Chelsea pocket book.

The CHELSEA book is about how Chelsea football club was created and about the players, the tactics and the managers. Its quite intresting and i would reccomend to people who dont support chelsea like.. johnny.
Chelsea arent a glory supporters club when you find out what leagues they were in and how bad they were, (in football terms) its intresing but it has no story line so i would rate it 6 1/2 out of 10.

By LA.

Shadow

Shadow is a book about a boy who is growing up in afghanistan. one day after his grandmother died a dog who he named shadow led them to england or did he? It has lots of adventures including the taliban chasing them and befriending english soldiers.
I really liked this book because it tells you how lucky you are living in england and not being tortured in afghanistan.
I would rate it 9/10!


By Luke arrowsmith

The Book Thief

'The Book Thief'- by Markus Zusak is a brilliant book in my opinion. It is set in Nazi Germany 1936-1945 and the Second World War (1939-1945). It is the war from the perspective of a ten year-old German girl named Liesel. Before too long, Liesel has lost her mother and her brother (the father was dead before the book began). She is a foster child whose 'parents' are named Hans Hubermann (whom she is very fond of) and Rosa Hubermann (whom she is not so fond of...). She develops a passion for literature after Hans tenderly teaches her to read and write. The character of Hans shines out in the book as good and honest and true and kind, in comparison to the horrors of Nazi Germany with its vindictiveness and cruelty and intolerance.The Hubermanns aren't exactly the richest people in the world and are always scratching around for any money they can get. At one point, Rosa even sends Liesel to deliver her washing in the hope that the recipients of the washing will not be cruel enough to fire a ten year-old foster child! She lives on 'Himmel Street' in Munich where the atmosphere is very friendly and they often have a match of football amongst the children. Liesel's best friend is Rudi who always converses with and sticks-up for Liesel. Max Vandenberg is a Jew (to whom Hans Huberman has sworn loyalty to after his father (Erik Vandenberg) saved his life) and he hides in Hans' house on Himmel Street. It is very interesting to see Nazi Germany through the eyes of a Jew in hiding. Max's most common words are 'thank you' and 'sorry'- this shows what the war has done to him and is very sad. Max's 'home' is the freezing basement where no peeking eyes can see him as there are no windows (and it is below ground level). There are a few very emotional chapters about Max Vandenberg which involve Liesel Meminger (The Book Thief) as well (I shall not spoil the story for you by explaining blow-by-blow accounts of these chapters which are situated half way through the book)! These two seemingly very different characters develop a friendship and discover that they actually have a lot in common - both survivors, both fugitives, both like a good fist fight!

This book is narrated by a personified image of Death. This may be quite hard to grasp at first but is a very interesting twist considering that this is the time of The Second World War and also immediately allows room for a whole range of metaphors. If you are thinking of picking this book up then prepare yourself for a whole bunch of metaphors, a lot of strong vocabulary, incredibly constructed images and you must be able to interpret confusing ideas and topics. This book is excellently and extremely cleverly written. Markus Zusak has really got this topic under the thumb and certainly succeeds in painting a perfect picture of the contrary feelings felt by people in war-time Germany - always worried and watching their backs. Markus Zusak grew up in Australia, however his mother lived in Germany during the Second World War and reguarly sent back letters to her son. After reading all these letters as a boy, he was determined that this was a story he was going to tell and preserve the horrors and innocence of the time for future generations to look back on. I think that Markus Zusak succeeds in doing the job he set out to do perfectly and if I were asked what the best book I've ever read is- then his novel 'The Book Thief' would certainly come somewhere high up on the list. The Book Thief was published in 2006 and has won many awards and achievements since then, such as:

• It reached number one in the 'New York Times' bestseller list
• Commonwealth writers prize
• Horn book fanfare
• Kirkus reviews editor choice award
• School library journal best book of the year

And many more...
As you can see, The Book Thief has had many successes and rightfully so in my opinion. I would recommend this book to anyone who is over eleven years of age. You have to be very pinickety and extremely critical in order to not like this book if you understand it. As the reviews of this book confirm, hardly anyone doesn't like this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope that any other adventurous reader who may stumble upon it will too. Thank you for reading my book review.

By Joe Ingram

The Knife of Never lettting go - Partick Ness

This is a thrilling book with lots of twists and turns.  It is about a boy named Todd Hewitt and his dog Manchee who live in New World, on New World they livve in a place called Prentistown where you can hear everybodys noise.  The natives who were here before released a noise germ so that you could hear everybodys thoughts, but Todd finds a place where there is no noise and as everyone can hear his thoughts it doesnt stay a secret for long.  Todd then has to run from prentistown but prentistown are running after him!
I liked this book and would recomend it to people who like action and who like fantasy, and a extremely well thought out plot.

J.H

Leviathan

Leviathan is about an alternate history of World War I. There arew the allies, known as the darwinists, that use mutated animals. And the Germans and Austrians, known as the clankers that use big metal walkers. About half of the book is about the made up son of franz ferdinand, Alec, on the run from the clankers. Also Deryn Sharp, a young Darwinist thats eager to join the army but can not as she is a girl. She is far more skilled, eager and knowledgebul than any boy and so she pretends to be a boy. She then starts to serve on the leviathan a huge floating whale like creature, ut when it is shot down over the Alps. It is up to Alec and his closest friends to save them from the Germans, closing in to finish of the ship and freezing/starving to death in the cold.
I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone that likes that kind of thing or is intersted by this report.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYiw5vkQFPw

catch-22

CATCH-22

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is set in the later stages of World War 2. I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Yossarian is a bombardier in the war and is desperately trying to get out of it. Their colonels are always raising the amount of missions they have to fly before they can be sent home, so no one is ever sent home. Yossarian takes the whole war personally and thinks he and his friends shouldn’t have to die because of something someone else has done. Yossarian is desperately trying to live (be immortal) and spends a lot of his time faking illnesses in hospital to avoid the war. Yossarian is placed in ridiculous and tragic circumstances and sees men die and disappear and colonels volunteer their men for dangerous battles for their own reputations.

Catch-22 is lots of catches throughout the book. At the start of the book Yossarian find out that you can get out of the war by going insane, so Yossarian claims he is insane to get out only to find that anyone who doesn’t want to fly and leave must be sane, That is one example of catch-22. Another example is when Yossarian find out that you only have to fly forty missions before you can be sent home. Yossarian had already done forty-eight so as far as he is concerned he should be sent home, But Twenty seventh air force also says that you must do as your commanding officer says and his commanding officer says he must fly fifty-five. So he must fly fifty-five or he will be shot for disobeying orders. That is another example of catch-22. This happens a lot throughout the book.

Yossarian was put in danger throughout the whole book, especially when he told Nately’s lover some bad news.    

Nately was Yossarian’s friend

Alex Shirley

Escape from Shangri-La by Michael Morpurgo

Cessie lives with her family were there are no pictures of her grandfather and she doesn't know what he looks like. A trampy looking man ends up on their doorstep who happens to be her grandfather she just doesn't know it yet.Cessie had been looking out her window all morning and this man was leaning against a lamppost staring at her she had be calling her mum to come over to look at him, she wouldn’t come over to see why he was staring at Cassie, soon enough she came over she told Cassie to stop staring at him. Her mum said he looked like a tramp. Later on the doorbell rings Cassie goes to answer the door and on the doorstep was the trampy old man who happens to be her grandfather but just doesn’t know it yet.

He comes in because he thinks that his son lives there because Cessie’s dad has just got a new job working in a radio station and hears his name Arthur Stephens. He hasn’t seen his son, Cessie’s dad since he was five years old. When Grandfather a younger Arthur used to call him Popsicle and ever since everyone has called him that.Cessie’s Grandfather had a stroke in the kitchen as mum and Popsicle were talking to each other about Arthur. He recovered but he had lost his memory. Cessie tries to help him regain his memory all he remembers vaguely is a lifeboat, a tin of condensed milk, and a terrifying night on the beaches of Dunkirk in World War Two.

Popsicle was taken to a nursing home. They took the residents on a boat trip from Shangri-La on his lifeboat across the Channel to Dunkirk were ghosts were laid to rest. When they got back to the port Popsicle and Arthur talked about what has happened in their life.  Arthur decides to put Popsicle into a nursing home and Cessie is desperate to get him out. Cessie went looking for his home to find out that he has been living in an old lifeboat called Lucie Alice.

I really enjoyed this book because it's one of those books which you think 'whats going to happen next', so you just can't stop.

By Harriett Browne

Maus

"Maus"(which is pronounced "mouse" by the way) is the true story of the writer's (or drawer's) father, Vladek Speigelman's journey through the holocaust. There are some clever twists to the book which you need to understand before you read it. First of all it's a graphic novel so it is more like a comic but I think it still feels like a book. Secondly it uses a number of metaphors which you need to understand before you read it, the Jews are mice, the Germans are cats, the Americans are dogs and the Polish are pigs. Thirdly the book isn't told as if you are there at the time of the holocaust, it is told as he's is writing it which also shows you how he wrote it and what was also going on at that time.

  What I liked about the book was that it didn't try make things seem better or worse than they were it just told you how it was and what the Jews did to survive. I would recommend it to ages 11 and up because it is quite grown up as well as having some, not exactly child friendly, language. It is called "Maus" because, funnily enough, it is the german word for mouse. Overall I thought it was an exiting, witty and truthful book.

By Kit Livsey

Across the Nightingale Floor

Across the nightingale floor is a book written by Lian Hearn it is about a boy called Tomasu who is a member of the Hidden clan. The book starts with Tomasu coming back from a wander in the forest and him finding his whole clan dead. In the process of Tomasu trying to get a way he meats Iida the leader of the tohan and the man who lead the slaughter. Tomasu accidently unhorses Iida and runs off with Iida's men on his trail. He is saved by Lord Otori who helps him escape. Lord Otori then changes Tomasu's name to Takeo because of his old names Hiodden roots. Lord Otori then takes Takeo back to his home and ends up adopting him. At Otori's home he finds out that his father was a skilled assasin so he then gets trained by Muto Kenjii. The rest of the story is very gripping and magical and I would urge anyone 12 up to read this book!

Saving Rafael

Saving Rafael is a book by Leslie Wilson about a girl called
Jenny who is fourteen, the daughter of a German father and a mother whose mother is English. Their best friends who are Jewish, have a son called Rafael (Raf) who Jenny grew up with, she is now falling in love with him. Pressured by danger all of the time, Jenny and Raf fall in love as teenagers.Raf's father is sent to the concentration camps, and Jenny's father is sent to war. Raf's mother is taken just before Jenny comes to save her, but Raf was out so Jenny takes him to her house to hide him from the gestapo for as long as possible. Do they escape or do they get found out and sent to the camps? Read the book to find out.



















Charlie Henderson

The Diamond of Drury Lane

The Diamond of Drury Lane is written by Julia Golding and is a story about an orphan, taken in by a theatre owner. It is set in the 1970s. Cat is a real tomboy and is desperate to join a gang, but Syd , a gang leader doesn't want her to get into any more trouble, an enemy gang leader, Billy Shepherd is already out to kill her. But when penniless, nimble and mysterious, violin player, Pedro turns up on her doorstep and there are rumours of a valuable diamond hidden somewhere in the theatre her world is turned upside down. Along with her friends Pedro, Lord Francis, Lady Elizabeth and Syd, she must try to protect the diamond. But can Pedro be trusted? And is this valuable diamond  not all that it's made out to be?


I would recommend this book to both boys and girls of all ages. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am loooking forward to reading the other books in the series.

By Matilda Martin

The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4

the secret diary of adrian mole is about a boy in about 1980, the book looks at the problems and regrets of being a teenager. he like a girl at school called Pandora and she doesn't really take any notice of him because she like other people. this book also goes back to some historic avents like the marage of prince charles and lady diana.
I liked this book because it was very funny and the style that it was written in made the whole book better.
I would recomend this book to people over the age of 9 and ether girl's or boy's can read it.

point blanc

Point Blanc is written by Anthony horowitz it is bassed in the snowy french Alps.

Alex rider is trying to find out why 2 rich billionaires got mysteriously murderd both having a son from an alps academy school.

Alex goes to the Alps undercover and whilst he was their he found out the horrible truth.

I think it was an exciting book and an adventuring one that keeps you interested throughout.

I would recommend this book to people who live cherub and people who like a simple but exciting plot.

The Death Defying Pepper Roux

The Death Defying Pepper Roux is a book written by GERALDINE McCAUGHREAN. The book starts off on Pepper Roux's 14th Birthday which is believed to be his deathday by his grandma. The book is about Pepper trying to dodge death. Whilst all this is happening he has to provide food for himself so he gets a job, some of which are ships captain, butcher, newspaper reporter and soldier.

I would definitely reccomend this book to anyone in the ages of 10 - 16 of any gender.

Sam Crossman

Abela by Berlie Dorerty

This book is about two girls:

One in Africa who is poor with out a father and a very very ill mother. This girl is Abela.
One in England who is rich with out a father but a lovley mother. This girl is Rosa.

Abela would have to walk for over a day to get her mum to hospital if someone haden't brought her a bus ticket and a little bit of food.

Rosa's birthday she gets a pair of ice skates, ice skating is her hobbie she loves this. Then one day her mum says she is going to adopt a child Rosa is not pleased.
Tilly Wright

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

This book is about a person who goes around killing people who are completly inocent.
The killer dosen't go round killing anyone he does it in order he starts at:
A for Mrs Ascher in Andover
B for Betty Barnard in Bexhill
C for Sir Carmichael Clarke
The killer is leaving clues just before every murder for Hercule Poirot.
Everytime Hercule Poirot arrives at the murder to late.
The killer is out for one person, Sir Carmichael Clarke.
Could the killer be his mother, his father, brother, or sister or a friend. Who is it?
People accused the murderer being Alexander Bonaparte Cust.





I like books on deaths, murders and true stories.
So this was a good book for me to read.

By Harriett Browne

THE ENEMY

When sickness came to the world every adult,officer,parent fell ill. Now only the boys under 14 still survive, there are rumours of a safe place... but will the boy survive?. I like this book very much because it is very action packed and full of surprises and excitement. If you like action blood and guts and gore...... then this is the book for you. I would ad vise this book to George Hawkins.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jUXsJOlmoY. click the link to watch trailer, then click below.

diary of anne frank

This book is an acquired taste. The book is set in the time of world war one and Anne Frank and her family are Jews and being hunted. Its an emotional rollercoaster and its especially moving when at the start it explains that because she didn't survive her dad is publishing various copies and extracts from her diary she kept while hiding in a secret book case. I found it gripping but as I said at the start its an acquired taste of the incredible life of Anne Frank I say this because people may find it boring because its just extracts from her diary or they may find it offensive. I would recommend this to 11yr old children upwards because otherwise they wont get the point of the book.

                                                       This is one of many books that her  father published:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6OPtrp6Nds&feature=related

Under a Worn Torn Sky

This book is about a boy called Henry he is 19 years old and he is an american bomber pilot he is in a b-24.
He gets shot down over the east of France and he has to find his way home, he has to avioid the nazis by hiding out with the French resistance and other families that volunteer to look after him he gets especially attached to a young boy called Pierre. I enjoyed this book because it is tense, you do not know what is going to happen to him when he gets captured by the nazis and there is also action. I recommend this book.

Once

Once is a tale about a young boy named Felix.
The story is set in Poland during the first World War.
Felix's Mum and Dad are Jewish book owners. They left Felix at a catholic orphanage in the mountainside when he was a little boy. Felix and his parents are Jewish. Felix runs away from his orphanage to look for his parents, over time he realises that the Nazi's hate Jewish book owners!!! He later realises that they hate the people not just the books. Felix comes across a burning house in his troubles and saves a little girl named Zelda who doesn't know that her Parents are dead. Overtime Felix is exposed to the horrors of war but keeps his morale up by making up stories.

Once is classified as a childrens book but I think its a fantastic book for any age. It is a different genre for many as it is different, exciting and quirky. I think it is a must read for anyone as its light but still a fantastic read. If you are not a book lover, I advise you to read this as its a very different book to all those action books which you may not like. This book explores the innocents of war and how Hitler brought down fear on all people, the nuns  always make the children say, "thank God, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Pope and ADOLF HITLER."




R.M.H

Finding Violet Park

Finding Violet Park is about a boy named Lucas Swain who is almost 16 years old and lives in a family of Four as his Dad ran away when he was a young boy. He has a younger brother called Jed and a sister called Mercy. His mum is having a bit of a breakdown about her husband and is fretting about his whereabouts. Meanwhile Lucas is on the Hunt for an old lady (Named Violet Park) who he met in a cab office in a 5 year old urn.
I find this book a weird pick up as I did not expect it to be what it was. One of the reasons I liked this book was because In every chapter there are 2 different stories going on. One of them is him trying to find Violet Park and the other trying to find out about his Dad. I didnt expect the turnout of this book as it goes through many twists and turns.
I would recomend this book to anyone who likes plot twists and emotion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baXT2_sdhgk

The Last Of The Warrior Kings

The book is based in streets and there is not many characters.
It is like the outsiders but more modern.
The main characters name is Max and his brother who is close name is Angelo.
Max and Angelo live in the south of London.

A famous rapper called Mogul King is running from a gang. Mongul King shoves a parcel into Max's hand and inside that parcel is the most important thing in max's life causing. Decisions which could get him and his friends killed. 

hj                                                                                                             

the Diary of Anne Frank

 This book is written in world war one and it as all about a girl and the situations in her life, these problems are because the Nazi's and how they gased jews. Anne was a jew and she lived in main Germany then when the Nazi's took over Germany she moved to Amsterdam and a family took her family in and then they hid in a house, where they were behind a book case. this book really shows the scares when the Nazi's search the house. this book would be advised for readers ove the age of 12, you could learn a lot from this book.

I enjoyed this book because I like book that involves history but it was a bit long.

Wolf of the Plains

It is Brilliant!!! Its got such a griping plot you cannot put it down till you've finished it!! Its about Genghis khan known as Tumjin as a child, growing up and going through countless tasks because betrayal and conquest. It has a lot of metaphors and brilliant descriptions of the amazing surroundings. It is written by Conn Iglden a historian so you know it is good on facts. It believe this book is aimed at 12+ and for boys but some girls would like it.

IT IS A GOOD BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Prince of The Mist

!!!!!!Here's a pic of the book cover!!!!!!

The Prince of The Mist is a book written for teenagers and below because of a childish plot and simple language is used. The book begins when Max Carver(the main character)'s father - a watchmaker and inventor - decides to move his family to a small town on the Atlantic coast. They move into a house that was built for a prestigious surgeon, Dr Richard Fleischmann and his wife but was abandoned when the couple's son drowned in a tragic accident. Behind the house Max spies an overgrown garden full of statues surrounded by a metal fence topped with a six-pointed star. When he goes to see what this is all about, Max finds that the statues seem to consist of a kind of circus troop. In the centre of the garden is the large statue of a clown set in another six-pointed star. Max has the curious sensation that the statue is beckoning to him. As the family settles in they grow increasingly uneasy: they discover a box of old films belonging to the Fleischmanns; his sister has unsettling dreams and his other sister hears voices whispering to her from an old wardrobe. But Max spends most of his time with his new friend Roland, who takes him diving to the wreck of a boat that sank close to the coast in a terrible storm. Everyone on board perished except for one man - an engineer who built the lighthouse at the end of the beach.During the dive, Max sees something that leaves him cold - on the old mast floats a tattered flag and on it is the symbol of the circle and six-pointed star. As they learn more about the wreck, the chilling story of a legendary figure called Prince of the Mists begins to enfold. I would reccomend this book to both genders and espacially to people who liked 'The Outsiders' or 'Fever Crumb'. This story is slightly predictable and obvious. I think it could be improved by maybe making another twist in the story or using a slightly larger range of vocabluary.

I would say about 7/10 

Sad........  = (  Lets turn that frown, upside down!!!!!  ........    = )

The Star Of Kazan By Eva Ibbotson

The Star of Kazan is about a baby that gets found in a little church in the mountains by two servants. They take him back to where they work. The professors s said that the baby had to go to the Scarid Heart with was a nuns convert but on the day Ellie and Sigrid the two servants went to take the baby away but the professors said she could stay. Then twelve years later Annika was a very helpful girl. One day a family across the road called the Egghart's great aunt arrived, none of the Eggharts wanted to look after there great ant so Annika did. The great aunt and Annika became good friends then the great aunt died. Then very soon after this happened a lady arrived at the professor’s house she was Annika’s Mum. Her mother took her to her house which was called Spittal. At Spittal Annika wasn't allowed to help around the house and kitchen like she did at the professor’s house. When she arrived she had a brother called Hermann who was just younger than her. Annika accepting her mother she was also accepting the name Annika von T           which was the sort of name rich people in Germany had.

One day Annika went down to the farm at spittal and met a boy called Zed. Zed was just older than Annika. He was the farm boy he looked after the horse called Rocco he looked after Hector the dog. But Hector was no normal he was missing one leg and an eye. Annika found out from her mother that they were short of money although there house was enormous and Annika thought they had lots of money the reason they were short of money was Edelraut (Annika’s mother) husband was a gambler.

Annika’s Mum, Uncle Oswald and Aunt Mathilda had to go some where on a business. When they came back they seemed happy and Annika wondered why it was because Edelraut’s godfather had died and left her lots of money. Then one day Annika and Edelraut went and visited Elderauts uncle at the biggest spar in Europe. While Edelraut is having treatment Annika and her cousin Gudrun and brother Hermann went to a café. While they were there the Egghart’s daughter arrived Lorrmarie and she shouted at Annika about stealing one of her great aunts possessions. But she hadn’t. When she got home because they had now come into money her mother was sending Hermann of to St Xavier which was a military school. Annika told her mum about Lorrmarie shouting at her. They worked out that the great aunt had left in her will a box of her possessions to Annika. The next day Zed and Annika took Hector for a walk and hector found a photo it was a ohoto from the box of Annika knew this because the great aunt showed it to her. But how did it get there?

Annika showed her mum and her mum said it was zed who took it because his mother was a gypsy. She phoned the police and they were going to get zed in the morning.  But zed found out and rode away to Vienna on Rocco the horse. While he was in Vienna he went to see the professors and tell them about the box and tell them that he thinks it was the mum and he had evidence. Meanwhile back at spittal Edelraut was sending Annika to a boarding school which would teach her how to not do always want help around the house. She was given a number which was number 127 after a few days she realized that number 216 was missing she asked people if they knew what had happened but they were not allowed to tell. She hated it there at the school it was called ‘The Palace of Grossenfluss’. After a bit longer the professors had decided that they needed to speak to Annika’s mother. When they got to Spittal she was not there nor was Annika. So they asked the maid where Annika was the maid said at The Palace of Grossenfluss. So they went and asked if they could see her but they weren’t allowed but the lady did tell them that she would be out on a walk soon. They saw her and Ellie and the professors knew she was unhappy so got a plan hitched. One of the professors played the harp so they decided that she would go and play a concert they managed to get a message to Annika saying that in the interval she had to pretend to feel sick and go to the clock room to meet one of the professors but does it work……

I would give it a 8/10

Get reviewing Y8!