So often one is drawn in by gimmics on a book or in a book, but not this time. Ignoring the seriously cool and clever fluorescent die-cut flexible slipcase, the publisher Scholastic and the author M G Harris have delivered not just once with the first Joshua Files: Invisible City in 2008 but now in 2009 an even more accomplished rollercoaster of a ride in Ice Shock.
Continuing where Invisible City left off, Josh Garcia remains steadfastly determined to uncover the truth behind his father's death in the jungles of Mexico. Like the thrillers featuring Alex Rider or indeed those featuring Jason Bourne, Ice Shock is full of incredible plot twists and turns, well drawn and utterly believable characters but unlike the aforementioned characters Josh doesn't rely in any way on hi-tech gadgetry.
His coolness under extreme fire - both physical and emotional is so much more heart-pumping than anything else. No wonder Harris' Invisible City was the no. 1 debut of 2008. It wouldn't surprise us at Lovereading4kids if his second novel becomes one of the top titles of the year. Try it for yourself and see what you think.
Josh is back home, trying to resume his normal life without a father and to make sense of his Mayan adventures. But soon it becomes clear that being back in Oxford doesn't mean Josh can escape his destiny. He's even more certain now that his father's death was no accident - and he's starting to wonder if he can really trust his closest allies.
M.G. Harris (M.G. stands for Maria Guadalupe) was born in Mexico City. When her parents split up, five year-old M.G. moved to Frankfurt, Germany, with her air stewardess mother and younger sister, and later to Manchester, England. Growing up as a Mancunian, M.G. based her formative years around the television series Doctor Who and Blake's 7 and the fortunes of Manchester United. As a teenager, during regular visits to her father in Mexico, M.G. became fascinated by Mayan archaeology. She made several trips to Mayan ruins in Yucatan and Chiapas and one such trip gave her the seed of the idea of what would later become The Joshua Files: Invisible City.
As a student, M.G. was interested in molecular biology and studied biochemistry at St Cross College, Oxford. M.G. spent several years working in research laboratories before setting up her own internet company. Whilst visiting family in Switzerland in 2004, a skiing accident left M.G. with a shattered tibia plateau. Forced to spend many weeks recuperating from surgery, she decided to keep a promise she'd made to herself to one day pursue a career as a novelist. Writing on a laptop next to her bed, M.G. began work on a techno thriller which combined her two intellectual loves - archaeology and biology. From this initial manuscript came the idea for a story featuring a young boy searching for a lost Mayan codex... and The Joshua Files were born.
In an attempt to cover up the fact that she's a bit of a geek, M.G. spends as much time as possible going out to salsa clubs to dance. She adores anything written by her quartet of literary gurus: Haruki Murakami, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges and Italo Calvino. M.G. lives in Oxford with her husband and their two daughters. She was the fastest-selling UK debut children's author of 2008.
She introduces The Joshua Files in this video (and in case you missed the first one, Invisible City, there are also some intriguing details about the plot):
