The Medusa Project: The Set-Up by Sophie McKenzie

Fourteen years ago, scientist William Fox implanted four babies with the Medusa gene - a gene for physic abilities. But Fox died and the babies were hidden away for years.


Now they're teenagers - and unaware that their physic  powers are about to kick in.


Cocky, charismatic Nico thinks his emerging telekinetic abilities will bring him money., power and the girl of his dreams. He's about to find out just how wrong he is...


I've read one of McKenzie's books before, Girl, Missing, and I LOVED it! So I was really eager to read this one. The Medusa Project series has been recommended to me before, but I was told that The Set-Up wasn't as good as the others, because (hence the name), it was kind of setting the scene for the other books, so there wasn't as much action. But I thought that there was plenty of action scenes, so I really enjoyed it.


To be honest, I didn't really like any of the characters. They were all quite annoying. Well, if I had to pick my favourite, it would probably be....Fergus, Nico's step-dad and the principal of the boarding school he attends. At the beginning of the story, Fergus seems to be over-protective and controlling of Nico, but in the end it turns out he was -sort of - right. But the rest of the characters I just didn't like.


My overall rating is...4/5. Or 5/5. Hmm, which one? I know, 4.5/5! Perfect! It lost the 0.5 because of the character quality .Or rather lack of character quality. But regardless, I would recommend it, and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Hostage. You know, almost all books nowadays have sequels, don't they? Not that it's a bad thing, I'm just saying. But still.
Well, bye wonderful readers!


Age Group: 11+
Official Publication Date: 06 July 2009
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Ltd.
Author Website: www.sophiemckenziebooks.com


This review was done as part of the British Books Challenge, which you can find out about at The Bookette.

Cinnamon Girl: Looking for a Hero by Cathy Hopkins

India Jane is feeling frustrated. She thought that Joe was her soulmate, but things seem to be going nowhere with him. Perhaps what she feels for him isn’t ‘love’ after all – whatever that is. Gathering her friends around her, she sets out to find the boy of her dreams by Christmas.Her exploration is pretty disastrous, but just when she is in total despair, two gorgeous boys surface.Looking for love turns out to be a lot more complicated than India Jane thought.


Cathy Hopkins is one of my favourite authors, but I haven't read any of her books in ages = ( I thought of her the other day while in the library, and picked this up. Would you believe, this was the ONLY Cathy Hopkins book there? I know! 


Looking for a Hero the third book in the Cinnamon Girl series, in which there are altogether four books. I've read Starting Over the second book, and I liked it, but I liked this one much better!


India Jane thinks she loves Joe, but then he tells her he doesn't want to be in a serious relationship and leaves poor India all confused. So along with her three best friends, Leela, Brook and Zahrah, she sets out to find a boyfriend by Christmas. But it's harder than it sounds, and soon India is caught up in a love triangle - or love square, is more like it...


I said love square because India has not two boys but three boys in her love life. There's Bruno, the romantic Italian boy, Tyler, the boy who saved her when she was mugged and Joe, who she just can't deny her feelings for, even though she knows he won't commit... 


I think the author was kind of hinting in a reading-between-the-lines kind of way that India liked Zahrah the best out of her friends, because Zahrah was a deep, thoughtful person, like India and they got on well. I didn't like Zahrah at first, because I thought she seemed a bit mean, making smart comments, but I was wrong. Zahrah turned out to be my favourite character in the end, as well as Dylan, India Janes little brother. He was really funny and I wish he was in it more!

My only complaint was that I thought India was making a huge deal about nothing when it came to Tyler. I mean, she was mugged, he got the bad guys to go away, and then he brought her home. She met him for five minutes, and then it was suddenly 'Oh why didn't Tyler come back and become my boyfriend?' Eh, hello! And it was a little predictable, because you knew which guy she was going to pick. But apart from that is was fabulous!

Overall, this book gets a rating of 4/5. It's a light, girly read that I read in one day. It's hilarious and written well and I really enjoyed it. I definitely recommend it, especially if you need cheering up. Good job, Cathy! ( I always say that, don't I?!)

Age Group: 11+
Official Publication Date: 22 May 2008
Publisher: Piccadilly Press Ltd.
Author Website:www.cathyhopkins.com

This review was done as part of the British Books Challenge ,hosted by The Bookette.

Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie

Lauren is adopted and eager to know more about her mysterious past. But when she discovers she may have been snatched from an American family as a baby, her life suddenly feels like a sham. Why will no one answer her questions? How can she find her biological mum and dad? And are her adoptive parents really responsible her kidnapping her?


Lauren runs away from her family to find out the truth, but her journey takes her into more and more danger - as she discovers that the people who abducted her are prepared to do anything to keep her silent...


OMG.OMG.OMG. This book is amazing! And I mean, amazing! I haven't read an adventure story this good since....Harry Potter! I borrowed it from a friend, and she told me that it was probably her favourite book. I wasn't convinced at first, because I didn't really like the cover. Yes, the cover is probably this books weakest point. But after reading it I realised that's it. There are no other weak points! None! I loved loved LOVED it!

The book is narrated by 14-year-old Lauren, who is adopted. Her adoptive mum and dad have never told her who her real parents were, and she has never asked. While surfing the web, she stumbles across a MissingChildren website, and she's bored so she types 'Lauren' into the search box. The search finds a three-year-old Martha Lauren Purditt, a girl who went missing 11 years ago, and just two months before Lauren was adopted. Her description seems to match what Lauren looks like. After comparing some baby pictures to the one on the website, Lauren begins to wonder: is she really this girl Martha? Suddenly, Lauren is thrown into a world of secrets, lies and danger, as she sets out along with her friend Jam, to find out who she really is - in more ways than one...

Girl, Missing is written brilliantly, which loads of clever plot twists. It's hard to say too much without giving anything away. My favourite character was Madison, Laurens....well, I can't really say who she is, because she doesn't come into the book until around the middle, during a major twist. But, if you've read the book (and you should!) you'll know why I like her so much. I felt really sorry for her too (again, if you've read the book, you'll know).
Lauren comes across as a bit selfish at times, but underneath, she really is a good person. I thought Jam coming along with her on her quest really helped her to persist and stay strong (quest - I sound so old-fashioned!). I also liked the romance element, as I felt it helped make the book appeal to more people.

5/5, for sure. It's actually one of my new favourite books, and Sophie McKenzie is one of my new favourite authors. She really makes the characters come alive on the page and you find yourself wishing you could join them. Everyone should read this book! I think it will appeal to all ages above 11, as there is some mild swearing.
All in all, it was absolutely superb and I will definitely be reading more of McKenzie's books soon.

Age Group: 11+
Official Publication Date: 02 October 2006
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Ltd.
Author Website: www.sophiemckenziebooks.com

I am doing this review as part of the British Books Challenge 2011, which you can find out more about at The Bookette. Oh, and sorry about the fuzzy photo guys!

Split by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja

Jo has never been one of the popular kids...until she moves to the USA. Suddenly the coolest girls at her new high school adopt her, and the hottest boy, Jake Matthews, notices her. But when Jake picks her as his partner in the kissing game Seven Minutes in Heaven, it's not half as heavenly as she imagined! 


Jo has a choice: should she carry on with Jake for guaranteed popularity - or should she tell him where to get off and risk losing her new friends...? 


At this moment - Jo splits. She's Josie the Cool - girlfriend of Jake, member of the in-crowd. But she's also Jo the Nerd - rejected by the It girls, single...ordinary. Will her two halves ever come together again?


OK, I don't normally talk about covers in my reviews, because I don't think covers are a books most important quality. You know the old saying - don't judge a book by it's cover! But is this one of the awesomest covers I have ever seen! Isn't it? The cover is actually what made me want to read the book in the first place! I was looking at some blogs and I saw it and I said to myself 'Wow. I want to read that.' And I did, and now I'm happy! Very happy, actually!


Jo is the main character in the book, but then in a way there's kind of two main characters, because she's sort of two different people. This is hard to explain! That's one of the reasons I love this book,  that Jo gets to experience both ends of the social food chain - at the same time. It's like, you know when you have two choices, and say you pick Choice 1 and then you wonder what might have happened if you had picked Choice 2? Well, it's not like that for Jo. She might have some problems in her life, but at least she's not faced with that one!


My favourite character is Tori, Josie the Cool's best friend. She might be in with the cool crowd, but she still is nice, really. I really hated Kristy, the mean, catty girl in the group. Well, I suppose they were all mean (except Tori) but she was the worst.  Apart from the cool crowd, I pretty much liked all the characters.


The book is hilarious and really entertaining. I actually found no faults at all with this book - really! And I normally find at least one fault with a book, so it just shows you how brilliant this book is! 5/5, definitely. It's super and everybody should read it. It's chick-lit and with the supernatural element to it, so there's something for everyone. I'm so glad there's a sequel, Swapped by a Kiss, and I will be reading it as soon as possible.


A big, huge thank you to Luisa, for sending me a review copy of this book!


Age Group: 12+
Official Publication Date: 06 March 2010
Publisher: Random House Childrens Books
Author Website: Chicklish


I'm doing this review as part of the British Books Challenge 2011, and you can find out more about it at The Bookette

British Books Challenge 2011 (I signed up!)

Yay! Woohoo! Yes, that's right, I have signed up for the British Book Challenge! This challenge is being hosted by Becky over at The Bookette. This is the first challenge I have ever done so I hope I can do it properly.

The BBC (haha!) is when you have to read at least 6 books by a British author and review them on your blog throughout 2011. You can find more out on the website. I don't know exactly what books I'll do yet but I think I might read

• Split By a Kiss by Luisa Plaja
• Beads, Boys and Bangles by Sophia Bennett
• Sequins, Stars and Spotlights by Sophia Bennett

That's obviously not all the books I'm going to be reviewing(cause that wouldn't be enough) but that's some of them anyway. Well, that's all for today. Cliona, out!( I know-cheesy!)