'The Fault in our Stars' John Green by Lorena Perch 9FR

First of all, let me start of by saying that I am extremely uninterested in reading- no book has ever made me want to continue to read past the first chapter! This was true, except now my perception of reading has changed entirely- not just wanting to read past chapter one but to want to read more in general! All of your English teachers will tell you that reading boosts your grades but also I think that it has widened my imagination, it has gotten me off of the internet- and believe me it must be special if it can do that- lastly, as cliché as it sounds, I think that it has made me a generally better person.

Now for the book! The Fault In Our Stars tells the story of 16 year old Hazel Grace Lancaster and her life with terminal lung cancer. Hazel is an outcast who has absolutely no social life due to her illness therefore her parents, predominantly mother, force her to go to a cancer kids support group- which she thinks is a load of rubbish! Until, one day a gorgeous guy named Augustus Waters, who is also a cancer patient but is in remission, turns up at the support group. Throughout the book you follow their romance journey through their euphoric and the utterly devastating moments together! I dare not give away any more spoilers!

This book is flawless! I have never cried so much, smiled so much or enjoyed a book this much in my whole life! The characters are amazing! Hazel is very smart and she won’t be fooled by the world, she accepts her situation and lives life like any ordinary teenager but just happens to be dying as well- she is an absolute inspiration. Augustus is indescribable- he is a perfect gentleman and you cannot help but fall in love with him!   

All of the characters have stolen my heart! This book has an extremely serious and philosophical outlook on life- as heart-breaking as it is, it is as equally heart-warming! You can’t help yourself but get emotionally invested in their lives; when things go down-hill you can’t help but fall with them! Also I’d like to applaud John Green for writing such a remarkable book with such an extraordinary meaning behind it: ‘a short life can still be a full life.’ Furthermore it shows you how lucky you really are compared to so many of your peers who are suffering with illness; you can take time to appreciate everything that you have. Plus, it shows you that just because people with illness can’t necessarily do everything that you can, it doesn’t mean that their emotions and lives are any different to yours. People say get your tissues at the ready because you will need them- they aren’t lying! I literally thought that this book will be the end of me.

It wasn’t just the phenomenal story that made this book so amazing- it was extremely well written! John’s writing is fantastic- it allows you to find yourself and discover where you are at with your own emotions! Some of the language used was exquisite- I’m not that stupid, but some of the words left me needing a dictionary! The Fault In Our Stars is full of countless memorable quotes which are ingrained into your brain and will probably never leave; they are truly motivating and meaningful and will instantly make you feel something- wheth

er it be extremely happy or tremendously depressed. Some of my favourites include: ‘some infinities are bigger than other infinities;’ also ‘my thoughts are stars that I cannot fathom into constellations,’ plus ‘you say you’re not special because the world doesn’t know about you, but that’s an insult to me. I know about you.’ Lastly a quote from William Shakespeare, reiterated in this book, which inspired the name of this book ‘the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.’
 
Overall this book is by far the best book I’ve ever read! I love how it deals with quite a touchy and deep subject with a perfect balance between being light-hearted and the point-blank truth. Subsequent to reading the novel I read the advertisement about John Green’s books at the end of The Fault In Our Stars and it said ‘Laugh. Cry. Think.’ These three words describe this book faultlessly. It then went on to say in the small print ‘WARNING: these books contain characters that may well stay with you forever. Suitable for anyone who enjoys intelligent writing, laughing out loud and blinking back tears.’  I think that this book deserves 5/5 stars on all bases! A friend of mine said to me the other day ‘I don’t read. I’m just going to wait for the movie,’ in all honesty I would have said that a month ago but now I would say read the book because it is life-changing and I don’t think that any film could live up to the raw emotion and amount of detail that this book can give you! I would recommend this book to anyone who remotely seems interested because this book will suck you in, not let you leave, more importantly, change your perceptio

'Refugee Boy' Benjamin Zephaniah by Shabir Bakhtiar 9FR

Alem is on holiday with his father for a few days in London. He has never been out of Ethiopia before and is very excited. They have a great few days together until one morning when Alem wakes up in the bed and breakfast. His father has left him. It is only when the owner of the bed and breakfast hands him a letter that Alem is given an explanation. Alem's father admits that because of the political problems in Ethiopia both he and Alem's mother felt Alem would be safer in London, even though it is breaking their hearts to do this. Alem is now on his own, in the hands of the social services and the Refugee Council. He lives from letter to letter, waiting to hear from his father, and in particular about his mother, who has now gone missing. This book is great book by Benjamin Zephaniah.

'The Fault in Our Stars' John Green by Mehdi Elmeknassi 9FR

This book is set in Indianapolis. A 16 year old called Hazel Grace has to go to a cancer patients’ group that her mum made her go to. Because of, her cancer she needs an oxygen tank to breath. One day, she met a boy. His name was Augustus Waters. He is there to support his friend, Isaac.

This book has a rollercoaster of emotions. Love, sadness and happiness. It makes you really connect with the characters using emotive language. If you enjoy adult books with witty humour and truly heart-breaking moments, look no further. I would absolutely recommend this book.

'Love at Second Sight' Cathy Hopkins by Mays Alsaad 9FR

'Love at Second Sight' is a love story by Cathy Hopkins. Jo has never been in love before and as the boy she likes has a queue of girls after him and it doesn’t look like things are going to change. 

But when she’s dragged along to see a clairvoyant by her two coupled-up best friends, Jo’s told that in her past life she experienced true love and to be happy in this life, she needs to find her soul mate again in the present day. Jo doesn’t believe a word of it but then a series of events of events began to change her mind. With three boys in her life she wonders how she is ever going to recognise the one. I

t is a very good book and is interesting. It has a good story line which makes you want to read on

'Pure' Julianna Baggott by James Francis 9FR

 

Pure takes place in an apocalyptic world with the main case being Pressia Belze. Pressia lives with her granddad (or who she thinks is her granddad) but soon he world turns upside down when genetically advanced people enter her world from the safety of their dome. She soon finds out that her real mother is out there only a fingertip away and clues have been left like bread crumbs. On her travels Pressia meets a series of people all mutated by the apocalypse. One man has birds fused to his back which flutter to show his current emotions. When she finds her granddad has been captured by the dome she is only more determined to find her mum and take them down.

Although the book seems to be slow starting off when the clues start to come together the book seems to be glued to your hand as hours fly by. Pure also requires some concentration to make sense of the surroundings and clues given. There is a sense of achievement when you work out a clue before the characters.     

'Little Manfred' Michael Morpurgo by George Ladbrook 9FR

This story starts on a wild and blustery day in 1966 on the beach.
Charley and Alex were down along the beach with their white and black sheep dog, Manfred. This story starts on a wild and blustery day in 1966 on the beach.

Charley and Alex were down along the beach with their white and black sheep dog, Manfred. Manfred died after having worked with Walter on the farm. Walter was made the god father of Manfred's daughter, Inga. But Walter's friendship for Jutta (Manfred's wife) turned into love and they were soon married. Now Walter was a step father of Inga's instead of a god father.

I would want to recommend this book to the age group of 8 to 10. I think it would be too much to understand for children who are under 8 years

'Death and Life of Charlie St. cloud' Ben Sherwood by Alice Baker 9FR

I am writing a book review on this book. I think it is a very memorable book. This book is very emotional and will make you cry, however it has a happy but sad ending at the same time. It is about a boy and his brother who are really close. But then one day, his brother tries sneaking out of the house however his brother follows him and gets in the car. 

Then they have a massive car accident. Even though one of them dies their friendship still remains as he can see the spirit world. But things are about to change again as Charlie meets a girl and breaks Sam’s (his dead brother) promise. The type of audience I would recommend for this book is anyone who likes romantic but sad stories, however I wouldn’t recommend it for younger children as it may be to upsetting

'Goodnight Mr Tom' Michelle Magorian by Beth Stamford 9FR

I enjoy 'Goodnight Mr Tom' as it was based in the war which can gives you some formal information and facts about the war. 

The most interesting part in the book is when Willie gets sent away from his mum, this builds tension and makes you want to read more. 

This book could be read by a variety of ages from 10- 100 so can we enjoyed by everyone.  My favourite character is Mr Tom as he can go from a loving character to a grumpy character whom  always has something interesting going on in his life.

'War Horse' Michael Morpurgo by Ben Hume 9FR

War horse is a brilliant book because this horse went all around the world but when it gets to the middle of the battle field he gets trapped in barbed wire. 

 

But suddenly the Germans and English work together just to help the horse but then the Germans and the English argue about who takes the horse and the Englishman wins the toss of the coin.

'Refugee Boy' Benjamin Zephaniah by Amy Collier 9FR

The book I am reviewing is Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah. It is about a father and son who have to escape their country because of riots and war, their country is called Ethiopia.

The son called Alam who is fourteen years old gets separated from his father and gets put into care.  Around halfway in the book alam receives a letter from his father explaining that his mother has unfortunately been killed, alam is in distraught by the news in the letter but soon after his father comes and joins him in England. Once his father joins him in England everything starts looking bright for alam and his father’s future. Towards the end of the book his father gets shot and killed and alam is left on his own.

I recommend this book because it is very interesting and shows a clear view what people have to do to escape their country.

George's Marvellous Medicine' Roald Dahl by Aaron Bailey 9RF

 

The book 'George’s Marvellous Medicine' is a great book written by Roald Dahl about a boy who gets stuck inside a house with his horrible grandma. 

He then conjures up ideas and plans to get rid of her and to blow her up using weirdly combined ingredients in a strange medicine that will make her ill.

My opinion of this book is that it is a great book for the family and it will grip the reader from the start to the very end. 

This book will be great for young readers aswell as it has a friendly touch to it.

Read this book it is great.

'The Lovely Bones' Alice Sebold by Rachel Fagan 9KT

The book I'm reviewing is ‘The Lovely Bones’ by Alice Sebold. It is a sad but heart warming story.

In the book it talks about how Susie was murdered. Furthermore the feelings and emotions of her friends and family members on how they dealt with the news. As a result of that it tells you from two points of view. One from Susie in heaven and one from the family and friends with the events that happen along the years and more importantly how Susie is watching and looking after them along the way.

Overall it was a very good book and made you want to read on, I would recommend it.

'The Hunger Games Trilogy' Suzanne Collins by Tom Day 9JO

I think that the hunger games trilogy is the best set of books and I would recommend it to anyone. In these books you follow Katniss and Peeta in their fight for survival, against all the odds. In this book you follow them every step of the way to becoming the champions and beat the capitol at their own game.

The only down side to these books is that you know in the first two books that they will survive, however we don’t know how they make it therefore making these books more interesting. I would rate this book 9/10 as the books one and two have a predictable ending other than that these books are amazing.

'Alex Rider' Anthony Horowitz by Harry Thomas 9JO

Alex Rider is a book about a boy that becomes a secret agent and always gets into trouble and has to find his way out of trouble. It is a good book because it sort of reminds of James Bond but smaller. The only bad thing is that the start of the book it’s quite slow. Alex Rider is also quite cheeky and always has a twist in the book.

'The Twilight Series' Stephanie Meyer by Rosie Raynsford 9JO

I do not read many books but Twilight has to be one of my favourite, my other favourite books are the rest of the twilight saga (New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn). I like this book because I enjoy reading what Bella Swan has to say about the gorgeous fictional character Edward Cullen.   

I also like this book because I can compare it to the film and how they are different. In my opinion the book is much better than the films and the only good thing about the film is that you get to stare at Robert Pattinsons face for 2 hours. As you can tell I am Team Edward and am totally against Jacob as I think he is a rude and beggy character.  I am currently on my second time of reading this book because it is really good and I never get bored of it.

'The Hunger Games' Suzanne Collins by Raja 9JO

I read The Hunger Games trilogy. I thought the books were really good because the story line was very captivating. However, the books took me a while to read (I’m not the fastest reader). I read the books after watching the first and second movie.

The genre of the book is action and adventure. It’s about a teenage girl called Katniss Everdeen , from district 12, who has been picked to enter  the annual Hunger Games, along with her love interest Peeta Malark. The Hunger Games are games in with a boy and a girl is picked for each district (1-12) to go to the Capitol and fight until there is only one survivor. They soon spark up a rebellion which results to a war against the Capitol (the people who run the Games).

I would recommend these books to people who are interested in action and adventure, also because I really enjoyed them and personally I think they’re a lot better than the movies!

'The Butterfly Lion' Michael Morpurgo by Pennie Haynes J9O

It is about a boy bunking school and running into an old ladies front garden and she takes him in and tells him the story about her son. He lives in Africa and is not allowed past the gates around his house, but he goes out and finds this white lion cub with no mum. The boy tells his parents but they don’t believe him until he shows them and let the boy keep the lion cub. But a circus leader comes to their house and offers a lot of money for the lion but the boy doesn’t want to lose the lion cub.

It’s good because you get into the book straight away and don’t want to put it down. It is also an easy read.

The negative things about it are that it’s a short book and want it to go on for longer. I would recommend it to anyone.

The Gallagher Girls-Ally Carter (series) Ally Carter by Monica 9JO

This book is about a girl named Cammie and her life in a spy school for girls. It goes through all the normal teenage girl problems but mixes it in with a life of a spy. It’s full of drama, tension and suspense with a twist of romance. If you like books that keep you on the edge of your seat then this is the book for you.

There are six books in the series, starting  with ‘I’d tell you I love you, But then I’d have to kill you,’ which shows Cammie at the beginning of her first year at the school, as the series carries on, the story and drama develops and unfolds and you don’t know who you can trust. By the last book, ‘United We Spy,’ the series has become very dark and has many secrets which have been uncovered.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone but especially to teenage girls, as it is a real page turner and will keep you wanting more. I really love this series and hate that I’m on the end book. I felt that in many parts of this book I have been able to relate to how she felt. Ally Carter describes every scenario so well and in so much detail that I can imagine it and picture myself being there, with the same problems that Cammie has to face. I’d give this book five out of five stars.

'Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief' Rick Riordan by Josh 9JO

I read the book Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, the book is the first book out of a series of five.

I liked the book because its genre was an action and adventure; also furthermore the book was really good because I had seen the film it was much easier to follow. Also the book included a lot of Greek mythology so it can teach you about Greek times and myths. The book was good because it had a great story line to it.

I would recommend the book to years 10-14 because it’s not that hard to understand what is happening, but also it tells you more about Greek mythology creatures.

The main characters in the book are Percy, Anabeth, and Grover. The three characters have to go on a quest to save Percy’s mum from Hades lair. Within the book the three have to work together to kill monsters and complete the quest.

Moreover the book is great because it starts off the book in reality then as the book goes on the it becomes more of a fantasy.

 

'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' J K Rowling by Janki Patel 9JO

The Harry Potter books are a mysterious series of books to escape into a wonderful world of wizardry. Harry potter and the Philosophers stone is a story about Harry and his two new friends settling down for their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft. But they take part in evil without knowing. Harry Potter is a shy and self-doubting and puts up with a lot from his awful aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon and fat cousin Dudley. Unfortunately Harry lost his parents in a car crash, when he was a baby and that’s how he received the strange lightning-shaped scar across his forehead. 

Ever since then he has slept in the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursleys' house in Privet Drive and the thing he has to look forward to is starting at the secondary school next term he will be well away from Dudley who will be going to his father's old, expensive school called the Smeltings. Many people know a lot more about harry more than he does himself. He is about to discover all the friends and enemies he has in a different kind of magical world. Other than the one he was brought up in. This book includes a lot about reality like learning who you can trust and who you can’t, settling into a new school and making friends. 

The good thing about this book is that it is twisted and makes you think and how the story all fits together.