Older Reviews

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Name: Paradox Child
Author: Jane Yates

Adventure: 3
Plot: 3
Humour: 2

Review: "This book, I feel, would be great for younger readers or even dyslexics; Yates writes in a simple and easy format. I think that Yate's writing could be improved by demonstrating the behaviour and emotions of characters rather than explaining them because it would add more depth to her descriptive language. The sentences could be lengthened for better effect on the reader and description would really bring alive her wonderful scenes. The book has some lovely settings that I would love to hear of in more detail, as time travel and magic unlocks so many wonderful things for writers and it has limitless beauty. Upon hearing of Jane Yates' dyslexia and learning of her reading age I can solidly congratulate her on her efforts in this novel and I eagerly look forward to reading the rest of her novels to see the development in her language. 
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Name: Tethers (first in series, will add to series page after whole trilogy is read)
Author: Jack Croxall

Adventure: 4
Plot: 4
Humour: 3

Review: "This book enthralled me from beginning to end. The characters at first have a feel of detachment and this adds to the air of mystery which is the best part of the book. I commend Croxall on his excellent skill in creating suspense. He adds to the mystery while beginning to clarify other parts at the same time. He also creates larger-than-life characters that are both incredible and totally realistic at once.  This author weaves an excellent historical-themed mystery and I very much look forward to reading him in the future, as he develops the characters in such a way that you do not notice how close you have come in a relationship with a character until they are at risk and you genuinely have concern for them. More writers need to be as original and inspired as Croxall is."

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Name- Wintercraft
Author- Jenna Burtenshaw

Adventure- 4 stars
Plot- 4 stars
Humour- 3 stars

Review-  "I have been quite undecided about whether I like the subject of magick and spirit worlds in books. Then I read this novel. I feel that magick was something which was hard to use in novels. Being something we know nothing about, and something we have many vague and contradictory sources on, it is hard to write any kind of supernatural novel correctly. Magick also seems to be a subject which demands a strange kind of respect. This novel is absolutely the rare supernatural novel which seems to capture this wild and savage force that magick seems to fundamentally be.

This is a fantastic novel which captures the feeling of finding yourself and discovering who you are. It shows the hardships of war and slavery and it is a fast-paced novel which won't bore you. You get slowly fed secrets about the characters which you should already know, like Edgar or even the protagonist, Kate.

Burtenshaw is excellent at adding suspense onto mystery and pulling the reader out of the character's worry when all hope seems lost. She is an excellent writer and this novel is an absolute triumph. I've never read a novel like this, the plot is quite unique and I really enjoyed reading Wintercraft!"

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Name- Withering Tights
Author- Louise Renninson

Adventure- 3 stars
Plot- 3 stars
Humour- 4 stars

Review-  "I know, I know, the title is just weird, but it'll make sense when you read it (promise). This series (I put it here because I haven't read the whole series) is about the cousin of the girl in the previous series. Tallulah Casey is an abnormally tall, hilarious girl who has travelled to performing arts school in a sleepy Yorkshire town. Before long, she's made some friends and developed a few crushes. Follow Tallulah's life as she flounders through performing arts school, gets involved in some hilarious antics and tries to decide which boy she really wants."

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Name- True Colours
Author- Krysten Hager

Adventure- 3 stars
Plot-  3 stars
Humour- 3  stars

Review- "This is a fantastically relatable and real book which I feel captures all of the insecurities and troubles which haunt the modern teenage girl. It is about a young model who has to go through tough times when she is torn between a life as a model and managing her friendships. You learn which friends she can most trust and which will create the drama typical of teenage life. Follow the life of Landry and try to see if you can find out which are her true friends before their true colours are revealed. This book is all about relationships, hopes and truth. I loved this book!"
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Name- Winterkill
Author- Kate A. Boorman

Adventure- 4 stars
Plot- 4 stars
Humour- 2 stars

Review- "I have high praises for this book, the thrilling and captivating tale of curses, limits and imprisonment within yourself. I could not leave this world, full of touching characters and wintry atmospheres. I feel that the characters are all charming and touching in their own ways, even those we may see as evil. I would only love to have more description of the beautiful and enchanting forest in which the tale is set. The characters and scenes are eloquently and suitably created, and there is a wonderful comparison between impediments and faults on the outside, as is the case of protagonist Emmeline, and impediments with personality or emotions and a link, therefore, in why a person may seem good or evil. There is not much humour, but it is the plot and the world it unfolds in which earned this book its shining review."
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Name- The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Author- Leslye Walton

Adventure- 3 stars
Plot- 4 stars
Humour- 2 stars

Review- "I think that this is a Halloween read because it has gore and a hint of supernatural. This story is beautiful- it's about  a girl who has wings. She tells you about how her family history created her history and made her who she is, and the story is so full of conflicting emotions and I loved it. It's about the human mind and how easy it is to lose it. It is a startling view on being different and the prejudice of people who don't understand. I found that the story was full of emotion and truth and just loved reading it!"

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Name- To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Author- Jenny Han

Adventure- 3 stars
Plot- 4 stars
Humour- 3 stars

Review: "This is a very cosy read which I feel is very nice for Christmas because of the atmosphere it creates. It warms you when you read about the traditions of the family. It displays the human nature and guilt. After all, this book makes you realise, what are books but documents of human nature? It covers the emotions of love, guilt, embarrassment and anger while at the same time still having a warm and humorous feel. I really enjoyed reading this book. "

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Name-  Torn
Author- Cat Clarke

Adventure- 3 stars
Plot-  4 stars
Humour- 2 stars

Review- "This book is just out of reach of relatable, but again displays how people with different personalities deal with guilt or grief in different ways. This plot is amazing, accurately showing how a little idea can grow and grow until its something you can't control. That also means ending up with a lot of guilt and the biggest cover-up ever done by schoolgirls- the murder of the most popular girl in their class. The book identifies well with it's audience and I think that it thoroughly deserves it's rating; the characters feel so real and it's just such a different book."

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Name- My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece
Author- Annabel Pitcher

Adventure- 3 stars
Plot- 3 stars
Humour- 2 stars

Review- "This book is very original because it sensitively shows that loss, and love, don't always come in the most obvious forms. The books shows accurately how people deal with grief and love in different ways. It follows a 10 year old boy as he lives through the loss of his sister. I awarded it the 3 stars for adventure because it is soul-searching and poignant, the 3 stars for plot because the plot is engaging and original and the 2 stars for humour because there are one or two light-hearted moments which tie the whole book together."



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Name- Butter
Author- Erin Lange

Adventure- 3 stars
Plot- 4 stars
Humour- 2 stars

Review- "This is a very thoughtful and emotional story, in which Butter, a high school boy who is over 400 pounds, becomes so insecure about his weight he decides to end his life in the only fitting fashion- with food. Yes, Butter decides to eat himself to death. Along the way, however, he finds who are his true friends, and that love isn't all what he'd thought it would be. I gave it this rating because throughout the book you are left wondering whether Butter will really go through with his suicide, but it's not lighthearted at all and the book has  little suspense to earn it it's 3 stars for adventure."

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Name- Wonder

Author-  R.J Palacio

Ratings (Out of five stars)-

Adventure- Four stars
Plot-  Three stars
Humour- Two stars

Review- "An emotional story about August (Auggie) Pullman (and family and friends) , who suffered a burn to his face when he was young and has went through countless surgeries. His features distorted and melted, he finds it hard in public with people deliberately not looking at him. He is called a 'freak'. Although this is a fiction book, it addresses heartbreaking real-life issues. August's parents and older sister, Via,  look after him, and Via herself is ferociously protective of Auggie, though she does feel like she is in the shadow of Auggie and wants more attention. Auggie's world is turned upside down as his parents decide to enrol him in a school. At first, Auggie hates school and would rather go back to being homeschool like he used to be. Auggie is wrenched out of his comfort zone, with new hearing aids and stress at school...."

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Name- The Forsaken

Author- Lisa M Stasse

Ratings (Out of five stars)-

Adventure- Four stars
Plot-  Three stars
Humour- Two stars

Review- "An adventure story about Alenna Shawcross, a sixteen year old girl in a spot of bother. In the UNA, where she comes from,  a test is done on all sixteen year olds to determine wether they are future  criminals or not. If they test positive, they are shipped across to the Land Across the Water, a criminal island with other kids like them. The cruel and twisted Monk rules most of the island, while the more civilised Veidman rules one sector of the circular, jungly island. However, Alenna finds herself there, and she's no criminal...there must have been a mistake? Then she meets more like her. It can't be a mistake. Read as Alenna tries to unravel the mysteries of the island and her own orphaning."

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Name- Stargirl

Author- Jerry Spinelli

Ratings (Out of five stars)

Adventure-  Two Stars
Plot- Five Stars
Humour- 3 Stars

Review- "A thought-provoking story about being different. Leo Borlock is a student at a school where something strange is arriving....Stargirl. Stargirl is a new student who just can't help being different to everyone else. At first, she is taken in and is seen as cool. However, things soon change. She is turned on and shunned for all that makes her strange. Leo is soon shunned too beause of his desperate longing and love for the mysterious Stargirl. So, he tries to convince her to be normal....The book is a relatable tale about the changing tides of opinions, of how people see the unknown, fear it, and try to destroy it..."

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Name- The School for Good and Evil

Author- Soman Chainani

Ratings (Out of five stars)

Adventure-  Two Stars
Plot- Five Stars
Humour- 3 Stars

Review- "Sophie is beautiful, but vain and mean. Her best friend Agatha, is goth-like but kind-hearted. Sophie dreams of being kidnapped by the Schoolmaster as one of two children to enrol at the School for Good and Evil. When both girls find themselves there, Agatha goes to Good and Sophie to Evil. Both think they're mixed up, but, will they realise that looks can be deceptive? Will they unravel the threads that are the secrets that bind the school together? "

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Name of Book(s)- The Matched Trilogy
Author- Ally Condie

Ratings:

Adventure- 4 stars
Plot- 3 stars
Humour- 2 stars

Review- "This series follows a teenage girl named Cassia who lives in a society where your life is already mapped out for you- society dictates who you marry, where you work, how many children you have and even when you die! At first Cassia lives exactly as she is supposed to- but then she meets the mysterious Ky, from the Outer Provinces far away. As more and more plot twist unfold, the reader will get shocks, thrills, and romance in this book. However, the plot is a little cliché in terms of teen books (hence 3 stars for plot), but it is a very good and adventurous book. I did, however, find that in the second book in the trilogy, I found it hard to continue and the book wasn't keeping me hooked. Persistent readers should find this less of a problem, though, and the trilogy is truly very good and worth reading."


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Name of Book(s)- Diary of a Wimpy Vampire/Adventures of a Wimpy Werewolf Series

Author- Tim Collins

Ratings (Out of five stars)-

Adventure- Three stars
Plot-  Three stars
Humour- Four stars

Review-    "A amusing series that teens and tweens can relate to. No mature language or actions.  This series is about the awkward existence of a vampire named Nigel Mullet who was transformed at the inconvenient age of fifteen, and the rather silly antics of his younger sister, who was transformed a few years younger and often finds herself immersed in kitty calendars and pop idols.  Nigel has the time of his life on a roller-coaster ride of emotions and friendships. This series also includes the story of a teen werewolf named Luke Thorpe who we join in the series as he slowly begins to realise he is a lycanthrope. He finds refuge with a pack of werewolves who want revenge on a vampire family up in Scotland. However, he finds himself meeting familiar faces, and going through training at the same time as juggling exams."

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Name of Books(s)- Dork Diaries Series

Author- Rachel Renèe Russel

Ratings (Out of five stars)-

Adventure- Three stars
Plot-  Three stars
Humour- Four stars


Review-  "A extremely funny middle-school situation, where the Queen of Dorks and art-freak Nikki Maxwell goes to a new school under her father's BUG EXTERMINATION CONTRACT. Desperate to keep this secret (and her cool),  she stumbles her way through middle school life, with newfound friends Chloe and Zoey, and trying to find to find a way to foil the evil fashion addict Mackenzie Hollister's plans to ruin her life and get her gossip. On top of this, her crush Brandon is causing her even more problems as Mackenzie flirts with him. Will Mackenzie find out about the dark secrets and tell all of her gossip-hungry friends??? Read to find out!"

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Name of Books(s)- Angus, Thongs & Full-frontal Snogging (The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson) Series

Author- Louise Rennison

Ratings (Out of five stars)-

Adventure-  Three stars
Plot- Three stars
Humour- Five stars

Review-  "The hilarious mishaps of teen Georgia Nicolson, and her crazy Ace Gang. She's your typical teenager, but with a difference. With 'a nose the size of Jupiter', a crazy, wild fur-ball of a cat (named Angus) and her case of 'red bottomosity', things are bound to go wrong in the most funny ways imaginable. Her misadventures at home and school never end well. Her toddler sister, who uses Georgia's room as her potty, never helps. Then there's Mrs Simpson (or 'Slim'), with her band of evil teachers!"