Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Ten books I want to read

Here are ten books I really want to read soon!                                          

Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman
This book is the second in a series the first being Noughts 
and Crosses which is brilliant! So I can't wait to read this one!


Entangled by Cat Clarke 
I've seen loads of reviews of this on tons of 
blogs lately and it looks super! But it's not out
until 2011 : (

Beads, Boys and Bangles by Sophia Bennett
Another sequel! This one is a sequel to Threads, my 
favourite book ever! Luckily I'm getting it for Christmas : )

A Year Without Autumn by Liz Kessler
I've never read any of this authors book before, 
but it sounds amazing, so hopefully it will be good.

Conspiracy 365: January by Gabrielle Lord
This is part of a 12 book series, one for each 
month of the year. Sounds interesting, hmm?

When I Was Joe by Keren David
I don't really like the cover, it looks a bit 
depressing, but the storyline sounds great.


Clarity by Kim Harrington
Harringtons debut novel, it's looks really good
I love the cover!


Swapped by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja
The sequel to the HILARIOUS Split by a Kiss,
thanks Luisa!

 
Castle of Shadows by Ellen Renner
This is arriving in the post soon, I can't WAIT!!!
                                        


 Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
This looks really sweet! (haha - pun not intended!)


So there they are. The top ten books I wnat to read in or before 2011.
I hope you enjoy them too!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Shine On, Daizy Star by Cathy Cassidy

Meet the one and only Daizy Star!
She's quirky and cool and loving life in Year Six with her best friends Willow and Beth.But when Dad hatches a mad plan that will turn life upside down, Daizy is too horrified to tell anyone at all... and pretty soon she finds herself tangled up in a knot of secrets.Will Daizy realize that even when she's sinking, her family and friends are there to help her swim?


Daizy Star has just started a new school term with her three best friends, Willow, Beth and Murphy. She has a wonderful teacher, Miss Moon, and is loving Year Six. But then her Dad comes up with a crazy plan, one that will change Daizy's life forever. Or will it?

OK, I know this book is meant for younger readers, but so what? I have read a few of Cathy's books before and they were quite good, so I decided to give this one a try.  I really enjoyed it! It only took me a few hours to read it though!

My favourite character is Daizy. She's just so cool and fun. I know you're not meant to favour the main character, but I wasn't mad on any of the other ones. Well, I liked Pixie, Daizy's six-going-on seven year old sister. She sounds so cute! She wants to be a mermaid when she grows up! Awwwww! I love how little kids say that, like, I want to be a mermaid or a princess or whatever.

I would probably recommend this book for younger readers, around 8 or 9 year olds. Although it makes a nice short read for older readers too. It would be a great story to read to your little sister, as it's really funny!

I'm going to give this book 5/5, because I didn't find anything wrong with it, at all. I'll definitely read and review Daizy Star and the Pink Guitar, the sequel. Good job Cathy!

Age Group: 8
Official Publication Date:4th June 2009
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd.
Author Website:www.cathycassidy.com

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Callum is a nought - a second-class citizen in world run by the ruling Crosses...


Sephy is a Cross, daughter of one of the most powerful men in the country...


In their world, noughts and Crosses simply don't mix. And as hostility turns to violence, can Callum and Sephy possibly find a way to be together?They are determined to try.


And then the bomb explodes...


Callum is white - a nought. Sephy is black - a Cross. They have been friends since they were very young. Callums mum used to work for Sephys, until they had an argument and she was sacked. Since then, neither families have wanted them to be friends, so they have to go behind their parents back to be with each other. The story follows Callum and Sephy as they grow older, and the difficulties they run into while trying to live in a world where black and white are right and wrong. A touching, emotional story, that teaches young people how wrong racism is.


This book is amazing! Malorie Blackman manages to give a whole new twist to the racism storyline, and makes it wonderful and brilliantly unique. My favourite character is Sephy. I love how innocent she is, always trying to please everyone. Although that does sometimes get her into difficult situations. Towards the end of the book, not giving anything away, Sephy is a lot more mature. This book has it's fair share of sad and happy  moments, and a lot of unexpected twists. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and I can't wait to read the sequel.


I will definitely give this book 5/5 and would definitely read it again, but maybe not too soon, as I was quite sad after reading it. I found no faults at all with this book and would recommend it to everyone! Definitely read this book people! 
OK, well bye!!!


Age Group: 12+
Official Publication Date: 15th January 2001
Publisher:2001 Doubleday,2002 Corgi Publishing
Author Website:www.malorieblackman.co.uk


Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Boys Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman

You're waiting for the postman - he's bringing your exam results. University, a career as a journalist... a glittering future lies ahead. But when the doorbell rings, it's your old girlfriend; and she's carrying a baby... your baby.

She's had enough and now it's your turn.

What would you do?

From the author of the bestselling Noughts and Crosses sequence comes a dramatic and controversial novel, one that will take you on a journey from tears to laughter and back again.


17-year-old Dante lives with his father and younger brother Adam. Dante has finished his A-levels and is waiting for the results. He wants to go to university and become a journalist, when his old girlfriend Melanie, who he hasn't seen in nearly two years turns up with a baby. Dante's baby. She leaves the baby, a girl called Emma, with him after telling him she can't cope anymore. From there, the story begins. Dantes life takes a turn for the worst. Or maybe not. Dante doesn't know what to do. Will Melanie ever come back?Will he put Emma into care? And what disturbs Dante the most, is that he feels nothing for Emma. Nothing at all. Read all about what Dante chooses to do in this touching novel of family, love and freedom.

I saw a review of this book on The Mile Long Bookshelf and I thought it looked really good, so I went out and bought it. And I'm  glad I did too! This novel is superb. It has a wonderfully unique storyline, great characters and it's written very well. My favourite character is Adam, Dantes brother. I liked him because he isn't ashamed of who he is, and I think he's a great role model for teenagers. This novel is quite sad though, and I'm not very good with sad, real life novels, so I didn't enjoy the sad parts as much as I did the rest of the book (well, I suppose that's kind of obvious!).But apart from that I found absolutely
nothing wrong with this book! In fact I liked it so much, I'm now reading another of Malorie Blackmans books, Noughts and Crosses,  and there will be a review of that up soon.

I would give this book 4/5 because I enjoyed reading it (apart from the sad bits) and like I said it was written very well, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes touching, real life fiction(does that make sense? Real life fiction?Hmm....). 

Official Publication Date: 28th October 2010
Publisher: Doubleday

Monday, December 6, 2010

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!)

Sunday, December 5, 2010

British Books Challenge 2011

The British Books Challenge is a challenge being hosted by Becky at The Bookette. I don't know if I'll take part or not. Maybe. If I am doing it I will post more details about it soon. Please comment on what you think. Thanks!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter


''Do you ever feel like you're invisible? I know I do-just call me Cammie the Chameleon. But at my         school, that's seen as cool. Why? Because the Gallagher Academy might say it's for geniuses, but it's really school for spies.''
Cammie Morgan might be capable of killing a man in seven different ways, but she's about to begin her most dangerous mission yet: falling in love. 


Cammie Morgan is a genius and she goes to spy school. Her mother, the headmistress, is a former spy and so is her father, who is dead. Cammie's best friends are super-smart Liz and super-cool Bex. The girls are in their sophomore year (I think that's how you say it?????) and have started Covert Operations, which is spy field work. When the school gets a new CovOps teacher, the gorgeous Joe Solomon, all the sophomores are excited. But then they realise that Mr. Solomon means business. He's a former spy and really knows his stuff. When he gives the three girls a test mission in the nearby town, Cammie meets Josh, a local boy. Josh thinks the Gallagher Girls are all posh, snobby rich girls, so Cammie lies to him and tells him she is home schooled. As Cammie continuously sneaks into town to meet Josh her lies develop and Cammie begins to feel more and more guilty. 

When I first saw the cover of this book I thought it looked really good. I borrowed it off a friend and she told me she didn't really like it, but I decided to try it anyway. I have to say I didn't think it was great. It was written well and it was quite funny but I thought it was a bit boring. I didn't think enough really happened in it.  I think more should have happened with Josh and Cammie but whenever those parts were happening, I felt like skipping them. I would give this book 3.5/5. I probably won't be reading the sequel to it, Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy. So, all in all, I didn't think it was great. 

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