Jet Black Heart

by Teresa Flavin

Dory is on holiday on the moors with her family when she stumbles across a Victorian walkers’ ‘letterbox’ and a faded message for a boy called Eli. The message opens a slip in time and soon Dory is battling alongside Eli to help save his sister from her cruel father. But is there more to Eli - and his gift of a Victorian heart pendant - than meets the eye?

A spine-tingling mystery with elements of the supernatural.

Dyslexia-friendly!

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Time Travel, Romance, Psychology, Magic, Illness

104 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2014

About the author

I'm a children's book illustrator who branched out into writing art-based fantasy-mystery novels for children and young people. My first illustrated novel, THE BLACKHOPE ENIGMA (Templar Publishing UK, 2010; Candlewick, 2011) was shortlisted for a number of UK children's book awards and was a Junior Library Guild Selection in the USA. The sequel, THE CRIMSON SHARD (Templar UK, 2011 and Candlewick, 2012) was a Junior Library Guild Selection for Fall 2012. THE SHADOW LANTERN, the final book in the Blackhope Enigma trilogy, was published in the UK in 2013 and in the USA in 2014.

My latest novel, JET BLACK HEART, a supernatural time travel story for teens, is published by Barrington Stoke in the UK. Barrington Stoke also published my story for younger readers, YELLOW RABBIT, in 2013 (illustrated by Rich Watson).

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Reviews

[Amelia Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an emotional rollercoaster to say the least. It started off as a cool time travel book with some romance sprinkled in. Eli seemed like an interesting and charming character at first but then his manipulative side began to show through. The end of the book had me crying. RIP Charlotte. The story of the lost girls made me cry. Read this book.

[Miss Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to teach students the elements of the horror genre, then this story will work. The local jeweller sets the scene: “There's a bit of a local legend about a jet heart that has turned up over the years,” Flynn said. “Any time it turns up, strange things happen.”

Dory meets Eli in another era, but all is not as it seems: "Eli’s grasp of her hand seemed cooler and more business-like than before." Eli is a great manipulator, spurred on by loneliness, as he seeks the companionship of his sister, Charlotte by any means. He even uses a heart pendant later described as "coiled up like a black viper" to lure in helpers. With the best intentions, they only manage to save one life.

The final scene is as expected - Eli's ghost lives on: "carved into the angel’s robe...a stone heart decorated with carved roses, dangling from a cord."

Nice border and chapter heading illustrations.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor description of setting. Book read like an amateur fanfiction novel. The story was intriguing to some extent, but not entirely convincing. Didn't like it and really wanted to get it over and done with.

[Cherelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

i enjoyed this quick read and loved the twist

[Elsa · Rating 2 out of 5]

(4/10)

[Louise Cowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it as a quick short story, but ending was a bit meh.

[Aniela Semeniuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so much plot twists for duch a short book it is hard to beleive. This was a good book overall.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable fantasy novel for your adults.

[Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked.

I had a feeling when on page 41, “he moved closer and brushed her ear with his lips”, that he was a creep and hanging with him was not a good idea.

That fact that he was DEAD the whole time and was stuck in a time loop, luring girls in and killing both them and his sister! Like wow.

And at the end after they’ve broken the jar, and realised that they’re in the wrong timeline, AND Eli’s hiding in the woods, “she turned just in time to see Eli’s grinning face among the leaves.” Like no way, how is he there, shouldn’t he be in the past, because Rachel’s still alive and there and Eli shouldn’t be.

And the pendants used to try and make people feel special, icky.

Overall, a shocking book. Did not expect that ending, but Eli was clearly a creep. Going from open and friendly to cold and menacing. And living in a ‘safe’ cave, which was clearly going to be washed out by the tide.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very good but very short. It could easily have been an adult novel in the tradition of Susan Hill.
The jet described was Whitby Jet, only found in one other location on the planet (somewhere in South America I think), but no reference to location was made. I felt if this was a homage to Whitby, the place should have been mentioned. Or the author didn't research 100%.

[D.P. McHenry · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the elements of an enjoyable young adult novel exist here. Teen heartthrobs, time travel, pesky siblings, adventure, suspense and even a bit of horror make Teresa Flavin's latest yarn a book you won't want to put down. She is such a great writer, I always look forward to her work and give them to the young adults in my life. Well done!

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this, I liked the length, I liked how I read it in one sitting with out needing to stop and get something to drink or eat.

But to say I was shocked was an understatement. I went to my school’s library today, and came out with what I thought was a short children’s mystery story, and boy was it miss sorted.

[Sheryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written for reluctant readers. Interesting idea with some twists thrown in. Very readable.

[Affreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a thrilling book.

[Kirsty Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Farida Talibli]

Good