The Glass Demon [Kindle Edition]

...You're sure to find a dead body in the orchard. Lin's day does not start well, finding the body of an old man who appears to have died accidentally is bad enough, but then take into account that her father Professor Fox doesn't want to attract attention to the family so he refuses to report it. Along with her siblings Polly and baby Ru and stepmother Tuesday, Lin is moving to a half ruined castle in the German woods so that her father can continue his search for some legendary stained glass. Anyone who looks at the glass sees the likeness of Bonschariant - the Glass Demon and is certain to die. Not a cheery fairy tale to grow up with but Lin has heard this story for years, it is only with their move to Germany and the isolation that comes with it that Lin begins to believe it might be true.

Lin is very much alone throughout the beginning of the novel; she is the only member fluent in German, her sister Polly barely speaks to anyone, her stepmother Tuesday is too concerned with being a drama queen to worry about her and her father's obsession is the missing glass. So Lin's only friend quickly becomes Michael who lives at a nearby farm, he becomes her confidante when strange things start to happen. Who is threatening Lin's family, trying to kill them and force them to leave? Lin wonders about the stained glass and the broken shards of glass that seem to appear whenever she is in danger - could it be Bonschariant hunting her? Then Michael reveals that he knows where the stained glass is....

This is a good YA novel, there are some genuinely creepy moments and you can easily lose yourself in the tense atmosphere that Grant creates. She also keeps you reading by revealing things that will happen - you learn within the first paragraph that Lin's sister dies, but you keep reading in order to find out how. Possibly the only reason why I didn't rate this higher is because of the cliche of the ruined castle in the German forest, sometimes it feels a little bit like watching a very bad horror film where you know exactly what scenes to expect and what characters will appear. However if you want to read something that will keep you entertained for a while this is a good read. I would possibly have been more interested to see how things would have turned out had this been an adult horror novel but a good read nonetheless.

If you've not read Helen Grant before, try this novel, she's a great new British YA author.

A series of mysterious murders greet Lin as her family move into a new village in Germany. As the threats become increasingly personal Lin tries to discover the connection between the deaths and the mysterious stained glass windows rumoured to be hidden in the forest and haunted by a demon.

Grant was short listed for the 2010 Carnegie award with her debut novel The Vanishing of Katherina Linden. I thought this novel was more consistently written, intelligent and a 2011 Carnegie shortlist contender . It has Helen Grant's quirky style with intruiging characters and narratives, but it maintains a modern gothic feel. As with Katerina Linden this a more challenging read than the average teen novel and Grant weaves more than the obvious into the story. The characterisation is very strong, the plot intruiging and Grant manages tension and suspense well, throwing in various older teen 'issues' without preaching. Suggested for 14+. Younger teen readers may find the style too subtle; the heroine is 17/18, there is no love triangle and there is a fair bit of tension.

Even the blurb is enthralling for goodness sake! Read read read! The way this story is written and described is atounding and amazing. The detail is magnificent and the storyline is chilling and captivating.

The First Two Sentences:
If anyone were to ask me, 'What is the root of all evil?' I would say not 'Money' but 'Food'.It was food - specifically the lack of it - that killed my sister.

I mean, a serious case of Dom Dom Dom!!!
The rest of the story carries on in this mysterious manner with expertise. Totally readable for eleven year olds (my daughter is a utter fan) and it seems like an adult book, with grown up language and subjects.

I am a person that will spend all of their spare time with abook in their hand. I read a book a day - the local library is run off it's feet. What I'm saying is that I have a wide experience with every type of book. Very few of these books involve me like this one. I WAS Lin Fox at some moments. Feeling what she was feeling. My heartbeat quickened and my eyes sprinted across the page at the parts where Grant created tension, and BOY was there tension.

Storyline ***SPOILERS***
17 year old Lindisfarne Fox (Hates the name with a verngence so she gets everyone to call her Lin, even daunting German teachers.) was forced to live in Germany by her self obsessed father, who, after his job got taken away from him, wanted to get away from it all. He took up the proposal of an old friend to try to come to Germany to find the (supposedly mythical) Allerheiligen Glass, lost for centuries, but worth millions. It apparently holds Bonschariant - the glass demon who can stop the heart of any person who looks at it, but this doesn't detter him.
The First Death, on a journey to try and find their new home (A Castle), Lin stumbles across a dead body in an orchard. She was going to ask the man (who heer and her family thought was asleep) for directions. Tuesday (Step mum)soon exits the car after waiting for Lin to come back for too long, and she too sees the dead body. She then goes into histerics, which her father hears, so guess what, he joins them. (Older sister) Polly and (step brother) Ruben wait in the car. Lin's father refuses to report the dead man to the police and they carry on their journey, though Lin remains haunted.
The Second Death, actually dissapointing, due to lack of detail. Polly and Lin find blood on the doorstep, but that's it...
The Third Death, in a way rescues the letdown of the previous death in detail and chilling shivers. While on a journey with new found (and only) friend Michael, the two teens discover a lady screaming by the road. They investigate. Bad idea. Inside the cemetry which the lady is standing outside of is a grave. There is a body in the grave. Someone had positioned the body to be climbing out of the grave, with their decaying lips pulled over the rotting teeth in a maniac smile. ... ew.

Deaths follow, some of her family have narrow escapes. Some not so lucky. Lin must find out the truth, but at what cost?

The Finale in this book is in some ways touching, and in others, action packed gothness that's creepy to read. But the end is amazing, perhaps the best part, it will stay with me for a long time, that ending.

BUY