Year 8 Book Reviews

Year 8 Book Reviews January 2021

Death in the Spotlight by Alanna McErlean

Characters

Robin Stevens - 4 October 2018

There are many different characters in this book from the famous Daisy Wells to the intimidating Miss Crompton. My favourite character is definitionally Hazel Wong, this is because she does not like to be involved in her seventh murder mystery following on from the murder in Hong Kong – her home. Daisy is quite the opposite because she LOVES all of the murder mysteries that she does and is part of.

About the book

Fresh from their adventures in Hong Kong, Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells return to England.

But they’re not going straight back to school – first they’re staying with Daisy’s uncle Felix in his London flat. But when London life gets a bit too exciting, the girls are packed off to the Rue Theatre to face an entirely new challenge: acting. They’re going to star in a production of Romeo and Juliet – what could possibly go wrong?

About the Author Robin Stevens – born 15 January 1988, California. Robin Stevens grew up in Oxford and is an American-born English author of children's fiction, best known for her Murder Most Unladylike series. Robin really went to an English boarding school, Cheltenham Ladies College. She really did sleep in a dorm, and learnt Latin, and had school on Saturday mornings and this is where she got inspired to write her books.

The Blurb

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are off to the beautiful Rue Theatre in London, where they will face and entirely new challenge: acting. But behind the theatre’s glittering façade, the girls soon realize that there is trouble at the Rue. Jealousy, threats and horrible pranks quickly spiral out of control – and then one of the cast is found dead. As opening night looms closer, Hazel and Daisy must take centre stage and solve the crime – before the killer strikes again…

The stage is set for murder…

Death in the spotlight book review by Calista Sonda

Death in the spotlight is about two girls named Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong who have been signed up to act in a play however a murder happens and suddenly everyone is a suspect. Set in the 1930s, this story is full of mystery and plot twists as Daisy and Hazel set of to find the real murderer. The first few pages set the scene but as drama falls it’s almost impossible to set the book down. Every page is full of cliff hangers as the girls get closer and closer to finding the true criminal.

Characters Daisy and Hazel are the two main characters, the book is in first person as it is written by Hazel. Daisy and Hazel are two complete opposites but as a team work well together to work out the criminals in each of their adventures. The two girls met at their boarding school, Deepdean school for girls, there they became the best of friends due to their interests in mystery and detecting. Hazel is my favourite character because she doesn’t seem too outgoing like Daisy, she is more of the character who would do things fo the greater good and would always be there to help someone in need, she is also intelligent and does a great job detecting even if Daisy doesn’t see it.

Writing style Hazel writes the story to put in her casebook along with her other mysteries that she had solved alongside Daisy. Hazel puts a lot of detail into her book with emotion and more of an insight to the scenes and how Hazel sees everything that is going on in the book. I think the way ‘Hazel’ has written it makes it more enjoyable because Hazel is more thoughtful towards things, when daisy says to take action you can always expect Hazel to have her own thoughts on whether it is a good idea or not.

General At the start of the book I sort of knew what was coming because I have read many of the murder most unladylike series but this book in particular is one of my favourites from the series because it has so many plot twists. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and detecting because it is fun to guess who the murderer is as you read the book. Before reading this book I recommend reading the other books in the series (murder most unladylike like by Robin Stevens) because they do have a little impact on the rest of the book.

Book Review by Sam Swain Plot

This book review is about a book called Once. The story starts of with a boy finding a whole carrot in his soup. In Poland (during the war) hardly anyone would get a whole carrot in their soup. He thought it was a sign that his parents would come back for him after all these years. Throughout the story he tries to find his parents and find companions along the way. This book covers early 1914 to 1915. This book gives us a real-life perspective of what Jewish people went through in the war. At the start of the book, it is quite quick to get into a lot of action.

Characters The tow main characters in this book are called Felix and Zelda. Felix is a very adventurous kid and Zelda is always very stubborn. You do not get to know a lot about Zelda, so she stays quite secretive. You begin to feel bad for Felix in the story as he tries to stay positive even though his hopes go down very quickly. As you get further into the story Zelda and Felix’s friendship gets much stronger.

Style of the story

This story is written in 1st person. I found this helpful in the story because it really put you in Felix’s shoes. I would say that this is a very intense and fun story to read. Overall, my favourite part would be when he first met Zelda because I think that it improved the story after she arrived. This is most likely my favourite book I have ever read so I personally would not change a thing about it.

General Morris Glietzman (the writer of this story) got this out of her imagination, but it was inspired from real events. After reading the book I felt a bit sad, this is because I really understand what Jewish people went through. This is one of my favourites if not my favourite book I have ever read. There is also a series that carries on after this book which tell us more about his story.

The Painted Dragon by Venesha Tibrewal The Mystery of the Painted Dragon is the third novel in The Sinclair's Mysteries book series by British children's author Katherine Woodfine published by on the 9th February 2017.

Story Line Sophie and Lil are quite bored from lack of mysteries to solve and the business of everyday life in Sinclair's. An art exhibition with some of the finest artwork in the country is to be displayed in Sinclair's the best and standing is the painted dragon by Benedetto Cassselli a painting which was especially presented to the exhibition by His Majesty the Edward vii. The start of the exhibition the cloth was uncovered to show no sign of the painted dragon. Leo is predicting she did not do it, as she disposed of her artwork after a rich art benefactor Mr Raymond Lyle criticised it, saying it did not look like the original painting. The Investigation was by Detective Inspector, and he recruits Billy as his assistant however Billy is pleased with Sophie and Lil. Billy and Joe decide to investigate further and help Leo to discover the truth. They encounter lots of tricky decisions Would they find the priceless painting before it is too late?

Characters Sophie Taylor and Lillian Rose are the heroines. Sophie was left pennies less after her father died, not including her in his will. Sophie works in Millinery Department in Sinclair's Department Store. She quickly makes friends with Billy Parker and Lillian Rose. she fears she is being hunted down by the Baron, she has seen his true identity this threats Baron as his identity could be revealed by the police. Lillian Rose comes from a wealthy background. However, her parents do not like the idea if her being an actress. Leonora comes from an aristocratic background. Her parents refuse her to go to an art school she is friends with Sophie and Lil and the team up to uncover the mystery of the painted dragon.

The book is a fiction with lots of elements of mystery, it is a wonderful historic adventure. The author creates a tense atmosphere.

Luka Modric by Jeevan Bains This is a book that I really enjoyed as its autobiography showing the ups and downs of the real Madrid star. Luka shows the readers how he rows to the peak of world football. It stars at the very beginning and shows us the background of Luka’s father and mother. He was born into a footballing family his dad loved the game so naturally so did Luka. This book was very interesting because it gives the reader an InSite on the game, it also reveals the sadness that players go through with injuries and missing out on major tournaments and games.

The book explains that talent can only get you so far, and if you want to be the best you must work for it. It explains the joy and delight that players go through when they win a cup, for Luka this was winning the champions league, la Liga and a whole host of other trophies but the main one individually was winning what every kid who plays football in the world wants, the Ballon dor the trophy that lets everyone know that you are the best player in the world.

This book also explains the deep sadness of losing in a final, for Luka it was the world cup in 2018 in Russia, they lost 4-2 to France. It was not only a sad day for Luka and his teammates but also for the whole of Croatia.

The book is not all about football as it also shows the importance of a family and how they will be there for you no matter what. If you love football this is a must read as it gets you that little bit closer to what it feels like to be a major footballer.

Skellig Book Review by Aine Ballantine

Skellig is a children's novel by the British author David Almond, published by Hodder in 1998. Almond, who grew up in Newcastle, was educated at the University of East Anglia where he studied English. He published his first ever collection of stories in 1985, sleepless nights which was the first of many awards he would win. Over the last twenty-two years Almond has written over thirty-six books not including the countless plays he has produced.

Skellig is based on a 10-year-old boy called Michael who’s family has recently moved house to accommodate for his new born sister with a unexpected heart condition. Michael is eager and although upset that he must leave all his friends on his street he gets quickly distracted by the man in his garage. A man who is crotchety and arthritic, demanding aspirin and Chinese food. But who is this man?

Later in the story, Michael and his new nature loving neighbour, Mina, begin to help each other and look after the mysterious man. Mina is home-schooled and often refers her drawings and knowledge to William Blake. However, Michael’s sister is not getter better. Will she ever be cured?

This book is great for young eager children who are always looking for an adventure! The age range for this book would best suit ten-to-fifteen-year olds. I recommend this book as it is super engaging and also has a sequel which shows the story of Skellig in Mina’s point of view (My name is Mina).

Storm Catchers by Thomas Broomfield

By Tim Bowler What is the Book about?

The book is a drama and adventure, based on a kidnapping of a girl Ella. The book is set in a house called Povellan, which is based in Newquay, Cornwall. It follows the story of a Ricky wanting revenge on Peter’s family. The book starts with Peter’s son Fin feeling devastated, when his sister got kidnapped, in the middle of a storm, when he was with a friend. As the drama unfolds, family secrets are exposed and the family falls apart.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh The characters?

Ella Parnell: Ella is 13 year old and she is a scared and timid girl. She puts others before herself, always looking out for them, and making sure nothing bad happens. Ella lives at home, with her dad, mum, big brother and little brother. She got kidnapped by Rickey Prescott, however in her time of being kidnapped, her whole personality changed. She went form being all nice and shy, to being horrid, brave and mean.

Ricky Prescott: Ricky is the boy, that kidnapped Ella. He was 14, he was bold, big, muscly and he was described as looking like a bear. He was great at sailing and he had talents that no-one else could ever have.

Peter Parnell: Peter, plays the role of Dad. He owns his own boat called ‘Free Spirit’ and he likes to sketch the surroundings. Also he is a very good friend and pillar of the community. He owns a chain of supermarkets he is known as the multi-millionaire and everyone likes him.

Review Bowler’s latest classic is a thriller that’s every bit as classy as the works of other authors. Storm Catcher is a Opinion and Recommendation I loved the book because it is a great drama and adventure. Also, you never get bored of the book, as the plot and discussions change quite regularly. I would most certainly, recommend the book to any reader, that love revenge and incident. However, it can be a bit scary at times and I could put some 12 year olds of babysitting.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Charlotte Lee When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is written by Judith Kerr. She was born in Berlin, but she has lived most of her life in England. She has written many books including The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Mog. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is part of a trilogy including Bombs on Aunt Dainty and A Small Person Far Away. This book was first published in 1971 around 50 years after the end of World War II. This book is about a girl named Anna. She is living in Berlin before the German elections take place. She is a Jew and at the beginning of the book her family are planning on moving to Switzerland if Hitler wins the election because he wants to get rid of the Jews.

Before the elections Annas father moves to Switzerland because they think that Hitler will win and because her father writes about him there is a risk that he can take his passport to stop him crossing the boarders. Anna and her mother and brother move to Switzerland after the elections. She lives in Switzerland for a few months before moving to Paris. Most of this book is set when she is living in Paris.

My favorite part of the book is when Anna is living in Paris and she has just taken her exams in French and she thought she had failed because she was not very confident in French. When she gets the results back, she discovered that she had won an award for the piece of writing she had written. This is my favorite part of the book because Anna starts to believe in herself more.

I think that this is a book that anyone of any age would like and I would recommend this to everyone.

Book review on Alex Rider Point Blanc by Thomas Matthews Alex Rider Point Blanc is the second book in the Alex rider series, I specifically liked this one more than the rest because it was very action packed with thrills, I also liked that he had to travel and go undercover as a spy at an age similar to mine. I also found it easier to read than most books, because I enjoyed the fact that there were cliff hangers urging me to keep reading.

Plot On his second mission Alex Rider must infiltrate the mysterious Point Blanc academy. But the school hides a deadly secret, and Alex needs to find out the truth about the secret before it’s too late. The unusual part of the plot is that Alex is a 13 year old boy and is a spy working for the CIA executing dangerous, life threatening missions. The plot is set in France, it begins with Alex being asked by the CIA to go to France and undercover as a boy from a rich family, and inspect the Point Blanc Academy because they have information that there are suspicious activities taking place there.

The book is a follow on from Alex’s previous mission in Eagle Strike. It is an action thriller taking the reader on a roller coaster of emotions, tension and excitement as Alex uncovers the deadly secrets to save the world.

Characters These are the characters in Alex Rider Point Blanc: • The main character is, Alex Rider, he is one of the main characters in all books in the series this is his second mission and his most challenging one yet, I would describe him as a brave and skilled boy due to him being able to fight in close combat and range against fully grown adults, most of the time with them being armed with weapons and guns.

Another character that I liked was Jack Starbright, who absolutely hated the school and also thought that they were carrying out suspicious operations without letting them know, therefore he had a plan to ho into the restricted basement one day steal the ski equipment and because the school was on a snowy mountain with a ski slope that is restricted for the students, but jack plans to use it as an escape route. •

Style The story is written in the third person, so we are told what Alex and the other characters are doing and feeling, rather than by the characters themselves. I do not think this is a critical feature of the story, but it did make me think that it might have made the tense parts of the story even better if you heard from the character themselves in the first person, getting closer to how they were feeling.

General and Conclusion I really enjoyed this book because it really immerses you in the story, which is gripping and it makes it difficult to put the book down. As Alex is also the same age as me, I can also imagine myself in these situations and how I might react and deal with some of these issues, even if they unlikely to happen to me in real life. It allows me to escape to a fictional world. I would really recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast-moving thriller.

Future Friend by Lottie O’Leary

About the author

David Baddiel is a funny writer whose books are entertaining. He has written multiple children’s and adults’ books over his career. Future friend was published in October of 2020.

Future friend has a plot twist at the end so make sure to follow along carefully so understand the twist.

Future friend Future friend is based on a boy living in 2019 called Rahul and who is around age 8-11 who goes to a school called bracket wood primary. Rahul has created some amazing inventions, he gets all the supplies for his inventions from his dads warehouse called Agarwal supplies the slogan was “whatever you are looking for, we’ve got it……. somewhere!”

What happened One day Rahul’s mum wonders why her son has not been inventing for a while so she sends him to the warehouse to start thinking of a new invention. When he goes there, he finds a toilet seat shaking so he goes and opens it up. When he opened it up, he of course expected to see a shelf but instead he saw a black whole with a white light shining through the center of the seat. Then a girl named pip comes through it, and Rahul works out it is a portal. He is trying to keep pip a secret from his parents by hiding pip in the warehouse. He has to try and do everyday tasks without getting seen with pip.

Later on Rahul learns that pip is from the future so really needs to make sure no one is suspicious other wise she could be taken away for testing. Keeping pip a secret was not that hard because she was from 3020 she has loads of gadgets (g-glasses which means she can look inside you head and tell how you are feeling and also an imagery suit so she can think of what she wants to wear and it just happens) the imagery suit came in useful because she can think she wants to be invisible and it then happens.

Twilight by Eva Reid A few months ago, I came across a book called twilight. Little did I know it was one of the best books I have read. The book is based off of a vampire romance.

There are three main characters, Edward Cullen, Bella Swan and Jacob Black. Bella is a shy girl who grew up in a hot country, so whenever it rained Bella would stay inside. Her dad is a police man and her parents don’t live together. Edward is a kind gentle-man with a respectful family. Edward fell ill when he was a teen, and his parents had died so the mom and dad of the Cullen family raised him as a vampire. Jacob is a friend of Bella’s from a young age, and at the start of the film were moving to live near by to them.

The actor Edward is played by Robert Pattison. Bella is played by Kristen Stewart. Jacob was played by Taylor Lautner.

My favourite character is Bella because of her precious kindness and understanding of everyone. She is warm but deep down does have a temper.

The story is about the relation ship between Bella and Edward. Also, a plot twist was that Jacob also likes Bella so there is a rivalry between Edward and Jacob.

The books took me about one weeks to read because of house good it was.

The story is about a normal human who is in high school, and meets a vampire and fall in love, only to find out that love isn’t so simple for a vampire. The vampires are attracted to the blood of the humans, because of the smell of Bella’s blood Edward was having a hard time trying to keep his distance. Eventually Edward falls in love with Bella and learns how to control his thirst.

There are five books of the Twilight series. Twilight being the first of-course.

When I had finished reading them all, honestly, I wanted to cry. I did basically throughout all of them. I think it was in the third or second book, there was a really emotional part and I had to put my book down and just cry for five minutes because the way the writer had wrote the description of the scene just make me want to jump into the book and live the life of Bella.

Personally I would 100% recommend the series of books.

To all the boys I’ve loved before by Tilly Stewart

About the author and her books To all the boys I’ve loved before is great book if you are into teen romance and coming of age novels. This book was written by Jenny Han who is famous for writing a lot of teen romance and drama novels like for example ‘the summer I turned pretty’.

Plots and turns!

Personally, I think to all the boys I’ve loved before is one of the best books I’ve ever read because it has twists and turns and plots that you would never suspect and at the end it leaves you at a cliff hanger and it makes you feel egger to read more and more. One of the main plots in the is that Laura Jean wrote love letters to all of her crushes and she kept them away but someone found them and sent them all out to all the boys she loved before and she has to pretend to be with one her crushes Peter to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.

Throughout the three books there are many plots on Laura jeans and peters relationship but I promise by book three everything works out.

There is more?!?

Yes! There is more to all the boys I’ve loved before books and the great thing about this book is that it is the first of three and I have read all three and they are such a fun read all of them. I also definitely recommend this book and the series if you have watched the movie beforehand because I had watched the film before the film and it really opened my eyes to how different the book and the movie is. So if you have watched the movie then you decide to read the book and you think you already know what’s going to happen well trust me you really don’t!.

Hunger Games book review by Leah Thorsen The Hunger Games is a really entertaining and amusing book and it’s written in third person. The hunger games is about a teenage girl called Katniss Everdeen who lives in district 12, who has to hunt to keep her family alive since her dad died but breaks laws while doing so, most of her life is under the watchful eyes of the capitol so she has to be careful. On the reaping day which is a day that tributes from the district’s female and male under the age of 18, are sent to the capital to fight in an arena, against children from all of the other 11 districts to death. Katniss Everdeen was one of the chosen tributes chosen along with an old face. When all the tributes get to the capitol, they are sent to a training center where they are rated on their skills. When it’s Katniss’s turn all the judges are to tried to bother with her so, to get their attention Katniss shoots an arrow right into their food which gave her the highest ranking, a 12. Once Katniss is in the arena she starts quite well managing not to get killed, though along the way she almost dies after she gets stung by deadly wasps trying to kill the other tributes who were trying to kill her, though she manages to recovery. Later on, in the book Katniss is down to the last people when she finds her companion pitta who is nearly dead, therefore she slowly looks after him while forming a fake relationship with him for the camera as a result of people giving them more food. Katniss and her companion pitta who is also from her district soon become allies and trick the Capitol into thinking that they love each other, they both kill the third tribute remaining, but only one person can win, though Katniss doesn’t let that happen she tricks the capitol into thinking that the both of them are going to kill their selves by eating poisonous berries, for that reason the capitol stop them because they need a winner so they make both of them winners. Although that saved them then, Katniss still has president snow to face.

I personally really enjoyed this book I really liked the plot and all the unexpected twist in the book. I think it’s really thrilling in a sense you always want to keep on reading to see what happens and the outcomes of events. to me I think that the main character Katniss Everdeen is quite cool but mysterious because you never quite know what she is going to do and she has an unusual personality.

If you find the hunger games interesting there are two other books in the series which get more exciting and action filled. There are films made after the books. The Hunger Games was partly inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Another inspiration was the author’s father's career in the Air Force, which gave her insight to poverty, starvation, and the effects of war. The author has also written a book which is set before the hunger games It’s called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; it’s about how president Snow got his power and his life story.

The first book of the Hunger Games book was published in 2008 and was written by Suzanne Collins. Though her first book was Gregor the Overlander. In her career Suzanne has written 63 books. And has won the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, the Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Book, the Teen Choice Award for Choice Book, the Cybil’s awards for fantasy & science fiction, the Hal clement award, the California young reader medal young adult, the Bronze Star Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross United States.

A Land of Two Halves By Sana Tufail

A Land of two halves is written by the author Joe Bennett.

This book is about Joe, he lived in New Zealand for only one year. In my opinion, I think it is a fantastic book!

Why I chose to do a book review on this book?

I chose to do a book review on this book because Joe flew to New Zealand for only one year and now has a career as a writer and a columnist in New Zealand! Joe Bennet loved his two dogs more than ever and thought there could be no more limits. In this book, he discovers that there is no boundaries.

About the book A Land of Two Halves is a Travel literature kind of book. This book can get funny and it’s super interesting! Besides his two dogs, the only character really is himself, Joe Bennet! This book is based on New Zealand what adventures you can do, most of them are good. A Land of Two Hales was written nearly 16 years ago! There is a lot of information in it, considering it was an accidental tour of New Zealand!

What would I rate it?

I would rate this book a 10/10. I gave it that rating because A Land of Two Halves is child-friendly, funny and Joe Bennett has put a lot of thought and facts into it. I would not put an age limit on because I think this is suitable for all ages!

Joe Bennet had to be very brave to say farewell to his dogs because he had been with them, what felt to Bennett forever! Bennett has a very famous quote, ‘what on earth am I doing here’. This is very famous because Joe had to communicate with all the locals, this is a thing he hadn’t done before.

Bennett wanted to do this and for this to happen he needed to persevere through the first few weeks to meet new people.

I would totally recommend this book to all of the people who love adventures!

Book review by Ameya Dhanjal

Divergent In divergent there is a society that is split into five groups which are referred to as factions. These factions are dedicated to different values. Amity is kindness, Erudite is intelligence, Dauntless is brave, Candor is the honest and Abnegation is about being selfless. Every year, 16-year-olds pick a faction that they dedicate themselves to for the rest of there lives. Before you are 16, you stay in the faction that your parents are in and have brought you up in.

There is a test that they go through to help them consider their choice Beatrice Prior, the main character, has picked her faction and has to complete an intense initiation which is competitive, to secure her place.

As she finds out which friends are true to her, she has to hold a secret because she has been told it may lead to death. It is a Dystopian novel for young adults. There are lots twists and turns to keep you hooked into the book. This book is written with a lot of emotion and depth to interest you. I really enjoyed this book and if you do I suggest that you continued to read the rest of the series (Allegiant Insurgent, and Four). All of these books are written by Veronica Roth. I would give this book a 5/5.

The Boy in the wooden box – Book review The boy in the wooden box is a true story, it is about a Jewish boy by the name of Leon Leyson that lived in Narewka, Poland. He later moved away from there to the busy city of Krakow where his father had moved for his work in the glass factory.

When WW2 began however, there was a lot of discrimination against Jews and in this book the younger replicate of the Author reviews his experiences and thoughts on the holocaust and the treatment he had as a Jew. I enjoyed reading this book because it was different in style. It wasn’t the story of a soldier fighting or a soldier who had fought, but the tale of a kid my age whom I could really understand and relate to. The book was also very inspirational and it encouraged me to view things on a more positive note; especially now. It was a great experience to read and I recommend it to the Senior school.

PAGES: 200 ZPD: 7.0 4 OUT OF 5 STARS!!!

GENRE: HISTORY/ NON-FICTION

‘Similar to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas or The Book Thief’ - Antigoni Mavroudi

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Book review of Summoner, The Novice, by Ben Tuckley

ZPD: 6.5 Score: 16 Plot In this book, an orphan named Fletcher is training as a blacksmith’s apprentice when he discovers he has the rare ability to summon demons.

Now one of the few gifted people with this power, Fletcher must go to Vocans Academy, a school that teaches the lost art of summoning. There, he must learn how to control his powers, preparing to be tested in the end-of-year tournament, which will determine his role in the Empire’s war against the orcs.

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But sinister forces infect new friendships and rivalries grow. With no-one but his demon Ignatius by his side, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of the Empire is in his hands‌ Characters The main characters are Fletcher, Sylvia and Othello. Fletcher is a brave and adventurous 15year-old who is friends with Sylvia, an elven girl who was send to Vocans to show that the elves are valuable allies to the people of Hominium, and Othello, a strong and friendly dwarf who too is fighting for equality across Hominium.

The trio change throughout the story achieving new skills and talents and their power grows much greater. They fight many battles and have some downfalls but all in all they work as a great team.

Comments on Style The story is written in third person throughout the series. My favourite moment in the story was when Fletcher finds out that he has the power to summon demons, this is because when he finds it out he is really excited and scared at the same time. This book was one of the best books I have ever read.

General I think that the writer wrote this story because he liked mythology and magic, just like I do.

The book makes you feel tense throughout as the story can put you on the edge and make you scared. As I said before I would compare this book to other book that I have read just by saying it was the best! I loved the whole series so much and found them really interesting too! Other books that I would recommend are the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. They are all to do with Greek mythology and are also very good! They are very good for people who like books that are about mythology or magic/sci-fi. The Summoner series is an overall great series and can be read by anyone.

Young Samurai Book Review

By Fergus The young samurai series is a great series which keeps young readers entertained for hours on end. Jack Fletcher got stranded in Japan and his father got slaughtered by the dangerous ninja, Dragon eye. He gets taken in by the infamous samurai, Masamoto whose had his son also taken by Dragon eye.

Jack soon realizes he will not be allowed to return home and his only option was to become a samurai warrior. But Jack cannot stay in Japan forever.

I would give this series a five out of five because it really keeps you entertained, and you never want to put any of these great books down. If you want some books

There are a lot of significant characters in this book such as: • • • • •

Jack Fletcher Date Akiko Ronin Hanzo Kazuki

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Masamoto

The recommended age is 9+

Book Review by Harri Crawley

The Boy at the Back of the Class Level: 5.6 Points: 9

Plot

This Story is about refugees and racism and how the world has changed into a different and more accepting world.

In this book the story is about a boy who has escaped from Syria and came to France and then to England as where he lived it was very dangerous as there were bombs and fights and gunshots everywhere.

His sister died on the way on the boat but he’s keen, his parents are still alive as there weren’t killed in front of them, he just lost them. Ahmed now living with foster parents and goes to school. Ahmed doesn’t like school and is shy and a boy goes up to him and receives his loyalty by him giving him his favourite fruit pomegranate. Children bully him and he gets in a fight and got in trouble. The boy who earned his loyalty tried to reunite him with his mother and father and he had a plan him and his group of friends to give a letter to the queen and try and open the gates so his parents could be let into England safely if they were alive.

It took around 6 months the progress of the story.

It was a more modern and fascinating story as in this world we need to help people escape from what they’ve been through.

The opening of the story was slow but never didn’t fascinate as it reached its climax very quickly.

Characters The characters were Ahmet, the unknown boy, Billy, Jane and Zachary.

Ahmet was the refugee who was very shy and was scared to make friends as he was scared what people would think of him. The unknown boy was a child, full of kindness and made Ahmet feel comfortable and

made his friends decide to make a plan for him with his friends Jane and Zachary. Billy is a bully and tries to make Ahmed receive trouble.

All of the characters are different in different ways the unknown boy cared about everyone and wanted everyone to be joyful and happy and always looked out for people and always loved his football. Ahmet the refugee boy was very shy but had a character inside screaming to jump out. Billy was a bully and like all bully’s looked for people’s weaknesses and bully them for it. Jane loved football was quite loud and always expressed herself. Zachary was a guy who just wanted to be himself always looked out for people like and were the brain behind the plan to help the gates reopen for refugees.

They were described in a fair amount of detail, the author used a good amount of vocab and tried to express the inside feeling, of the top characters.

I found the unknown boy interesting as he was unique and not everyone looks out for people who maybe haven’t visited an English primary school and probably feels uncomfortable and if he wasn’t there for him maybe his experience would have changed.

The characters were similar, but Ahmet had a proper change and wasn’t shy and expressed his true feelings.

Comments on Style

The story is written in first person throughout.

This made the story easier to understand as it put the unknown boy in first person, and he was writing about his experience of the story.

The setting was very basic but described in good detail for something as basic as a school and it puts a picture in your head.

The feelings and attitudes were described in a lot of depth because you always had the outside feeling of the characters and the inside of the unknown boy which mixes up the story and makes it more exciting.

It was a great story as it was unique and modern as now it tells us how we should consider refugees from across the globe and be more

accepting as they all have an awful background story, and we should let them escape and be more accepting.

My favourite moment was when there was when the Queen decided to open the gates and Ahmet and the unknown boy proved everyone wrong which was great as he ended finding his Dad and he reunited with his family which was the goal in the first place.

I would change the book so that that the unknown boy works more on working as a team and less as an individual effort even though I respected his effort I think thus would have made the start more interesting.

General I think the writer wrote this book to remind people that everyone has a story outside of school and to say how people act in school is not always who they are it’s also a story to remind people to always be friendly and respect everyone despite what they seem like. It’s also a reminder to let refugees come to the country as they come from a hard background.

Before reading it, I wasn’t expecting what type of book it was going to be as I was confused as the cover looked a bit boring as I thought it was going to be a boring book about a kid who went to school, but I guess it’s like an idiom don’t judge a book by its cover literally. After I felt I learnt something and felt it was a great book.

I learnt that you really need to respect others who are shy and to always be kind no matter how different the person is to you as it will help the other person become more confident and you can always be determined to try and achieve you want.

I think this book is different to previous books I have read, as it’s more modern and determined as how refugees do need help as they have come from an awful background.

I think that it’s important to read as it teaches you a lot about kindness and how special some friendships can really be.

I would recommend this book as it’s good to read like I said previously it helps you understand a lot more about the outside world and about refugees and friendships and kindness!

Book Review on Bodyguard (Hostage) Rating 5/5

Alex Rider Stormbreaker by Jacob Armitage Plot Stormbreaker is about a teenager called Alex Rider who lost his parents in a car accident and was recruited by MI6. This is unusual because MI6 recruited him instead of anyone else and that they chose a teenager. It all happens during the early 21st century when lots of terrorist groups were constantly trying to take down governments and kill world leaders. The story begins in a mysterious way because when his parents died, his uncle adopted him and was secretly an MI6 agent too, although his uncle died mysteriously, and Alex had no clue why. The events of the story progress by each event happening fast and quick paced. One minute he is in London as a normal schoolboy, next minute, he is a teenage superspy. Saving the world from devastating criminal organisations.

Characters The main characters are Alex, Alan Blunt and Mrs. Jones (both in MI6) and Darrius Sayle, millionaire and CEO of Sayle enterprises. I would describe Alex as quiet and serious ever since his parents died and when recruited by MI6, he became even more affected. the character that I most liked was Yassen Gregorovich, an assassin that has and feels no sympathy to his victims. During the story, Alex learns how to be a perfect spy at a SAS training facility in Wales. When he is sent on each mission in the series, he is supplied by a scientist working for MI6 called Smithers. I like how the author thinks of original ideas of fitting gadgets into everyday objects like phones as he does so later in the series.

Comments on style The story is written in the 3rd person. This is important to the story so you can see the other characters’ perspectives and views. The setting is described in great detail. Every location that Alex visited the author described with various imagery and devices to describe every detail from the sounds heard to the people there. Sometimes, the description of a location was vivid to add mystery to the place. The characters feelings and behaviour were described in detail because you could see what Alex was thinking every moment like how he escapes a certain prison or how MI6 would blackmail him into

working for them later in the series. It was a good story because it hooked the reader by adding excitement in every chapter. Making you want to finish the chapter to see what has happened and by the end.

General The book made me feel excited because there were so many bits in it where he would surely lose but he didn’t give in and managed to destroy Mr. Sayles’ evil plan. It made me think about how one person could save so many other people no matter their age. I think it is important to say that the book is very descriptive so if you want detailed descriptions then I would read Alex Rider. I would recommend this book because it is such a good read with fast-paced action mixed in with long or vivid descriptions.

Book Review: The Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman The series is set in an alternate universe. This book is about a girl called Lyra and her daemon Pan who travels to the North Pole in order to save a large population of children who have been captured. On her way she encounters talking armoured bears, witches and mysterious dust around the Northern lights.

During a desperate race against time to uncover the truth Lyra finds herself involved in a huge betrayal and is going to have to do everything she must to survive.

The story is written in the third person. I really enjoyed this story because it was very adventurous and was very well written. Phillip Pullman introduces all his characters well and creates an instant excitement as to what is to happen, there are various plot twists and mysterious that need to be solved.

This however is the first book in a trilogy. The sequel books are just as good if not better than the first and follow Lyra through different world’s (including ours) looking for a way to stop he Great War between the Human Race and the ‘Authority and his angels.’ The whole series has a deep connection to the corruption of religion and the truth behind the existence of Mankind. If I were rate it I would give it a 5/5! I definitely recommend this book.

By Joaquin

The Lost Continent by Joshua Appleby

By Bill Bryson

“I came from Des Moines. Somebody had to” is the opening line of The Lost Continent.

Growing up in Iowa obviously was great because as soon as Bill Bryson was old enough he left, escaping for adventures overseas. This opening line sets the tone for this hilarious ‘travel’ guide of the USA. The Lost Continent is a humorous collection of memories of childhood and observations of small town America made during a road trip he took to re-discover his youth in 1987-88. The book is written in bite-sized chapters make the reader feel like he is recounting stories of his visits to different places to an old friend in a series of letters. It is this warm style of writing with comical tales along the way that entices the reader to join Bryson on his journey.

The Lost Continent is escapism at its best. The funny, sarcastic tales of middle America are just the right antidote for lockdown 3.0. The book allows you to escape to another part of the world without even leaving your room. Bryson’s descriptions of the places he visits are vivid, whether recalling the picturesque “blue and glinting sweep of lake or sea in a bowl of pine clad mountains” or more gritty descriptions of the truly awful motels his dad made him stay at when on vacation as a boy. Imagery is used throughout the book to great effect, allowing the reader to enjoy verbal postcard from the locations he visits.

He is not adverse to making fun of his fellow Americans either. Sometimes his jokes can be political, describing his visit to the deep south with a sarcastic “WELCOME TO MISSISSIPPI. WE SHOOT TO KILL”. However, more often they are light hearted, like recalling his visit to a Cornish Pasty store in Wisconsin where, Bryson comments, the owner had been making them for over 30 year without having ever seen a real Cornish Pasty or a real Englishman.

Apparently he was so excited to meet Bryson that the author didn’t have the heart to tell the man he was actually from Des Moines in the neighbouring state!

Bryson’s style of writing combining detailed facts, strong imagery wrapped up in funny and accessible commentary is that is travel literature at its best. It laugh-out-loud funny and you learn without even realising it. It is no wonder he is one of the most popular writers of this genre.

‘Similar to Diary of A Wimpy Kid!’

DANGER IS EVERYWHERE! ‘Fantastic book

What an amazing book for young

for younger

children. There is no storyline to the

children!’

book is targeted for 7-10 year olds.

book other than fun and laughter. This Some slightly older children might also enjoy this book. It is random and unexpected but incredibly funny and entertaining. A very light-hearted and enjoyable

read.

Would

recommend. However

there

highly is no

educational gain or plot to the book.

Also quite an easy read. Nevertheless, many children would love and enjoy this book.

Written by Oliver Bell 8B

My Book Review on We Are All Made of Molecules

By Paula Gamio-Nalbarte

This story is about a young boy named Stewart. His mum died when he was ten, so his dad Leonard started dating Caroline, who’s a divorcée. It is awkward, since Caroline’s ex-husband lives in their laneway house in their back garden. Caroline has a moody daughter named Ashley. The story is told over a few months, although it is not really clarified. The story begins by the reader receiving Stewart’s backstory, where the reader immerses themselves in Stewart’s past life, and all points that had happened until now.

The main characters are Stewart and Ashley. I would describe Stewart as shy and awkward. His best friend is his cat, Schrödinger. He is very smart and is quite lively and excitable with some people.

On the contrary, he can also be very forward with people he doesn’t know. An example of this is his interactions with his new stepsister. He was extremely close with his mother, and so her loss really affected him. The other character, Ashely, is a bratty fourteen-year-old girl who is an aspiring fashion designer. She is desperate to be the most popular girl in school, but unfortunately her new brother isn’t helping. The author, Susin Nielsen, uses language to demonstrate the different attitudes and personalities. Stewarts wording is more intellectual, whereas Ashley uses the more, up to date slang. As the characters developed, they realise that they’re not that bad and they can help each other. They become more affectionate towards one another in the end. I liked Stewart because he helped Ashley see that she didn’t need to be constantly pleasing everyone, and he helped her become a better person. I didn’t like Ashley, because she was constantly being rude to everyone because she thought it would make her popular. Their relationship was strange, because Stewart was so adamant to become Ashley’s brother right away, whereas Ashley didn’t like Stewart, and thought he was weird.

The story is written in the first person, and each chapter alternates between Stewart and Ashley’s point of view, which is extremely important because it helps string the story together as both moments happen simultaneously. The setting isn’t really described as the only two places the story takes place is at their school, which isn’t described, and their house, which is described quite moderately in the beginning. The characters behaviour was quite detailed, as they were opposites to begin with, and Nielsen really highlighted the awkward tension inbetween the two characters. It was a good story because there was so much drama and tension, yet so much love at the same time, which was really beautiful to me. There were obviously some things I would change for example, more depth to Ashley, to highlight her struggles that were only briefly touched upon, and I would’ve added more description so I could really envision the scenes.

I think the writer wanted to tell this story because she wanted to let people know that loss and change can be hard, but eventually you will overcome it, no matter how different you are. This could be a message many needed to hear so I think it is important she said it. This book made me feel very hopeful for the two characters, but also nervous since there are tense moments. It made me think about how one small decision could change a whole person’s life for better or for worse, like Leonard’s decision to date Caroline ended up with them moving in together, changing both children’s lives for the better. This book is great read because it takes you through the twists and turns of their emotional story, has several plot-twists which truly shock and intrigue the reader.

This book has a reading level of 4.7 on the AR system, so you can take a quiz on it and get points.

Thank you for reading my book review on “We Are All Made of Molecules” by Susin Nielsen.

A Book Review of The Giver by Lois Lowry

ZPD: 5.7

Points: 7

Set in the future, this book is written through the perspective of a twelve-yearold boy, named Jonas, who lives in a time and place where there is no war, hunger and pain. The Giver is a story about growing up and how things can suddenly change without you knowing. In Jonas’ community, there were no colours, Christmas, or any of the things that we currently have, and in Lois Lowry’s bleak vision of the future, one person is specially selected to have all of the memories from people when they still had pain, hunger and war. The Giver takes place over a few months, starting a couple of days before Jonas and his year turned twelve. It begins describing a slightly unusual evening for most people, and it is described in a very relaxed way to immediately start bringing the reader into this strange vision of the future. The story flows continuously just like how we continue our lives which makes The Giver feel very realistic.

The characters in the story develop with the Ceremony of Twelve, where Jonas and his friends are given jobs. This shows how the characters matured through the story and their differences became more distinct. By doing this, Lois Lowry allowed the story to not only show Jonas’ side of the story but he also described the other characters’ feelings and actions in great detail, while still maintaining a sense of continuity. I found that Jonas’

two closest friends were very relatable as they were sympathetic to Jonas, but they did not understand his troubles. This was understandable as many of us have been in the same situation before. This instantly makes us, the readers, feel quite close to his friends, which draws you in even more into the story.

Although the Giver is written through Jonas’ perspective, it is in third person. This is important to the story’s development because as events unfold, it allows the reader to look at the story from two perspectives, their own and Jonas’. This allows the reader to provoke feelings of their own, but still sympathise for Jonas and understand his story. Despite the story being fictional, it is great for all ages as it teaches a lesson for both young and old; don’t take things for granted. This lesson is taught through the development of the characters, who’s personalities complement each other perfectly to balance the tone of the story.

I think that The Giver is a necessary read because it makes anyone who reads it feel that they take things for granted too often, and Lois Lowry teaches this lesson in an interesting way which compels the reader to keep turning the pages. The characters in The Giver are diverse and kind, and we can all take some inspiration from them on how to lead our lives.

Compared to other books, The Giver has definitely been the most unique in its ideas and the way the plot unfolds. I would recommend this book to anyone as the lesson it teaches is essential in life, and Lois Lowry writes it in such a way to make it a fun, interesting read.

The Series of Unfortunate Events by Zara Roberts These books are about three children whose parents die in a house fire. They go to many different relatives to stay but a man called Count Olaf follows them around to try to steal their fortune. Their lives are quite miserable, and they never know where Count Olaf is as he is always disguised.

These books are called ‘Children’s Books’ but they have a dark mysterious feel so are probably not suitable for younger children.

But older children will enjoy them. The books are by Daniel Handler whose pen name is Lemony Snicket.

The Characters are very well explained and developed throughout the book. The three main characters are Violet the oldest of the children then Klaus and finally Sunny who is only a baby. The new characters that appear in each book are also developed and you start to know their individual personality. They each have different talents that they use at the different places.

These books are very enjoyable, and I would recommend then to others. I did not want to put these books down once I started to read them as I wanted to know what happens. The adventures of the children are exiting and unpredictable.

There are thirteen stories to read meaning you will have a book for quite a while. I would give this book 5 out of stars as all the places are clearly explained and the story flows very nicel

‘The butterfly Lion’ book review

By Fabienne Fisher Characters

Storyline

Michael- This is a young boy who got sent off to boarding school, he hated it there so one day he decided he wanted to try and run away, that was how he met an old lady names Millie.

A young boy meets an old woman who tells him a story of a boy she once knew. A story about a boy and a lion, who met when they were young, and they became inseparable. The lion was white and was sold off to a circus to showcase its unusual beauty. The boy promised he would find the lion again, eventually.

Millie- She is an old woman who meets Michael, she tells Michael the story about her friend Bertie and the lion.

Bertie- He is one of the main characters of the book, although he is only a memory now, his story shows to be truly special.

Why I liked the book

I liked the book because of how heartfelt it was. The lion was white, and I feel that that was a symbol of how pure and innocent this friendship was. The writing style was unique because it is based around a true story, however somehow Morpurgo still managed to make it sound very magical too. As a reader, I almost felt like it was Something I could relate too, having a special bond with an animal My rating of the book

Ages 9-15 10/10

A Place Called Perfect by Esmee Gardner Place called perfect is fiction book based on a young girl who has moved into a new town. She meets a mysterious boy who invites Violet – the young girl – to discover the horrors of the town.

New characters are met, and more adventures take place the more you read. Although there are many ideas the author has made it very clear and interesting. Shocking facts are revealed, and some lives are on the line. The characters are described well so I can paint an interesting picture in my head.

Place called perfect is a book that I enjoyed because I did not know what was going to happen next. Usually when I read books the writer has focused on one topic for a long period of time.

There are 3 books in the series

Sometimes this is good when there is lots to talk about however, most of the time there is not.