Good Reads: King Arthur’s Community School

Red, White and Blue

Robert Leeson, HarperCollins, 0 00 675144 X, £4.50 hbk (from Sept.)

‘Red’ is for the truth for someone who doesn’t exist.

‘White’ is for the truth that the English teacher sees.

‘Blue’ is for the truth that exists in another world …

This interesting book is about a boy, called Wain, who writes stories about starting at a new school and of his family. The stories are written on three different coloured papers (red, white and blue) which show his emotions.

I truly enjoyed this book of three separate short stories which are cleverly linked together to make one whole story. The fantasies, humour and real life experiences really come together to make this a heart-racing book that you will not be able to put down.

Carline James, Year 7

Love Lessons

David Belbin, Scholastic, 0 439 99907 3, £4.99 pbk (from July)

Love Lessons by David Belbin is by far the best book I have ever read, there is one very strong message in this book and that is that student-teacher relationships are not allowed and can get you into a lot of trouble. This story is about a young 15 year old called Rachel who falls for her new English teacher, Mr Steadman, when they start working on the school play, Romeo and Juliet. This brings them really close together, as David Belbin says these kind of relationships are often treated as a joke but this isn’t a joke at all. When I first started reading this book I didn’t want to put it down and since I have read it about 5 times. If I had to give it a mark out of ten I would have to give it 9.5 out of ten. A definite good buy!

Diane White, Year 9

Vicky Angel

Jacqueline Wilson, Doubleday, 0 385 60040 2, £10.99 hbk

Vicky Angel is one of the best books I have ever read. I could hardly put the book down. It was quite upsetting when Vicky died. At the beginning of the book, Vicky seemed a nice person, but nearer the end, she seemed a bit bossy and mean.

Jade is my favourite character, because she is quiet and sensible. Fat Sam is the funniest character. It is quite interesting to hear what an angel is like, from the writer’s point of view.

Vicky Angel is exciting and funny. I would recommend this book to any Jacqueline Wilson fans, or anyone who loves reading.

My worst part in the book is when Vicky gets run over, because it was sad and it made me cry. I haven’t got a favourite part, because I like all of it.

For anyone who is going to read Vicky Angel, I hope they will enjoy it as much as I did.

Samantha Wallis and Kellie Howell, Year 7

The Railway Children

E. Nesbit, Puffin Classic, 0 14 036671 7, £2.99 pbk

The Railway Children is a wonderfully thrilling book which brings out bundles of emotions. It all begins when three kind, friendly children are helplessly living an exiting but posh life, when their innocent father is wrongly accused of fraud. When the children’s father is taken away their mother can no longer afford to keep the house and so they move quickly away to the countryside and begin a new, more relaxed life.

The three children begin a whirl of adventures, from harmlessly waving at passing trains with clean white hankies to getting an education from their own mother, as they cannot afford to go to school. The oldest and most reliable child, Bobbie, is the first to find out that her father is not away on business, but is in a cold, dark prison cell. Bobbie is so scared and frightened of what may happen next, that it brings out the real fear in you.

As you cautiously read your way through this most enjoyable of books, you really need to watch out as things get upsetting for the unfortunate children. Soon the other two children, Phyllis and Peter, unexpectedly find out and get very upset. Soon the children, being as bright as they are, meet a man who travels often on the passing train and they quickly help to stop a very important train crash which could have killed a lot of people. From then on for the children, everything gets better.

When the children are finally named as the ‘Railway Children’ and their father is freed from jail they are extremely delighted. I think that E. Nesbit is a very emotional and bright author who deserves to sell a lot of her most excellent books. When you excitedly start to read The Railway Children just make sure you have a strong box of tissues handy!

Rachael Hiscock, Year 7