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I am Thunder book review

 

I Am Thunder by [Khan, Muhammad]

Recently I have read the book ” I am Thunder” by Mohammed Khan. I read this book In Modern Studies as we had a book box filled with books specially chosen by our librarian. I can tell you now this book has changed the way I look at reading. It was the best book I had ever read without exaggeration.

This book is about 15-year-old Muzna who wants to become a writer but her controlling parents who have extreme views on culture want her to become a doctor. She is forced to leave school as her best friend is shamed in a scandal, however, she realises that bullies and repulsive people are always there. Muzna stands up for herself but there are prejudices everywhere. Tables are turned when the unpopular and confident Arif show an interest in her. he has a secret with an extreme view of religion. Will Myzna stay quiet and listen to her parents or stand up and agree with Arif?

I really liked this book as I have witnessed cultures forcing decisions on people and this book shows how wrong it is.

I really recommend this book as it is eye-opening and shows the reality of our world.

5 stars

It’s raining books from UNDER the Umbrella

Huge thanks to Umbrella Education for picking @stninianslib reviewers as their first ever #readyouAToZ competition winners.
We received a lovely box of brand shiny new books which were eagerly snapped up by my brilliant pupils.

The books are already being read and will be reviewed for the next AtoZ and who knows we might even win again.. now I wonder where did those biscuits that were in the box go to….?

If you would like to review some books for this competition – just get in touch – any age- any stage- all welcome!

Nearly

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#readyourAtoZ this time for Adventure


A for Adventure in our review this time

Great front cover


Do you know what it’s like to survive alone in a city plagued by crime? Caw does.
Have you ever wanted to talk to crows? Caw can.

Plunge into a dark dystopian future where Ferals – humans who can talk to animals – are drawn to the city of Blackstone. Some are good, many are bad, all are descended from an ancient line of Ferals. Can Caw and his friends stop the evil Ferals from bringing back the worst Feral ever to walk these lands, the evil spider Feral, the Spinning Man? And can Caw avenge the death of his parents?
Join Caw for an adventure you’ll never forget, where all he has ever known is shaken from its roots – dark roots…

Great review by Andrew- do it make YOU want to pick it up?

#readyouratoz

Some of my brilliant pupils have taken up the challenge to read their A-Z.

So we chose to break with convention and start with …. A

First up is
Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan
Reviewed by Caitlyn
To be honest, this book was not for me. Normally, I am into the usual soppy story about reunion and love, however, this book takes it too far. I’m sorry to say this, but for me, this was not a credible book.
First of all, the book has too many ideas going on in a short period of time. It seems like the main character of her book, Apple, has almost every problem known to man. She loses her mum and is in the midst of losing her friend and her mum finally comes back and she has a new sister and then her mum isn’t being a proper parent. Not only is this all happening, but at the same time Apple is an amazing writer but is too scared to follow her talent. Furthermore she falls in love with a boy who helps her find her sister who ran away. What I’m trying to say is that there is too much going on at once and, after a while, the plot just gets confusing. I believe that this could have been one of my favourite books if it had a plot that didn’t stray off to completely different ideas.
Another point I believe should be noted is that why is a girl, of 13, finding love at the end of the book? No one that I have heard of has ever found love this young, yet Apple does? Not only does this have nothing to do with the main idea, but also I think that it is unbelievable which just does not flatter the book. I love books that make me believe in any possibility, which helps me to visualise myself in the main character’s shoes, yet, due to this ending, ‘Apple and Rain’, it does not have that effect on me.
Finally, I would like to point out the names of the main characters. Apollinia Apostolopoulou is the full name of the main character in this novel. I understand it’s Greek and it is to link to the title, but it is far-fetched when most parents in the UK would go for the more generic names such as Lucy, Sophie, and Eve etc. I know that the long name which is hard to say is probably a metaphor for how no one understands Apple and her life, but in all seriousness, this book is for your free time. You’re more than likely not to see this book being analysed in an English lesson, so why the symbolic name?
Overall, even though this book is probably not her usual writing style, it has sadly put me off reading any of her books.

Carnegie 2013 – the short list is here

is 8 short?
After months of agonising over the longest long list ever – the new short list has arrived.

    The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

Armed with a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother head for England. Life is lonely for Kasienka. At home her mother’s heart is breaking and, at school friends are scarce. But when someone special swims into her life, Kasienka learns that there might be more than one way for her to stay afloat.

    A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle

Twelve-year-old Mary O’Hara is the youngest of four generations of strong Irish women. Mary’s mother Scarlett is more than a match for her and her grandmother Emer would be, if she weren’t dying in hospital. Her great-grandmother Tansey is the feistiest of them all – and she’s dead. But then Tansey’s ghost arrives on Mary’s doorstep with a very special mission, to take a midnight road trip back to the past…

    Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

A ruthless regime is determined to beat its enemies in a race to the moon. But when his best friend Hector is suddenly taken away, it is up to unlikely hero Standish, his grandfather, and a small band of rebels, to confront and defeat the ever-present oppressive forces of the Motherland.

    In Darkness by Nick Lake

In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, Shorty, a teenage boy, is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital, thirsty, terrified and alone. He has been drawn into the gangster world but he harbours a secret: a flame of revenge and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost seven years ago. Shorty’s fires burn so bright he forges a link with Toussaint l’Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who led the slave revolt two centuries ago. Together they must face their own darkness and find the strength to survive.

    Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, shy, bright ten-year-old Auggie Pullman has had countless operations and has been home-schooled by his parents for his whole life. Now, for the first time, Auggie is being sent to a real school, exposing him to the stares and cruelty of the outside world – and he’s dreading it. Through the voices of Auggie, his big sister Via, and his new friends Jack and Summer, Wonder follows Auggie’s journey through his first year at Beecher Prep.

    Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgewick

A story that spans hundreds of years, Midwinterblood tells the story of Eric and Merle who have loved and lost one another and who have been searching for each other ever since. In the seven different interweaving stories, the two appear as lovers, mother and son, brother and sister, artist and child, as they come close to finding each other before facing the ultimate sacrifice.

    A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton

A boy and a bear go to sea, equipped only with a suitcase, a comic book and a ukulele. They are only travelling a short distance and it really shouldn’t take long. But then their boat encounters ‘unforeseeable anomalies’… Faced with turbulent stormy seas, a terrifying sea monster and the rank remains of The Very Last Sandwich, the odds soon become pitted against our unlikely heroes in the story of a truly memorable friendship.

    Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Only in wartime could a stalwart lass from Manchester strike up a friendship with a Scottish aristocrat, one a pilot, the other a special operations executive, both serving during WWII. It’s not long before they become devoted to each other. But then a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends is captured by the Gestapo. Now a prisoner of war, the story begins in “Verity’s” own words, as she writes her account for her captors.

This year Mrs. McBrearty’s S3 class will be joining me in shadowing the awards. If you would like to take part as well just pop in to the library and let me know.

I wonder who will win?

Bookamania

So, why would 250 teenagers pay £12 to go to the Royal Concert Hall on a Friday night?

Waiting on the main man err men um man?

To see a great band? To ogle some teen heart throb in a bad hat with an odd haircut who autotunes their way through some else’s songs?… erm no actually to meet a nerdfighting author.

Yep, it was an evening of fun and frolick and face slapping ( Hank won this time so John got it in the kisser from his baby bro) with an author who is somethig of a teen phenomenon both on and off line.

This was an “awesome” ( if you know his boooks you know why I say that) evening with the one and only John Green and his brother Hank.
If you have not heard of John Green where have you been?

Check out his web site about his books.

http://johngreenbooks.com/

Check out his youtube channel (though you might want to turn down the volume – it’s a noisy affair)

http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers

Try the Crash course yourtube channels for information on History, the world, politics and literature

http://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse

Or even roll with his tumbl for his fishing boat proceeds

http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com/

This man is the epitome of geek chic and his books are not bad either.

He was here to promote and chat about his book The Fault is in their Stars. It is a beautiful and emotional ( dare you not to blub) story of young teenage cancer sufferers. He said he tried to make it funny but from the comments from the audience I guess he failed.

This is the guy who makes it OK to be brainy, this is the guy who thinks there is something awesome in everyone and this is the guy who thinks it’s cool to read fiction and non-fiction and this is the guy who chats to the president of the USA and this is the guy you missed seeing on Friday night!

Scottish Book Trust Reviews

will you pick a winner

Have you been shadowing the SBT awards?
Or did you just pick up one by accident and want to let the world know it was good/bad/indifferent.

Well just follow the link here and you could win a prize.

Try to make your review interesting and enlightening, which is quite a tough task when reviews must only be 200 words long.
Good Luck.

Titles that can be reviewed are :
The 13th Horseman by Barry Hutchison
Code name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
The Prince who Walked with Lions by Elizabeth Laird

Too dark to read?

This is one of my favourite quotes:
Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.
Groucho Marx
US comedian with Marx Brothers
(1890 – 1977)
And this is the inspiration for the title of this Aussie book web site aimed at YOU!

So, if you are ever stuck for something to read and can not get to me then hop in to this web site for lots of ideas and reviews of books you will want to red.
A tiny touch of warning that other than the US and the UK – Australia probably has some of the very best authors for teens – Paul Jennings, Morris Gleitzman and John Marsden to name but a few and not all have UK publishers.
I do have some sneaky copies of Australian titles so you never know.
let me know what you think of this site or any of the others that I have suggested over the past few weeks or even one of your own that you would like me to promote here on the library web pages.
Mrs B.

No peas in this POD


Oh I do love a dystopian novel and POD by Stephen Wallenfels nestles rather well into this catergory but with aliens thrown in for good measure. A bit like a modern-day War of the Worlds – strangle alien POD things hover in the sky zapping (fun fact: In Dutch the book is called Zap) anyone who dares to come out of their house.

The story is split into two perspectives Meg trapped in a car park and Josh trapped in his house.
The tension is palpable and there are often moments where you truly think “What would I do?”. Despite the aliens the book feels strangely realistic or I wonder if that’s because we are so used to the notion of alien attack that the novel is breaking no new ground here.
If you are a little bit of a sensitive soul I would steer away from this as it has some quite shocking and a touch grisly scenes.

However, for those who are fans of Michael Grant and Susanne Collins I think you will be more than happy.
There is a real twist in the morality of the book as the aliens are not the only enemy in this desperate fight for survival.
So, if this sounds like your cup of literacy, pop into the library and pour yourself a POD. You could also check out his web site at
www.stephenwallenfels.com/

Mrs B.

McRoarrrrrrrr!


The Rampage is a strange book with an unusual twist of events. Written by Ann Evans and part of a sequel it follows on from other books. Despite this, it is an easy to follow, intriguing read! I found the whole aspect and idea of the novel clever and descriptive. And even better, it is set in Scotland!

I like the way the writer makes you feel part of the bone shaking experience, and the story really touches on old prehistoric animals which is nice. This makes the book very unique and definitely not boring. Overall I would approve this read to all ages and would absolutely recommend the author to anyone.

Garrett S2