The Boy With One Name by J.R.Wallis
I absolutely adore a little magic and mystery. Throw in some mortal danger, monsters and things that go bump in the night and I’m in heaven.
Last summer the rather lovely people over at Simon & Schuster kids sent me a copy of The Boy With One Name. The cover alone grabbed my interest as soon as it slipped out from it’s Jiffy bag.
WELCOME TO THE BADLANDS … a hidden part of our world populated by creatures which most people think exist only in fairytales and nightmares.
Twelve-year-old Jones is an orphan, training as an apprentice hunter alongside his mentor, Maitland, tackling ogres, trolls and all manner of creatures that live in the Badlands – a hidden part of our own world, and which most people think exist only in fairytales and nightmares. But all Jones secretly wants to be is an ordinary boy and to leave the magical world forever…
When an ogre hunt goes wrong and Maitland is killed, Jones finally has a chance to find out where he came from. But the truth he uncovers isn’t what he’s expecting and it seems that if Jones is going to make his dream come true he’ll have to defeat a creature not even Maitland had dared take on and he won’t be able to do it alone…
He’s going to need help from Ruby, the first girl he’s ever met. She’s outspoken, fearless and determined to prove she’s as good as any boy, and unlike Jones, being ordinary is the last thing on her mind. Ruby’s desperate to find her place in the world and thinks the Badlands could be it. So, working together isn’t going to be straightforward. In fact, it could be downright dangerous.
But who said getting what you want is supposed to easy, even if it is just wanting to be ordinary?
The story features two young protagonists – Jones desperately wants to be a normal boy, yet since before he can remember fate has had other plans because Jones is an apprentice Badlander. Badlanders hunt witches, ogres, shapeshifters and other monsters that ordinary people only see in their nightmares.
Ruby is also desperate for a different life. Running away from her latest foster carer and a difficult home life, Ruby is searching for a world she can fit into. A world where she has some purpose and meaning.
Things go terribly wrong one night whilst Jones, as part of his commencement, is making his first kill. Suddenly he is left without his master, Maitland, the one man who taught him everything he knows and who’s been there for him since he was a baby. Now he is alone with only a talking gun (which he can’t touch) for guidance.
Looking for a safe place to hide, runaway Ruby, finds herself caught up in Jones’ life along with the monsters that she thought only belonged in fairytales and nightmares. Before long circumstances force them to work together as each tries to not only stay alive but to find the lives they’ve both dreamed of.
What follows is an adventure story that grips from the very first page as you tumble, head-first, into the Badlands. Adrenaline filled and full of danger, Wallis will have you cheering for more.
This is a great book about friendship, self discovery, learning who you are and finding courage in even the most desparate of situations. I absolutely loved Jones and fiesty Ruby. They each had their own problems but discovered that working together they could achieve anything.
An exciting start to what I hope will become a series. This will make a fantastic, fun and exciting read.
The Boy With One Name was published in August 2017 by Simon and Schuster\
Here’s a small taster that I’ve taken from the opening page.
Jones stopped. He’d felt safe enough creeping down the path in front of the cottage, in the dark. But now the moon had reappeared from behind the clouds, the world was relit with a softer silver light meaning he was much more likely to be seen.
He kept trying to focus on what Maitland had promised, that he wouldn’t come to any harm. But that was less easy to believe now they were actually here. Scared to go on, Jones looked behind him, to where his Master was hiding, hoping to be beckoned back.
Maitland stepped out from the granite porch concealing the front door of the cottage and stood on the path, big as a bolder in his greatcoat. He said nothing. His craggy face remained hidden below the peak of his baseball cap. And Jones knew right away Maitland wanted him to go on, however bright the moon, because this was his big night. This was his big test.
The Black Amulet by J.R.Wallis
Reunited with his parents, Jones is finally living the ‘normal’ life he’s always wanted. But, despite leaving the Badlands behind, there’s still magic inside him…
His two friends, Ruby and Thomas Gabriel, are struggling with their new lives too; Thomas Gabriel’s magical abilities are fading away and Ruby is railing she might never be accepted as a ‘proper’ Badlands in a world of monster-hunting run by men.
One thing could help all of them – the Black Amulet, a magical artefact hidden for centuries by the most powerful Badlands that ever lived. But finding it won’t be easy, and using it even harder, because things are never simple when magic’s involved…
This is a fantastic second Tales From the Badlands. All three friends are working together to find the Black Amulet but all for very different reasons.
The Black Amulet gives us more insight into both Ruby and Thomas Gabriel. Both are desperate for their magical difficulties to be resolved and the Amulet offers the solution to those problems. Yet it has a dark side to it. It is a powerful artefact and can take possession of those who wear it with sometimes deadly consequences. There are ways to stay remain immune from its effects, however, the Amulet is constantly working to break down those protections. Perhaps together, Ruby, Thomas and Jones, can find the way to use it safely to take away all their problems. Yet how much can you trust your friends?
I love the way the novel highlights how important it is to be true to yourself and that being ‘different’ is good. This is a great series and The Black Amulet finishes perfectly to continue on in a third book. I have another wait ahead of me but I have no doubt it will most definitely be worth it.
Another taster…
‘But Ruby, I want to be an ordinary boy too and I can’t be that with magic inside me. It’s not meant to be in the regular world…’
Ruby leant forward and took his hands in hers. ‘You can still be both if you want t0.’ Ed looked at her, unsure what she was getting at. ‘You don’t have to be a regular Badlands. I won’t be, even if Drewman fixes our Commencement. I’ll always be a girl. I’ll be different to other Badlands. So why can’t you be a different type of Badlands too?’
Review copies supplied by the lovely people at Simon and Schuster (thanks so much:)
Find out more about author J.R.Wallis by visiting his website: here.
Harriet Muncaster is the author and illustrator of the Isadora Moon series of young reader books, published by Oxford University Press. So far Isadora Moon has been translated into nearly twenty different languages, including Spanish, Italian, Romanian and Japanese, and is available as an audio book.
