1.
The Recruit – Robert Muchamore
2.
Slated – Terry Teri
3.
Diary of A Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney
4.
The Medusa Project – Sophie McKenzie
5.
Switched – Amanda Hocking
6.
Life on the Refrigerator Door – Alice Kuipers
7.
Girl Missing – Sophie McKenzie
8.
Before I Die – Jenny Downham
9.
Gone – Michael Grant
10.
Lord Loss – Darren Shan
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Stolen – Lucy Christopher
12.
Zom-B – Darren Shan
13.
Gone – Michael Grant
14.
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
15.
Dead Time – Anne Cassidy
16.
Ways to Live Forever – Sally Nicholls
17.
Boys Don’t Cry – Malorie Blackman
18.
Fractured – Terry Teri
19.
I’d Tell You I Love You – Ally Carter
20.
Skulduggery Pleasant – Derek Landy
January - Pets Caught Reading
Words read: Bronze: 500,000
Silver: 2,000,000
Gold: 5,000,000
This month we are awarding badges to the following students:
Bronze See attached list showing all bronze badges to date
Silver
Gold
Luke Brown
Max Church
Joshua Horlock Toby McIlroy James Fricker
Congratulations to the following students for achieving the highest points scored from Reading Practice quizzes in December, please collect your prizes Luke Brown Alex Davies Lucy Brunning James Fricker Tom Parke Joshua Horlock Gary Paine Jake Swift Matthew Votta Ellie Drake-Sexton
197.1 150.7 126.5 116.5 64.5 57.2 54.2 53.3 47.0 43.7
Calendar, Chocolate and Bookmark or Pencil Chocolate and Bookmark or Pencil
Did you know Academic Achievement Merits are now being awarded for getting 100% in quizzes
Gold Badges
Silver Badges
Bronze Badges
Year 8
Year 9
Top 3 Books voted – One of the best I have ever read – on AR
Check out the 100% Star board to see who is reading what
Display - Upcoming Film
HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall. SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH It's a small story, about: a girl an accordionist some fanatical Germans a Jewish fist fighter and quite a lot of thievery. ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES
Congratulations to the following students/staff for winning the Christmas Quiz Competition. Winning entries were drawn out of a hat: Mrs Stevenson, Mrs Hauck Matthew Clegg and Runner-Up Sam Lumsden
LRC Christmas Quiz On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... 12 Drummers Drumming Music: Drummer Phil Collins became the lead singer of which band with a Biblical name? Genesis 11 Pipers Piping Geography: Which city hosts an annual military tattoo featuring a lone piper playing the bagpipes on the battlements of the castle? Edinburgh 10 Lords-a-Leaping Government and Politics: Two different types of Lord make up the membership of the House of Lords. They are Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal 9 Ladies Dancing Dance: Which former ballerina is now a judge on Strictly Come Dancing?
Darcey Bussell
8 Maids-a-Milking Food Tech: How many legs would you expect to find on a traditional milking stool?
3
7 Swans-a-Swimming P.E.: How many gold medals did swimmer Michael Phelps win at the London 2012 Olympics? 4 6 Geese-a-Laying Maths: If you sing all the verses of the carol ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, how many geese-alaying are there in total? (Clue: it’s 6 x the number of times you sang those words) 42 5 Gold Rings Science: On the Periodic Table which letter or letters are used to represent gold? Au 4 Colly Birds English: Sometimes these are called collie birds or calling birds. Which word beginning with ‘e’ means the study of the history of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time? Etymology 3 French Hens MFL: What is the French word for ‘hen’?
Poule
2 Turtle Doves R.S.: In several religions, a dove represents what?
Peace
1 And a Partridge in a Pear Tree. Media Studies: Steve Coogan is famous for playing the part of Alan Partridge, but what was his role in the film of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief? Hades
Mrs Langley’s Book of the Month
Never, ever cry . . . Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean. And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense. Can everything you love be washed away?
New Book Additions 'Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard. I am a lover of America...' So speaks the mysterious stranger at a Lahore cafe as dusk settles. Invited to join him for tea, you learn his name and what led this speaker of immaculate English to seek you out. For her is more worldy than you might expect; better travelled and better educated. He knows the West better than you do. And as he tells you his story, of how he embraced the Western dream - and a Western woman and how both betrayed him, so the night darkens. Then the true reason for your meeting becomes abundantly clear...Staff Library
Meet Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog. Together they are the Famous Five ready for adventure at any time.Five Get Into TroubleFive Go Off To CampFive On Kirrin Island AgainFive Go Off In A CaravanFive Go To Smuggler's TopFive Run Away TogetherFive go Adventuring AgainFive On A Treasure Island
They have got evil pranks and the naughtiest boy in the whole world. Twenty books. All with four funny stories.
The fictional, bite-sized chapter stories focus on a group of six best friends having fun and doing what girls do best! The unintimidating format and friendly design help motivate girls to pick up a book and enjoy reading. A non-fiction section at the back of the book features quizzes, jokes and fun facts so you can find out more about the Magic Mates and their secrets! The Pig reading books all feature Peter Ian Green - although everybody calls him Pig, even his teachers. The 'Pig' reading series offers friendly, fast-paced and extremely funny stories in first-person diary format, for readers who want a great story in a quick read.
The third novel in the internationally bestselling EVERNIGHT series - a vampire romance with a shocking twist. Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas. After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas take refuge with Black Cross, a fanatical group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at their hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend - the vampire Balthazar - hiding is no longer an option. Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run again, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they travel, Bianca can't escape her destiny. Bianca has always believed their love could survive anything...but can it survive what's to come? The Moonstone, a priceless Indian diamond which had been brought to England as spoils of war, is given to Rachel Verrinder on her eighteenth birthday. That very night, the stone is stolen. Suspicion then falls on a hunchbacked housemaid, on Rachel's cousin Franklin Blake, on a troupe of mysterious Indian jugglers, and on Rachel herself. The phlegmatic Sergeant Cuff is called in, and with the help of Betteredge, the Robinson Crusoe-reading loquacious steward, the mystery of the missing stone is ingeniously solved.
Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.
It's been two months since the dark tunnels of the underworld came for Nikki Beckett. That night, Nikki's boyfriend, Jack, made the ultimate sacrifice and took her place in the Everneath for eternity - a debt that should have been hers. Every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused, and wasting away. All Nikki wants is to save him before it's too late, but no matter how hard she tries to reach for his hand, she can never find it. Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his Queen and the one person least likely to help. But it seems Nikki has touched his heart, and surprisingly, Cole agrees to help in the only way he can - by taking Nikki to the Everneath himself. As they descend into the heart of the Everneath Nikki and Cole discover that their journey will be more difficult than they'd anticipated, and more deadly. Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack - even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own‌ An exciting story of courage and friendship. Zeb defies his parents to take part in the biggest dog sledding race in the world
Join Emily and Pegasus as the legend continues in a new epic adventure that takes us back to the very origins of mythology ...A deadly plague has struck Olympus. While the Olympians fade one by one, Emily's heart breaks as she watches Pegasus slip away. Determined to save him, Emily embarks on an investigation that takes her back in time to the origins of Olympus and to the deadly battle between the Olympians and the Titans. There Emily is confronted with the full power of the flame and a discovery that will change the face of history. In the race against time to save Pegasus, will Olympus find its true Hero? Let's give 'em something to think about! Another day, another mission. Now a fully fledged member of covert military squad Delta Unit, Mitch is thrust straight back into the battle zone. And there's more at stake then ever before. The Mission: smuggle an undercover peace negotiator through war-torn Afghanistan to the secret hideout of a powerful Taliban leader. The Squad: elite, Black-Ops soldiers - Mitch, Gaz, Two Moons, Tug, Benny and Nelson codename, Delta Unit. Six men set out on the mission. How many will come back?
"My name is Harriet Manners, and I am still a geek." MODEL MISFIT is the sequel to No. 1 UK debut GEEK GIRL. Harriet Manners knows a lot of facts. She knows that humans have 70,000 thoughts per day. She knows that Geek + Model = a whole new set of graffiti on your belongings. And that the average person eats a ton of food a year, though her pregnant stepmother is doing her best to beat this. But Harriet doesn't know where she's going to fit in once the new baby arrives. And with her summer plans ruined, modelling in Japan seems the perfect chance to get away. Can Harriet cope with the craziness of Tokyo, her competitive model flatmates and her errant grandmother's 'chaperoning'. Or seeing gorgeous Nick everywhere she goes? Will geek girl find her place on the other side of the world? Moscow, 1965. Former Secret Service agent Leo Demidov is forbidden to travel with his wife and daughters to New York as part of a 'Peace Tour', meant to foster better relations between the two Cold War enemies. Leo's natural paranoia reaches its peak: Why have his family been selected? What is being planned? When Leo's worst fears are realised and a tragic murder destroys everything he loves, he demands only one thing: that he is allowed to investigate and find the killer who has struck at the heart of his family. Crippled by grief, his request denied, Leo sees no other option than to take matters into his own hands, thousands of miles from the crime scene. In a surprising, thrilling story that spans decades and continents - from the backstreets of 1960s New York to the mountains of Afghanistan in the 1980s - Leo will stop at nothing as he hunts the one person who knows the truth: Agent 6. The Changsphere offers a safe haven for the Uploaded, and with more processing power than the Southern Corner could ever offer, the Uploaded begin to grow, develop, and yearn to be alive again. With the Changsphere offering competition to the Metasphere, more and more avatars take up residency in it. But the Uploaded begin to prey on live avatars, infecting them, and their users, with their personalities and becoming reborn in the real world. The dead are rising. Now reborn into the real world, the once dead avatars will not let anyone shut down the Changsphere - the source of their rebirth. Meanwhile, Jonah, Sam, and Axel struggle to keep the Metasphere safe from Granger's assault on the Western Corner, which is housed in the old subway lines under New York City. But Jonah struggles with whether they are doing the right thing: in fighting Granger, they face a more dangerous virtual world, where millions of Uploaded now roam freely, stalking users for their virtual avatars and their real bodies. Kidnapped and taken to China, Sherlock finds himself plunged into adventure. How can three men be bitten by the same poisonous snake in different parts of Shanghai? Who wants them dead, and why? The answer seems to lie in a message hidden in a diagram that looks like a spider's web. But solving it leads to an even more urgent question: what has all this got to do with a plot to blow up an American warship? Sherlock is about to brave terrors greater than any he has faced before ...Sherlock Holmes: think you know him? Think again.
A London mum and Iraqi teacher should have nothing in common. Yet now, despite their differences, they're the firmest of friends . . . Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad by Bee Rowlatt and May Witwit is a touching and poignant portrait of an unlikely friendship. Staff Library
When Pegasus, the majestic winged-stallion, crashes on to her roof in the middle of a storm that blacks-out New York City, 13-year-old Emily's life becomes that of legend: epic battles with gruesome monsters, desperate chases from a corrupt governmental agency, captivating flights astride the beautiful winged-stallion, and one heroic quest to save Olympus before the Olympic flame burns out
Never, ever cry . . . Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean. And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense. Can everything you love be washed away? It's the end of term and Jess is excited about all the new faces due to arrive at Number 1, Porchester Park for the holidays. Outside the apartment block, the usual paparazzi lie in wait hoping for a story or photo. Jess knows she should avoid them, and when new resident Riko arrives, they enjoy dodgin the cameras together. But is Riko all she appears to be - or is this million dollar mate a fake? Distracted by two boys: handsome A-lister, JJ, and school babe-magnet, Tom - neither of whom are making their intentions totally clear - Jess is finding it really hard to know who to trust right now. And getting it wrong could prove to be a costly mistake... It's been two months since the dark tunnels of the underworld came for Nikki Beckett. That night, Nikki's boyfriend, Jack, made the ultimate sacrifice and took her place in the Everneath for eternity - a debt that should have been hers. Every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused, and wasting away. All Nikki wants is to save him before it's too late, but no matter how hard she tries to reach for his hand, she can never find it. Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his Queen and the one person least likely to help. But it seems Nikki has touched his heart, and surprisingly, Cole agrees to help in the only way he can - by taking Nikki to the Everneath himself. As they descend into the heart of the Everneath Nikki and Cole discover that their journey will be more difficult than they'd anticipated, and more deadly. Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack - even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own‌ A little boy was found dead in a children's playground... Daniel Hunter has spent years defending lost causes as a solicitor in London. But his life changes when he is introduced to Sebastian, an eleven-year-old accused of murdering an innocent young boy. As he plunges into the muddy depths of Sebastian's troubled home life, Daniel thinks back to his own childhood in foster care - and to Minnie, the woman whose love saved him, until she, too, betrayed him so badly that he cut her out of his life. But what crime did Minnie commit that made Daniel disregard her for fifteen years? And will Daniel's identification with a child on trial for murder make him question everything he ever believed in? Staff Library
This is when it begins Autumn, 2008. This is where it begins The coast of Dublin. This is why it begins Bruno, an American, has come to Ireland to search for his roots. Addie, an out-of-work architect, is recovering from heartbreak while taking care of her infirm father. When their worlds collide, they experience a connection unlike any they've previously felt, but soon their newfound love will be tested in ways they never imagined possible. This is how it ends . . . Staff Library TJ's life is turned upside down as new boy Ollie Axford pursues her, while ex boyfriend Luke still tugs on her heart Which of them can she trust? Events conspire and suddenly she finds that she's the one doing the two timing. Does that mean she's the real love rat? In the meantime, her father has a serious heart attack, and TJ also has to realign her thinking about her family, and her life. She is lucky to have such close friends
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LRC Staff Book Club The books we will be reading up until March The stunning new novel from the bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring. Honor Bright is a sheltered Quaker who has rarely ventured out of 1850s Dorset when she impulsively emigrates to America. Opposed to the slavery that defines and divides the country, she finds her principles tested to the limit when a runaway slave appears at the farm of her new family. In this tough, unsentimental place, where whisky bottles sit alongside quilts, Honor befriends two spirited women who will teach her how to turn ideas into actions.
At the heart of The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty is a letter that's not meant to be read...Mother of three and wife of John-Paul, Cecilia discovers an old envelope in the attic. Written in her husband's hand, it says: to be opened only in the event of my death. Curious, she opens it - and time stops. John-Paul's letter confesses to a terrible mistake which, if revealed, would wreck their family as well as the lives of others. Cecilia - betrayed, angry and distraught - wants to do the right thing, but right for who? If she protects her family by staying silent, the truth will worm through her heart. But if she reveals her husband's secret, she will hurt those she loves most... Two sisters, one life-changing journey...There are some currents in the relationship between sisters that run so dark and so deep, it's better for the people swimming on the surface never to know what's beneath ...Katie's carefully structured world is shattered by the news that her headstrong younger sister, Mia, has been found dead in Bali - and the police claim it was suicide. With only the entries of Mia's travel journal as her guide, Katie retraces the last few months of her sister's life, and - page by page, country by country begins to uncover the mystery surrounding her death. What she discovers changes everything. But will her search for the truth push their sisterly bond - and Katie - to breaking point? The Sea Sisters is a compelling story of the enduring connection between sisters. In a little coffee shop in one of the most dangerous places on earth, five very different women come together. SUNNY, the proud proprietor, who needs an ingenious plan - and fast - to keep her cafe and customers safe. YAZMINA, a young pregnant woman stolen from her remote village and now abandoned on Kabul's violent streets. CANDACE, a wealthy American who has finally left her husband for her Afghan lover, the enigmatic Wakil. ISABEL, a determined journalist with a secret that might keep her from the biggest story of her life. And HALAJAN, the sixty-year-old den mother, whose long-hidden love affair breaks all the rules. As these five women discover there's more to one another than meets the eye, they form a unique bond that will for ever change their lives and the lives of many others. The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul is the heart-warming and life-affirming fiction debut from the author of the bestselling memoir The Kabul Beauty School. My name is Piper Hadley and I went missing on the last Saturday of the summer holidays three years ago. When Piper and her friend Tash disappeared, there was a huge police search, but they were never found. Now Tash, reaching breaking point at the abuse their captor has inflicted on them, has escaped, promising to come back for Piper. Clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin and his stalwart companion, ex-cop Vincent Ruiz, force the police to re-open the case after Joe is called in to assess the possible killer of a couple in their own home and finds a connection to the missing girls. But they are racing against time to save Piper from someone with an evil, calculating and twisted mind.
James Blackwell is sexy and handsome and a fighter pilot - every girl's dream partner. At least that is what Diana Arnold thinks when her brother first introduces them. Before long they are in love and marry hastily just as war is declared. Then fate delivers what is the first of its cruel twists: James, the day of their wedding, is shot down over Northern France and killed. Diana is left not only a widow but pregnant with their child. Ten years later, contentedly remarried, Diana finds herself in the south of France, sitting one morning in a sunny village square. A taxi draws up and she hears the voice of a man speaking English the unmistakable voice of someone who will set out to torment her and blackmail her and from whom there can be only one means of escape... HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE. 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall. SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH. It's a small story, about: a girl, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES Kitty Logan has lost her way...As a journalist, she's spent the past few years chasing the big scoops - no matter the consequences. When she makes a terrible mistake, she finds herself mired in scandal, her career implodes and even her personal relationships are tested to the limits. At a loss, Kitty finds distraction in a list of one hundred names her late mentor and boss, Constance, has left her. Kitty's been given one final chance, the most important assignment of her life - to write the story behind the one hundred names as a tribute piece to Constance. As she tracks down the people on the list and tries to work out what connects them, Kitty meets some extraordinary people. Can these strangers' stories help her finally understand her own? Jean Collins had two daughters. But she only loved one of them. She knew it was wrong, but she just couldn't help herself. Jess was a little sweetheart, everyone said so. Anne was awkward and serious and not much fun, to be frank. But now the years have passed. Jess is missing - run off long ago, no one knows where or why. So when Jean is left in a coma after a road accident, it's Anne who travels back up north to sit at her mother's bedside. And she wonders - why did Jean dash out into the road without looking? What distracted her? And why was she carrying a box of vanilla slices, the cream cakes she only ever bought for extra special occasions? Meanwhile there are secrets waiting for Anne and Jean, back at the old family home. Secrets that were buried a long time ago ... A novel of high adventure, great storytelling and moral purpose, based on an extraordinary true story of eight years in the Bombay underworld. 'In the early 80s, Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict, escaped from an Australian prison to India, where he lived in a Bombay slum. There, he established a free health clinic and also joined the mafia, working as a money launderer, forger and street soldier. He found time to learn Hindi and Marathi, fall in love, and spend time being worked over in an Indian jail. Then, in case anyone thought he was slacking, he acted in Bollywood and fought with the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan ...Amazingly, Roberts wrote Shantaram three times after prison guards trashed the first two versions. It's a profound tribute to his willpower ...At once a high-kicking, eye-gouging adventure, a love saga and a savage yet tenderly lyrical fugitive vision.' Time Out
Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. Our Young Adult addition "Room" meets "Lord of the Flies", "The Bunker Diary" is award-winning, young adult writer Kevin Brooks' pulse-pounding exploration of what happens when your worst nightmare comes true - and how will you survive? I can't believe I fell for it. It was still dark when I woke up this morning. As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was. A low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete. There are six little rooms along the main corridor. There are no windows. No doors. The lift is the only way in or out. What's he going to do to me? What am I going to do? If I'm right, the lift will come down in five minutes. It did. Only this time it wasn't empty...