Guest Reviewer
A Very English Bear, by Robin Goddard
Reviewed on August 17, 2012
Reginald Arbuthnot Cholmondeley (pronounced Chumley) is not an ordinary bear. He’s capable of speech and needs help – after all, due to an unfortunate misspelling of his name he can’t rise to his rightful place as the 9th Viscount of Salop Oak. He needs a crafty plan to set the world to rights and carry [...]
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer
Reviewed on August 15, 2012
I haven’t seen Glee so I can’t say that I had any preconceived notions about this book being written by a TV star, except the usual ones that go along with celebrities jumping entertainment mediums. But I like kid’s books and I like fairy tales, and I like to be surprised, so I went in [...]
Goodnight Digger, by Michelle Robinson and Nick East
Reviewed on August 14, 2012
Goodnight Digger marks the creative debut of Michelle Robinson and Nick East, the author and illustrator team behind this latest offering from Puffin books. Written in rhyming couplets, the story is simple to follow for the target age-range (3-7 year old boys) and creates a fun rhythm when spoken aloud that will keep its young audience entertained. East brings [...]
School of Fear, by Gitty Daneshvari
Reviewed on July 30, 2012
Gitty Daneshvari’s debut novel for children, is recommended to readers aged nine or over. School of Fear, first published in the United States in 2009, is the first book in the trilogy, the second volume of which is due to be released in October. The general premise of the novel is that four children from very [...]
Saving Daisy, by Phil Earle
Reviewed on January 23, 2012
Saving Daisy is the second novel by Phil Earle, following on from the Carnegie Prize nominated Being Billy, the story of a young boy growing up in the British care system. His latest work offers the same blend of honest issue fiction, following the story of Daisy, a character first introduced in Being Billy, and [...]
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: 50th Anniversary Edition, by Alan Garner
Reviewed on November 4, 2010
It never fails to amaze me how some scenes from a book stay with you. The one thing that has always remained in my head, from when I first read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen all those many years ago, is the episode where Colin and Susan, along with Fenodyree and Durathror the dwarfs, are compelled [...]
Immortal Remains, by Rook Hastings
Reviewed on October 29, 2010
The second novel from the improbably named Rook Hastings sets itself out as a marriage between gritty youth Skins style drama and a dark fantastical world, straight out of Pullman’s Dark Materials. Immortal Remains is the story of a gang of friends Bethan, Hashim, Jay and Kelly, all of whom are bound together by their [...]
The Dead, by Charlie Higson
Reviewed on October 16, 2010
As with all zombie apocalypse books the world in Charlie Higson’s series has changed suddenly and utterly. All adults and teenagers over 14 have either died or transformed into flesh eating crazies. Previous book The Enemy followed a group of kids from their relatively safe haven in the Holloway Road branch of Waitrose as they [...]
The Red Pyramid, By Rick Riordan
Reviewed on September 13, 2010
Riding high on the success of the Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan returns in fantastic form in the first book from ‘The Kane Chronicles’. The Red Pyramid sees estranged siblings, Carter and Sadie Kane set out to rescue their Dad after he is captured by an Ancient Egyptian God. During their quest they encounter basketball-playing [...]
White Cat, by Holly Black
Reviewed on August 17, 2010
Seamlessly integrating magic believably into a real-world setting is a hard task to accomplish. It has to be introduced into a story in such a way that we accept it without question as readers, inducing that famous ‘willing suspension of disbelief’. It has to be said of Holly Black that she manages to do just [...]
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
Reviewed on July 20, 2010
Fourteen year-old Brenna McIntosh, a student at Great Cornard Upper School in Suffolk, wrote this review for a class competition – and we think you’ll agree she’s a worthy winner… There is much written about autism as a clinical disorder, but very little narrative exists from through the eyes of a person with autism or [...]
Fever Crumb, by Philip Reeve
Reviewed on June 16, 2009
Fans of Philip Reeve are in for a treat with this imaginative ‘prequel’ to the Mortal Engines series. The book follows the adventures of the eponymous heroine, Fever Crumb, first encountered as an abandoned child being brought up by the Order of Engineers, who apply logic, rather than emotion, to their existence. Sent away to [...]
Reviews by kids and teens
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