Crash Dive by John Townsend

This is the first Barney Jones book I have read, and definitely won't be the last. After reading the blurb on the back of the book I immediately thought 'oh, another Alex Rider-style teenage hero', but Barney is a far more interesting character. Intelligent, funny and a real pain in the neck to most of the adults that he encounters!

As his parents have separated, Barney spends the majority of his weekends with his dad in Edinburgh and regularly flies there on his own. Passing through Edinburgh airport at the end of a flight, he manages to get himself caught up in a terrorist plot organised by the sinister Korova organisation. Barney desperately turns to different adults for help and support but, because of his reputation and challenging personality, nobody will take him seriously. The only person who believes him and offers to help is his best friend, Laura. Together they travel across the country, lurching from one disaster to the next, and just when it seems that things can't possibly get any worse, they do!

This is not a book that wastes any time hanging around and having dull conversations, it really is action-packed and moves at a wonderful pace. It's easy to read and has some very sinister moments. Most of the characters add depth to the story, in particular Barney's gran, who is probably the most interesting. The only slight disappointment for me was that the leader of Korova is a little bit nondescript. Luckily, the other members of the mysterious organisation more than make up for this!

I genuinely enjoyed reading Crash Dive and am looking forward to reading more of Barney's escapades. Hopefully John Townsend has got a couple of stories in the pipeline. You can learn more about Barney and read quite an amusing interview with him at http://barneyadventures.co.uk/.

If you enjoyed Alex Rider, Jimmy Coates and Young Bond, I think you'll love this. Suitable for ages 10 and up. Definitely recommended.

Queendom (The Portal Series) by Dee Kirkby

This is my first review for our book blog and I am reviewing a good book. I think that adults and children would love this story because there are some really funny parts. It is about a brother and sister called Max and Laura. They behave just like a brother and sister like when Laura goes "Ewww Max, you're wearing the same shorts as yesterday." But the fact is that through the story they do help each other and care about each other.

When they go through the portal it's really magical when the toy crab Oscar grows real. Max is so dependable on his toy. The creatures they meet all have really strange names like joops and sluggers. The sluggers are not very nice at all as they want the cloud apples. One of my favourite bits is when Max and Laura get trained up to fight by the Commander of Peace.

This book is lots of fun to read and your imagination comes alive. I haven't read the other two books yet which are called Realand and Raffie Island but I will now. I would know more then about the magic portal. I think in the next book maybe Max and Laura's dad is going to go through the portal. The writer finished the story on a really good cliffhanger. I think that she has a crazy imagination and it's a bit like the Narnia books. The front cover has a picture of Oscar the crab but I would like to see Max and Laura too.

Probably if you are 8 or more you would really like to read this but I think you should Realand first.

Oliver W.

Young Werewolf by Cornelia Funke

I am reviewing this great new book. Young Werewolf is awesome and really fun to read. It is about a boy called Matt and a girl called Lisa who is his best friend. They have just come out of the cinema and seen a scary tunnel. When they go through the tunnel they see a street lamp. Under the lamp is a werewolf but they don't know it's a werewolf. Matt walks past and accidentally kicks a can which makes a rattle. When he comes out of the tunnel he notices that there is a bite mark...

If you want to find out more I am afraid you are going to have to read this book. I would rate this book 10/10 for everything. I loved this book. I loved the cover because there's a full moon with Matt turning into a werewolf. I also like the words used because they are adventurous. This is probably my favourite book ever so why don't you give it a try? I hope you liked my review.

Jersie Leigh Moore

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

I love Diary of a Wimpy Kids books because they are so funny and cheerful. They are great books because they can cheer you up when you are feeling sad. My favourite character is Manny because he makes silly noises and comes up with lots of silly names for the dog. I would recommend these books because they are awesome books to read when you are bored. Kids will love them. I've finished the second book and I'm now going to read all the others. They're my favourite books ever. I just love these books.

Tamzin