Survivors

Survivors by David Long and Kerry Hyndman

A Non-Fiction book on survivors throughout history. From Shakelton's Expedition to two men who shared a sandwich at the bottom of the sea, some of the best stories of survivors you will have read yet.

ok, so lets start with the tales. They were written in such a way that it would interest people of all ages. It was interesting for my age, would have been interesting for older people and it was written is such a way that anyone younger than I am could still have understood it very easily, with the trickier parts explained, so that everyone could benefit from the awesome stories. i think that my favourite story was about the guy who had to operate on himself with no antibiotics. That was pretty hard hitting, but also an excellent short story.

Now, onto the illustrations. As the pictures will show, these were absolutely amazing. You would expect real life photos in a non-fiction book, but no, these were definitely drawn.  At the bottom of each page, there was a nice pattern, but that wasn't the best part. There were some absolutely AMAZING double page spreads, showing all the disasters. This was probably useful, as firstly, images probably aren't that readily available, and secondly, images would probably have been a tiny bit too graphic.  At the top of each chapter, there was another little illustration. I think that the illustrations were probably some of the best pieces of book artwork that I have ever seen. You might as well just buy the book for it's illustrations, they were that good.

So yeah, if you didn't realise, I liked the book. It's now my favourite non-fiction book...

I am going to give it a 10/10,
And an age rating of 8+

American Monsters

American Monsters by Derek Landy

Amber is back, but not she is Astoraths representative. With this in mind, Amber becomes even more determined to find, and kill, her parents. Add this to Milo, Kelly, Glen, the Dark Places convention and more, and things start to get hectic. And it's not like Amber even likes the Shining Demon...

This might just be one of my favourite series ever. Yes, better than Skullduggery Pleasent by the same author (although my brother would disagree😂). I think the reason I like the books so much is because all three of them are full of the same witty banter. The back and forth dialogue between the characters really is just great. At the beginning, Amber, the protagonist, is managing to have a funny conversation, whilst a crazy animal lays its egg on her. And it works! Another thing I like is the fact that the book is a bit like a literary rollercoaster. It goes from one thing to another in the blink of an eye, or the turn of a page. One second they are being chased by a crazy chainsaw wielding maniac, and the next second they are back on the road. And it works because that is the whole point of the book. It's meant to be a bumpy ride. If only one thing happened, the entire thing would be really boring, and that is really what you don't want with a book. Another cool thing that I like about it is the supernatural feel to it. I mean, REAL LIFE DEMONS!!!!!!!!(insert a thousand more exclamation marks)!!!!! And there are so many of these supernatural ocurrances, you begin to believe in them. And can I just say don't read the book at night if you are prone to nightmares. You really won't have nice dreams of candy floss if you read American Monsters. To be honest, that is my only piece of criticism, but you should probably take note of it as IT REALLY IS REALLY VERY SCARY. So, don't say I didn't warn you. Actually, there was one more thing I didn't like, which was the end. I won't spoil it, but you might end up in floods of tears i you are as emotional as I am. But apart from those two points, it was REALLY REALLY VERY GOOD.

I am going to give it a 10/10
And an age rating of 13+

Flawed

Flawed by Cecilia Ahern

In a society where people get punished for making moral and ethical bad decisions, Celestine thinks she is perfect. With a perfect boyfriend and a perfect family, she will never be Flawed. Until she is...

So, let's start with the cover. It was kind of pinky, and really not my style. It could have been a better cover as, even though your not meant to,any people DO judge books by there covers. Due to social pressures, boys don't really want to be seen reading a book with a pink cover, meaning the book is more likely to be read by girls. It was definitely a unisex book, and so lots of boys not reading it is a bad thing. Ok, onto the plot. I thought that the idea of a world where people who aren't perfect are punished was great. I also liked the fact that it wasn't against the law, as that made arguments against the idea valid. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the entire plot, as it is a series, where the second book hasn't come out. I can't wait for it to come out, though. The only thing about the plot that I didn't get was the bit about Celestine with Art. I didn't feel that it enriched the story. Now for the actual writing. It was really believable, and I liked the fact that it was in first person, it wouldn't have worked otherwise. I think my favourite price of writing in the book is the countdown after the branding, when it is portrayed in a diary style. So, in conclusion, it's a very good book, with only one problem (Art, the boyfriend)

I am going to give it a 9/10
And and age rating of 12+

Crongton Knights

Crongton Knights by Alex Wheatle

McKay lives on South Crongton council estate. It's dangerous, police everywhere, bailiffs knocking at the door, his brother out all night and Manjaro, the top gangster on the estate, has disappeared. And then, if things couldn't get any worse, McKay strays off his turf on a rescue mission for a girl...

At the beginning, I really wasn't sure about Crongton Knights. I got it when we did 'blind date with a book' as a replacement to Fire Colour One, which I had already read. It really didn't seem my type. And I got around a quarter of the way through without realising what half the words meant. A lot of it is written in slang. I just felt really confused. But at around that quarter mark, I started to get it. I fell into the rhythm of the back, and it got a lot better. It just goes to show if you persist with something, then you might come out having actually enjoyed it. Now, onto the plot. I liked the fixation on cooking. It's one of those hidden talent things, that always works with me. The plot was action packed, and most of the book took place over one, horrendous night. Another thing that I liked was how McKay kept referring to him and the others as 'Knights', giving a title to the book. I really liked that. The title wasn't from just one big thing, but lot's of little hints throughout the story. And the best thing was the recipes at the end of the book. Linked in with the cooking theme, there are three recipes at the back so that you can 'Cook like the south crong crew'. So, to conclude, Crongton Knights had a hard to understand beginning, and a brilliant end.

Update: i tried to make the kofta from the recipies at the back of the book. It came out alright! I mean, it tasted a tiny bit bland, but I don't know if this was because of the recipie, or because I'm not very good at cooking. I don't know, but it might be worth trying. I liked it, but other people in my family thought it didn't taste too​ great.

I am going to give it a 7/10
And an age rating of 13+

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom

Mel has two friends, a crazy aunt, no brother and bipolar disorder. When she first got sick she lost all her friends. But when Annie, one of Mel's old friends drops a box off at her house before moving away unexpectedly, things change...

I am going to start at the cover. I know that you aren't meant to judge a book by it's cover, but... The cover for the version I read was pink, which doesn't normally go down that well with me, but there was also a lot of other techniques that the publisher used to make the cover great. You'll see when I put up a picture. Now, onto the actual writing. I thought it was great. I think that my favourite thing was the hamster, hummingbird, hammerhead, hanniganimal. I think that thinking up something like that for a book takes a lot of skill. I don't know if Lindstrom has had Bipolar Disorder, but I have to congratulate him either way, for writing about personal issues (if he has/ had it), or just making you think that he has had it. The next good thing was that you could tell if Mel was having a manic episode or was depressed. When she was manic, she spoke in sentences that could reach an entire paragraph in length, and most of it was just random. When she was in a depressed phase, the sentences were a lot shorter, and there was a feeling of doom and gloom. My one piece of criticism was the thing about Mel's name. I didn't feel that it was necessary, or added anything to the book. But apart from that it was great.

I am going to give it a 9/10
And an age rating of 12+

All About Mia

All About Mia by Lisa Williamson

Mia is the middle child. Her older sister has the best GCSE and A-level results the school had ever seen. Her younger sister swims for her country. And then there's Mia, stuck in the middle. But then Grace, the older sister, mucks up...

Lisa Williamson's first book, The Art of Being Normal, was super good. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that All About Mia lived up the standard. I mean, it was a great idea, but I felt that the quality of writing was not quite as high. Also, The Art of Being Normal did have a slightly better plot. Now, I realise that this is probably the worst thing to do, compare the books, as that is what the book is all about. Anyway, it was still a great book, with a good plot and good characters.

I am going to give it a 7/10
And an age rating of 13+

New Series?

Should I do a new series, Re-Reading and Re-Reviewing the books I first read? This would be to see if I still had the same opinion...

↓↓↓↓↓Let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below.↓↓↓↓↓

When Mr Dog Bights

When Mr Dog Bights by Brian Conaghan

Dylan Mint has Tourette Syndrome, a condition that means he has tics, and often has violent verbal outbreaks. And he only has until march to live. So Dylan decideds to create a list. Cool Things to do Before I Cack It.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. This book was laugh out loud funny for older readers. That's actually something I find quite sad, because most LOL books are for 7 year olds. Anyway, as I was saying, this was just hilarious. I loved the randomness of the book, the way it jumped around. I also loved the underlying seriousness of the plot. Also, there was always something nagging at you, that something wasn't right, but I personally couldn't work out what it was (I may just be very stupid 😀). Anyways, I really liked the book, and I think I really like Brian Conaghan as an Author. So...

I am going to give it a 10/10
And an age rating of 13+

Also, exciting news!

Apparently, according to Google, a tween is age 8 -14, so I can keep this blog for at least another 2 years. To be honest, I'm hopefully not going to stop when I reach 14.😃


Sorry about my original spelling mistake. I've been told it's Bights not bites. Sppeling iss knot mie stronng pointe.

Hi people,

This is a post for those of you who are not only into books but also gaming.

My friend, ben, who you might remember from doing a review of iBoy last year, has set up his own blog. It's about gaming, mostly video games, but he has said I can do some board game guest reviews.

Anyways, the link to the blog is here

Enjoy!

A Book Everyone Likes That I wasn't So Sure About

So, last week I read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger. I am sad to say that even though I liked the style of writing (although 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' was better), and I liked Holden, I didn't like the book.

See, the problem was it had no plot. Or at least not one that I could detect. I mean, he's a rebellious kid, and he wanders around New York. Thats feels about it. Is there really a storyline in that?

Anyway, the reason I am writing this post is not just so that I can insult The Catcher in the Rye. No, what I am doing is opening it for debate. Is there a plot to The Catcher in the Rye? And if so, what is it?

I would love to find out what you think, in comments, on twitter, or even in a blog post. Hopefully, at least one person agrees with me...

We Come Apart

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

Nicu has come to England, from Romania, with his parents. They need to earn money, so they can return and buy Nicu a wife.

Jess has an abusive step dad, and a cowering mum. More than ever now, she needs a good friend.

When Jess and Nicu meet on a community service scheme, Nicu falls instantly in love with Jess. Unfortunately the feelings aren't mutual. But maybe they need each other more than Jess realises.




I don't know if anyone saw this on twitter, but I was literally crying my eyes by the end. It's one of those books. You hardly realised that it was two different authors. In fact you hardly realised that it was written by anyone other than Nicu and Jess! I wasn't quite sure who wrote each part, but I think that Sarah Crossan was Jess and Brian Conaghan was Nicu (correct me if I am wrong). Also, it was written in poetry, which only added to the book. You could really understand what the characters were feeling.


I am going to give it a 10/10
and an age rating of 12+