THE EARTH IS SINGING

THE EARTH IS SINGING
by Vanessa Curtis
336 pp. THE EARTH IS SINGING by Vanessa Curtis336 @Usborne @UsborneDigital http://bit.ly/1DBhh3J . £6.99. (Ages 14 and up)

ISBN
9781409577447

Rating: 4 Stars



    I will admit that I was actually rather surprised I liked this book, as it wasn’t my normal choice. Normally I read fantasy or sci-fi, not historical fiction based on real lives. I may have to change my usual agenda, though, as this book was fascinating, and there have also been a few other historical fiction books and biographies which I have enjoyed. Throughout this whole book I really felt like I could connect with the main character, Hanna, There were a few times when my heart clenched in fear for her and I smiled when she was happy.
    This book is set in World War 2 in Germany, and is narrated by a 15-year-old Jewish Latvian called Hanna, whose father has been taken by the Russians. It starts off not too bad. Life is hard, but Hanna is still following her dream of becoming a dancer. Although many of her friends have deserted her because she’s Jewish, her best friend and boyfriend Uldis stands with her, so you think everything will be okay. Soon, however her world is turned upside down when the Nazis come and slowly take away everything she’s ever cared about. This book took me on a whirl of adventure as Hanna faced all types of danger, heart breaking sadness, betrayal and fear during a fight for her life. I would definitely give this book 4 out of 5 stars as it really explored the awful treatment Jews got during World War 2 and captured my interest from the start.
    My favorite character has to be Hanna as the writer does an amazing job of making you feel like she’s a real person telling you all of this and experiencing all of this. I can also really feel for her when she’s wishing she wasn’t different from everyone else, as my family has had trouble with living in England as we are American and Portuguese, although the problems this causes for us are nowhere near as large as the problems being a Jew causes for her.
    Most of this book is quite sad, but I would say two parts stand out in particular. First, Uldis betrays her leaving her heartbroken. Second, all the Jews, her mother included, are shot and thrown into a pit of dead bodies. This is especially sad because after her mother dies she is left with no one else in the world to care for her and love her.
    Although most of this book is sad there are a few parts where Hanna is happy. I would say the happiest parts of this book are when it’s the New Year and her uncle brings up a feast for them to share, and at the end of the book when Hanna escapes from the Nazis. I think this because in both these times Hanna feels free and safe from the Nazis and like everything might be all right again.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

THE WOMAN IN BLACK
by Susan Hill
208 pp. Vintage £7.99. (Ages 15 and up)

ISBN
9780099288473

Rating: ? Stars



    This book started off on Christmas day with a man called Arthur thinking about his past and then deciding to write a book about the experience he had with a ghost when he was younger. He decides to write a book about his experience for the other members of his family to read. The rest of the book is the book he wrote about his experience with the woman in black. It starts of with him going to an old house to sort out the papers of a lady who died. He decides to go to the lady’s funeral as he is sorting out her things. Surprisingly, he is basically the only person there. At her funeral he sees a lady wearing all black with bluish white skin. Strangely, when he asks who she is no one seems to want to talk about her. Also he begins to hear strange noises at night even though no one except him is inside the house. To find out more, read the book.     The main character in this book was Arthur. However, he was not my favourite character. The dog, called Spider, was my favourite character because he seemed like such a good dog and helped Arthur not be so afraid of the strange noises in the night and of the woman in black.
    The scariest part of this book was when Arthur and his dog, Spider, heard the noise of someone dog whistling. At that point, Spider ran off and got stuck in the quicksand and nearly died. Luckily Arthur barely managed to pull Spider out without going under himself. The strange thing was, no one was near them for miles around. This was my favourite part because it was much more scary than the rest of the book as, firstly, the dog and Arthur nearly died and secondly no one could have whistled to Spider but someone did.     The worst part of this book was the entire first half, as I found it quite boring. My main reason for thinking this is that nothing scary happened at the beginning. Instead there is suspense, but no promise that the story will build up to a real ghost story. Suspense is good…but you have to make more things happen than seeing a strange looking lady and hearing whispers about her. Basically, you shouldn't leave all the scary and exciting bits to the end.
    The reason I read this book was for school as we were learning about suspense writing. In my opinion this book had extremely good descriptive and suspense writing because she conceals who the woman at the funeral is, only letting on that she’s a sinister and spooky character, but was a bit too slow and boring for my taste. However if you are a writer and need ideas for how to write a ghost story then this book is perfect because your getting shivers up your spine throughout most of the story.
    I think this book deserves 3.5 out of five stars because it was scary and sad, but a bit too dull for me. I would recommend that if you are under 10 you definitely don't read this book because you will probably find it very boring, as it is quite slow and action lacking. If you are older you may like it, but I suggest you wait until your 15 to read it because or else it may be hard to enjoy it because although you don’t need quite so much action to make it interesting when your about 13, but it would still probably be too slow. I also suggest that if you dislike scary or sad books you don't read this as it's quite scary and has a really sad ending.
    I realize this review has been a bit contradictory so I shall explain my muddled feelings as well as I can. On the one hand I feel that this is definitely not a page turner, spends to much time on the boring parts and that I wouldn’t recommend it to most people. However, on the other hand I appreciate that it does send some shivers up your spine and that when you are on the scary/sad parts she does write very well. I hope this has helped explain my contradictory feelings to you, I apologise for not being able to pick one side.

SERAPHINA

SERAPHINA
by Rachel Hartman
384 pp. Doubleday. £12.99. (Ages 12 and up)

ISBN
9780857531575

Rating: 2 Stars


     This book was AWFUL. When I say awful I do not mean you will be full of awe after you read it I mean awful as in boring. The reason I say this book is awful is because when you first see it you think it will be a really good book all about a girl fighting fire breathing dragons. Then when you start reading it you find out that the whole point of the book is that Seraphina (the main character) loves the prince. Can you think of anything more boring than that? If you can then I feel sorry for you because you must read a lot of boring books.
     This book was about a girl called Seraphina who was half dragon and half girl. I allow that the tiniest bit of it was about her fighting the bad dragons, but most of it, as I said earlier, was about her trying to stop thinking about how much she loved the prince. You are probably wondering how is it possible that a whole book is all about such a boring thing as that. I hate to tell you that it is possible and my proof is in this AWFUL book.
     I think no one should read this book, unless you really like boring books. This book deserves two stars, as it deserves some credit for the part where Seraphina actually fights dragons.

DEAD END IN NORVELT

DEAD END IN NORVELT
By Jack Gantos

352 pp. Yearling. £5.99. (Ages 12 and up)

ISBN
9780440870043

Rating: ? Stars

      I read this book because it was winner of the Newbery Medal 2012. Also, it had a good front cover so that made me want to read it. However, I did have a problem with it. That was because there weren't any skeletons eating cookies in boxes, unlike the cover. My other problem was that Jack wasn't actually dying of boredom (like a skeleton) but was starting to have fun in other ways.
      This book did have a bit of an interesting story towards the end though, I must grant it that. The actual story in this book is about a boy called Jack (just like the writer). First Jack gets in trouble for playing with his dad’s guns. Then he gets in trouble for mowing the corn lawn because even though his dad tells him to do it. His mum does not want him to do that, and then he is grounded for all of his summer. However Miss Volker needs his help for writing newspaper obituaries for the dead but what happens when she is suspected for crime?
      If you like books that are mysterious and in which people die, then you should read this book. If you like books where you know what is going to happen and where no one but the bad guy dies, then definitely don't read this book. This story has a few morals so I shall not describe every single one of them. The one I shall tell you about is this: Do not think you shall catch someone’s love by accusing them of something you did yourself because it shall just make it harder to get them.

GRACE

GRACE
By Morris Gleitzman
192 pp. Puffin. £6.99. (Ages 12 and up)

ISBN
9780141336039

Rating: ? Stars

We borrowed this book twice from the library but the first time I didn’t read it because I was busy reading other books. You may think that I finally started reading this book because it had a really cool cover or because the name sounded exciting. If you did think one these things then you are completely wrong because the front cover was only a picture of a girl and the name of the book was the name of the girl, Grace. The reason I read this book was actually because I had been to the Red House Book Awards and he was one of the people that might have won the award, so I thought it must be a good book then and decided to read the book.

You are probably wondering what the book is about. It is about a girl called Grace who starts doing what she calls ‘sins’. In her church the dad always gets the blame. Because of this her dad gets expelled, which means he has to go away and never gets his family back. Grace is for most of the book doing more sins while trying to get her dad back so that she doesn't have to do sins anymore and so that she can be a whole family again. You probably think that she is breaking a car killing a person or something like that. If you did think one of these things then you are completely wrong because she only did things that were bad for her religion like touch an outsider.

This book was set in Australia. It takes place in Grace’s house, Grace’s new house, the farm of prayer, the zoo, Kyle and his dads house and finally in the hospital.

This book gave a really good moral that suggests it is fine to have a religion as long as you respect other people’s religions and don't go to crazy about your religion. I completely agree with the author’s opinion. In this way the book is really similar to My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece. If you have read this book and liked it I greatly recommend to you My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece.

There were some parts of the story that I wish were longer, like the part where she got her dad back. In contrast, I despised that it never actually tells you why the project she did was so bad and when her dad's there and when he's not. There are actual, real religious sects like the one in the book all over the world, like in Arizona, USA, and they have lots of people that are extremist Christians just like in the book like that there. I discovered that this book is similar to My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece except the crazy people in that book are Muslims and the person that isn't crazy is Muslim. When I came to the part where they were taking her dad away I started to tremble and feel my eyes moisten with tears because he was expelled, and when you were expelled you normally never saw your family again. I would absolutely hate if we had that rule and if my dad ever got expelled because I like my family and never want to have it be broken apart.

The characters were quite interesting because Grace (the main character of the title) who completely loved and believed in God (not too much though, like the crazy people) became friends with Kyle. Kyle did not believe in God and when he did believe in God at all he definitely didn't love him at all and sometimes when he was in a bad mood he would completely hate God.

Ages nine to twelve should read this brilliant book because if you are younger you won’t understand and your brain will be bursting and if you are older you won’t like that it has lots of adventure and action.

MISTER CREECHER

MISTER CREECHER
By Chris Priestley
400 pages. Bloomsbury. £10.99 (Ages 12+)

ISBN
9781408811047

Rating: 5 stars

      This book tells you about a boy who makes friends with a monster.
      After the monster persuades the boy, Billy, to spy on Frankenstein (the man who made the monster) they start to become friends. Billy spies on Frankenstein and the monster steals the money and food to live off of. What happens when Billy starts to doubt the monster? Will he go back to living on the floor or will he change his mind and stay with the monster?
      My favourite part is when the monster tells Billy his secret because you’re itching to know the monster’s secret and he finally tells it. My favourite character is Billy because he's the main character so I know the most about him. I think ages eight through fifteen should read this book. I think this book deserves five out of five stars. I really like the writing because it has lots of action. I think the writing is very suspenseful because you always want to turn the page in case something exciting happens next.

also on Guardian Children's Books Site

TALINA IN THE TOWER

TALINA IN THE TOWER
By Michelle Louric
320 pages. Orion. £9.99. (Ages 12 and up).

ISBN
9781444003383

Rating: 5 Stars

      This book tells you of the adventures Talina had when her parents were taken away by the Ravageurs.
      When neither of Talina’s parents came home that night she is taken to her guardian’s tower. Talina, deep in the belief that her parents are not dead, tries to escape and find them. Talina is then turned into a cat and nearly drowned by her guardian. What happens when the Ravageurs decide to burn Venice? Will Talina be able to stop them or not?
      My favourite character is Talina because she’s the only one who tries to stop the Ravageurs. My favourite part is when Talina pours Dandelion and Daisy and Liquid Lullaby into the Ravageurs' food. I think ages eight through twelve should read this book. I think this book deserves five out of five stars. You could tell I was enjoying this book because whenever I read it I had a smile on my face. This book was so good that even when my parents were talking loudly (they’re very noisy) I was swept away into its magical adventures.

A MONSTER CALLS

A MONSTER CALLS
By Patrick Ness. Illustrated by Jim Kay.
216 pages. Walker. £12.99. (Ages 12 and up).

ISBN
9781406311525

Rating: 5 Stars

      This book tells you about a young boy who is visited by a monster.
      It is about a twelve year old boy called Conor who one night sees instead of a yew tree through his window a monster. Another time the monster grabs him, takes him out, and tells him that he shall tell him three stories then he shall then tell the truth and afterwards when he had left and Conor woke up he found poisonous red yew tree berries scattered across the floor. What happens when it finally comes to telling the truth? Will Conor tell it and be rid of the nightmare or shall he live inside the nightmare forever?
      My favourite character is Conor because he is fearless. My favourite part is the scariest part, when Conor is inside the nightmare. Although my parents think the monster is just adrenalin I know that it is real because of the baby yew tree growing in his room. I think ages eight through fifteen should read this brilliant book. I think this book definitely deserves five out of five stars.

INKDEATH

INKDEATH
Inkheart Trilogy 3
By Cornelia Funke.
736 pages. Chicken House. £12.99. (Ages 12 and up)

ISBN
9781905294718

Rating: 5 Stars

This is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read. With Mo being haunted, the Adderhead immortal and Dustfinger dead the story has taken an unhappy turn. Finally Orpheus tries to swap Mo for Dustfinger and ends up giving in them both but Mo makes a dangerous deal with Death that if he gives him and Dustfinger back their lives that he will write those three words Heart, Spell and Death into the White book but if he doesn't before the end of spring him, Dustfinger and Meggie shall die.
My favourite part is when Mo is in the dungeon. My favourite character is Meggie. I think ages 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 should read this book. I give this book five out of five.

INKSPELL

INKSPELL
Inkheart Trilogy 2
By Cornelia Funke.
688 pages. Candlewick Press. £9.99. (Ages 12 and up)

ISBN
9781906427313

Rating: 5 Stars

This is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read. It is about a girl called Meggie, her parents Mo and Resa, Fenoglio, Farid, Dustfinger, Gwin and Aunt Elinor. Now that Resa got back Meggie wants to now all about Inkworld and finally reads herself and Farid into Inkworld without knowing how much trouble that was going to cause. From that day on things seemed wrong. Mo and Resa got read into Inkworld and Mo nearly died, Cosimo got read back to life but not really and Dustfinger gave his life away so that Farid could live.

My favourite part is Meggies first day in Inkworld. My favourite character is Meggie because she is simular to me. I think this book deserves 4.5 out of five. I think ages 8, 9, 10, 11 and twelve should read this book especially if they like reading because it is a fat book and because the main character likes reading.

CHARMED LIFE

CHARMED LIFE
The Worlds Of Chrestomanci Book 1
By Diana Wynne Jones.
288 pp. HarperCollins. £5.99 (Ages 12 and up)

ISBN
9780007255290

Rating: 5 Stars


      I really liked this book because it can get a bit funny.

      This book is about a witch, named Gwendolen, and her little brother, named Cat Chant, whose parents have died when they went in a paddle steamer and it broke so they drowned. Cat Chant was holding on to Gwendolen (who is a witch, and witches don't drown) so he didn't drown.
      As Gwendolen stayed with Mrs Sharp longer, she started to turn into the best witch in town, and starts to want to live with Chrestomanci. When she gets there she wants to have more magic classes, but Chrestomanci doesn't let her, so she wants revenge. Gwendolen trys many things but never gets any reaction. Finally when she does her last thing, which was make bugs turn into giants, she gets a reaction, but it is not a good one.

      I really liked this book, because it gets a bit funny, when she tries to get revenge. My favourite part of this book is when Gwendolen takes small animals, such as spiders and frogs, and turn's them into giant animals. I think nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen and fourteen year olds should read this book, because it just feels like that to me. If I put this book out of five, I'd definitely say, no matter what happens, this book would be five out of five. I liked this book so much that I could barely put it down, and it only took me three days to read it. The moral of this book is don't get revenge, because you are the loser and it won't lead to happiness.