Darren Shan is an Irish teen fiction author, born on 2 July 1972. He is most famous for writing The Saga of Darren Shan, a teen fantasy series about half-vampire Darren Shan, and his adventures with his master Mr. Crepsley. The series consists of 12 books, and has been published in 37 countries around the world. He has also written another series for teens called The Demonata ,which consists of ten books. The Demonata is about the demon world and the adventures of the demon-fighting humans. Darren has written one standalone novel called The Thin Executioner and has started a new series, The Saga of Larten Crepsley, a prequel series to The Saga of Darren Shan. Birth of a Killer, the first book, was published in September 2010 and the sequel, Oceans of Blood, is due out in May 2011. Darren has also written a trilogy for adults, under the name of Darren O' Shaughnessy.
Darren is one of my favourite authors ever! I think he is brilliant. He is definitely my favourite fantasy author, and I've read all of his books, apart from the adult ones, and Birth of a Killer, which I am currently reading (and it's awesome!). I started reading The Demonata a few years ago and fell in love with it instantly, so I decided to read Darrens other books. I didn't think he could top the amazing Demonata, but oh, I was wrong! I loved ...Saga of Darren Shan just as much, if not more! I have to say, I think The Thin Executioner is probably Darrens weakest book so far. It's not bad as such, just...not as good. Birth of a Killer is also so far super, but to be honest, I don't think Darren will write any more books as marvelous as the first two series. I'm not saying they'll be bad! - but just not as good.
In conclusion, I definitely recommend you read all of Darrens books although not if you get scared easily, as their is some scary scenes! Apart from that, if you like fantasy, read his books! Darrens website is here and he has a blog here. I hope you like them! Bye bye xxxx
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
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
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Beads, Boys and Bangles by Sophia Bennett
Nonie's caught the eye of a gorgeous boy;
Jenny's rehearsing a new play.
But this time Edie's in trouble...
The rumours are that slave children in India
have been making Crow's new
high-street collection.
How far do the girls have to
go to save their dreams?
I was so happy to find this in my Santa Sack on Christmas morning, because I've wanted this book for ages (well, 2 months, but still!). It's the follow-up to Threads which is my favourite book not-in-a-series ever! So you can probably imagine my excitement when I opened it!
Beads, Boys and Bangles is again narrated by the eccentric, fashion-mad , 15-year-old Nonie. Nonie likes to stand out from the crowd and gets most of her clothes in charity shops, or else she makes them herself. She's that girl! Nonie is probably my favourite character. She's witty, hilarious and makes a great narrator. Or maybe Nonie's older brother Harry.(is my favourite character). He's just like his sister and he certainly knows how to annoy her. I really hated Alexander, Nonie's supposed-to-be boyfriend. I can't say much more about him, or else I'll spoil it, but take it from me. He's just...grrrr!
Around the middle of the book, Miss Teen, the fashion label Crow works for, sends the girls on a trip to.....India!!! The girls are super excited, because, not only only do they get to see how the clothes are made, they get to go...shopping! Mumbai is a brilliant place for shopping so Nonie is in heaven and Crow loves it too, because Mumbai has amazing fabrics Crow would love to work with. But then they find something appalling is going on, and when they get back to England, set out to fix it...
This book really is super. I wouldn't say it's as good as the first one (but then, that's a lot to live up too), but it still is brilliant. It gets 5/5, because I was gripped the whole way through, since there was one or two supporting storylines, so you never get bored! So, all in all, it was great. I definitely recommend you read it, and the first book , Threads.
By the way everyone, I won't be posting for a week or so because I'll be at my Granny's and she doesn't have a computer*sob* Oh well.*sigh* But, at least that means I'll be posting extra reviews when I get back*yay!* Bye!!!!!!!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman
Sephy is a Cross, one of the privileged in a society where the ruling Crosses treat the pale-skinned noughts as inferiors. But her baby daughter has a nought father...
Jude is a nought. Eaten up with bitterness, he blames Sephy for the terrible losses his family has suffered...
Now Jude's life rests on a knife edge. Will Sephy be forced, once again to take sides?
A razor-sharp and intensely moving novel, the second in the Noughts and Crosses trilogy.
WARNING: Spoilers alert. Don't read this review if you haven't read the first book.
I was so excited, and eager to begin reading this book when my mum brought it home from the library. If you have read my review of Noughts and Crosses, you will know how much I loved it, and so obviously I wanted to read this one. Who doesn't love a good sequel?! And it certainly didn't disappoint! Knife Edge had some wonderful new characters, and plot twists all the way through, so it kept me on the edge of my seat, hungry for more.
I found that this book explored the characters personalities more, whereas the first book concentrated more on the background of the characters, so that was interesting. I felt that we, as readers, got to know the characters better. On the subject of characters, I have to say, even though he has done some unforgivable things, I felt sorry for Jude the whole way through the book. He is filled with rage and hatred towards Sephy, because he blames her for his families,especially Callums death. He doesn't know where he's at, and what he wants from life, he is just focused on getting revenge on Sephy, which is an awful way to have to live your life.
I think anyone considering reading this book should read Noughts and Crosses before doing so as it contains information that you need to know to understand what's going on. And I would definitely advise you to read them, ASAP! This book gets a rating of 6/5! Thank you so much Malorie Blackman, for writing these books!OK, bye!!!
Age Group: 12+
Official Publication Date: 30 June 2005
Publisher: Random House Childrens Books
Author Website:www.malorieblackman.co.uk
Christmas Books
Hey everyone! Did you all have a good Christmas and get lots of books? Great! So did I! Here are the books I got:
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy
by Ally Carter
Beads, Boys and Bangles
by Sophia Bennett
Gleeful! A Totally Unofficial Guide To The
Hit TV Series Glee by Amy Rickman
This next one arrived in the post Christmas Eve Day, and even though I ordered it, I'm still counting it as a present!
Castle of Shadows
by Ellen Renner
So, I hope everybody had an awesome Christmas (I know I did!) Bye!!!
P.S. I got a bike!!!!!Yay! I know-not very book related! Oh well. Bye!!!(again)
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Longest Whale Song by Jacqueline Wilson
Dear Mum,Oh dear, I know you can't read this but I still need to write to you.There's so much I want yo tell you. I've been doing a special project about whales. Did you know that humpback whales can sing? Isn't it amazing to think of all those whales down there in the depth of the ocean, singing? Usually the songs are quite short - but on whale was recorded singing non - stop for TWENTY-TWO HOURS! I'd sing for even longer if it would only make you wake up. I'm going to play you some beautiful whale songs when I visit you in hospital. You'll listen, won't you?
Lots and lots and lots of love,
Ella xxxxxxxx
Summary from www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk
Ella’s mum’s in a deep coma having just had a new baby. That means Ella has to live with Jack, her hopeless stepfather and cope with her tiny newborn brother, as well as worrying about Mum.
The only thing that’s going right is her school project. It’s all about whales and how they sing out to each other to attract a mate – sometimes for hours. Maybe a whale song could reach Mum, wherever she is, and bring her back to Ella and baby Samson.
Surely it’s worth a try?
I'm just going to start by saying this: I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! It was so brilliant! In my opinion it was definitely Jacquelines best book ever. When I saw it I didn't think it would be very good - I thought the storyline sounded a bit strange, but I'm so happy I did! I really liked the whale parts. I learned quite a lot about them from this book, actually!
My favourite character was probably..... Jack, Ella's step dad. I felt sorry for him, cope with his wife being in a coma, at the same time as taking care of Ella and Samson and working. I didn't like Ella's so-called best friend Sally, because she wasn't there for Ella when she needed her most, and then she went off with another girl in their class, Dory, and practically left Ella all alone. I felt especially sorry for her at those parts.
My rating of this book is definitely 5/5.. I love all of Jacqueline Wilsons books, but this is by far my favourite one. Great, great, great job Jacqueline!
Official Publication Date: 30th September 2010
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Author Website:www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk
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