October '18 Reviews

Foundation by Isaac Asimov, Review by Kalani.

Super old school sci fi, really convoluted plot, jumps between the time line a lot. It's here but then it's like, oh no it's seventy years in the future now. This dude is going on this trip with this guy Harry Seldon, who is a psycho historian which is a made up scientific field where you can predict what's going to happen by seeing into people's minds. He goes to Terminus planet and finds it's all grey and wonders where the sun is. So he goes on this sun tour at his hotel, and there's an agent there but he doesn't realise he's an agent. He tries to probe him for information about Harry. Then he finds Harry sitting outside his door. Harry tests his mind and delivers a prediction. Terminus and the Empire are going to collapse in five hundred years...

Rated: 3/5 occultist scientists. "The plot gets really slow at some points. I actually read it over a two year period. It's not a bad book by any means, it's just very niche"



Charlotte Says by Alex Bell, Review by Eva

The book I read is about a girl who has to go and live with her uncle and auntie. The house they move into is haunted by little dolls. No one believes her that he house is haunted, except for her little cousin. What happens is the eventually people start to believe her and then chaos breaks out.

Rated: 4/5 Dolls, "I personally liked the book, but since it;s a horror book i would recommend it for 13-16."




They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, Review by Sasha

I read this over the holidays and it's really good. It's about these two boys Rufus and Matteo. They both get a call from the death cast, telling them they are going to die in twenty-four hours. They both download an app called last friends and find each other that way. Towards the end, they're both at Matteo's house and something terrible happens.

Rated: 4/5 Deaths. "The ending can be interpreted in different ways"



Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, review by Sam

I got what I expected, it was a good story. I didn't like Romeo though, he's really unlikable. Are you meant to root for him? These twelve year-olds and seventeen year-olds meet at this party and their their families have mad beef and are calling each other out all the time. They still decide to kick it, but then Juliet is getting married to someone else, not Romeo and this priest has the idea for them to pretend they've died so they can be together. I don't understand why they didn't just boot. What a wack priest. She fakes her death, but Romeo doesn't realise...

I think a lot of time with literature, we put a lot more credit into the story than we should be. Maybe Shakespeare was trying o tell an interesting story and wasn't trying to make a themed tale fate and love. I think he was just trying to think of this cool thing people would enjoy and buy.

Rated: 3/5 balconies. "It's a good book, but the two main characters are really unlikable."



Caraval by Stephanie Garber, review by Zeta

A girl called Scarlet Dragna and her sister Donatella live on an isle in the Meridian Empire. There father is a governor and all he cares about is getting power and icreading his status. She orgranises an arranged marriag between Scarlet and a count from somewhere else. Donatella and Scarlet only care about protecting each other. They are really close, especially since heir father abuses them and isn't very nice. Scarlet's other deepest wish is to go to Caraval. Caraval is a game which is played every year by some magical person called Legend. It's a game but it's so real that people go mad in the magic of it all. Scarlet has been writing to Legend in the land where Caraval is played for years. Finally he replies when he finds out about her impending marriage and sens tickets to the island. They think this is there chance to escape marriage and a brutal father and make a plan to leave and win the game. But, in this years game of Caraval, Donatella gets kidnapped...

Rated: 4/5 drops of blood. "All the characters grow as people and find out that there is more to life than safety. It's very good"

Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield, review by Chemical Kid

When I first looked at the book I thought it was going to be one of those books about a girl in a mental facility because of the cover, but when I started reading it I realised it was actually about a girl who had been possessed, perhaps by a girl who dies more than twenty years ago...
All her friends except for one think she's going crazy. As she finds out more about the mysterious Hannah Holt, the true story comes out.

Rated: 4/5 ghosts.  "I would recommend it for 13+"


I'll give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson, review by Ayden

I really like this book because it's contemporary and it's about two twins. I especially like the ways it's told. Every first chapter is about the male twin and when they were younger and every second chapter is about the female twin when they're much older. I really liked how you had to piece the story together. Every chapter from Noah's perspective shows how they are really close but then from Jude's perspective they are not. You piece together this whole story about what happened and what happened to their mother and it's really interesting.

I really liked it because you really got into the character's heads and I personally really enjoyed that.
Other than being an interesting, teen,  it was a little bit like a mystery and also very sad. I don't usually cry when I read but I found myself tearing up, it's pretty intense.

Rated: 3.75/5 Paintings "Even if you don't typically enjoy contemporary teen fiction, I would give this a go as it has some elements which are not so cliche to the genre."

Pennies for Hitler from Jackie French, Review by Caitlyn 

The book follows George who is twelve. He lives in Germany with his German mother and English father. It starts of with him talking about his father is a teacher of language and poetry at a university. The main event, the first big thing that happens, is a university graduation ceremony. George is in the audience and his dad is up on stage. This is set during WWII. He's been brought up with the popular views of his culture, more than his parents particularly, to view Jews as bad people. Anyone who doesn't follow Hitler's standards is bad. This graduating ceremony all starts off normal and fine, boring, because he's a twelve-year old boy. But then people start to almost chant for the Jewish people to get out and George is confused. People begin getting thrown off the stage and out windows Slowly, he realizes a lot of people he knows are Jewish and his father is in among the fighting.

This story of historical fiction follows the journey of George as he is transported to England, his feelings of alienation and inner conflict.

Rated: 4/5 Hitlers

The Diary of a teenage girl: an account in words and pictures, by Phoebe Gloeckner, review by Lara

It's very depressing, about this teenage girl who comes from a poor family. Her grandparents are paying for her tuition at this private school. She's having an affair with her mother's boyfriend. He's very protective and controlling. She's experimenting with drugs and sex and alcohol. It's pretty intense. It's a graphic novel.

Rated: 4/5 Monros