'The Ghost Box' Catherine Fisher By Sawaira Waqas 7PC

My older brother got a book from school called 'the ghost box'. After he had read the whole book, he told me to read it as he said it was really great. I read the blurb first. This gave me an overview of what happens in the story. then after I had read the first two pages, I kept on reading on until the story finished. it was fantastic and I give it a 10/10!
  
 A girl called Sarah lived with her mum alone. Her mum then married a man called Gareth who already had a son called Matt. Sarah did not get well with Matt. But one day, she had a dream of a box. in the dream, she saw that birds flew out of the box and trees grew in the box. When she woke up, she found a box that looked exactly like the box in her dream. It was a silver box but it was locked. Something rattled inside when Sarah shook the box.
   
The next day, Sarah finds a ghost who was killed by a man. He said that his should was locked in the box. 'get me the key.' said the ghost. So Sarah went to the keys' shop and asked the man if he had a key that fitted the silver box. But the man said, 'I believe this box contains great danger. I would not open it if I were you.' But Sarah did not accept. She went home with the silver box, angrily.
      
She tried to find the key for days and for days, ghost annoyed her. Then one day, she got the key but Sarah found Matt and the man from the key's shop in her room. The man said that the ghost was hiding something. The secret was that if Sarah would have opened the box, her soul would have got trapped in the box. Then the ghost told her. But there was one way. If only Matt and Sarah turned the key together to open the box. The man told them this. Matt accepted and so did Sarah. they turned the key together and the box opened.There was an acorn in there. then the ghost vanished saying, 'thank you Sarah!'. And he vanished.
     
Then the man told Sarah to plant the acorn. And Sarah did.

'Are you there God? It's me, Margaret' - Judy Blume by Abbie McNaboe 8SD

Margaret Simon is 12 years old and has just moved to New Jersey from New York.

This is the story of her everyday life - making friends, joining her friends secret gang, going to parties and trying to find a religion because her parents have given her the freedom to choose what religion she wants to be. But Margaret's finding it hard to choose, only when her teacher gives out a project to the class, does Margaret have an excuse to visit temples and try out religions.

But Margaret realises its harder than it seems. This takes her on a journey to find out who she will end up being.

I liked this book because it was easy to read and funny. I would recommend this book to girls ages 10-13.

'Seekers Return to the Wild: River of Lost Bears' Erin Hunter - By Bobbie Lee Gover 8WE

This is a book by Erin Hunter which follows the journey of four bears - Toklo, a grizzly bear, Lusa, a black bear, and Kallik and Yakone, two polar bears. I wanted to read it because I had read the previous books, which I loved.

 

In this book, they have come off the arctic ice, and their journey is apparently over, with Toklo and Lusa looking for their true home with Kallik and Yakone accompaning them on the way - when Toklo and Lusa find their home, Kallik and Yakone will go back to Hudson Bay. They have to face the dangers of the land - cliffs, fierce rivers, territorial bears and most of all, humans.

 

Set in the present, in the forests, Toklo and Lusa are thriving, but Kallik and Yakone are struggling in the unfamiliar territory. They face the danger of a territorial bear named Hakan, who is bullying his sister, Chenoa. Toklo, feeling sorry for Chenoa, convinces her to join them on their journey, and Lusa and Chenoa become close friends. However, Chenoa is later killed when she falls off a waterfall, and Lusa descends into a dark mood. However, Lusa find Chenoa's 'spirit tree'. A spirit tree, to black bears like Lusa, is where the spirit of a bear goes when it dies. But humans cut it down, and put it in the river with other spirit trees. The bears manage to free them, and they continue on their journey. But then Yakone gets critically injured in a human footholder trap when he gets his paw caught. Coyotes begin to track them all, waiting for Yakone to die. They don't bother to attack, and are not afraid of any of them at all. Lusa organizes a plan - Yakone will act dead, and the rest of them will ambush the coyotes. The plan is sucessful - but then coyotes rejoin, with more then before. The bears have to jump onto a train to escape, and Toklo narrowly avoids being killed by the train, leaving the story to be continued in the next book. It is genuinly a story of mixed emotion; the genre is adventure and a bit of fantasy.

 

My favourite part was the coyote ambush. It was very clearly described, describing the difficulty of the fight and the feel of desparation to save Yakone's life.

 

Overall, the best book I have read in a long time. I would reccomend it - but you'd have to start with the first book of the first series to understand it

'Artichoke Hearts' by Sita Brahmachari- Kirsty Smith 8SD

This book is about a girl called Mira Levenson who lives with her mum, dad and her two younger siblings called Krish and Laila. Mira is very shy and when forced to speak in public, her confident best friend Millie Lockheart usually has to jump in and save her. Mira finds it easier to express herself through her artwork, a passion she shares with her grandmother, Josie.

When a literature club is started at school by the quirky, unique Pat Print, Mira's attentions are drawn towards Jide Jackson, a boy she's never really noticed before but soon realises he is a completely different person away from his friends.

Pat Print asks all of the students to write a 'May Day Diary' which is how the rest of the story is told through Mira's eyes. 

The diary starts on Mira's twelfth birthday. However, half way through their family gathering, a man named Moses knocks at the door to deliver a coffin.

The coffin is for Josie, Mira's grandma. She is sadly dying but because she is an artist, wants to paint her own coffin. So, with the help of Mira, one day when the rest of the family is out, they paint it. The rest of the story is about the challenges Mira has to overcome, such as losing her grandma and changing the way she see's other people.

The reason the book is called 'Artichoke hearts' has something to do with a charm Josie gave to Mira on her birthday. It is an artichoke, made up of hundreds of little silver leaves with a dainty red heart in the middle. Josie explains to Mira that we are like artichokes; some people are tough- like the outer leaves- however, some people are sensitive- like the inner leaves, getting smaller and smaller until they reach the heart. 

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne by Lucy Golding 8MA

 I read this book because it made me feel how lucky we are to have a good life and not to be forced to do things like Bruno and his Jewish friend had to do in their life time .

The main character in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is Bruno because he does more things than anyone else .

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is about Bruno being far far away from his three best friends and staying in a place he doesn't like.

This is a very heartbreaking and heart-warming book. This story is set in Auschwitz . 

My favourite part in this book is when Bruno and the Jewish boy make up and stay friends . But it's very sad when they get gassed by the Nazis and the Bruno gets killed by his father's own men.

I never expected this to happen .

My overall feeling about the book is sad but I was happy that they were friends and they took lots of care for each other.

 

I would recommend this book to kids but mostly adults .

Olivia Flies High - Lyn Gardner by Amber Britton 8SD

This book is about a teenager called Olivia she is the main character in this good book. 

Olivia goes to stage school with her younger sister and her friend. Her nan runs the school, while her dad has gone away for a circus trip. Olivia has fallen out with all her friends.

I started this book in December and I still haven’t read it, I’m a really slow reader. It is suitable for ages 9-13.

This book is really good you should try and read it.

'Cookie' by Jacqueline Wilson - Shania Graham- 7MX

This book is about a teenage girl who lives with her mum called Dilly and her dad called Gerry. The girl is called Beauty Cookson and is always getting bullied at her new school. Her worst enemy is called Skye, she has perfect silky and blonde hair and amazing glittery blue eyes and, she calls Beauty Ugly.

Despite being called names at school, Beauty’s dad was always in a rage and got furious if something wasn't perfect! But Beauty’s mum adores her and finds ways to keep her happy. Together they discover a new hobby (baking cookies) and a much better and original nickname is created… Cookie!

After Beauty’s disastrous birthday party, her dad’s temper seemed to be out of hand. So Beauty and her mother packed their bags and start a new life at Rabbit Cove.

I think this book is really good but emotional! The characters have their own ways but can also be loveable. Even Gerry!

'Dear Dylan' by Siobhan Curham - Isabel King

Do you like heart-warming, powerful novels? If you do, then ‘Dear Dylan’ by Siobhan Curham is the one for you.

‘Dear Dylan’ is about a teenage girl who is going through a difficult time in her life.

This book is very different to normal ones. The entire thing is written in e-mail format and I couldn't help being slightly impressed and jealous that Siobhan Curham could still get all the emotions to come through.

Georgie (the main character) is in love with an actor called Dylan Curtland. She tries to contact him via e-mail, but later discovers that is his mum, Nancy who is answering them.

Although the book is all about a background of abuse and violence within a family, Siobhan Curham has managed to show this through a funny and optimistic way.

I would recommend this book to anyone (between the age of 10 and adult) that is searching for a sad, but funny book that makes you cry one minute and burst out laughing the next!

That was my review of ‘Dear Dylan’ by Siobhan Curham. I hope you pick this book up sometime and enjoy it as much as I did.

'Hetty Feather' by Jacqueline Wilson - Georgina Solly 7BY

Recently I have been reading the amazing Hetty Feather by the award winning author: Jacqueline Wilson. It is unlike any other book I have ever read. This heart-breaking story shows you what life was like in the 19^th century: things you didn't even dream about; things you never thought people would do; but yet, it feels like you were there, watching it all happen before your very eyes due to Jacqueline’s amazing skill with words. It is written in the 1^st person and is told by the main character- Hetty Feather.

In the first section it introduces Hetty Feather when she was just a tiny little baby. She is tragically parted from her birth mother and sent to the Foundling Hospital. She gets cared for there (even though it was totally the opposite of caring in my opinion) and then, when she is only a few weeks old, she gets sent to a foster home along with another foundling, a boy named Gideon Smeed.

She meets lots of new people including her foster parents, brothers and sisters. Her foster parents treat her really well but she especially loves Jem, her 10 year-old foster brother. He loves her like she was his real blood sister and teaches her lots of skills she would need later on in life. He was so patient and played her childish games without a protest and also took her to a circus to watch and meet, who she later on thought, was her birth mother. I would've longed for a brother like that if I did not know what was going to happen next.

Unfortunately, as Hetty grew into a feisty 5 year-old, she got closer and closer to going back to the hospital because she still belonged to the hospital.

When the time came she was heartbroken! How does she cope there? Is she treated well? What is like? Well, you’ll just have to read it to find out!

I would definitely recommend this book to readers aged 9+ although my mum read this book and she thoroughly enjoyed. I would give this amazing tale of love, loss and cruelty 10 out of 10 no question about it! What I did not mention is that it is the first book of a trilogy so if you really enjoyed the book look out for the 2^nd Sapphire Battersea and the 3^rd book Emerald Star that has just come out! I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

'Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days' by Jeff Kinney - Rian Warnatilake 7BY

'Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days' is a great and humorous book that will make me laugh almost every day.

 

 It has great values to the book like pictures, funny comments from Greg (the main character) and his best mate Rowley. Greg's older brother Rodrick will do anything to ruin Greg's day and it does not go, quite to plan in this version of diary of the wimpy kid. Greg's chance comes up when he gets a dog but when his parents and two brothers take over the dog Greg's chances get narrowed of it being the best summer ever.....

 

This book will blow your mind. READ IT.

The Kick Off By Dan Freedman - Jools Freeman Y7

I first caught sight of this fantastic book when the author came to my school and read a piece of the book, and as soon as I heard the book I got so interested in it and I bought the first 2 books of the series right then.

The two main characters are Jamie Johnson a 11 year old boy who is keen to become a professional footballer for his beloved team “Hawkstone”. The other main character is Jack Marshell (Jacqueline ) Marshell, Jamie’s best friend, Who has also got a dream to do with football, she wants to become a professional.

The story is about a young boy Jamie trying to full fill his dream of becoming a footballer all while the bully Dillon Simonds is making his life a misery!

I personally think this book is great for all age children above the age of 8-14.I would recommend this book to anyone who likes football and I would also recommend the 5 other books in this series, Shoot to win, Golden Goal, Man of the Match, World class and the Final Whistle!                                                             

The Hunger Games - Reviewed By Konnor Ingram 7HY

The Hunger Games is by Suzanne Collins. I really wanted to read this book because I saw everyone reading it in class and all my friends told me about it.

The main character in the book is called Katniss and she gets picked to go into the Hunger Games and people from different districts have to fight to the death and the last person to survive would win the Hunger Games.

My favourite part in the book is when everyone has to fight to the death because it gets really interesting, exciting and unpredictable. It gets really gruesome with everyone killing each other desperate to survive. What’s going to happen when Katniss discovers a gang are trying to gang up on her read the book to find out!

I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely recommend this book to people. I suggest that people reading this book should be at least 9 and up.

This is the series of the Hunger Games I strongly suggest to read them in order.

Diary of a wimpy kid: the last straw By Jeff Kinney - Stephen Smee

I think this book is brilliant and has great humour in it.

The main characters are Gregory, Rodrick, Manny (who are all brothers) and Rowley. 

It’s all about Greg and Rowley in middle school and Greg has a crush on someone called Holly Hills. Rowley keeps on ruining Greg’s chances of talking to her.

My favourite part of the novel is when Manny keeps on calling Greg ploopy . I found that humorous because it is a funny word.

I think this book is brilliant I would recommend it to someone 8+ as it is slightly rude. But I wouldn’t recommend it to a 13+ because it is a bit childish.      

Mr Stink by David Walliams - Sadie Mosley Y7

The book I am reviewing is Mr Stink by David Williams. I read it because one day my dad brought it for me because I like David Williams.

In Mr Stink the main characters are a girl called Chloe, the loneliest girl in the world and Mr stink who is a local tramp.

At the beginning of Mr Stink is when he is sitting on a bench when Chloe walks by. Chloe fills sorry for Mr Stink and ask her parents if he can stay in their house. Sadly her parents say no! So she hides him in her shed and but her parents don’t know!

My favourite part of the story is when tells Chloe why he is on the street because it is heart-warming and it is sad at the same time.

I would recommend it to any age because it is very nice to read and it is funny!

Middle school the worst year of my life reviewed by Owen Adams Y7

The name of this book is I am reviewing is middle school the worst year of my life by James Patterson and cris tabbetts. I didn’t really want to read it because I didn’t chows it my  mum did so yeah. 

The main character is rafe. He has to overcome how to brack all the rules.

It is about a boy called rafe and he has to brack all the rules in the book. It is set in a school and it is a mixture of both sad and happy. I would say the genre of the book is a humour. I would defiantly recommend it to you because it is a really funny book. my favourite part of the book is ere rafe askes a girl out  and he gets rejected, this was my favourite part because it made me laugh. 

I would recommend this book to 8 years of age and above because it is a good book but not too hard to read. 

My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson - Chloe Young

 My book is called My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson. I wanted to read this book because the front cover was bright and in the synopses it sounded extremely interesting.              

 The main characters are Pearl and Jodie they are sister but have very different personalities but they both have very different personalities but both feel very different about the situation they are in. Pearl is much shyer but overcomes the problems whereas for Jodie even though she is the oldest she finds the problems much harder.     My book is about the change which is moving .Jodie was very tough back at her old school but now she tries to prove to the little kids there is nothing to be frightened of and something extraordinary happens.                                                                                                                  

It’s set in an old house that a couple changed into a boarding school. Throughout the story, there is mixed emotions mainly happiness but at the end everyone is sad .the genre is fantasy and some of it is romance.

 My favourite part is when Jodie and Pearl are up in the tower but they are not allowed to be up there and they don’t get found out. They discover many different objects and some are unusual and old fashion.

Overall, I loved the book I think it is a great book but should be for 10+ .I would recommend it because there are times where it is really adventurous but sad. When the sisters are having fun exploring you can tell when they are scared as well as what’s going to happen.

‘My Hairiest Adventure’ by R.L Stine - Rebecca Woodall Y7

The name of the book that I am going to review is ‘My Hairiest Adventure’, (a Goosebumps book by R.L Stine). As soon as I read the blurb, I wanted to read this magnificent book.

The main character of this book is Larry. He is a young boy who goes to High school and when he gets really embarrassed, he turns bright red. Something strange happens to Larry after he covers his body with INSTA-TAN lotion. It’s his ‘hairiest adventure’.

The story is set in a small town; the main characters live in little houses by the woods. It is full of emotions and has a scary theme.

My favourite part of the amazing story, so far, is the part where the mysterious hair first appears. I found the book exciting because it didn’t give it away as soon as he found the hair; this creates tension.

I have enjoyed reading the book so far and can’t wait to finish it. I learnt how the writer creates tension. I would recommend this fabulous book to children over 8 years of age.

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman - Leah Parker Y7

The book I have recently read and would love to recommend is called Noughts & Crosses. I chose to read this amazing book because it is full of drama and constantly builds up tension.

In Noughts & Crosses there are two main characters by the names of Callum and Sephy. They are both great friends, however, Callum is a Noughts and Sephy is a Cross. Meaning they come from two different worlds, can they stay friends?

The story is simply about Sephy and Callum trying to let people know that Noughts & Crosses can live happily together. Although everyone is against them, they are determined to be together. Noughts are very poor and will do anything to earn money, while the lucky Crosses are wealthy and take advantage of everything. The genre of this book is drama because of how much they go through to be friends.

My favourite part of the book is when the bomb explodes leaving many injured and hurt. This part of the book is tense and the description of the scenery is magnificent. I did not expect it to happen as it gave no clue about a bomb exploding.

I would definitely recommend this book because it is adventurous and dramatic. I would suggest the age group is 11 and up, and I would recommend this fantastic book any day. And you’re in luck; Noughts & Crosses is a trilogy!

Eragon By Christopher Paolini - Kieran Stent 7MX

The name of the book that I am reviewing is Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I wanted to read it because the cover caught my eye so I looked at the blurb, which was really good, and decided I wanted to read it.

The main character is a hard-working farm boy in his teens, who lives with his Uncle Garrow and Cousin Roran. His whole life turns around when he finds a light, blue, smooth stone in the forest, which turns out to be a dragon egg.

It is set in the past and is about a boy who finds a dragon egg which hatches for him, and trains the dragon he names Saphira in the forest. He learns that he is a rider, which is an elf or human who can use magic and ride a dragon. He has to go to a town called the Varden if he wants to be safe. It is a fantasy/adventure/action book with a lot of suspense.

My favourite part was the battle near the end and when he was training his dragon and had to leave. I found the battle exciting because it had suspense and action while I found the part where he had to leave good because it was fun + funny then it suddenly changed to sad.

Overall, I think it is a great book with a lot of action and suspense. I think it should be 10+ and I would definitely recommend it to others.

The Lottie Project by Jacqueline Wilson - Jennifer Y7

The Lottie Project by Jacqueline Wilson is an amazing book. I had heard or this book before because my friends had read it and had recommended it to me. I looked for it in the library and started reading...

The main character in the Lottie project is Charlie her real name is Charlotte Alice Katherine Enright her initials spell CAKE. No one calls Charlie charlotte apart from Miss Becksworth and her Grandma. The other main character in the book is Jo. Jo is Charlie’s mum but Charlie doesn’t call her mum or mummy she just calls her Jo.

The Lottie project is a good. It is happy and sad because Jo loses her job but it is happy because she gets a new one actually she has 3 jobs and she takes them all for the money because otherwise she will be kicked out of her house (read the book to find out why). At school Charlie has to write a project about the Victorians but she writes a diary about a girl called Lottie.

My favourite bit of the book is when Charlie writes in the diary because it is like she is Lottie. It is very good vocab because it is like she was actually in the Victorian times.

In conclusion I would recommend this book to any one between 7-13 so it is open to most ages. It is sometimes funny sometimes sad and sometimes happy so it is a really good book.