Thursday, April 14, 2011
Nick Hornby- Slam
“Just when it seemed everything had come together for me, I had to go and screw it all up. It only took 5 seconds. But all of me knew.”
The book Slam written by Nick Hornby is all about a teenage kid growing up in England, London, who has got an average life, with divorced parents, small house and a mother who is only 16 years older than him. The main character is Sam he is very into girls, skateboarding and hanging out with friends.
In the novel, Sam starts going out with this beautiful girl, Alicia. Alicia and Sam were the same age, who had parents who thought only highly of their daughter and that her future was just getting brighter and brighter.
However, both Alicia’s and Sam’s futures go downhill as after times of sexual interaction, Alicia finally falls pregnant.
Sam got a Tony Hawk poster for his birthday. Sam would speak to Tony about skating, girls and life. Weirdly Tony started speaking back which lead to Sam reading his autobiography over and over. After reading so many times all of Sam’s questions were answered through this book.
Of course Tony didn’t always have the answer. When Sam was angry at Tony he would be sent to the future to look at Tony’s life with a baby and how it grew up.
The future was tough, confusing, but helpful, which also helped Sam get through a incredibly hard time for a teacher to live in.
I recommend this book it can be funny at times but has a really good message.
Now
The novel I read is “Now”. This book was written by Morris Gleitzman and the publisher was the Penguin Group, in 2010. The ISBN number is 978-0-07437-2. This book is about a young girl living in someone else’s shadow. I really enjoyed this book because it revolves around the Holocaust. I think this novel was aimed at school aged children to teach them about the Holocaust and I think the author succeeded to teach children about the Holocaust.
The plot is very easy to follow throughout the whole novel. The story starts up slow but gets much more exciting and intense as it gets closer towards the climax of the bush fire. This book is the third book out of three. The author has made this book so that the reader doesn’t have to read the series in any particular order.
The book is from the view of the main character “Zelda”. By writing the book from her perspective it really makes her seem real. She is very realistic because of her personality, as she makes mistakes, she cries, laughs, shows happiness and sadness. The relationship between Zelda and her grandfather “Felix” is very realistic because throughout the novel they always share their emotions and feelings.
I learned a lot from this novel about what people had to go through during the Holocaust and what they had to do to survive. I also learned that people still go through tragedies in modern day. I recommend this book to other people around my age because it is a nice read, good book and it teaches you about the Holocaust.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling
Voldemort making it impossible for Harry to live a life without constantly being under threat by Voldemort and his evil disciples, the death eaters.
throughout the story you experience many magical phenomenon's. whilst on a death defying adventure Harry is forced to overcome many obstacles and demonstrates great courage and wisdom. Readers will enjoy the mystical events and the shenanigans in Harrys private life. Harry makes many new friends as well as losing some as well. his two best friends Ron who is 'the funny one' and Hermoine ' smart one' are with Harry almost all the way. it is an absolute thrill to see there friendship grow.
This was book is one that no matter what your age you can read from cover to cover. it is 600 pages of pure genius and will let your imagination run wild. you will come across a few giggles as well as some jaw dropping events and some tears might be shed. All in all this book is a must read no matter who you are.
The Book Thief
The Hunger Games
Tsunami Stories
There are many stories which relate to one another by passing on the message of what was about to hit the beaches and hotels in Thailand. Each story tell us how individuals took the news and what happen to the scenery around them. This book highlights and gives an understanding of that day's events through the eyes of families on vacation on the beach, staff in hotels, Thai families, people on boats trips and beach boys.
Tsunami Story is worth reading as it provides the reader with a clearer understanding of the effects the tsunami had on people from all over the world and from all walks of life. This book will make you feel very grateful that you have not had to go through a natural disaster like this.
This book comes close to home as I was supposed to be in Thailand the morning the tsunami hit. The stories in this book revolve around the knowledge of staff and the reaction from the guests in the hotel I was going stay that ultimately saved peoples lives and made other hotels aware of the killer wave heading towards the coast. This book describes individuals immediate reaction to the tsunami and how the message was passed on through Phuket.
In the book, daily routines are described as evidence of survival. There is a common link thru the stories and explained by the the decision of one person not going on his morning jet ski ride. Firstly the rider would have been killed by the giant wave, and secondly the unused jet ski was used as a floatation device to save someones life as it was washed inland with the surge of water. It was because of the one persons action not to go on the jet-ski, that other lives were saved.
Brigands M.C By Robert Muchamore
Our Man in Demascus: Elie Cohn by Eli Ben-hanan
The Lovely Bones. By Alice Sebold
Billy Elliot by Melvin Burgess
Billy lives in a town in the UK that is in the middle of a miner's strike. Billy's father, Jackie Elliot, and his brother, Tony, are immersed in this situation. They are two of the miners who feel strongly about and will not put up with Thatcher's (the boss) ways. Billy tries not to get in the way while his father is busy striking for better wages but when his father finds out that Billy has put down the boxing gloves and picks up ballet shoes, this raises tensions in the family.
Jackie Elliot wants a better life for his boys and that is why he is so involved in the strike. He would do anything to get this for his boys. At the beginning it appears that Tony is self obsessed but the reality is that he wants a better life for himself and his family. Billy wants to make his dad proud but feels that he cannot do that in a pair of ballet shoes so hides his dream. After huge personality struggles within the family, Billy is allowed to persue his deam.
The book was very interesting in the way it was written. It goes through the book relaying the story from the different perspectives of the individual main characters, showing us the story through their eyes and thoughts.
Billy Elliot shows us that passion, determination and hope will triumph especially when family and love are on your side.
Billy Elliot is an easy book to read because once you start it takes you away. I recommend this entertaining book to young teens.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Animal Farm - George Orwell
'Animal Farm' is a story about animals rebelling against humans and taking over a farm in England. There are many main characters. Napoleon is one of them. He is a young boar that is the self-promclaimed leader of Animal Farm. Snowball is another boar who also leads Animal Farm but he always disagrees with Napoleon which causes arguments between the animals. Boxer and Clover are both strong and determined horses. Benjamin is the wise donkey and oldest animal on the farm.
Mao's Last Dancer
The Hunger Games
Point Blanc - Anthony Horowitz
Goodnight Mister Tom
Goodnight Mister Tom is set in the middle of World War Two between September 1939-1941. William Beech, the protagonist of the novel is sent to the village of Little Weirwold where he finds Mr. Thomas Oakley, a recluse. Mr. Thomas Oakley became a recluse as a result of his wife and child passing away from Scarletina, an infectious disease. The death of his wife and child had such a huge impact on him that he isolated himself at home for 40 years. He did not socialize due to their deaths.
Prior to William Beech stepping on Mr. Thomas Oakley’s doorstep, he was continuously punished and beaten up by his religious mother. Her cold-hearted attitude made William feel unwanted and useless. When William showed up to Thomas’ house he had bruises and marks all over his body from his mother. Mr. Thomas Oakley cared, dressed and fed William till he was told to go back to his mother because she was ‘sick’. At this point in the novel, Michelle Magorian makes the reader feel sympathetic for William and we know that the mother has evil intentions of William returning back home.
Goodnight Mr. Tom is a story of Willie's recovery from severe abuse that is given an unusually rich and vivid setting. The novel reads like a page- turner, when Tom journeys to London to find Willie. Goodnight Mr. Tom is grim and horrifying. The novel is also very descriptive and if you are a good reader and interested in the Second World War then this is the sort of book for you to read. Goodnight Mr. Tom is a very good book and it includes sadness as well as adventure. I think that most people who read this book will enjoy it and I certainly recommend it. I don’t recommend this book for young children; I don’t think that they will understand it a lot. Overall I rate this book an 8 out of 10.
Parvana
Deborah Ellis writes "Parvana" with so much explanation. Parvana is a girl that has suffered from war, so she has to move into a small room with her family of 7. Along the way, her father gets taken away because of a various reason and is put into jail. Parvana's family had to come up with a solution to get the food since only men are allowed out of the house. Her and her family succeed with their task, but things are still not right. This book is easy to read, and the story line is well managed. I recommend this book to everyone.
Man Vs Beast is the sixth and one of the best books so far in the Cherub series. It is about the secret organization Cherub and three of its agents Kyle a gay 16 year old boy, James a confidant 14 year old boy and his sister Lauren a caring 11 year old girl that can get rough if she needs to and their mission to infiltrate and get intelligence on members of a radical anti-animal testing group.
The book follows the group of teenagers through the twists and turns of their tense mission. The trio are faced with some scary and life threatening situations that will test all of there skills. There are parts of the book that make you cringe and want to look away but you just can't and will sit there reading for hours.
The reason that they use Children is that "Adults never suspect that children are spying on them".
I really liked this book. I have read all the other books before this one and would recommend reading them in order. The idea that they're not just highly skilled agents but also children with kid and teen related issues really made me want to keep reading.
Sail by James Patterson
When the luxury yacht the Dunne’s are sailing goes missing Peter Carlyle becomes a very happy and relieved man. The Dunne family is a very wealthy and spoilt American family who are just recovering from the loss of their father and husband. A selfish and greedy lawyer named Peter Carlyle falls in 'love' with Anne Dunne. Peter finds the Dunne’s wealth too tempting and marries Anne in an effort to get his hands on it. Peter is able to gain the Dunne’s trust and love which allows Peter to execute his evil master plan. The next summer Peter waves his new family off on a sailing trip. Little do they know that Peter is using this in an attempt to murder them and keep their wealth. When the Dunne’s realize their lives are at risk they work together to all stay alive and take revenge on whoever brought this on them. "Sail" is a gripping book which is impossible to put down. This book is very clever as it starts from a scene that occurs later in the book and then, from the start works its way towards that scene revealing all the information required to understand everything clearly. This book is a must read for any teen or adult for the reason that it has a great storyline and thrilling secrets which are unveiled throughout the book.
Specky Magee - Felice Arena & Garry Lyon
Once by Morris Gleitzman
Morris Gleitzman is a very successful author. He has written many fantastic books. Once was published in 2005, it was the first book of the series. The other two books were called Then and Now. I haven’t read the other two books but if the others books are like the first one I would be very impressed. Once was based in Poland, during the Holocaust which was happened in 1935-1945 and was when Adolf Hitler attempted to destroy and eliminate the Jews. Once was about a fourteen-year-old Jewish boy Felix, his parents owned a bookshop and he always thought that his parents would come back and take him away from the orphanage. Felix one day ran away to search for his parents. Felix then meets a girl named Zelda and this novel is about the early parts of the journey they had together. This book was a sad story however a great one too. This book was a very unique book in the way that every chapter started with the title ‘Once’. This book was a very good book and I recommend that everybody should read it. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this eventful and inspiring journey.
Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins
The book I read is called the Hunger Games. The book tells about the future in North America through the eyes of a poor girl named Katniss Everdeen. The world they live in is divided up into twelve districts and a capitol. District one is the richest and twelve the poorest. Throughout the book there are mentions of the districts uprising against the capitols cruel ruling. The capitol over powered the districts and as a result they set up the ‘Hunger Games’, as a way to show the districts they are powerless to the capitol.
The Hunger Games is a competition held every year, where one male and one female aged 12-18 from each district is selected to fight to the death in a huge arena. The battle often takes a long time and has many evil twists from the capitol game makers. Katniss’s sister Prim was selected to participate in the games. Katniss decided to step in for her younger sister, knowing that it would be a death sentence, but to save her sister.
One of Katniss’s friends from school peeta is selected to participate with her. They embark on a mission to help keep each other alive for as long as possible, and find true love between them. The capitol makes rule changes and allows for a district to win apposed to an individual. The book is part of a trilogy. I really enjoyed reading the book and recommended it to anyone who loves action and violence. The first part of the book is hard to get in to but once you get past that you wont put the book down. This book is for anyone aged 13+.
Twilight-Stephenie Meyer
Twilight is the story of Edward and Bella’s romance. Forget any vampire romance you have read before, Twilight is so unique it is almost like it’s in its own genre. The book is targeted at Young Adult readers but it has the ability to satisfy both teenagers and adults. The story is told from the perspective of Bella, so the reader only ever know what she knows, making Edward and his family a mystery that is slowly unravelled through out the book. Even by the end of the book I was still wanting to know more about the Cullen family - hopefully their characters might be developed further in future books. Bella herself is a well written and realistic character, shy and lacking in confidence, her sarcastic inner voice narrates the story for the reader. Twilight is simply and yet beautifully written. The descriptions of Forks leave you feeling like you can almost smell the damp air and hear the rain falling on the roof. The romance between Edward and Bella is touching. There is a gloomy feel to their impossible love, yet at the same time they both are not willing to give up their relationship. The book reaches its peak of excitement as the romance between Bella and Edward turns into fight. I have heard Twilight described as “a vampire story for people who don’t like vampire stories” and I think I would agree with that. This book has something for everyone. Young adult readers, vampire fans or romance readers will all find Twilight to be an interesting story. Believe me, this is one book that you won’t want to end.
Standing my Ground by Matthew Hayden
Gentlemen by Michael Northrop
The gentlemen of the title are rough boys with difficult home lives. “They call us hard cases , and we are” sums up Micheal the narrator . He is cynical about their dull town, unexceptional school and lacklustre prospects. The writer presents a very credible picture of young men sinking to meet the low expectations that society holds for them.
Most people at school are scared of them, particularly of Tommy, who is prone to violent outbursts, and suddenly disappears. Through a series of painful misunderstandings the boys suspect Mr Haberman, their English teacher, of Tommy’s murder. In the end, long after he really needed to, Micheal appreciated that Mr Haberman tried to draw out the best in his students ”He was showing me some respect, and I just wasn’t used to seeing any”
The narrator addresses the reader in a very engaging and intimate style, taking the reader into his confidence and revealing all his fears and confusion,sometimes with dark humour. This is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book as the reader is given a deep insight into the thoughts of the main character.
The story reaches a very tense and brutal climax, to which Micheal is mainly an observer; he has ample opportunity to reflect and regret this later.
I highly recommend this to Yr 9-12 readers
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Bible by God
“First God made heaven & earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, “let there be light”; and there was light.” With possibly one of the strongest opening lines in history, the Holy Bible captivates the reader immediately . Here we are not only introduced to the main character, named God, but the reader is also informed that he is some sort of divine being with super natural powers. The bible contains every type of genre known to man, ranging from romance to bloody wars, the bible has it all. Unlike most novels, the bible is the type of book that one can choose a random page and immediately be hooked. One can read this book every week for the rest ones life and still hang onto each word. Due to the book’s disjointed plot, the reader has the ability to interpret the book in any way. The famous French medieval rabbi, Rashi, spent his life devoted to understanding the bible by making extremely detailed commentaries. I would not regard this as God’s best work, mainly because of its preachy tone. The book took a while to really gain popularity, nearly 3000 years. This is mainly due to the main character not putting in an appearance until half way through. It certainly heats up once Jesus Christ is on the scene. Not often does a reviewer get the privilege to read such a masterpiece. The Bible is more than a book, it is an instruction manual to life, without it there would be no religions, no wars, nor would there be something to believe in. Despite this I rate this a 5 out of 5, in other words an instant classic, however, it is only suitable for children over the age 15 as there is countless examples of gruesome deaths, rapes, unbelievable miracles and more.
Harry potter and the deathly hallows by J.K Rowling
Marching Powder By Rusty Young
Follow Thomas’s adventure from the beginning when he puts his trust into the wrong person’s hands and gets sent to the strangest jail in the world, located in Bolivia. He arrives in the prisons and finds himself in big debt because he has to pay to enter the jail and buy his own cell! To overcome his debt he slowly starts a tour group, allowing backpackers from all over the world into the prison and even stay overnight. The main attraction of his tour is the finest cocaine in the world which is produced in the prison!
This story tells us about friendship, corruption and cocaine but the main moral of it, is that it is never too late to change your ways. There is always time to go back to the innocent little person you first are when you are born. He couldn’t have done this without his friends, all of who supported him through his horrific times in the San Pedro jail and looked up to him for leadership. They are the people who changed Thomas into what he ended up being.
I highly recommend this book to all the mature readers out there. It hooks you after the first page and after that there is no way out but to finish it.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Mission Telemark by Amanda Mitchison
Four teenagers and one deadly mission. The odds of them coming back, almost impossible. A story of courage and intelligence in the face of adversity as British Secret Services come up with a plan that could possibly end World War II. They decide to train Åse, Frederick, Jakob and Lars, four 13 year old adolescents, from occupied Norway. Their mission, to blow up heavy water stores at Vemork and prevent the Nazis from making an atomic bomb. You follow the characters journey through the snowy mountains and rivers and read on as they struggle to survive.
This is a great read for anyone around the ages of 14 or 15. I felt that I could relate well with the four main characters because we are all around the same age and their thoughts and feelings would be similar to mine in the same situation. Over the course of the mission the characters got closer and closer to each other and gained each other’s trust. When Amanda Mitchison wrote the description of Vemork, it was extremely easy to paint a picture in my head of the rocky cliffs and the flowing streams that surrounded the plant.
It kept me wanting to turn the next page because I had to know what would happen to the characters next and if anything would happen to them. I felt I was part of the expeditions that the group went on. There was also a great message about teamwork and how individuals can work together to get an objective done and i think that's important because it is something that we can learn to do today.