TOM GATES: GENIUS IDEAS (MOSTLY)

GENIUS IDEAS (MOSTLY)
Tom Gates book 4
by Liz Pichon
320 pp. Scholastic £6.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9781407134505

Rating: ? Stars


     This book won an award for the best book for children in 2012. It was also the winner of the Waterstones book prize in 2012. In my opinion, this book is suitable for all ages. The main character in this book is Tom Gates.(as you may have guessed.)

     Tom goes through a lot of embarrassing phases and unbearable shocks. One of the 'embarrassing phases' was when his dad started a fitness regime, and wore really tight cycling shorts and a vest. One of the unbearable shocks was when he saw his sister... WITHOUT HER SUNGLASSES! His sister always wears her sunglasses and she NEVER takes them off. But when he saw her without them, it made him so shocked that he was late for school.

     He has one shocking sister, an embarrassing mum and an extremely embarrassing dad. His best friend is called Derek, and he plays in a band with Derek and Norman - his other friend. His arch enemy is Marcus and he has to sit next to him in class.

     Tom Gates: Genius Ideas is a genius idea. It is a very funny book and I'm sure you would enjoy reading it, just like I did.

THE BATTLE FOR WONDLA

THE BATTLE FOR WONDLA
WondLa trilogy book 3
by Tony DiTerlizzi
496 pp. Simon & Schuster $17.99. (Ages 10 and up)

ISBN
9781416983149

Rating: 5 Stars


    In most adventure books the main character is a boy and the girls are all quite weak, which disturbs me. However, in this book a girl (Eva Nine) is extremely brave, a hero and the main character. Eva Nine was created in a lab, which means that she isn’t a proper person so she’s supposed to be controlled by normal people, although she's still the one who saves Wondla. For these reasons she is my favorite character.

    This book started with Eva Nine having gone into hiding with Hailey in the forest. They did this so they weren't captured by Loroc, who had already consumed his own sisters to make himself more powerful, and now hoped to consume his brother Zin also. Eva Nine had an idea for where Zin was hiding and got a trader in goods to take her there. When she got there she asked him for help and warned him about Loroc. He agreed to help her but before they could speak anymore they were attacked by Loroc's warships. Luckily, Eva Nine managed to escape; Zin, however, wasn't so lucky and got captured. Having escaped, Eva and Hailey went to Eva's alien friend Rovender and his tribe to ask them for help in trying to thwart Loroc's evil plan. They agreed and together the unlikely team did their best to stop Loroc …
    One of the things that makes this book unique and amazing are the illustrations. Tony DiTerlizzi is an inspiration to me because he is one in few writers who write long books and illustrate them. This inspires me because I love drawing and writing and if I ever write a book I would like to illustrate it myself. He also inspires me because normally fantasy and sci-fi writers only use well known magical characters like werewolves, fairies, witches, vampires, ghosts and wizards, maybe inventing one or two more creatures, whereas, Tony DiTerlizzi invents a whole new world of them. When you read, notice how it uses allusion to older stories like the Oz stories, and even the Grimm brothers’ fairytales, except more modern. For example, they all invent new imaginary worlds. The Wondla stories are especially like the Oz stories because they both have a young girl making new, sometimes strange, friends, in a magical world. I suppose “Alice in Wonderland” sort of fits in with them too, but I think that it doesn’t completely, because while the other stories have a fixed goal (finding home) “Alice in Wonderland” seems sort of muddled.
    As this is such a good book I won’t restrict it too much to one age group. I think the right reader for this book is any one over 8 who liked the last two books and can read well. As this book was amazing, it definitely deserves five out of five stars.

also on the Guardian Children's Books Site