Friday 28 February 2014

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney

I have been reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck. The book is really good and  it's funny. If you like really funny books and you have never ever read any of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, then stop reading the book that you are reading, and start reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. You'll be happy you did!

Monday 24 February 2014

Horrid Henry competition


To have a chance of winning a brand new copy of the latest Horrid Henry book, Horrid Henry's Sleepover, all you need to do is answer these five simple questions and post your answers below. You have until Tuesday 4th March to enter! Good luck.

1. What is the name of Horrid Henry's brother?

2. What job does Miss Battle-Axe have?

3. Who is the author of the Horrid Henry stories? (clue-it's not Tony Ross)

4. Who is Horrid Henry's next-door neighbour?

5. If you were a character in the Horrid Henry books, what would your name be? (eg Moody Megan, Wobbly Wesley or 'Orrible Oliver)

Knightley & Son by Rohan Gavin

I stumbled across Knightley & Son, the debut novel from Rohan Gavin, entirely by accident on the way home after a trip to London. To cut a long story short, the book that was I planning to read on the train ended up with a cup of hot tea spilled all over it. I had about thirty seconds to grab something from the station bookshop before the train left, and Knightley & Son was the only book on their shelves that wasn't either a Wimpy Kid, Tom Gates or something very similar.

As it turned out, I'm really glad I picked it up because it's a great read. I love detective stories and this has a lot to recommend it. Darkus Knightley is a highly intelligent young boy with a complicated family life. His father, a top private detective, has been in a coma for the past four years and Darkus has spent a lot of time secretly reading through his top secret case files. One morning, with no warning at all, Darkley's father suddenly wakes up. At around the same time a mysterious new book, The Code, is starting to cause chaos all over the country. The book seems to be linked to a mysterious organisation called the Combination. Darkley, his father and his step-sister, Tilly, have no choice but to work together to solve the mystery, which gets more dangerous by the hour.

Knightley & Son is a real page-turner of a book. It's pacy and full of action, and contains a few decent jokes. Most of the main characters have important parts to play in the story, and they are all well-developed and quirky enough to make them interesting (although the constant references to Tilly's hair colour do get slightly irritating). How likely it is for a man who has been in a coma for four years to suddenly leap out of bed and start getting involved in high-speed car chases I don't know, but this certainly doesn't detract from a fun and energetic story. It ends well, with the main plot resolved, but with enough open ends for a sequel (or two).

If you enjoy the Young Sherlock Holmes books by Andrew Lane or the Young Bond books by Charlie Higson, then give this a try. Recommended for Year 5 and up. I'm still disappointed that I missed out on my cup of tea on the train though!

Saturday 1 February 2014

Clean Break by Jacqueline Wilson

Clean Break by Jacqueline Wilson
                     
This is a book called Clean Break. It's about one boy and two girls; the boy's name is Maxie and the two girls are named Emma and Vita. The oldest one is Emma, the middle one is Vita and the youngest one is Maxie. Emma has just heard her dad on the phone talking to a woman and saying 'I love you'. Emma told her mum and she cried.

This book is a really sad book because poor Emma, Vita and Maxie's dad is leaving their home and moving to somewhere else. That's just a bit of what happens and you'll have to get this book if you want to find out the rest of the story.

I think that the story is that it is a nice story, it's really emotional and I think that it's really cute. The best part it is the part where Emma tried to buy her mum dinner, but a man came and joined them. This made Emma really sad. It's a great book to read.

by Megan Smith