GEOFFREY MALONE
Stephen King, The School Librarian
‘This harrowing tale of 12 year of Sam Mbale is sure to be popular with boys aged 10 to 14.
… The descriptions of forced marches, AK-47 training and drug-fuelled shoot-outs with rival private armies leave little to the imagination, but the subject is handled in such a sensitive and perceptive way, with excellent characterization and good plot lines. The introduction of white colonial issues of control and greed – including depictions of child slave labour in a gold mine – are only too real, and this book will be useful to support lessons on other cultures, current affairs and PSHEE.
… An uncomfortable but compelling read, I expect to see Dead Boys’ Club appear on book award long-lists, at the very least.’
Child’s review of THE DEAD BOYS’ CLUB, The Guardian online
‘With a plot of the book focusing primarily on the child soldiers, Dead Boys’ Club is informative, educating those who choose to read the book about the grave problems regarding child armies in places such as Africa and also some parts of Asia and South America.
… The characterization and plot of the book is extremely interesting. The two slightly different stories that are simultaneously being told (child soldiers and gold mining) continue to engage the attention of the reader.
… Geoffrey Malone deserves our praise for bring that issue into the spotlight. Thus, I vehemently recommend this book to all the children of our age group and hope they enjoy it as much as I did.’
https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/dec/20/review-dead-boys-club-geoffrey-malone
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LARA WILLIAMSON
Usbourne’ Campaign for Williamson debut, The Bookseller
‘Usborne has launched an extensive social media campaign to promote debut novel A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson, which will be published in March.
Usborne has sent bloggers special proof copies and appointed “hope operatives” to read the book, then leave it in a public place for someone to find. This generated a variety of shareable content, including a photo of a copy of the book in Venice. The campaign, which has the hashtag of #ABoyCalledHope on Twitter, has seen coverage on social media, YouTube and blogs’
https://www.thebookseller.com/news/usborne-campaign-williamson-debut.html
