If a Tree Falls at Lunch Break by Gennifer Chokendo

In this story you see the lives of two different 12 year olds. Kirsten is an overweight kid who goes to a private school and Walker is a coloured boy who has just moved there from a public school. They are both going through difficult stages in their life. Kirsten constantly eats without others knowing and her best friend has abandoned her for the popular group. For Walker the challenge is to stay away from his friend and cousin who is a bad influence.

When Kirsten decides to make up with her friend Rory she is forced to hang out with the popular group. After an incident with them at lunch, Kirsten decides to look the other way and not talk to them, even when her mum tries to persuade her to have some kind of party or sleepover with them. As Kirsten is sneaking into the garage to get junk food (her mother doesn't want her to eat it but she doesn't find out), she overhead her mother and father's argument. They were arguing about a serious occurrence: the facts from this argument could change Kirsten and Walker's relationship forever.

Daria Sassarini

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

The book is filled with emotions and two of them are anger and joy. From the start of the book it's basically a flashback on Thomas Peaceful's life when he was young and in his childhood until he was a lot older and in the war fighting.

Thomas has two other brothers: one called Joe but is nicknamed big Joe and the other called Charlie. But when they were all young there was a very sad death which wasn't really Thomas's fault but he could be easily blamed. But after that there are a lot of unfortunate things that happen in their lives.

Then when Charlie and Thomas get older they are both forced to join the army but if you want to find out what happens when they are in the army you will need to read the book to find out and once you start reading you won't want to stop to find out what happens next.

Nico Medinelli


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Carrie's War by Nina Bawden

'Carrie's War' by Nina Bawden
Are you a fan of stories that give you an insight into what it was like as a wartime evacuee? If so, then 'Carrie's War' by Nina Bawden is the book for you.

The book follows two children, Carrie and Nick Willow, during their time as evacuees. They are billeted in Wales with the unlikeable Mr. Evans and his kind, comforting sister, Auntie Lou.

The children have a hunch that Mr. Evans has been up to mischief and old tricks. However, Carrie is the one who discovers the truth (or does she?) Her discovery results in the most terrible thing she has ever done. This thing still sticks vividly in Carrie's mind, many years after the incident, when she is grown up and brings her own children to Wales, back to what she believes to be the scene of her crime.

By Ian Keir
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The Saint of Dragons by Jason Hightman

The Saint of Dragons' is a novel by Jason Hightman about a boy called Simon who lives in a boarding school. His life seems quite normal and he doesn't know what happened to his parents, as he has never met them before.

One day, his dad appears at the school looking for Simon, but Simon doesn't believe that that he is his father. His father, Aldric, then leaves again. However, he comes back on his horse and takes Simon away, telling him that he is a dragon hunter and he needs his son's help. They go to New York and destroy what they think is the last dragon, but they soon discover that there are hundreds more. They go to Russia to track down the next dragon on the list, but they are nearly killed and are forced to retreat.

Simon is tricked by a dragon from Beijing, and he takes Simon to a large meeting of all the dragons in existence in London. Aldric has no choice but to follow his son and the dragon there. They are taken prisoner and are going to be killed by the Queen Dragon. How could they possibly escape???

I enjoyed this book because it is exciting and you don't quite know what is going to happen next.

Christopher Scholes

Doctor Who : Price of Paradise

Doctor Who and The Price Of Paradise is written by Colin Break who is one the people who write the Doctor Who books. The book is based on a planet called Laylora also known as the Paradice Planet with people who live in places like large forests with no technology.

When the Doctor and Rose arrive on the planet they find a place that has the perfect Eco-system , falling apart and being Doctor Who they find some other form of life which has come from ancient legends , and they wonder does this have anything to do with t a large spaceship that has crashed on the planet.

I thought that the book was a good read. I would recommend the book to people aged between 9-14 since the language is a bit harder to understand than some of the other Doctor Who books.

Euan Clague

Doctor Who Snowglobe 7

If you are some one who likes Doctor Who or adventure books then this is a book you should try reading: Snowglobe 7 , written by Mike Tucker .

The story is based on Earth in 2099 and in order to preserve parts of the world, governments have taken large parts of places like the Antarctic and Arctic for snowglobe 7 . There are other globes which are based on hot places like Spain and others like jungles but the story is mainly focused on the snowglobe.

The main characters are the Doctor and Martha the doctor's companion. The place is meant for peace and relaxation but they end up finding out that the snow and ice are not the only things that are in the dome and end up finding an alien that could have been from the last Ice Age , and they soon find out that it poses a threat.

It's a good read that will be enjoyed by most ages. It is a reasonably large book with 260 pages broken into 20 chapters but it's not a hard book to understand or read and you will probably want to read it more than once.

Euan Clague

The Falcons Malteser by Anthony Horrowitz

This book is about two detectives but one of them is the worst detective in the world but his younger brother is a way better detective. Tim, who is the bad detective, gets a parcel with five million dollars in it, which the owner gave to him to keep it safe but Tim and his brother Nick soon find out that the guy that gave him the parcel was murdered.

The bad guys soon find out that the brothers have it and every bad guy in the town is after them for the parcel. So it is up to them to keep it safe.

This is a good book because you don't know what's going to happen next and you just want to keep on reading.

Nico Medinelli

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a compilation of Sherlock Holmes' "mini-adventures". The book was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous Scottish author from the Victorian era. There are twelve stories in the book, my favourite being the seventh, "The Blue Carbuncle".

The Blue Carbuncle starts when a gem known as the Blue Carbuncle belonging to a countess goes missing and appears in a goose a few days later. Sherlock Holmes decides to track down and find the thief, along with his sidekick, Doctor John Hamish Watson. The narrator of the stories is Doctor Watson and he has an interesting view of the events that happen. It is also slightly hard to understand, due to the fact the grammar is quite old. It uses phrases like "said I" instead of "I said" and some complicated words, but you really get into them. I'd recommend this book for somebody who has a large vocabulary and it is a very good read.

Nathan Bonner

Small Steps By Louis Sachar

Small Steps is a book of great reading and I recommend this book to all ages because it is funny and gripping. It is the sequel to Holes, the bestselling book by the same author.

It starts off with Armpit and Xray. This was after Camp Green Lake . Xray decides to sell tickets to Kaira De Leon's concert and make lots of money selling them and he asks Armpit to join him so he could double his money. The story goes on with fake tickets, police, Kaira De Leon, Fallouts and coffee in the face.

This book is happy, funny but sad at the end. I really recommend this book as it is now my favourite book ever.

Noah Barleywaters Runs Away by John Boyne

Noah Barleywaters Runs Away is a fantastic and imaginative book by John Boyne. It tells the story of Noah, an eight year old boy, who runs away from home. Along his travels he meets some interesting characters like talking animals and a beautiful talking apple tree. His journey leads him to a village where he meets a friendly old man who owns a magical toyshop. The old man tells Noah amazing stories.

John Boyne is a great author and I've read a few of his books. I would definitely recommend this book if you like imaginative 'fairytale' reads. Although a children's book I think adults would also enjoy it.

By Rebecca Carey

The NO.1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.

I thought that this book was great. It was about a lady called Mma Ramotswe and she was a private detective in Bostwana. It all started up because when her dad had died and he wanted her to set up her own business or shop. She once lived with her cousin and her cousin’s husband and he owned buses so Mma Ramostwe worked in the office dealing with the money and there were two men there who one day took the money and she had figured that out and then told her cousin’s husband. So Mma Ramostwe is really a great people person .

I advise the book to anyone who likes something new to read instead of always reading the same kinds of books. Once you start this book you really will not get bored of it .

Amy McLean

Montmorency by Eleanor Updale

Montmorency is quite an exciting book. It is about a man who is a thief and he goes into a place one night aiming to steal but then he gets caught and he falls threw the roof .The doctor manages to fix Montmorency again and then Montmorency goes to jail.

He is a very lucky prisoner because every day he gets to go out with the doctor so then the doctor can show off what he has done. Once Montmorency gets out of jail he starts to steal again but only this time he is two people: Scarper and Montmerency .

When he is Montmorency,he is a gentleman but when he is Scarper, he is a thief. He is Scarper at nighttime, and steals to live as a gentleman during the day. He lives in a luxury hotel but nobody knows what Scarper is up to .

I recommend this book to people that are into adventures because you really don't know what will happen next.

Amy McLean

Nootka

Nootka

Nootka is an exciting book. It starts of with the main character John Jewitt telling us about himself and about the ship he is in. One day the boat they’re on, the Boston, visits an Indian tribe. The captain wants no trouble with the Indians because there were reports of sailors shooting the Indians. So the crew are all nice to the Indians but when the crew is caught off guard the Indians strike, killing all but two.

The story goes on with them building trust with the Indians and starting friendships. Will they escape?

I recommend this book to someone who likes an adventure and an escape story.

By James Mole

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are a series of books about a boy called Greg Heffly and his mum, dad, his brother Roderick and Manny. Greg's friend is called Rowley and Rowley is his friend until Rowley breaks his arm and is punished for an offence that wasn't him but that was Greg. The story goes on from there and goes down the exact same road of humour. The books are very funny and the funniest so far was the Dog Days book. This book was extremely funny and I enjoyed every second. I recommend this to every reader out there.

Nicol Robertson

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

This is a book by Arthur Ransome and it is about 4 children called John, Susan, Titty and Roger who all go on holiday.

While they are on holiday in a farm house on the side of a lake, they see an island that looks interesting. They decide that they want to sail over to it in a small boat that they have borrowed. Once they have got permission from their parents, they sail to they small island and camp on it for a few days. They are soon under attack from the "amazon pirates", Nancy and Peggy. The two girls come onto the island and they become friends with the other children. There is also a man from a houseboat that is angry with the children from the farmhouse, although it's the pirates he should really be angry with. They have been on his boat and done things he didn't like. The six children then decide to declare war on him and call him Captain Flint. In the night, however, his houseboat gets burgled and one of the children hears the robbers hiding the stolen items on an island.

You'll need to read the book to find out what happens next!

I enjoyed this book because you didn't really know what was going to happen next and what you expected to happen, didn't end up happening.

Christopher Scholes

The Beak Speaks By Jeremy Strong

The Beak Speaks starts with Dad who is a Vet. There is no mum and the two children, Mark and Tammy live with their dad and of course Dinah the Mynah. Dinah is a mynah bird and thinks that all humans are stupid and is trying to save Dad from the evil woman, Divine. She was determined to win Dad after Mark thought that it would be a good idea to put a lonely hearts column in for Dad. But she has competition when a Spanish woman is determined to win over "Mr Vet Man". But Dad falls in love with the evil Divine and is caged in a house while she plots her evil plan. But Suddenly a chimpanzee comes down the chimney, and his name was Arnold Teebag and he might just save the day!

Nicol Robertson

'Frozen in Time' by Ali Sparkes.

Ever wondered what it would be like in 50 years? Ever wanted to be frozen in time? Meet Rachel and Ben. Their uncle is a scientist and he is looking after them when they’re on holiday and their parents are out of town. It has been raining the whole time until one day and they rush out in to the garden which is like a forrest. They go to their treehouse and Ben spots something: a wheel. They try to turn it : they clean it, oil it, and everything they could think of. Then suddenly it starts to turn and it opens a door. They go in and there is a hall with doors all the way down. They walk to the end and open it but a old but loud voice says, "Do not enter". They jump back and Ben opens the door more and he figures out that it is a tape so he turns it off. It was in a 1950's style with and old sofa, old carpet, old everything. The see another door that is plain white and nothing special. Ben opens it and there is another hall with doors and a bunk bed on the right hand side and they walk down. The first door was into a kitchen and it had lots and lots of cans of spam and other things. The second door was into a bathroom but there was a door in the bathroom and they opened that and it was a science room with lots of notebooks with science stuff in them and computers were very old. Ben starts looking through the notebooks and Rachel is sitting looking at the computers and she sees a switchboard and she sees a red button flickering and she presses it! The switch opens two big tubes which have two children, a boy and a girl, frozen in them! The door locks and they can't get out. What will happen? Will they die? Who is frozen in the tubes? Why are they in there? Who put them there? And will they get out?

Mellisa McNeal

Horrible Histories: Bloody Scotland

This is a great book for history lovers and Horrible History fans. It ranges from ancient to modern times. It has lots of facts, pictures, stories, battles, horrible bits, happy bits and face red funny bits. I

would recommend this book to any one who can read. My rating is four out of five stars. Hope you enjoy it!

Finlay Brown

'The Card Turner' by Louis Sachar

The Card Turner by Louis Sachar is an interesting book about a boy named Alton and his 'favourite' uncle. Ever since Alton could remember, his mother always made him speak to his uncle on the phone and tell him he loved him and he was his favorite uncle, although he only ever met him once. Alton's uncle's health was getting worse leading to him going blind. Alton was asked by his uncle if he could be his card turner at his local bridge club. Alton agreed and the story carries on from there. Also in between the story the writer tries to explain the basic rules of the game bridge.

I really liked this book and would highly recommend it, although it is a book for the older readers other than the younger.

Daria Sassarini

'The Outsiders' by S.E Hinton

The Outsiders is a great and exciting novel. It's all about the gangs in America and their troubles. The main characters are Ponyboy and Johnny. One night they get jumped and someone gets killed so they both run away. They get help from Darrel( Ponyboy hates him) and he helps them.

One day there is a fire and they all get sent to hospital.

I recommend this for around 11+.

James Mole

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Over the Christmas Holidays, I read A Christmas Carol"by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol is the tale of a mean-spirited, miserly old man called Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes an amazing transformation after a series of ghostly visits.

Set in London in the mid 19th century, the story begins on Christmas Eve, when Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley's ghost warns Scrooge that if he does not change his hard-hearted, miserly ways he will be doomed in the after-life. Marley tells Scrooge that he will be haunted by 3 spirits. Each spirit takes Scrooge to various places, in the hope of reforming him.

A Christmas Carol is really easy to read. It has a simple structure. It is written in 5 chapters or staves. Staves 1 and 5 act as a prologue and epilogue, while staves 2,3 and 4 show us how and why Scrooge changes.

A Christmas Carol is a story that's got it all, Ghostly apparitions, coldness, darkness, death and despair, but in the end it is the images of joy, warmth, light and love which stay with us. Read it! You'll feel better for it.

By Ian Keir

This book is about Matthew (Moose) and his family who live on a prison island in America called Alcatraz. His dad is high up and he takes him to see the biggest most meanest prisoners there on the island. His name is Seven Fingerss and his dad doesn't know it but they have sent letters to each other through the laundry and that is how they communicate. BUT someone is not happy with this and 3 days later Dad is caught drunk up on the lighthouse where he and his colleague work. It isn't him but he is sure will he get fired and will Moose have to leave the island and start all over again? Read on and find out?

Melissa McNeal

'Al Capone Does my Shirts' By Gennifer Choldenko

It is about a boy called Moose and his family who have moved to Alcatraz because his father has a job as a guard. He attends school on the island but is a misfit. Instead of playing basketball with the prisoners, Moose has to watch his sister Natalie. She has autism and Moose is the best at taking care of her. They find other friends on the island such as Theresa and Piper. At the end, the children try to find the best place for Natalie and they get help from Al Capone.

Reece Watson

'Stormbreaker' by Anthony Horrowitz

It is about a teenage boy called Alex Rider who is woken up in the morning by the police. They tell him that his uncle, Ian Rider, had been killed in a car accident. Alex sees at the scrapyard that his uncle's car is there and covered in bullet holes. The agency that his uncle worked for told him that he was on a job when he got killed. So Alex is sent up to where his uncle's last Job was. He tries to figure out why his uncle had to be killed. Will Alex make it out or will he go the same way as his uncle?

Reece Watson

'The Return Journey' by Maeve Binchy

The Return Journey by Maeve Binchy is one of travel. The book is composed of many short stories about people and couples traveling and making new friends on their journeys. Whether it is traveling for a business meeting or going abroad for a holiday with some friends this book is a book that contains many great adventures, with ones that end in happiness and joy and ones that unfortunately end in sadness. This book really brings alive the characters and their emotions and the relationships that they are in.

The Return Journey is a book for people who like fulfilled stories that really capture the best moment as well as being fun and humorous. I thought this book was one that was very enjoyable and relaxing to read. I thought the short stories were very interesting and were not too long. I also thought this book was one that I had to keep reading as there was always something around the next corner that was very unexpected. This is what makes this book one that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This book is an easy read and is for anyone of any age: young or old. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in traveling and who likes romance in their reads.

Ailie MacDougall

'Leviathan' by Scott Westerfeld

Two massive empires are preparing for war. The "mechanikal" might of the Austro Hungarian Empire against the amazing power of the British Empire. The Clankers, who put their faith into machines against the Darwinists, who use genetically modified animals as tools.

This is World War One with a twist. It is set in an alternate reality where in 1914 Franz Ferdinand is murdered by the Germans causing the biggest conflict the world has ever known, leaving his son Aleksander to flee across the country in a heavily armoured walker, a tank on legs. But in the other half of the world, Dyren Sharp - a girl posing as a boy to join the airforce - boards a living airship destined to fall out of the sky in enemy territory. Dyren and Aleksander's lives are about to collide.

I greatly enjoyed "Leviathon". It was incredibly fascinating to look at World War One from a different angle and amazingly illustrated. With close shaves with the enemy around one corner and falling out of the sky round the other, this is a truly brilliant read. Forget what you learned in history- you are about to relearn World War One. 20/10

Iain Parker

'Sleepovers' by Jacqueline Wilson

It is about 5 girls called Amy, Bella, Chloe, Daisy and Emily who form a club called "The Alphabet Club." Daisy is the main character in the book and she is the newest member to the Alphabet Club. All the girls have a sleepover and it goes well but now it is her turn she has a disabled sister and she doesn't know what to do. Will her friends think she is weird or normal? What will happen???

Melissa McNeal