Curse of the Iceman (or Otzi)
A hiker named Helmut Simon discovered the mummified body of a prehistoric warrior whilst climbing high in the Italian alps. But if that isn’t weird enough, after the body (now named Otzi) had been pried from the ice, a string of deaths connected to the people who had found him began. Leading people to believe that the ancient curse associated with disturbing mummies was in effect. Currently there have been seven deaths related to people who found or have worked with Otzi. The strangest being the death of the man who found the Iceman. Helmut fell to his death during a freak blizzard while hiking near the same spot where he first discovered Otzi. Coincidence, or was it the ice man’s revenge?

The Thirteenth Home of Noah Bradley
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Early copy courtesy of Scholastic (Released 2nd April 2020)

Moving house is no fun. And no one knows that better than Noah Bradley. A curse has forced his family to move thirteen times. Whether it's a typhoon, a flash flood or a flock of persistent birds, the curse always wins. Now, the Bradley family have just moved into their thirteenth home.

The Bradleys are staying put... no matter what it takes.

I've been in quite the reading slump lately, and had been really struggling to lose myself in a book and forget the chaos that has gripped the world, even briefly. So when The Thirteenth Home of Noah Bradley came through my letterbox, I was desperate to find something to get lost in; and this book proved just the thing.

The Bradley's attract unexplained disasters. Wherever they go, chaos follows. Everyone thinks it's all a strange coincidence, but the Bradley's know the truth. They are cursed, and their family curse has been following them for as long as they can remember.

Schoolboy Noah currently lives at Verity Close with his mother, father and younger brother Billy. Noah loved this home, but it wasn't his first. In fact, it was his thirteenth. But he was desperate for a "forever" home. A home where they didn't start seeing black cats, a flock of birds and a freak accident to follow...

When Noah's dad goes away for work, Noah feels as though he's left in charge. But when the signs start appearing, Noah ignores them. There must be a way to stop the curse. There must be a way to stop this happening again. Noah takes it upon himself to find out if he can end the Bradley family curse, and what he might have to sacrifice for it to be lifted...

I absolutely adored Noah. He is a flaw-filled character, which made him that much more believable. Noah does what he can to fit in with whatever school he's in, and at his current school, he's a bit of a jerk! He makes some very questionable decisions, and isn't the nicest to some of the book's integral characters - but that's what makes his character arc so much more rewarding.

Noah's younger brother, Billy, was possibly my favourite character. He wasn't afraid to be wholeheartedly himself, and I think that's a great thing for young readers to take away from this book. I also liked that Billy was deaf, but there wasn't a story around it. Usually, if a character has a disability or impairment, it's a focal point within the book - which is great, but sometimes characters are just different from the "norm", and that's okay. I wish I had characters like this around when I was growing up, and coming to terms with my disability.

This book was laced with the perfect amount of magic and intrigue, and really was unputdownable. Although it's clearly aimed at a younger audience, I think this book would be fun for all ages - and now more than ever, I think we need a little magic in our lives.