ReadItDaddy's Second Book of the Week - Week Ending 18th November 2016 - "Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods" by Tania Del Rio and Will Staehle (Quirk Books)

Our Second Book of the Week ushers the triumphant return of a rather brilliant (but butt-ugly) book hero. "Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods"...
It may seem like an unusual step to nominate a "Book of the Week" that A) isn't even finished yet and B) isn't out until well into 2017 but we've fallen completely in love with Warren the 13th, and seeing the sequel to "The All Seeing Eye" filled us with ridiculous levels of excitement.

Poor Warren, he can't help having a face that only a mother could love - and if you're regular followers of the blog you'll know that we absolutely DEVOURED Warren's first adventure, "Warren the 13th and the All Seeing Eye" - Which was also a Book of the Week.

So Tania Del Rio and Will Staehle are back for a sequel, and we join Warren straight after the conclusion of his first adventure.  Twelve-year-old Warren has learned that his beloved hotel can walk, and now it is ferrying guests around the countryside, transporting tourists to strange and foreign destinations.

But when an unexpected detour brings everyone into the dark and sinister Malwoods, Warren finds himself separated from his hotel and his friends and racing after them on foot through a forest teeming with witches, snakes, talking trees, and mind-boggling riddles.

Warren wonders if the hotel, the guests, and even he will find a way out of the Malwoods before the despicable denizens within take over!

There's something about the atmosphere of the Warren books. I grew up loving Charles Addams' work and watching stuff like The Munsters, The Addams Family and Scooby Doo so anything with a vaguely dark and mysterious tone to it will always score a hit.

Both Charlotte and I also love a quirky hero, a kid who is distinctly different to the normal clean-cut everyday types who inhabit books. Warren is most certainly an oddity but he has a heart of gold. Think Quasimodo but with less of a hump.

Although you won't get to see the finished product until well into 2017 (21st March to be precise) and though our preview copy didn't feature the final glorious artwork you can expect from Will, it's already a spooky classic like the original, with a story that will leave you clamouring for Book 3 to find out what happens after....(well we're not going to spoil it for you! Just get your pocket money ready for next March!)

Warren is the sort of book hero we love, just SO different and fresh feeling and this really will win you over if you're in the market for something truly different and (as Charlotte describes it using her most favourite word) "Odd!"

Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods by Tania Del Rio and Will Staehle is out on 21st March 2017, published by Quirk Books. (kindly supplied as a preview copy with full review to follow once properly released)