November '17 Reviews

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, Review by Erin

It's based in Australia, I think in the eighties. It's very To Kill a Mockingbird meets Paper Towns. Charlie hears a knock on his window in the night and is freaked out. It turns out to be Jasper Jones -the under dog kind of portrayed bad kid of the town. He asks him to go and help him, they got out and he leads him into the woods to a body. The entire book is about them trying to figure out what happened before the police find out. It's very similar to To Kill a Mockingbird, to the point where I don't see much that's individual about it but it is such a good book that you forgive. They make a lot of direct references to it as well because Charlie is a reader.

I haven't finished it yet, but I really like the way it's turning. You think it's straightforward, and then suddenly something doesn't seem right, and it turns in a completely different direction. I think that's really good because it constantly keeps you wondering rather than getting bored.

Rated: 3.5/5 Bodies "I like the way it's written, it's different. It can be poetic at times but usually it's quite easy to read, as it's written from the perspective of a fourteen year old boy." 

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Fire and Ice, Book 1 by G. R. R. Martin, Review by Ari

It is amazing. The book is even better than the show, because it develop the characters a lot more, and you get to experience different point of view. It begins when a guy called King Robert comes to his old friend's castle, called Winterfell. Many years ago Robert and his friend depose a tyrannical ruler they called Aerys Targaryen. They forced his children out of his castle and away from their land called Westeros. So Robert, who is the King of the seven kingdoms asks his friend Ned to travel with him to the seat of power, King's Landing, to be his right hand man. Ned takes  his two daughters with him. Meanwhile the son and daughter of Aerys are in the lands east of Westeros, trying to survive. Viserys takes his sister Daenerys to a Dothraki who are horse lords and elite warriors. He plans to join forces with the Dothraki and take back Westeros.

Rated: 5/5 Kings  "It is a story of corruption and war. It's a bit graphic in some areas but it is actually a fantastic book." 

Last Sacrifice: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, Review by Natasha

The last book ended with Rose on trial for a murder she didn't commit. This book starts with her in a prison cell. Since Tatiana was murdered, they have to find a new monarch. Rose only has two weeks to find the killer or she will be killed for committing high treason...

Rated: 5/5 "It's soo good!" 




The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Review by Isabella

It's a pretty good book, it does take a while to actually meet Gatsby because the narrator is someone else, this guy called Nick. Some people will tell you it's all about the lives of rich people, but it's not really. At the start you find out how Nick meets Gatsby. At first you wonder why any of this matters, but then later on in the book, they're mentioned more and the stuff they get up to becomes more of a focus. It's a weird book, because it's really detailed in some areas and then it will skip a decade in three sentences. It's old language too, so it's pretty confusing at some points.

Rated: 4/5 Lavish Parties "I did really like how it was written, I'm still holding on but it does get a bit boring sometimes. I think it doesn't really have a plot, you just have to believe the characters are going to make it spicy."

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, Review by Louise

There's this parents' trivia night at the school, and the book leads up to it. It's mentioned throughout the book like 'five weeks before', 'two weeks before' etc. At the end of every chapter there are recordings of statements the police took on the night. You have to piece them together throughout the book. The main characters are Celeste, who is portrayed as really beautiful and she's really rich with a handsome but secretly abusive, husband and two little boys. Then there's Madeleine, who's not best friends with them but hangs out with them, she's got a husband and two daughters, one from another marriage. Then there is Jane who is a young mum. She's pretty but she doesn't wear makeup or dress up. She moved to the town because of something that happened in her past. Everything is connected and comes together in the end, even if it feels like nothing is making sense while you're reading it.

Rated: 4.5/5 Trivia Night "I thought it was really good and I liked how the mystery carried through until the end. Some things in the book, like some of the parenting choices seemed a bit weird to me, but I'm not a middle aged mum" 

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Review by Olivia

It's about a girl called Isabella Swan, who moves to the town of Fawkes from Phoenix to live with her dad. She starts at a new school and there is this table of people she see who all look related. The father adopted five kids; Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Edward and Rosalie. -They're all vampires. Isabella falls in love with Edward

Rated: 4.5/5 Vampires "The start goes really slowly but the middle and the end are so good"


Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Review by Riya

This is a work of non fiction. There was this really smart guy called Christopher McCandless. He got a really good degree and if he wanted to he could have done really well. Instead he decides to give all his money to charity and head out into the Alaskan wilderness. He takes no one with him and plans to survive on his own, with only a few staples and the survival skills he has learned. He also takes a book which tells him which plans are safe to eat. He doesn't want to be trapped withing the lifestyle society would expect of him. He just wanted to be away from everyone, even though he could have become a really important person if he had continued his life in the city. His parents are really worried. It's about how he lives.

Rated: 4.5/5  "I liked this book, it was a good story"

Hysteria by Megan Miranda

This is now my third time reading this book. It's about this girl, Mallory who is accused of killing her boyfriend. It's very much a psychological thriller, Mallory's memories have come back to haunt her and they can cause her physical harm.

Rated: 5/5 Murders "It's Brilliant!"