My Swordhand is Singing

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Thank you for sharing this resource - much appreciated. I am going to use it with my year 8 ferrets who need to get their sharp pointy teeth into some great literature! I write at the weekends, and mostly in the study in my loft, but also sometimes I travel to write - eg much of Revolver was written on trips to Sweden. I cannot say this is the creepiest book I've read in my life, but I admit it gave me many chills up my spine. The atmosphere and the writing were factors that contributed to it: Both were dark and gothic.

This book, even when it may not appeal all YA readers, is easier to grasp and might be more enjoyable for the masses than, say, Revolver or the other ones I read before. This is not to say that this has less quality than the other ones - what I mean is that in this one there's more action and "entertainment" factors. It varies from book to book but it's not a chore as I love to do research. It's easier than actually writing the things! For Revolver, the research spanned about 16 months, of little trips here and there and lots and lots of reading!Yes, I always loved myths and legends - I used to read and re-read two books from the library - one a big illustrated edition of Greek Myths and the other Old Peter's Russian Tales. I don't know why I was fascinated by these stories, but maybe simply because I find them to be more glamorous than contemporary stories... Alex trained at the VGIK institute of cinematography (Moscow), with Elen Bowman, Irina Brown, Lab Ky Mo and at The Video College. Alex is currently the Children’s assistant on Sam Mendes Charlie and the Chocolate factory in the West End, where he is also creating and leading the CHARLIE school. Recent productions include The Crocodile (riverside studios), OUTED (Park Theatre) and Merri England (Finborough Thetare). He has assisted Melly Still, Tom Morris, Braham Murray, Mike Longurst and most recently Simon McBurney and Complicite for a new work at the National Thetare. I knew right from the first chapter that this was going to be my eerie-fest of the month. I mean honestly, the story starts with… well. You’ll just have to find out. This is a truly good book. It’s addictive, a quality that all good books need. It’s gripping. Full of suspense. And twists and turns. It follows Peter. The son of a woodcutter who just also happens to be a drunk. They now live in a village called Chust, after living a nomadic lifestyle, never being welcome wherever they choose to stay. And then things in Chust take a dark and sinister turn. Things begin to happen that can’t be explained. Deaths. The slaughter of animals. Bodies drained of blood. But Tomas seems to know something about it, and hides a deep secret. It was a single line, the first line in the book in fact. I'd had it for ages but didn't know where I was going to use it until the character of Edgar came along: "I suspect I may have fleas again".

Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical MomentsLoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. Great question, impossible to answer. So many amazing things to go and see – the building of the pyramids, a Viking boat putting out to sea, Man Utd winning the European Championship in 1968… This particular author is quite a prolific writer of YA stories in a variety of genres, but it was the mid-European horror story setting that drew me to this particular book. Set in the isolated, hostile environment of the forests of seventeenth century Romania, My Swordhand Is Singing tells of the enigmatic Tomas and his adolescent son, Peter, woodcutters and outsiders who cannot seem to find a place to settle. They have spent longer in the village of Chust than they have in any place before and Peter is finally beginning to put down some roots. He has even begun a fledgling romance with draper's daughter, Agnes. However, secrets bristle the air at home, erecting a large and painful barrier between Peter and his father. But family tensions are the least of Peter's worries. Strange and menacing things are happening in Chust. A man who recently died in mysterious circumstances is said to be visiting his wife at night. Something is very, very wrong. They are not well liked in the village of Chust and are considered to be outsiders. Peter is used to his own company because they have moved around a lot and his father Tomas is a taciturn man. Peter knows his father is troubled by something but as usual he is unwilling to share.

Effective gothic horror with a mystical touch. In 17th-century Europe, young Peter and his alcoholic father, Tomas, have settled down for longer than their transient life usually allows. They live in a vast forest, cutting wood for nearby villagers, but are always estranged. An eerie sense of menace haunts the area. Two bizarre and gruesome murders in a short time couldn’t be due to wolves, but Tomas insists that whispers of supernatural danger are mere superstition. Then, because one victim was unmarried, Peter’s friend Agnes is forced into a Wedding of the Dead and stowed away for 40 horrifying days of symbolic mourning. Visiting her cabin secretly, Peter confronts the chilling truth: Undead corpses are rising from graves, killing and recruiting more and more humans. Led by new friend Sofia and her Gypsy caravan, Peter and his historically unreliable father find that their only hope lies in a singular old sword and an ancient song with lyrics confronting the emotional essence of the zombie-vampires. Underlying tenderness, overt chills. (author’s note) (Fantasy. YA) It reads like a promising first draft to a fantasy tale with gothic leanings, but the storytelling is a bit lean in details and the pacing is both rushed and slow at the same time. Whenever I read a vampire book, I am suspicious. Modern vampire books tend to romanticize them - to portray vampires as gentle creatures. I hate those versions of vampires. I love them bloodthirsty, evil and soulless. My Swordhand is Singing is a book with that kind of vampires. Yeah I had to read this book for a competition called Shadowing Carnegie. I think this book is way cool! I'm regretting reading this book before bed because now i always get a strange feeling that I'm being watched. As the book progresses Peter learns more about the undead and about the real reason he and his father have moved around a lot.

Finding an empty shell casing on the pavement in St Petersburg. It was a long way from there to the finished book but that was the start of it. With the help of Sofia, a travelling gypsy, Peter sets out to conquer the evil threat to the village and uncover the secrets of his father's past. Set in the seventeenth century amid the bleakness of winter in Eastern Europe, and inspired by vampire folklore, this is a superbly crafted, dark and menacing tale. I have to say that I love the way the vampires feed in My Swordhand Is Singing. I’m not going to spell it out, as you need to read this book, and you’ll find out doing so. But it’s very different to the ways in todays literature. And they are called hostages, rather than vampires. To illiterate the idea that they really are the living dead, a hostage in their own body, rising from the grave to feed. Something I love about this book, is that it really has stayed true to these Eastern European legends. The hostages are devoid of any humanity. They are cruel and hell bent on only one thing. Blood. No love. No compassion. The true monsters they were before todays generation gave them the ability to love. These hostages are far more effective. How can you really be scared of a vampire that can love you just as much as they love drinking your blood? So this was super interesting in comparison to his other books that I've read (MIDWINTERBLOOD and THE GHOSTS OF HEAVEN). Both of those were interconnected stories, making up one whole novel. This was one novel, which was quite short, and in fact almost too short and simple.

Remember the days when vampires were evil, non-sparkly creatures? Do you miss those days? If your answer to the last question is yes, then this book is for you.Thank you , this is great. We usually send this novel off with children to read over summer but this year we will use these novel-study activities and read it alongside them (it will be that sort of year!) on their return. Useful PEE, show-not-tell, character work to enable the children to use their reading to inform writing. This was an unexpected outcome for this novel, but I’m glad to finally be able to say that I’ve read it, and I can sell the duo to someone who may enjoy them more. I read this years ago when I borrowed it from a library. I can remember thinking what a brilliant book it was, and I can also remember going the next day to get the sequel from the library. I decided to read it again to see if I thought it was still as good. We’ve found one,” Sofia said. “Are you-?” “I’m all right,” Sofia said. “Hurry. We have to try.” She got to her feet. “Come on!” It was so hard. What they were doing was so hard, and the ferocity of the snowstorm only made it harder. Now he knew who it was. The Gypsy girl, the singer. “You ride very badly!” she said, pointing a finger right at him. “Me?”