Lionboy

How does a writer know what children really want to read? One way to find out is to get them to help you write the book in the first place, and the astounding success of Lion Boy is testimony to the superb partnership between Louisa Young and her ten year old daughter Isabel. Ask any child to list the ingredients of a good read, and I guarantee they will be found here -a thumping good plot; a valiant young hero out to rescue the adults caught up by a gang of deliciously wicked villains; talking cats; the glamour of the circus ring; a race against time and hardly any sloppy stuff. Charlie Ashanti has been able to speak cat since a chance encounter with a leopard in infancy. The son of supremely intelligent parents, who are on the verge of a groundbreaking scientific discovery, Charlie considers himself to be just like any other boy, apart from his talent with all creatures feline. That is, until the day he comes home to a deserted house, bearing all the traces of a kidnap. Charlie is made of pretty stern stuff and is determined to track down his parents. This marks the start of a series of enthralling adventures as Charlie joins a circus ship bound for France, hot on their trail, only able to keep up with his parents' abductors via a sort of cats' underground network. Packed with excitement, with danger lurking round every corner, Lion Boy is truly unputdownable. Alas, there is one major flaw - Ziziou Corder believes in cliffhangers on an epic scale, and to find out what happens to Charlie and his family, we will just have to curb our impatience and wait for the next book in the trilogy. (Kirkus UK)