Boy Overboard by Morris Gleitzman

Boy Overboard is a moving fictional novel written by the witty and popular
Morris Gleitzman. The book was first published and became public in 2002.
This gripping novel about a brother and his sister and their big dreams will
surely keep you on the edge of your seat.

In this moving tale, Jamal and his family live happily in one of the million
villages in Afghanistan. But when the evil government find out Jamal's
mother's secret school, the family are forced to desperately flee for their
lives. They're going down under. Way down under. The story is set in a
war-torn village in Afghanistan and then travels to the Pacific Ocean. On
the way to Australia Jamal and BiBi meat Omar and Rashida. This is a well
paced story and is told in first person by Jamal. Children can easily
understand the language that is used. The moral of this story is always have
hope.

Boy Overboard will be loved by children of all ages. Some words may have to
be looked up in the dictionary. This book is hard to put down and will
always be keeping you in suspense. This book has believable characters and
will teach you the lesson of always having hope and faith. I highly
recommend this book for children aged 9-12 years old.

P.S I wrote this in Year 7 (last year) and it was published in: http://boyoverboardteamb.blogspot.com/
I copied this off there because I wanted other people to know about this wonderful book. Also read the sequel to it: Girl Underground. Please check out the blog above, I'm sure you'll like it.

Cheers,

Erika

The Casson Family Stories By Hilary Mckay

What it is and who it's by: The Casson Family stories consists of five books: Saffy's Angel, Indigo's Star, Permanent Rose, Caddy Ever After and Forever Rose. This series is written by Hilary McKay, author of the award-winning The Exiles.

What it's about and who's in it: The series is based on 4 kids, children of very talented artists, trying to get through everyday life. The stories always have a moral, lots of twists and lots of humor. The more you read of it, the more addicted you get.The crazy and quirky things the Cassons do will make you roll on the floor laughing. The four children are all named after exotic colors, since their parents are artists. There's Caddy (named after Cadmium Gold), there's Saffy (named after Saffron Yellow), there's Indigo, called Indy by his family (named after Indigo) and there's Rose (named after Permanent Rose). Caddy is a scatterbrain, she leaves things lying around and she forgets about them and she worries about lots of things as well. Saffy is a very tough and stubborn girl. She isn't really the three siblings' sister, she's their cousin. Her mother, the three siblings' aunt, had died when she was three and had lived with the Cassons ever since. She gets into lots of fights, especially boys, but is extremely intelligent. Indigo is very shy but outgoing. He will do anything it takes to overcome his fears. Because in a family full of girls, he thinks he's the one the should have no fear. Rose is a very talented artist. She draws everywhere, t-shirts, tables and even walls. Paper is always her last resort. She knows lots of things about art, what kind of things would go together and what kinds of colors would go together. She is persistent and doesn't like to leave things undone. This series is told in third person and always has an enlightening ending that will warm your heart.

What I think: This series is very understandable and can warm anyone's heart. I have had a fantastic time reading it and still wanting some more. I highly recommend it for 13-15 years of age. You will never find a family quite like this, except in this series. All in all a very exciting series and I hope I can find other books like this. I give it a 9.7/10 for creativity, uniqueness and quirkiness.

Cheers,

Erika

His Dark Materials Trilogy

As most of you know, a movie has come out lately, called <> .<> was based on the first of His Dark Materials trilogy. I found the movie disappointing as the book was so much better and exciting. This series of books tells of a girl called Lyra(The whole trilogy) and a boy called Will(The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass).

Northern Lights

Northern Lights tells of Lyra Belacqua, (Later Lyra Silvertongue) with her daemon Pantalaimon. Lyra's parents had died in an airship accident early in her life, so she was placed in the care of scholars in Jordan College, Oxford. The story starts in the retiring room in the college. Lyra heard the master of the college coming, so she hides in a cupboard and Pantalaimon changes into a moth.(Children's daemons can change into any animal they wish, while adult's daemons would have "settled" into a final form) Lyra saw the master put some powder into Lyra's all-powerful uncle, Lord Asriel's wine. Lyra then comes in the knowledge of GOBblers, Mrs Coutler, Bolvanger and many more things throughout a book that gets more and more exciting every page you read.

The Subtle Knife

The Subtle knife starts in our universe, near Oxford. Another main character, Will Parry, takes his mother to his teacher's house to keep her safe. Will then accidentally kills a man in his house. Will quickly goes to Oxford, there he find a patch of grass where a cat disappears through. He goes over and enters another universe called Cittagazze. Here he meets Lyra with Pantalaimon who have come to this universe through a tear in the sky created my Lord Asriel(See Northern Lights) Will, with the help of Lyra, obtains the legendary subtle knife, which point is so sharp that you cannot see it, this knife can cut windows into other universes and lets you get through. In this book, you will learn about spectres, Will Parry's father and many other surprises that wait for you after every bend in the road.

The Amber Spyglass

The Amber Spyglass is the final book in the His Dark Materials Trilogy. This story starts with Will trying to find Lyra after she got kidnapped by Mrs Coutler. This book is the longest and will put nearly all the characters Lyra and Will have encountered in the first two books.

I recommend this book to everyone aged from 10 to any age. It is exciting and you hardly want it to finish.

Happy reading!

Cindy

The Maximum Ride Series By James Patterson

What it is and who it's by: The Maximum Ride series consists of the books, The Angel Experiment, School's Out Forever, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports and The Final Warning. This series is written by James Patterson, the ever popular adult book writer.

What it's about and who's in it: Seven unforgettable characters are in the series, known as the "flock"; Fang, Iggy, The Gasman, Nudge, Angel, Total the dog and of course the main character, Max. In the series, they escape from the very horrible School, desperately travel around the world, fleeing for their lives, while Max tries to keep the "flock" together while trying to save the world.The flock has very strange qualities as well. They are all able to fly. (Well, except Total, but he is able to talk.) They are stronger than an average grown man and taller than the average teenager. Max is a very out-going, tough and stubborn girl who is known as the leader of the flock. She is the toughest of the flock thus letting her be the leader and letting her stand up to even the scariest people. This series is told in first person by Max and has language that young adults can understand.

What I think: This series is very well written and well paced. I highly recommend these books for 12-16 years of age. It has language and slang that teenagers can easily understand and has quite a lot of humor in it. All in all, a very unique and fantastic book, and I give it a 10/10 for creativity.
Check out their blog: Maximum Ride

Cheers,

Erika