Spotlight Magazines Spotlight on Stenson Fields and Sinfin May 2015 | Page 18

Spotlight Magazine The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly A Good Read Finding your way in the world after leaving school can be daunting, and for Karen this is no different. A language student at a college in London she has a chance encounter with Biba, an exotic and bohemian student, and Karen’s life will never be the same again. Biba lives with her brother Rex in a crumbling gothic style townhouse in London, with a lifestyle that could not be further from the suburban humdrum that Karen grew up in. She is drawn to these two siblings and so begins a summer of freedom, cheap wine, experimental drugs and sexual adventures. The lure of Biba’s personality is tremendous and Karen clearly aspires to be like her. Then, one day, their idyllic summer comes crashing to a halt. Karen learns the truth of Biba and Rex’s family life and an unexpected visitor leads to tragedy. A more mature Karen looks back on the events of that summer ten years later as she comes to terms with her role in everything. As a reader, you know from the start that something is going to happen. Like a car crash in slow motion you can see it coming as Karen absorbs more and more of Biba’s exotic nature. Yet, when the author brings things to a climax you are thrown, dazed and shocked, along with Karen, in a debut novel that will stay with you long after you close it for the final time. 18 The Maze Runner by James Dashner Post-apocalyptic and dystopian literature seems to be all the rage in the Young Adult fiction market these days. Hot on the heels of the successful Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies comes The Maze Runner. Initially published in 2009 it came to prominence with the release of the film adaptation in 2014. Thomas is a teenager who awakes to find himself in a box in a place called the Glade. He has no memory of who he is or how he came to be here, but he is thrown into this new community, and as a reader so are you. Before long you become familiar with the terminology used by the boys and you feel as if you are a Glader along with them. As Thomas adjusts to his new home he learns about the Maze which surrounds the Glade. Each day the walls open and a select group of runners spend daylight hours exploring and mapping it. It is a race against the clock because at sunset the Grievers – giant robotic creatures – enter the Maze and they are deadly. The walls close to protect the community and overnight the structure of the Maze changers, leaving the runners to start again in the morning. The big mystery is why. Why are Thomas and the other boys there and why do the Grievers come out to get them? Why do the walls in the Maze change and will the runners ever solve it. However, more importantly why has a girl been sent to the Glade and why has all communication with the outside world suddenly stopped? www.spotlightlocal.co.uk • 01332 416 121 • [email protected]