Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball

Author: Laura Ellen Anderson

Genre: Children’s/MG, Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy

Publisher: Egmont UK

Publication Date: October 5th 2017

Format: eARC (288 pages)

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Synopsis:

A gorgeously gothic, wickedly funny new series from Witch Wars illustrator Laura Ellen Anderson.

Welcome to the world of Nocturnia, where darkness reigns supreme, glitter is terrifying, and unicorns are the stuff of nightmares! Amelia Fang would much rather hang out with her pet pumpkin Squashy and her friends Florence the yeti and Grimaldi the reaper than dance at her parents’ annual Barbaric Ball.

When the King’s spoiled son Tangine captures Squashy, Amelia and her friends must escape the party to plan a daring rescue. In their race against time, they being to realize things in Nocturnia may not be quite what they seem… Join Amelia on her very first adventure. She won’t bite!

My Rating: ★★★★★

Are you looking for the perfect Halloween, spooky read for your young ones? If so, then look no further! Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball is the PERFECT creepy read for the youngsters this Halloween.

Amelia Fang is no ordinary girl. She is a vampire and her best friends are Florence, a rare breed of yeti, and Grimaldi, a young Grim Reaper in training. Not to forget her absolutely adorable sidekick Squashy the pumpkin. Amelia’s parents are hosting the annual Barbaric Ball and the King and his son, Prince Tangine, have agreed to attend this year. Amongst all her mother’s excitement, Amelia cannot think of anything worse than the Barbaric Ball and things don’t exactly get better when she is tasked with looking after the Prince when he starts school.

There are lots of wonderful, funny twists and turns along the way but something that I truly loved about this book was how deep and meaningful the underlying message is. This book approaches the themes of family relationships, loneliness and friendship in such a refreshing way that I’m sure many kids reading this would relate in some way. The last half of the book especially was pretty powerful in its message.

This book is crammed full of some of the most gorgeous illustrations I have seen in a children’s book. I’ve include two examples above but honestly some of the illustrations are just so incredible detailed and they really set my imagination on fire. Being able to see for myself all these gruesome monsters and the horrid Creatures of Light truly threw me into Amelia’s world.

The characters are just wonderful! Alongside the adorable, loveable Amelia, Florence, Frimaldi and Squashy there are a whole host of entertaining characters but one of my favourites had to be Woo, the ghost butler of the Fang family. He truly saves the day on a few occasions and also had a great sense of humour.

Talking of humour, this book is SO refreshing and hilarious. There will be quips in here that make both the children and adults reading this book cry with laughter. Some personal favourites of mine where ‘The Great Gothic Gravestone Carve Off’ and the ‘diePhone’, such clever twists on modern culture that will be sure to make you laugh out loud, I know I did!

Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball is the perfect book for this Halloween, it will keep you entertained and laughing whilst also having a truly spooky edge to it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Egmont UK and Laura Ellen Anderson for my advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Have you read Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball? Will you be adding it to your TBR?

What are your favourite creepy children’s books?

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