Good Reads: Glenmoor School

Chosen by Year 8 and 9 (12-14 year old) pupils from Glenmoor School, Bournemouth.

Thanks to Rachel Green, School Librarian.

Junk

Melvin Burgess, Puffin, 0 14 038019 1, £5.99 pbk

I found the title of this book made me want to read it because if it was about drug users then I would like it because it deals with issues. The plot is about a boy called Tar and a girl called Gemma. Tar runs away from home and he wants Gemma to go with him. She ends up following him and they meet some new friends who are into some bad stuff and Gemma and Tar get mixed up in the trouble. Then more problems arise and Gemma and Tar have to find a way through.

The book is told from both Gemma and Tar’s point of view. Each different chapter is about what they are thinking. The end of the story was both unexpected and expected. I didn’t like the ending because it is sad and I prefer happy endings. The type of age group this book is aimed at is teenage. I would definitely recommend this book because it is a brilliant read and I couldn’t put it down. I would give this book 10/10.

Laura Terry, Year 9

Learning to Fly

Victoria Beckham, Penguin, 0 14 100394 4, £6.99 pbk

I have always been a Posh fan, so I decided to give this book a go. The title had me confused and until I read chapter one I did not know what it was about. It was interesting, the reason why the title is Learning to Fly. Posh had always loved the film Fame and the words ‘I’m gonna learn how to fly’. These told her one day she would be famous.

It tells you in the book how she was bullied in her childhood and the problems she had getting to where she is now. My favourite part of the book is when she was seeing David behind the back of Stuart, and the stages she went through getting around to telling her boyfriend ‘no’, because she is not posh, but shy. I would recommend this book to people aged 11+ because this was an enjoyable book to read – it gave me dreams, tears and edge of the seat tension.

Samantha Webb, Year 9

Love That Dog

Sharon Creech, Bloomsbury, 0 7475 5749 7, £4.99 pbk

The book is set out quite weirdly, it is set out like a poem. A brief summary of the book is that there is a boy called Jack, who in English, is doing poetry. He doesn’t like this at all. When he starts reading poems they don’t make sense to him, but when he writes his own he can relate to them. He writes about his dog, who died in a car accident. Then a poet comes into his school to talk about his poems and Jack becomes close friends with him.

My favourite character in the book was Jack. There weren’t that many characters anyway. He was a sweet young boy, who was very attached to his dog, who unfortunately died. I think the book is aimed at younger children than myself, such as 8 years+. I would definitely recommend it, as it was very easy and short to read, but it was interesting at the same time. I think that younger people would like it more than I did.

Emma Jamieson, Year 8

Secrets

Jacqueline Wilson, Doubleday, 0 385 60182 4, £10.99 hbk

Secrets is about this girl called Treasure and her step-dad (Terry) who keeps on beating her up. Her Nan takes Treasure to her house. Treasure wants to live with her Nan but her mum wants her back. So Treasure runs away and stays at her friend’s house (India). And India loves Anne Frank’s Diary, so she treats Treasure like Anne Frank. Then India’s Mum finds Treasure out. And basically at the end Treasure lives with her Nan. The book was funny and exciting. It made me laugh in some bits. But it made me scared when Terry hit her and then she had a scar on her forehead. I recommend this book to 10-15 year olds because it is fun, exciting and sad so it makes you feel different in different chapters.

Charlotte Seaton, Year 8