Tag Archives: review

One Choice can transform you

Well, that’s what it says on the cover of the book so it must be true!

If you Google the word Twilight at the moment you will invariable find someone wittering on (wrongly) about how if you liked drippy Bella and her unhealthy dead boy fascination you will like The Hunger Games – not true don’t listen to them – listen to me instead.

If you liked The Hunger Games there is a good chance you will enjoy Divergent by Veronica Roth. Another chunky monkey dystopian thriller of a book so set aside a good few days to indulge.

We have another strong female lead in the form of Triss who faces her own tough choices in an extremely regulated society much in the same way as Katniss Everdeen has to. However, Triss is a very different type of character – I would say she is harder to like and that is actually part of the appeal of the book – you can distance yourself from her and ask yourself what would you do and where would you choose to put yourself ? Unlike Katniss, Triss seems to want to put herself in danger by making a very difficult choice right at the beginning of the book. But, it is this choice that defines her future. She had to forget everything from her past life and recreate herself in the image of the… oh well that would be telling too much.

Go read, go enjoy and go be annoyed that the sequel – Insurgent is not out … yet!

Colourful Prejudice

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Pride and Prejudice (Graphic Adaptation) By Jane Austen

I enjoyed reading the graphic adaptation of the Jane Austen classic ‘Pride and Prejudice’ because I’d heard about it and I wanted to read it. The story was full of tense twists and turns that were always unexpected. The pictures were bright and colourful and the shadows made the characters jump out of the page. The speech bubbles were brief and summed up the story but still gave the reader enough information to follow the storyline easily.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone who liked classic, old-fashioned novels but without the excessive reading!

Paula S2

Everyone deserves to have something good in their life.

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Once by Morris Gleitzman

It is set in Poland in World War 2 and is about a young boy called Felix. He was sent to an orphanage because he was a Jew and his parents were called to a death camp. This novel gives us a better insight into how young Jews during the war coped with it all. I think inside he knew what was going on but couldn’t bring himself to believe it. He ran away and soon found him self in a ghetto with a young friend called Zelda he had found along the way. He and Zelda struggled through the Ghetto and met many friends along the was until at the very end of the book when he and his friends were getting deported to a death camp, he makes a small hole in the side of the train and decides to risk it and jump.

When he asks who would want to come with him and risk it only two say they do, little Zelda and another 12 year old girl called Chaya who he met at the ghetto. They jump and then run for their lives, Felix and Zelda make it but unfortunately Chaya does not. This book is written in the first person and uses all types of punctuation, it is the kind of book that pulls at your heartstrings and makes you realise that this all happened and even today some people are still suffering. The author also found useful ways to slip in little bits of information and facts so I learned a lot from this book. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Frances S2

Bunker 10 by J.A.Henderson

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a thrilling read

In this exciting book the story begins with the dramatic destruction of all the main characters, the main characters, a group of teenagers, are residents of the top secret and isolated Pinewood Military Base.
Jimmy Hicks, a 15 year old boy, unintentionally sets off a chain of unpredictable events involving time travel, genetic mutations, computer simulations, undercover operations, and violent explosions. With snappy dialogue, short chapters, and video-game-like action, this book will be a good match for many readers.
Boys will likely find the violence brilliant, and girls should appreciate the tragic love story and romantic conclusion. The author’s plot twists and surprise revelations will appeal to readers who like to be tricked. This book is one of the best I have ever read.
You feel sympathy for many of the characters, and the discovering the truth about Pinegrove was one of the biggest plot twists I have ever seen, in text and film.
I thought this book was the perfect example of a Thriller Novel because of its wonderful plot and fast-paced action. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Thriller or Action books or to anyone who hasn’t yet read a Thriller Book.
Dean S2

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

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Dystopian fiction is all the rage at the moment; taking over where the vampires all left off.

Obviously, the big blockbuster of the summer is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins but why not try something a little different?

The first couple of chapters lacked something of punch but stay with it as soon as her quest begins and we witness just how feisty and gutsy our heroine is the story moves along quite nicely.

There is a strong cinematic feel to this book and indeed if rumours are true it may indeed grace the big screen (though hold off on buying the popcorn yet it will be a year or two).

So, back to the book – once Saba is on her quest we meet a rag taggle bunch of heroes and anti-heroes. From a girl gang that would give the Mafia a run for their money to a pompous, vain and brutal King to a handsome hunk!

The author has used an interesting dialect which takes a few pages to get in to the swing of- unless, that is, you are Canadian.

This is another title on the long list for the Carnegie award and another that I think might make it to the short list.

A good read for those who read good!

The Great Death by John E. Smelcer

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The Great Death

I found this book to very enjoyable, I felt it emphasised the hardship that the native Alaskans’ faced and enlightened me on their extraordinary way of live.

This book is about a small Alaskan village that is ravished by a terrible disease. Millie and Maura are the only survivors from their village. Along with their two dogs, Millie and Maura try to travel down river to find a trading settlement where hopefully they will find other people. However, during this epic journey almost nothing goes to plan and lives are lost.

This book is great because it’s full of courage and family loyalty and you really feel the author portrays the emotions excellently. Moreover, Smelcer manages to capture the overwhelming beauty of the harsh but beautiful Alaskan landscape and makes it rise vividly from the page.

Lastly, Smelcer manages to tell us in an underlying theme about how a peaceful and enduring culture destroyed by ignorance and greed. Furthermore, I found this to be a real eye-opener because it really does make you think that it was completely wrong for us to go and destroy an entire culture just for money.

Mathew S3

Flip out over this brilliant read

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: What would you do?

Fourteen-year-old Alex Gray wakes up one morning to discover he’s not in his own bedroom. More surprising is that he doesn’t recognize his hands, or his legs… When he looks in the mirror he gets the shock of his life! How is it possible that Alex has become another boy – a boy who everyone calls Philip? And how have six whole months passed overnight? A riveting psychological thriller by a brilliant new voice in children’s books.

This is also on the long list for the Carnegie award.

Well worth getting your hands on, this fantastic read incorporates ideas that will linger with you long after you have reached THE END.

Avalon High Graphic Novel

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The Merlin Prophecy

The book is a graphic novel by Meg Cabot .The main character was Ellie and her boyfriend .Ellie has just joined a new school and already has the most popular boy in the school as her boyfriend and is really popular .The twist in the story is that her boyfriend is believed the be the reincarnation of prince Arthur of Camelot that has to save the world from darkness, its her responsibility to prepare him but he doubtful about him being the reincarnation.

I liked the effect that the graphic novel had and how it showed what the characters looked like and gave you a better feel it got me hooked quicker than normal books as I found it exciting and easier to read as I didn’t have to imagine what the scenes would look like .I thought the pictures were tremendous and really captured the characters personalities.

I also really liked the story. It was gripping and once I started reading I didn’t want to put the book down. Despite the story of the high school and her being the new girl it also had the story about Prince Arthur. It was rather like two stories in the one. I sympathized with the 2 main characters and felt anger towards the other jealous characters. Reading this book was over all an enjoyable experience.

Amelia S3