City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Book: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Review Written by Kala Payinda

City of Bones was an extremely thrilling book full of adventure, quests , legendary and biblical creatures like demons, angels, vampires and werewolves. The book surrounds a secret society of part angel people who must hunt and slay the evil demons, called 'Shadow hunters'.

Plot Outline

City of Bones is a fictional story about a teenage girl, Clary, who discovers that she can see things that normal people can’t. She finds out that she is part of a world full of demons, and she has the ability to kill them and protect humankind from the deadly creatures. Clary then goes on a quest to find the ancient artifact, called the Mortal Cup, to keep it away from the hands of the evil antagonist, Valentine. The Mortal Cup would enable Valentine to have control over all demons, and would let him make an army of evil creatures that would threaten humankind. Clary finds the cup, but by the book’s end, Valentine had stolen it, and escaped through a portal. The story is set to continue in the second book of the series of six.

Clarissa "Clary" Fray is a teenage girl that is little over five feet tall. She has bright red hair, green eyes, freckles and looks a lot like her mother. At a young age, Clary had been seen talking to Downworlders, which are mythical creatures, and her mum decided that she would not let Clary have anything to do with that world. Jocelyn, Clary’s mum, went to a warlock to erase Clary’s memory, and every two years, Clary repeat the procedure. Clary was oblivious to that world and was brought up by a very protective mother. To herself, Clary was just a normal human, who loved doing art. She often draws her emotions in pictures, and it’s her version of a diary. Clary was raised in New York, with Jocelyn and a great family friend, Luke. Clary’s best friend is Simon Lewis, and they have been friends for at least ten years. In the book, Clary realises that she is a demon killer, finds out that her dad is an evil antagonist, and Joselyn is captured. Throughout the next books, Clary embarks on a quest to help her mother while adjusting to a life as a Shadowhunter.

Recommended Age Group: 13 or over

Reviewer Rating: 9/10
Average Rating: 8.2/10

Trailer:

Image from Amazon, Shadowhunters TV Series by Freeform.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Book: All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Review Written by Isla Adams

This was a sad, touching book, a book that tears out your heart and stamps on it.

Plot Outline:

Theodore Finch wants to die. ‘I’m broken and no one can fix it.’  Violet Markey is still distraught over her sister’s death. ‘In that instant, we went ploughing through the guardrail, my words died too.’ After they meet on the ledge of the school bell tower, their lives are changed forever.

After being partnered up for a school geography project, to visit and report on three famous landmarks in Indiana, they become friends, and as their adventures progressed, so did their relationship. Getting to know each other and rediscover themselves on their little ‘wanderings’, they find refuge from the harsh world they both face inside each other. But as Violet recovers and begins living her life again, Theodore’s life shrinks and grows darker. What happens when you’re in deep water, floundering, all alone?

Recommended Age Group: 9 to 15

Rating: 9/10

Average Rating: 8.4/10

Image from Goodreads

Rangers Apprentice by John Flanagan

Book: Rangers Apprentice
Author: John Flanagan
Review Written by Luka Clark

This book inspired me to read the rest of the series. It tells the beginning of Wills adventures as a ranger’s apprentice.

Plot Outline:

This book is about a young castle ward who is apprenticed to Ranger. An elite intelligence force who protects the kingdom from enemies. In this book Will endures training than he and his mentor have to stop the Kalkara from killing the army commanders but who is the Kalkara actually stalking.

Recommended Age Group: 9 to 15

Rating: 9/10
Average Rating: 8/10

Image from Wikipedia

The Vile Village by Lemony Snickett

Book: The Vile Village

Author: Lemony Snicket
Review Written by Luka Clark

Another tale of the Baudelaires, these books are just so entertaining. Again these books are full of devilish deeds by Count Olaf and surprising twisting turns.

Plot Outline:

The Baudelaires are on the run from Count Olaf. In this book they find themself in a village. In this village they try to uncover who is leaving them notes. They also get framed for a murder by Count Olaf who finds them yet again and have to escape from him again as well as break out of the jail.

Recommended Age Group: 9 to 13

Rating: 8.0/10
Average Rating: 8.0/10

Sources: Image from Wikipedia

Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz

Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz

Book: Eagle Strike
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Review Written by Luka Clark

It is just as good as all the other Alex Rider books. It’s full of daring escapes, clever gadgets and a well-constructed plot.

Plot Outline:

This book is about a young teenage spy, who has to stop all sorts of crime. In this particular book he has to stop Yassen Gregorovich, a man who wants to hijack and use the Air Force nuclear missile systems to blow up various countries that are involved in drug trade, in a deadly attempt to stop drug trade forever.

Recommended Age Group: 10 to 14

Rating: 9/10
Average Rating: 8/10

Sources: Image from Wikipedia, all rights go to Anthony Horowitz and his publishers at Walker Books.

Cross of Lead by Avi

Book: Cross of Lead
Author: Avi
Review Written by Kala Payinda

This was an enchanting, exciting book and the first installment of the Cripsin series. I would recommend it to anyone who likes stories about action, adventure and unexpected friendship in historical times. It had many good messages and ideas. I think the main idea of this story was that even if you start off as enemies, you can still become friends, with trust and hard work. An example of this is Crispin and Bear. When they first meet, Bear enslaved Crispin, but in the end, they risked their lives for each other. In Crispin's hometown, he was treated like dirt, but Bear gave him confidence and believed in him. Crispin gave Bear a friend and someone that Bear could always trust.

Plot Outline:

Crispin, a 13 year old peasant lived in a village called Stormford located in England in 1377 AD. When his mother dies, Crispin is alone, and he’s doubting that anything worse can happen, until people falsely accuse him of theft. People are given permission, by Lord Furnival, to kill Crispin on sight. The priest gives Crispin his mother’s cross of lead. Later Crispin finds the priest murdered. Crispin runs away but is pursued. Later Crispin is taken in by a juggler named Bear, and they become friends and risk their lives for each other. In the end, Crispin learns that he is Lord Furnival’s illegitimate son.

Crispin is a scrawny, malnourished boy with black, scraggly hair. He is shy and scared at the start, but later on he learns to be so incredibly brave that he risked his life to save his friend Bear. He hadn’t been educated and so he didn’t know how to read or write. He was sneered at in his village because he had no known father and his mum was very frail and couldn’t work very well. The Green Man Tavern is the place that Crispin and Bear stayed at in a big city called Great Wexly. Bear books a special room that has a secret room that not many people know about. When the soldiers came looking for Crispin, he hid inside the secret room. The soldiers destroyed the place, and everything was broken. If Bear hadn’t told Crispin where the door was, Crispin would have died.

Recommended Age Group: 11 to 14

Rating: 9/10
Average Rating: 7/10

Sources: Image from good reads, all rights of the Crispin series belong to Avi and Disney Hyperion.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Book: Animal Farm

Author: George Orwell

Review Written by Ronan Payinda

Animal Farm is a classic tale, with a chilling warning of what follows corruption and greed. It is full of memorable quotes, characters to either pity, hate or cry for. It will leave you both sobered and scared. Animal Farm is a story of terrifying, brutal dictatorships, heroic but hopeless characters and bitter endings. I recommend this book to anyone interested in stories in dystopias, animals and twisted dictatorships.
On Manor Farm, animals are neglected and overworked, slaves to humans. Old Major, an influential pig, encourages them to rebel and reminds them that 'all animals are equal'. A revolution begins, and the animals drive the humans from the farm. Happy with their newfound peace and freedom, the animals celebrate. However, Napoleon and his group of pigs quietly seize control. They write their laws with paint on a wall. Eventually, their rule becomes vicious, as Napoleon executes any animal even possibly against his regime. The animals live in fear. Napoleon overworks them, just like the people did, giving the things they grow and create to humans for alcohol. Boxer, a hardworking horse who contributed the most to Napoleon's society, collapses one day from overwork. Napoleon sends him to a knacker, lying to the animals and saying that he will go to a veterinarian. Eventually, the animals begin to starve, while the pigs are full of food and wine. The animals ask why they get more food, when all animals are supposed to be equal. The pigs write 'all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others'. Napoleon holds an indoors dinner party with the pigs and invites humans. Looking through the windows, the other animals realise that they can no longer tell the difference between the two.

Recommended Age: 12 or over

Reviewer Rating: 9/10
Average Rating: 7.8/10

Book Trailer:

Sources: Image from Amazon, Animal Farm written by George Orwell and first published by Secker and Warberg.

1984 by George Orwell

Book: 1984

Author: George Orwell
Review Written by Ronan Payinda

This book is full of thought-provoking and chilling ideas and it paints a terrifying vision of the future. It features realistic and relatable characters, struggling to do the right thing in a world where free thought is oppressed. I would definitely recommend this classic to anyone who is comfortable reading fairly advanced stories, and anyone interested in science fiction and dystopias. It is a classic and everyone should read it at least once.

Nineteen Eighty-Four takes place in a superstate called Oceania, which includes the Americas and the British Empire. The world has been divided into three massive superstates after a world war.

Plot Outline:

Oceania is at war with two other states: Eurasia, which was created when the USSR conquered Europe and Eastasia, made up of the east of Asia.There are three classes in Oceania: the top class, the Inner Party, which make up a very small amount of the people in Oceania,

The middle class, the Outer Party, who make up more of the population,

And finally the working class Proles, who make up most of the population.

The main character, Winston Smith, lives in Airstrip One, a country once known as England. He lives in the ‘chief city’ of Airstrip One, which is covered with posters and propaganda: mainly of Big Brother, the party leader. Below the picture of his face is the words ‘Big Brother is watching you’. All citizens also have their whole lives monitored by telescreens, which let the Thought Police locate and stop anyone against Big Brother and the Inner Party. Families are caused to be divided, as children are told to tell the Thought Police about any criminals, even including their own parents.

He works as an editor in the Ministry of Truth, which rewrites and twists information and history to make it follow anything the Inner Party desires. When someone disobeys the Inner party and are killed secretly, he rewrites the articles and books that mention them, too make it seem as if they never existed. He then incinerates the original texts.

However, he soon becomes amazed by the truth of the past and tries to save as much of it as he can. He also hides where he thinks he cannot be seen to write a journal against the Inner Party and Big Brother, something he would be killed for by the Thought Police if they found out.

Winston Smith lives in a dystopian, oppressive society lead by the Inner Party. Every citizen has their life monitored by telescreens. Everywhere he looks, he sees posters bearing the face of the Party leader called Big Brother, with the caption ‘Big Brother is watching you’. Winston works for the Inner Party by twisting and rewriting history.

However, after realising that the truth is worth fighting for, he rebels with his lover Julia by going against what Big Brother believes. They have secret meetings where they believe they cannot be seen, and find a way to take down the evil of Big Brother.

However, the two ‘thoughtcriminals’ are captured. Winston is tortured and betrays Julia when he is about to be killed, thus losing to Big Brother.

Winston is put back into the society. At the end of the book, he looks up at an Inner Party poster and realises that he loves Big Brother.

Recommended Age: 13 and up
Reviewer Rating: 9/10
Average Rating: 8.2

Sources: Image from lightlit, written by George Orwell and published by Harvill Secker.

Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Book: Wind in the Willows

Author: Michael Grant
Review Written by Ronan Payinda

This book is written by British author Kenneth Grahame. Though published in 1908, this classic is still popular today, a true gem of literature. This story is about entertaining animal characters and their crazy, exciting adventures in the English countryside, whether its crashing motorcars, fleeing through the Wild Wood and accidentally finding Badger's underground home, or battling a group of weasels when they try to take their home. Kenneth Grahame has added beautiful descriptions, poetic writing and good messages hidden within. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who can read fairly advanced writing, as it has a few words that are no longer used in common English (e.g: gaoler instead of jailer).

Plot Outline:
The book commences with the beginning of spring. The kind Mole gets fed up with spring cleaning his underground home and leaves it to go outside into the sunshine. He reaches a river, which he has never seen before. There, he meets Rat, a water vole, and the two become friends. Rat teaches Mole all about the river as they spend many days on the water. Later, they go to Toad Hall to visit Rat’s kind but conceited friend Toad. After seeing a motorcar, he is filled with an automobile obsession.

Later, Mole strikes out alone into a forest known as the Wild Wood to meet the elusive Badger, an antisocial but kind friend of Rat who he has never met. He is scared by weasels in the Wild Wood, and hides in a tree. Later, Rat rescues his friend and they stumble into Badger’s house. After the two friends meet Badger, they inform him of Toad’s craze. They then return to the River.

Meanwhile, Toad is arrested for stealing a motorcar and crashing it. He manages to escape prison and finds that Toad Hall is taken over by weasels and stoats from the Wild Wood. Sorrowful at the loss of his house, he realises what good friends he has and resolves to be better in the future.

The four friends arm themselves and take a secret tunnel into Toad Hall, where they find weasels partying madly. They launch a surprise attack and storm the Hall. The weasels flee, and Toad regains his home. He then makes amends and helps everyone he has wronged. The four friends live happily ever after.

Recommended Age: 14 and up, if an advanced reader 11 and up
Reviewer Rating: 8.5/10
Average Rating: 8/10

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

Book: Carve the Mark

Author: Veronica Roth

Review Written by Luka Clark

I think Carve the Mark is an enthralling tale. It’s a novel about two warring civilisations in space. Cyra and Akos are enemies, but they are brought together by chance. Every person in these civilisations gains a current gift, a power. Cyra can cause pain. Akos is the only one that can take it away.

This story has twist and turns throughout the story. It has a truly wonderful plot. I fully recommend this to anyone age 12 and up. This book has some scenes of violence  and a small amount if romance. Carve the Mark is and dystopian tale That is full of horrors, sad moments and happy moments. It will put you on the edge of your seat. The more you read the more you get stuck in.  it  was incredibly hard for me to put the book down. If you like Divergent I thoroughly recommend you read this book.

Recommended Age: 12 or over

Rating: 9.5/10

Book Trailer:

Sources: Image and video from http://www.carvethemarkbooks.com/, all rights of the Carve the Mark series belong to Veronica Roth and HarperCollins.

Gone by Michael Grant

Book: Gone
Author: Michael Grant
Review Written by Kupa Mugutso

I really enjoyed this book because it was exhilarating and exciting. It is about a group of teenagers and kids who are trapped in a dome with no adults. They're threatened by starvation, animal mutations and even mutations among themselves, which give some of the kids deadly super powers. It had fast twists and turns that kept me interested. I’m still thinking about the brave, real characters, long after reading. This is a good book for anyone who enjoyed the Hunger Games series or Lord of the Flies. I think that this is a very good starting book for people who want to read a more advanced style of book. It paves the way for the rest of the series. I fully recommended this book, as it is a more modern version of the classic Lord of the Flies.

Recommended Age Group: 13 or over

Rating: 9/10

Book Trailer:

Sources: Image from http://gone.wikia.com/wiki/Gone, all rights of the Gone series belong to Michael Grant and HarperCollins.