teenagers, so it was quite a refreshing change.  I actually think this book is probably more suited for middle-grade readers, rather than teens, due to the writing style and the fact that the characters are slightly younger.

I also enjoyed the historical aspects of the story but I wasn't as convinced by the supernatural parts dealing with the ghosts of Boudicca's daughters.  It just didn't entirely work for me. 

A fairly quick and enjoyable read, I think it will appeal to the majority of readers.   

Review: The Memory Cage - Ruth Eastham

The Memory Cage by Ruth Eastham, published by Scholastic on 3rd January 2011

Goodreads synopsis:
Alex's Grandfather keeps forgetting things. Desperate to help him remember, Alex starts collecting old photographs. Bust as Alex digs into his grandfather's past, he stumbles across secrets that have been buried since World War II. Uncovering the truth could save Grandad ... but it might also tear Alex apart.

Review:
'The Memory Cage' is a debut novel by British author Ruth Eastham, who has been compared to Michael Morpurgo.  That's high-praise indeed but it's also well-deserved.  It's a powerful and emotional story, dealing with universal themes such as family and war. 

Alex was adopted from Bosnia during the Yugoslav Wars.  He's formed a close bond with his new Grandad, who rescued him and brought him to England.  Alex loves his Grandad immensely but his grandfather's memory is failing and he's in danger of being taken away.  Alex determines to stop this from happening by helping him remember the events of his life.  This however, leads to a number of long-buried secrets being revealed and painful memories resurfacing of his time during the Second World War.  As Alex's Grandad begins to deal with the events of his past, Alex too has to face his own history before he can begin to move forward.

This book deals with a number of difficult and serious subjects such as adoption and alzheimer's disease, in a thoughtful and sensitive manner.  For the age group at which this book was aimed, I felt that this could have been done in a heavy-handed way but instead the right balance was achieved between a serious exploration of the issues and pure reader enjoyment in the story.  I found myself being caught up in the lives of the characters and becoming completely engrossed in the book.  I'll also admit to crying a fair bit near the end! 

This is a beautiful debut novel and I look forward to future books by a talented first-time author. 

Thanks to the publisher for sending this one for review.

This is the first book I've read for the Debut Author Challenge 2011 and the third book I've read for the British Books Challenge 2011.