The Giver is an exceptional book by Lois Lowry. It is part of a quartet and it is the first book in the series. It is also set in a dystopian world. This book starts off in Jonas’s (the protagonist) kitchen. Jonas, his sister, his mum and his dad are sitting around the kitchen table. Every day, they have to tell their family about their day and their feelings. You can already tell that Jonas lives in a weird place. Jonas was feeling apprehensive because it was the ceremony of the twelves soon. Jonas would be getting his assignment. An assignment is basically a job. Everyone gets older on that day, and every time you get older, you get given something new. You could get given a coat which buttons up the front, or a coat with pockets, or a bike, or an assignment. When it was Jonas’s groups turn, they all went on the stage. When it eventually got to Jonas’s go, they skipped him! Jonas started to get really nervous because the last time the elders had skipped over someone, they hadn’t done enough volunteering hours. When they had eventually done enough volunteering hours, he was given his assignment in private. Anyway, the Chief Elder apologised for making Jonas worried and the Chief Elder told Jonas what his assignment was. I won’t tell you what his assignment is so it will be a surprise for you if you decide to get the book. When Jonas starts his training, he starts to learn the secrets behind what makes his world so perfect. It makes him start to question how ‘perfect’ his world actually is. This book is amazing but in some places it can be a bit dark. The reason why I think this book is amazing is because the author is constantly building tension. As you start to know Jonas, Lowry drops hints that the place Jonas lives in isn’t as great as once thought. I would recommend it to people who are 11+ as it deals with some quite difficult themes. If you decide to get this book, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. By Chloë Willoughby
The book I am going to review is called paper butterflies. It is a beautiful book that made me cry numerous times ( but If you tell anyone I will deny it) The story is about a girl called June. Her mother died when she was seven and it was three years later when her father decided that they should move on. He met a woman named Kathleen who has a daughter called Megan, and in his eyes, Kathleen is the most amazing, generous woman ever. June’s father and Kathleen marry and everything seems perfect. Except it’s not. Everyday, Kathleen switches on a smile that June’s father sees, until he drives off to work. As soon as he leaves the house Kathleen’s true nature kicks in. Kathleen hates June because June is black. Kathleen makes June do horrible things and does not treat her the same as Megan, her real daughter. It is kind of like a Cinderella retelling. At school everyone hates June because she is black , they bully her and she is miserable. It seems like all hope is lost until June cycles into the woods one day. She meets a boy named blister who is homeschooled and he sees her for who she really is, not what she looks like. Blister and June become the best of friends and June finally has her own place where she is happy. But her family can never know , otherwise who knows what could happen… This is a brilliant book, it has something in there for everyone, it makes the reader experience how hard it is for some people, a really emotional book. I would recommend this to ages 11 and above because it has a few traumatic scenarios in it. I would give this book four and a half stars because the ending is a bit out of the blue. But over all, this is a great book I would recommend , I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!
The goldfish boy is so gripping that your digging your nose right in it. The goldfish boy is about OCD; obsessive, compulsive disorder. It’s about a boy called Mathew who hates germs. Every corner has been sprayed with anti-bacteria spray every couple of minutes. It was so bad, that his anxiety about getting sick stopped Mathew from going outside. All he did was sit next to his window and take notes. Mathew wouldn’t even go around the dinner table. There was times where he just didn’t know what was wrong with him. If he felt like he was too close to someone, he would sweat or even faint. Until one day a toddler next door goes missing and it’s up to Mathew and his friends to find him by solving clues.
If you decide to get this book, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
This is a book about a little girl called Matilda. She’s always loved to read and when her mum, her dad and her brother were out of the house, she would sneak to the Library and read lots of books. Soon enough, she had read the entire children section. She then moved on to more advanced books in the adult section of the library. Her dad was a crook and her mum wasn’t very nice to her, and they hated books. They thought that Matilda should watch more TV and read less books. When she started going to school, she got a really nice teacher called Miss Honey. She saw that Matilda was very clever and she tried to get her to move to a higher class. Miss Trunchbull ( the maniacal headmistress) says that she can’t. In one of Matilda’s lessons, Miss Trunchbull comes in and Lavender ( Matilda’s friend) plays a joke on her. Matilda starts to visit Miss Honey and one time when Matilda comes, we find out something mysterious about Miss Honey’s past…
This book is about overcoming fears and doing what you know is right. I absolutely love this book and it’s been one of my favourite books since reception. It’s suitable for ages 5+ and I would rate it 5 stars.
If you decide to get this book, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The Girl of ink and stars is a heart-racing tale written by ‘Kiran Millwood Hargrave’. Isabella Riosse lives with her father, Da, on the island of Joya. Da is a cartographer, who has taught Isabella the craft of mapmaking. His world travels were halted when Governor Adori arrived on the island years earlier. The dictator forbade all sea travel, cut off Isabella’s village of Gromera from the rest of the island and banished anyone who resisted his rule to the forests beyond the city.
Governor Adori’s daughter, Lupe, is Isabella’s best friend. Lupe’s father shelters her from the realities of life and conceals the fact that one of her classmates, Cata, has been murdered. When Isabella hears Cata’s body has been found, she confronts Lupe.
Lupe admits she sent Cata into a forbidden orchard to get dragon fruit for her, but Cata never returned. Isabella is angry and criticises Lupe for her carelessness. She also rages to her friend about the governor’s selfishness. She blames him for the deaths of her mother and brother, because he wouldn’t allow them to cross the forest for medicine.
The governor has been preparing his personal ship to leave the island. Isabella’s friend Pablo and others burn the ship so the governor can’t flee from whatever he thinks is coming. When Isabella goes to look at the ship, she sees the harbour filled with dead cattle and other animals belonging to the governor.
Pablo swears he and his friends had nothing to do with the dead animals, but the governor’s men begin arresting townspeople. They lock them in the Dédalo, a labyrinth beneath the governor’s house, which he uses as a prison. Pablo, Da and others are taken, and Isabella is left alone in her house.
Isabella finds a note from Lupe, who vows to prove all of the Adoris are not cowards like her father. She says she’s going to the Forbidden Territories to find Cata’s killer and hopes she and Isabella can be friends again when she returns.
Isabella cuts off her hair and dresses like a boy. Using the name of her dead brother, Gabo, she approaches the governor with Lupe’s note. She says, as a cartographer’s child, she can help him find Lupe. The governor takes “Gabo,” Pablo and some of his men on a journey into the Forbidden Territories in search of Lupe. They see the way the landscape has been destroyed and the Banished people have suffered.
The search party finds Lupe, and her father ultimately takes responsibility for his destructive leadership. He fights demon dogs called tibicenas alongside the Banished and presumably dies in this battle. The appearance of the tibicenas is Isabella’s first clue that an old legend she’s heard all her life may be real.
Her father had told her the story of a brave young girl named Arinta who lived on Joya 1,000 years earlier. At that time, Joya supposedly floated freely on the ocean like a living ship. A fire-demon named Yote lived under the sea and wanted Joya for himself. He tried to attach himself to it so it would stay secured to the ocean bed, but Arinta fought him. He sent his demon dogs after her to chase her through tunnels until she grew lost. She was never seen again. Some said she became a river, and others claimed her spirit still protected the land.
As the girls run from a tibicena, they plummet into a watery labyrinth. The water magically changes Isabella’s map, revealing a hidden layer. They follow the new map for a while, hide from more tibicenas and get lost in narrow tunnels. They encounter Yote and find Arinta’s legendary sword. Lupe grips the smoldering sword, which releases the sea. The water rushes in and pushes the girls through the tunnels. Lupe, weary and badly injured, slips to her death.
The water releases Isabella into the portion of the labyrinth beneath the governor’s house. She helps get Pablo, her father and others to safety. Joya pulls away from the ground and becomes a free-floating island once more. Isabella grieves for her friend, who ultimately saved their island. She reports how happy she and Da are a year later when their island, teaming with life again, continues to float toward America. They’re able to see new sights each day.
Bookworming 