An Evil Cradling, By Brian Keenan.

an evil cradling is a book about a school teacher who was born and grew up in Belfast, he decides to go to Beirut to teach there at a university when after just a few weeks he is captured by four men with pistols in a Mercedes and driven, in the boot, to his home for the next four and a half years, a 6ft by 4ft cell. during his captivity he tries to escape twice but fails and repeatedly tries to gain information about why he is being held there because it seemed like they were looking for an Englishman and not an Irishman. After the best part of five years he was then released and traveled back to Belfast. H.H

Andrew Strauss

In his autobiography it is very interesting and funny( at some part).  Towards the end it starts to lost the look at him but more at the England cricket which is not bad but he starts naming all the players so it gets a bit boring and losses the fun. so i would rate it 6/10 but a good read if you like cricket.           


Harrison Ward

To Kill a Mockingbird

To kill a Mockingbird is set in between 1933 and 1935, it takes place in Alabama in South America and is narrated by the main character, a little girl called Jean Louise Finch (Scout, her nickname). Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who half way through the book decides to take on a case including a black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a very poor white girl named Mayella Ewell. Scout, Jem (her brother) amd Atticus all live together in a town named Macomb, which how Scout describes it, sounds like the most boring town in America. Few people move in, fewer move out, so it’s just the same families doing the same things for generaton after generation.

Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill are desperate to find out about the mystery of a man in their neighborhood named Boo Radley who, rumour has it stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors, and appears to be a kind of monster when really he isn’t as Jem and Scout discover at the end of the book.

I loved reading about Scout, jem and Dills adventures to just be able to see Boo Radley.

This book shows the reality of the truth about how bad racism really was, less than one hundred years ago. I really enjoyed reading this book and I defenitaly recommend it. 9/10    ...(the book was written by Harper Lee and has alsobeen made into a film).

...Otty. M

I'd tell you I love you but then I'd have to kill you

'I'd tell you I love you but then I'd  have to kill you' is a book about a girl called Cammie Morgan and her life at school. But her school isn't an ordinary school....it is a girls spy school. The whole neighbourhood thinks that Gallagher Academy for Girls is  a school for really clever girls ... and it is .. but its also a school for spies in training. It sounds like a weird book,but its about Cammie and her three friends trying to meet boys but not give away the fact that they go to this school. Soon Cammie meets a guy called Josh. She really likes him, but he doesnt know anything about her, or that she goes to Gallagher Academy for Girls       (which has a reputation for really stuck up girls). Soon, things get a bit out of hand, and with the help of her two friends Liz and Becky, Cammie starts to sneak out of school almost everyday to see Josh - even though her mum is the Head Mistress and there are bad consequences if they are caught. Cammie lies to Josh a lot telling him that she is home-schooled, and that she leads a normal life... but soon Josh and his friends see her going to school and her true identity is revealed.......

I gave this book an 8/10 because it is a good book but gets boring in some bits

I would recommend this book for girls not boys !!

DH

Chris Ryan Wildfire

Chris Ryan Wildfire is a book about a boy called Ben Tracey who goes to visit his Mum (who's a journalist type thing) in Australia, for February half-term. Ben flies into Adelaide and is handed a booklet on what to do in Adelaide during February (because it's really hot). Ben ends up going in one of the Australian light aircraft's with a girl called Kelly. As their flying, the plane suddenly flys uncontrollably.
The title gives away the object and the plot of the book.
I thought that it was a good book, but it got a bit tedious in some parts. I think that I would give this book a 6/10.     CJC

To Kill a Mockingbird by Lee Harper

This book is based in the mid-19th century Deep South of America.

The book is divided into two parts. The first section follows the life of Jem and Scout Finch and their adventures will Dill in Maycomb county. The primary excursion is to try and get the reclusive and never-seen Boo Radley to come out. This plan fails, and when Jem nearly gets shot by Aqrthur Radley, they decide to move on from this.

The second part of this book involves a court case, in which Atticus, Jem and Scout's father, has to defend a black man charged with raping a white girl. The injustice when the white girls father, mr Ewell, is proven to have been the one to beat her up, yet the jury still declare the black man Guilty in the basis of his skin is a moving and hateful twist.

I found this book hard to get in to, but once is started, it got better and better towards the end. 8.5/10 L.B

Confessions of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella

This is a book about a girl called Rebecca (Becky) Bloomwood who is a complete shopaholic and can't stop spending money.
she has a top designer wardrobe an amazing flat and a great job telling people how to look after
and mange their money... the only problem is she can't afford to live in this great flat any more ... Whenever she's given a bill, she bins it and then tries to forget all about it, until Derek Smeeth (the banker) starts bombarding her with letters that she can't hide or forget about, so she decides to do something about it.
She borrows money from her friends, she borrows money from her parents, she borrows money from the bank and still doesnt have enough to pay off her bills... she try's cutting back ... doesnt work! ... she try's making more money ... still doesn't work! ... she try's everything but nothings working!
I would rate this book a 6/10 because it gets a bit boring in some places.
Sophie

Cherub-class A by Robert Muchamore

Another action packed cherub book

Cherub is a camp where children with rough lives get taken to. Cherub is a secret spy organisation that send kids on mission, they take kids because no one expects they'll be up to anything

James Adams next mission is to befriend a drug dealers son and find out about the sons father and maybe from hidden drugs. What will James go through to arrest him There is a lot of action and will James and his three friends Kyle Kelly and Nichole eventually arrest the drug dealer or will they fail the mission. Read on!!!!

This is a marvellous book and it is deffinatly worth a 10/10.
I recommend it mostly for boys but girls may enjoy this too

JH

To Kill A Mockingbird

Set in the early 2oth century, To Kill A MockingBird tells the story of a local lawyer charged with defending a black man accused of raping a white woman, told through the eyes of a young girl. With its child-like viewpoint, Mockingbird pitts the lawyer against man's most infamed prejudice as he strives to free an innocent man while battling the strongest opinions of his own friends, family and neighbors.
From the straight talking Jean Louise to the bigoted Bob Ewell to the principled Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird is an exploration of the varied perspectives on life and equality suffered, condoned and challenged in 1930s America.

                                                          

Kiwi Edgar

  

I Don't Know How She Does It is a great book about a mum of two and a fund manager at Edwin Morgan Foster. Her name is Kate Reddy, she has a husband called Richard (Rich) and two young children called Emily and Ban. Having a busy job Kate has to juggle being at work and being there for her kids. When Kate and Richard are at work, Paula, the nanny looks after the house and children. Kate has to go on business trips all the time to America and other places around the world. This means that she does not spend as much time with her kids and husband as she would like.She has two friends called Debra Richardson and Candy Stratton, they help her with some of the problems she faces.
When she goes on her business trips Emily gets in a fuss and pretends that she does not love Kate anymore, for example when Kate asks if she want to read her a story, Emily says 'No, Paula reads me my stories.'
This is not easy for Kate to take but she just has to get on with her frantic life. Kate has to miss Christmas for a business trip to America to meet Jack Abelhammer. The reason for the trip is because she wants to set up a new part of the business. The trip goes very well and Jack even takes a liking to Kate. Jack's wife had died and he was lonely and he really liked Kate but Kate loved Rich too much and she said good bye to Jack and in the end she said good bye to her job. Kate decided she wanted to be a full time mum!

I would give this book a 10/10 because it is funny and interesting book to read. I would recommend this book to girls not boys.

Mairi Donaldson.

The desert spear

The desert spear is a great book written by Peter v Brett and is the sequel to the book "The Painted Man". The book starts in a the Desert Spear a city built in the desert. were a boy called Jadir is summoned up for training to fight corlings/demons who come at the night time and as you might guess they try to eat you. Jardir becomes a promising young warrior and passes training easily with the help of his chubby Friend Aban who is also training to become a warrior. But one day Aban falls of the great wall and breaks his leg in several different places....This is when the story starts to get interesting.

I rate this book a 10/10 and a great read but it is a big book and not an easy one to read eaither. none the less I loved this book and I hope you do to.

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

This gripping novel explores the relationships between the Whites and he Blacks in Maycombe County, in the 1930's. It delves into the actions which people took when racial formalities were disgraced.
          Jem and Scout Finch's father, Atticus, is a lawyer and as the book progresses his life becomes harder and harder. The children begin by wondering and dreaming about their curious neighbour "Boo" Radley. They compose small plays about him until Atticus finds them doing it and they stop from then on.
          The family owns a maid, Calpurnia, who is a "Negro" and she is Jem and Scout's refuge through the non-school days while Atticus is working and they become close, Scout especially when Jem becomes older and less playful. Jem and Scout begin to discover how some people in the school playground are insulting Atticus by calling him "Nigger-lover". Scout, a boystress girl who prefers to take matterrs into her own hands, becomes distressed by it and they are both eventually told that it is because Atticus has been assigned to defend a "Negro".
          The black man is called Tom Robinson and he has been accused by Bob Ewell, a very low class man who lives near a "Negro" camp, of raping Mr. Ewell's girl. The Finch family receive a bit of stick from some of the other whites from then on until the court case but the blacks are very grateful to Atticus for doing this case.
          The court case is the most exhilarating part of the book and I could not leave it half-way through but must kep on reading! Compared to the first part of the book, this is extraordinary and the tension it contains is immense. The result of the case was unprecidented although the result was as predicted, but after the court case Mr. Ewell was very unhappy and he promised Atticus that he'd get him. The events which occured later on were unexcuseable.

A bit "wishy-washy" at the onset of the book puts you off a bit but once at and after the court case you will not be avle to leave it alone! 9/10.

J. Ferguson

Heroes of Olympus Son of Neptune

The main characters are Percy,hazel and frank and then there's Octavion and Reyna. The story starts with Percy Jackson arriving at the roman camp with gorgonzola chasing him and he has no memory of his past. Percy arrived at the roman camp and was told that he was going to have to go on a quest to Canada a place where the gods have no control they have to open the gates of death so that they can kill monsters again. however Hazel has a dark secret will she confine in her friends all will she keep this dark secret to herself and Franks life lies in a half burnt stick.

This book is very good I enjoyed a lot however I advise that you read all the books before it otherwise you won't know what's going on. I would give it a 9/10.





S.H.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monster by Rick Riordan

This book is the second in the Percy Jackson series. In this book the magical tree that keeps the camp safe from all of the underworlds monsters has been poisoned and a team get sent out to look for the only thing that could save the tree from the poison, The Golden Fleece which was being kept by the cyclops Polyphemus, not only that but Grover (Percy's best friend) has been captured by Polyphemus, only Percy and his team can save Thalia's tree.

I really enjoyed this book a good light read 8.5/10