Winner of the Book Review Competition

We're proud to present the winner of our Book Review Competition:
Rosie Mullins, from year 7 at Woodgreen School!

Rosie delivered a detailed and coherent review which had the right amount of plot information to whet the reader's appetite, but without giving the story away, she talked about special features she enjoyed, and she gave it a well-reasoned age rating, which, interestingly, is lower than what most of us adults would have it estimated at, suggesting a whole new debate as to whether we're underestimating/ overprotecting our children? (Mind, this here bookseller had read James Herbert and Stephen King by age 12 and is perfectly fine.*) Well done, Rosie, and keep that passion for books burning!
  
"Gone by Michael Grant is a book that follows the lives of Sam, his friends and his enemies; they are stuck in a dome that has fallen over their home town of Perdido Beach and everyone over the age of 15 has POOFED (disappeared). However, people begin to take sides, food runs out, and eventually water too runs out, but also, lots of people begin to develop strange, but interesting powers… The stranded children find themselves exposed to the threat of conflict, danger and death, as the idea of living in a world without adults quickly becomes a sudden reality. With no phones or televisions working either, the town soon becomes a prison for these 'survivors', and with no way to get help, time is running out for each remaining individual: the day you turn fifteen is the day you disappear, just like everyone else. The children of the dome fight for survival until not very many people are left in the scary Fays (the name of the dome). But, there is a way out and Sam and the others try to find out!
     This thrilling book series has something for everyone: it’s a book of mystery, comedy, romance, horror, suspense, sadness and it makes you feel so many other feelings. In my opinion, Gone and the other books, all the way to the final book, Light, are highly dark even for the young adult audience which they are aimed at. Grant is successful in writing scenes of death, mutilation, and moral dilemmas form the basis of the plot in each book in very graphic detail. There are so many reasons why I love this book, and you would too if you read it.
      Firstly, unlike many other books, each chapter begins with an amount of hours/mins that are counting down to a big moment at the end of the book (but you don’t know what that is, unless you carry on reading, and you can guess). Furthermore, a second reason why I love this series is that each chapter ends with a cliff hanger, hooking you on making you want to read the next chapter.
      How does series make me feel? The way the book is written makes you feel like you are in the dome with them. For example one of my favourite characters, Astrid, makes you feel happy, annoyed, sad and worried for her all at the same time. Each one of these characters in this fantastic book has a unique personality, which is studied in has layers of meaning and understanding. Astrid is known as ‘Astrid the genius’, she is Sam’s girlfriend, and most respect her, but, she is strong minded and can fight if she needs to. Another favourite of mine is Sam, he is looked up to and everyone expects him to lead the fays. He is one of the ones who has a special power – he can shoot killer beams of light from his hands, which can burn through metal and strong walls.
      Was it easy to read? This book is quite easy to read once you have begun, you just need to remember the names of people and that’s easy to do. Grant tells everyone’s side of the story, so you may have more than one point of view, which makes the book more interesting. Once you begin, and get into it, you don’t want to put it down.
     Who would I recommend this book to? Well, as this book is very violent and contains many other inappropriate things to younger children; furthermore it is quite gory, gruesome and graphic, I would say at least 11+. Additionally, as this book has equal boy characters to girls, it doesn’t matter what gender you are – it would be enjoyed by both. However I think that the people who enjoy this book most are readers who like sci-fi books (such as: The Hunger Games, ranging to Stephen King admirers). Frighteningly gripping Gone, and the successive novels in the series, will not fail to delight most readers.
Once I had read Gone, I felt as if I had lived through the Fays with the surviving characters. I was pleased with the way it ended, it made you feel satisfied with the book. This book will be enjoyed by all who read it, and all of the 6 books were great, each ending on a cliff hanger – which leads onto the next thrilling book. I found that this book was so well woven together all the way though. Gone by Michael Grant is a book for all!"
(*friends/family/shrink might disagree)

Book Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Reviewed by Hannah Train, age 12, Wood Green School

 

I loved Looking for Alaska for several reasons. Firstly, the general idea of the story. The meaning and fine line between living, loving and dying, and how it affects the people and things around you. Secondly, I also loved the layers of meaning around the main characters life and death (Alaska) and how it affected her friends in college, close or distant. Thirdly, I like that you could interpret the book in different ways from someone else, as it could leave a different message to different people. Such as Alaska’s quote: ‘How will we ever get out of the labyrinth of suffering.’

Looking for Alaska made me feel the pain of losing someone you loved and not knowing what happened and why. You can really feel the pain and confusion when they find out Alaska had died. You can distinguish the personality of the different characters by how they reacted to the news and it really shows how they cope with this loss. The book was generally easy to read, but I would not choose to read a book because the print is too small and I don’t chose books because it’s too hard or easy. But I would say this book is for 12+ as the whole plot is quite mature.

I enjoyed lots of parts of the book, firstly, it really made me think very deeply about living and dying and the mysteries of life. It really made me think how Alaska died, was it an accident or was it suicide? Secondly, it also left me guessing and wondering after the book was finished. Thirdly, some of the things Alaska said were really meaningful and had several layers of meaning behind it. This book will stay with me forever.

Book Review: Shadow by Michael Morpurgo

Review by : Chloe Louise Lewis, age 8, Witney Community Primary School

I am reviewing my favourite book: Shadow. It's written by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Christian Birmingham. It’s about a boy called Aman and his mother who escape from Afghanistan and come to England. On their way to England they find a springer spaniel. Aman decides to call her Shadow. She leads them to England. Sadly they got caught by the police and were taken to a detention centre. Aman tells Matt [his best friend] the story of how he and his mother got taken to the detention centre in the first place. Matt and his grandpa and all his other friends and family try to get Aman and his mother out of the detention centre. Unfortunately it started to rain and some of Matt’s family went home. His aunty and uncle aunty Mina and uncle Mir came from London. They travelled all this way and it didn’t work. Matt and his grandpa soon found out that Aman and his mother had left to go to the airport in the early hours of the morning. Then a rainbow came out. Matt felt that he had hope still left in him. The officers behind the gates told Matt, Grandpa and everyone else who was still there to go home that they would never come back again. Then out of nowhere came a black car. To Matt’s surprise Aman and his mother were waving to Matt and his grandpa and all the other friends and family who were there. The car stopped and out stepped a young girl about 9 years old she had shadow on the lead and she helped a tall looking man in an army uniform out of the car. Aman ran over to shadow and flung his arms around her neck.

 

I loved that on every chapter there’s a clear and interesting title that made me want to read on. The book made me feel excited to read the next part to the story. I think that the fun bits were that Shadow lead Aman and his mother to England. It made me feel adventurous and happy. It was easy to read because the words were big and bold and were spaced out so it was clear to see.

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Review by Ella Shadbolt, 12, Woodgreen School


"I feel like someone breathed new air into my lungs. I am not Abnegation. I am not dauntless. I am Divergent.”

Imagine living in a fractured society, where at only sixteen you are forced to make a choice. A choice that will change your life. Do you leave your family, friends, everyone and everything you love and care about? Or do you stay? And what happens if you don’t fit in?

Veronica Roth’s Divergent, the first novel in the compelling dystopian series, follows Beatrice, better known at Tris, as she is forced to make this decision, always knowing she will never be part of this broken civilisation.

The story follows her as she takes a giant leap to a whole new life in Dauntless- the faction known for bravery. With secrets to hide, mysteries to uncover, and skills to learn, Tris struggles to overcome her fears and enemies. Through this she seeks to discover those she can trust. But can she leave behind the past and battle on through the future…

Divergent is extremely thought-provoking, questioning how can we suppress a young personality in order to try and keep a simple society. The human race is so unique and complicated that everyone is a combination of emotions and talents; debating the right to be different and the hostility that is forced upon the unique.

As you read each page of this marvellous creation, I can guarantee you that everyone will be gripped. Whether you enjoy adventure and action, or prefer a romantic tale, Divergent will grab you with its many cliff hangers.

Divergent is an unforgettable read that will ensure you read the second book 'Insurgent' without pausing for breath in between. So venture into this unfolding world and see where your future lies within the walls of this amazing book...

Book Review: How many socks make a pair?

Review by Harriet Howard, age 12,

Woodgreen School

The book I choose to review is How many socks make a pair by RobEastaway. I really loved this book because of the excitement and amazement it gave me. It reveals to me a surprising yet beautiful world of maths. It’s astounding how much everyday maths we never think about and how totally accessible it is to all of us. The book made me feel like I’d been totally oblivious to the maths around me every day. For example, How many socks make a pair? , the answer isn’t two because if you take 2 socks out of your drawer you aren’t guaranteed to get a pair (if you have more than one type of socks). If you have N types of socks then you need to take out N+1 socks to guarantee a pair. To me, this is something that I hadn’t come across before reading this book, and it’s fascinating. From this book I have learned that maths isn’t boring but in fact crucial to our everyday lives. In addition, I’ve learned lots of stunning maths that I never knew before; when you multiply 1089 you actually form palindromes, 1×1089=1089, 9×1089=9801 and 2×1089=2178, 8×1089=8712 and so on . . . . . this is incredible. Also, this book is totally accessible to anyone no matter what your maths skills are because of its such easy to apply facts. I enjoyed all of this book and each of the individual facts had its own charm. From this book I have learnt lots of snippets of information and how much everyday maths there actually is around us. I really recommend this book to everyone.

First Contender for the Book Illustration Competition

 

That said, we did not want to pass up  the opportunity to celebrate the close contender for the Illustration winner, Jasmine Peach-Toon, age 11, from Woodgreen School.

It needed no introduction to see that this is a scene from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women - specifically described as the four girls discussing what they are going to do for Christmas.

You can tell why it was hard to make a decision, as Jasmine's drawing reflects incredible talent that she simply must continue to nourish.

Winner of the Book Illustration Competition

It was genuinely difficult to decide between the entries as they were all full of creativity and insane talent, but the submission we finally settled on by vote to carry the victory wreath is by Immy Holt, age 12, from Henry Box School, for its playful charm. Congratulations, Immy, and keep up the good work!!