Daniel Sacks
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.

Darren Shan is an appraised fanstasy horror writer and this is one of his best selling series. Lord Loss Revolves around Grubitch Grady (Grubbs for short) who's family is brutally murdered by a demon and his familiars. As he goes insane about what happened he gets sent to an institution. no one believes him until his uncle comes in to talk to him. He discovers he is from a long line of magicians and his family has a curse... occasionally a teenager turns into a werewolf. This book is great for anyone who wants to get into the adult horror scene. This the first of a 10 book,highly addicting, horror adventure, spanning 3 main characters and 1000's of years.

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.

Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling

The deathly hallows is the last of the Harry Potter series. It is about Harry potter on a quest to kill his arch enemy, Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort have been enemies ever since Harry was only a baby when Voldemort killed his parents, but not that thats the only reason with many other loose ends which are finally understood.

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 Book Thief is a story of a girl named Liesel Meminger who is living during the Holocaust. Liesel loses her brother on the way to becoming a newly foster child. This loss haunts her throughout her life. Her new father, Hans Hubermann is a saint, who would never hurt a fly, and who's sole companion is his accordion. Rosa Hubermann repeatedly beats Liesel, although in the circumstance they are in, she is the perfect woman. These characters help Liesel overcome her struggles. But her utopia, the perfect way for her to escape is books. She becomes immeresed in the stories of other, and her new found hobby becomes her way out of tradgedy. The title "The Book Thief" is given so because Liesel becomes obsessed with the thrill of the crime of robbery and the outcome of obtaining a book. When a young Jewish man turns up on the doorstep of the Hubermanns and becomes the new resident of their underground basement, Liesel's life changes forever. Liesel and Max become close friends, and it is Max who opens Liesel up to the wider world. Liesel's character grows, and is challeneged numerous amounts of times on the way, but her persistance to escape death pulls her through. The Book Thief is narrated by death, which gives the reader an insight on the real trauma and tradgedy of the Holocaust. Although death recounts the story of Liesel, he must also tell the stories of others along the way, and these accompanying stories help to build the foundation of the book. I thorougly recommend this book to all, for it is one of the most interesting and inspiring books I have ever read.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, a thriller book, set in the not to distant future, in Northern America, is about a group of twelve districts. Each year the twelve districts select one boy and one girl to enter a competition called the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games, is a competition where the last person surviving wins. There are no rules.

The main character of this story is Katniss Everdeen. A young girl from district twelve. Katniss is very family focused. Her sister, Primrose, is her inspiration. Prim is a young girl, unable to take care of herself. When Prim is selected to enter the Hunger Games, Katniss will not accept this, and opts to enter the games herself. Katniss's partner in the game is a young lad called Peter. He is the son of a wealthy baker in district 12. Each contestant in the games have their own special talent. Katniss's talent is archery and hunting. This is showcased at the talent show, before each Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a very engaging, exciting and moving book, about hope, perserverence and a touch of gore. I recommend this book to teenagers between the ages of 13-18. I rate this book a 9.5/10.

Tsunami Stories

A devastating, emotional read about true experiences in the 2004 Thailand tsunami, where some people lost there loved ones, saved other peoples life or had a near death experience.
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

Brigands M.C – Robert Muchamore Jay Levy Brigands M.C takes you into the criminal bike gang and is presented through the eyes of a young CHERUB agent, James Adams. James and his team are sent on a secret mission in order to infiltrate the gang which specialises in importing and exporting dangerous good. The objective of the team is to become accepted into the gang and acquire knowledge about the imported weapons. James is a very typical teenager and his hobbies include sport, Arsenal, girls, friends and girls. But what enemies don’t expect is a child spying on them. These aren’t your average children, they are highly trained special agents which are hired to complete jobs that adults cannot. The journey and spy life excites the reader and the realistic scenes could make any person glued to its pages for hours James teams up with a younger agent, Dante, who has a vast knowledge of the gang. Dante’s past proves crucial to the success of the mission and his mental toughness is put to the test. Every CHERUB agent comes from somewhere. Dante Scott still has nightmares about the one night when his parents and family was brutally killed by “The Fuhrer.” When Dante joins James on the mission he is ready to use everything he's learned to get revenge on the people who killed his family. I recommend this book to all teenage boys. It is quite sexist and is written to attract male readers.

Nicholas Sparks book, The Wedding, is about a man who thinks his wife doesn’t love him anymore. Wilson and Jane have been married for a long thirty years. Wilson tries to figure out some ways of which he can somehow make her fall back in love with him. He is desperate to try get his wife, Jane back. Wilson is a type a man who struggles to show much emotion. He was a successful man and has always provided well for his family, but now with his daughter's wedding coming up, he has to face the fact that him and Jane have grown apart and wonders if she even loves him anymore. Wilson is sure of one thing, which is that his love for his wife has always been strong and that he still loves her. Now, with the memories of his in-laws' fifty years of marriage as his guide, Wilson struggles and tries to find out if she still loves him the way he loves her. A challenge in the book was that Wilson tries to change his and Jane relationship to make it stronger. The title of the book ‘The Wedding’ means the wedding of Wilson and Jane’s daughter which is coming up. I highly recommend this book as it is gave me an idea of what life could be like when you’re older.

Our Man in Demascus: Elie Cohn by Eli Ben-hanan

Eli Ben-hanan's thrilling story, Our Man in Demascus, is an exiting, amazing real-life story that keeps your head buried between its pages and in mesmorization of its tremendous readings. Elie Cohn or Elie Cohen is a normal working Jewish Egyptian who lives in Israel. Life was normal for Elie and his pregnant wife Nadia. But things changed. He was later confronted by Israeli Secret Service and was sent to Syria undercover. Elie Cohn was later known as Israel's best spy ever. The book takes you through the emotional story of family, patriotism and mystery. I highly recommend this book to all zionistic and mystery craving people. If you read this book I warn you, you may never put it down.

Dear John By Nicholas Sparks “The saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to make it last” this quote in the book ‘Dear John’ by Nicholas Sparks admittedly moved me, it made me realize the things that are actually important in life. The book is based on a typical love story involving the two main characters Savannah and John. John was messing with the wrong group of friends in his teenage life and began to drink, smoke and not care about other people’s feelings until Savannah comes along and makes him realize who the person hiding in side of him truly is and commences to think what really matters in life and in fact who he was hurting. Throughout the book there are many struggles with the relationship of savannah and john as john had made a commitment to work in the army and had to travel to many countries for long periods of time. I felt that the title of this book ‘dear john’ was a great title because when john had to do his duty in the army he and savannah wrote letters to each other. I assume the reason why Nicholas sparks chose to title the book ‘dear john’ and not ‘dear savannah’ was because in the book it actually was savannahs idea to write letters to each other, to keep their relationship going. I thought the book was well written, very descriptive, it had a good story line and was down to earth but the only disappointing thing I found was at the end of part 2, it was a bit horrid for me as the book brought so much excitement until it just ended with a sad unexpected part. To me the message in this book is to think the way you act around others, to say to yourself “is this really who I want to be?” and to make sure you make the right choices in life before it’s too late.

The Lovely Bones. By Alice Sebold

Alice Sebold’s debut novel, The Lovely Bones, is a very mysterious and captivating book. It is based on a young girl, Susie Salmon, who was raped and murdered by someone from her neighbourhood in 1973. Susie narrates the story, as she watches from her place in heaven, “the inbetween”, how her family and friends are coping without her. From happy and cheerful, to devastated and miserable, her family were struggling to cope with their terrible loss. Susie’s little brother, Buckley, has no idea where Susie is or what is going on… the word ‘gone’ is not understood by him yet.

Susie has to watch her killer walk around as if nothing is wrong, while her family are trying so hard to believe that she is still alive. When the detective comes home with evidence that they’ve found an elbow, they were well aware it was over from there. Her father and sister knew exactly who murdered Susie, but couldn’t do anything about it, as they had no proof. Susie was not the first person murdered by her killer, and in her heaven she makes friends with the other young girl that he’s murdered. Everything Susie wants appears as soon as she thinks of it, except for the one thing she wants most: to be back with the people she loved, back on earth.

The Lovely Bones is about a horrible and shocking tragedy, yet Alice Sebold is able to turn it into something hopeful and positive. This novel grabs the attention of its audience, and is most suited for ages 15 and up. When reading this, it feels as if you are there with the characters in the book. It feels so real and I highly recommend it.

Billy Elliot by Melvin Burgess

Billy Elliot is the complicated tale of a boy who's brother and their father and his father before him and his father before him, picked up a pair of boxing gloves every weekend, but Billy chose to hang up the gloves and strap on a pair of ballet shoes.
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.

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.

The revolution of the animals rebelling against the humans is going smoothly until Napoleon drives Snowball out of Animal Farm, taking complete control and destroying the true meaning of a 'revolution'. The revolution that is written about in 'Animal Farm' is based on the 'Stalin Era' before World War 2. It is the story of the rise to power of Joseph Stalin during the Russian Revolution.

The author, George Orwell wrote this book from 1943-1944 but was not able to get it published until 1945 because it was quite controversial. 'Animal Farm' is a very enjoyable story with some fascinating characters and exciting events. I recommend this book to adults and children over 13. I rate this book 9 out of 10.

Mao's Last Dancer

Li Cunxin writes a phenomenal novel on his life and how he became a famous ballet dancer. Li was born in an unpleasant village in China with his Dad and Mum and six other siblings. His parents worked as farmers (they were peasants). Li revives ballet in China and gets found by famous scouts who then send him to Beijing for this amazing life of dancing to begin. Seeing as Li was only 11 years of age and wasn't living in the best conditions, he missed his family and had terrible thoughts of them every night although for the first time in his life he had enough food to fill him up each night. At the age of 19 after going through his fathers death he finally gets chosen to go to America to become the premier of his class and generation. Li shows that you have to work hard to get what you want in life and to always follow your dreams. This is an excellent book and i recommend it to anyone over the age of 10, there is also a kids book. The one thing amazing about this book is that you can contrast it with your life and this novel can inspire people to push themselves to reach for the stars!

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, tells the story of an unfortunate teenage girl, Katniss Evergreen, who struggles to support her family. She lives in a futuristic age where her country is separated into 12 different districts. Every year a boy and a girl from each district have no choice but to compete in the most violent & dangerous game created.

The object of the game is to kill enemy competitors, and to survive the gruelling challenges that the mischievous game makers put into play. their minds are put to the ultimate test when they have to think of strategies to win.

When Peeta Mellark, a boy who lives in the same district as Katniss and is competing in the Hunger Games has confessed on national television that he has feelings for her, tension, confusion and anger are felt by Katniss. She is unsure whether to trust him or if he's just putting it on for show. Their friendship is stretched to its limit and soon unravels into a tragic love story.

Despite the sluggish start to the book, the overall storyline is very intriguing and I recommend it to teenagers who love a thrill.

Point Blanc - Anthony Horowitz

Point Blanc is the second book in the Alex Rider series, written by Anthony Horowitz. This series is an action series about a young, orphaned, British schoolboy whose guardian, his uncle, dies and he finds out that he worked as a secret agent for MI6. He is then asked by MI6 to join and finish his fathers work. Each book tells the story of Alex's missions, despite him proclaiming his plead to live a normal life.

Blanc, is a French word meaning 'White'. Point Blanc is a finishing school (fictional) in which troubled children of wealthy parents are sent to be educated. Point Blanc is located in the French Alps (hence Blanc meaning white). With the deaths of two wealthy fathers of which both sons attend the school, Alex is sent under disguise to investigate. He faces great danger and near death experiences.

Point Blanc and overall, the Alex Rider series, are all great action packed books. The book is perfect for any boys dreaming of being a secret spy and for girls who share the same fantasy. The author, Anthony Horowitz, does a great job of keeping the book interesting at all times, with rare occurrences when Alex's safety is a certainty. There are six more books (eight in total) in the series and I am looking forward to reading them.

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.