Good Reads: High School for Girls

Chosen by pupils from the Year 7 Book Club (11-12 year-olds) at the High School for Girls in Gloucester.

Thanks to Helen Fazal, Librarian.

Candyfloss

Jacqueline Wilson, Corgi, 978 0 440 86645 9, £5.99 pbk

Candyfloss is all about a girl called Floss whose parents have split up and she must divide her time between them. When Floss’ mum wants to move to Australia to live with her new boyfriend, Floss wants to stay with her dad in his ‘greasy spoon’ café, and so she must make the hardest decision of her life and choose between her parents. Floss goes to live with her dad and the two happily live in his café, every week visiting the funfair that holds many memories for them. But then things start to go wrong; his money runs out and the café must close. Floss discovers that with some help from your friends, anything is possible!

This is a book I want to read and read over and over again and I’m sure you will too. Based on real-life teenage drama and suitable for girls and boys of all ages, Candyfloss has lots more emotion than an ordinary book. I would recommend it to you.

Eleanor Ford

Waves

Sharon Dogar, Chicken House, 978 1 905294 60 2, £6.99 pbk

Hal and his family visit their holiday home in Cornwall, where last year Hal’s sister Charley went into a coma. Hal is determined to find out what actually happened that night, because nobody seems to know, or wants to tell him. Hal starts fainting and having flashbacks to events that he doesn’t remember happening. He finds out that it’s because they are not his own memories; they are Charley’s! Hal and his new friend Jackie try to piece together the puzzle to finally find out what happened to Charley.

I really enjoyed this book because it’s a cross between mystery and romance. It’s really interesting because in each chapter, you find out something new and exciting about Charley and the other characters. My favourite character was Jackie, because of her loyal friendship to Hal, which makes her very likeable and shows she is strong. It has a sad ending, and you’ll have to read it to find out the rest!

Madeleine Williams

Eragon

Christopher Paolini, Corgi, 978 0 552 55371 1, £6.99 pbk

Eragon is about a 16-year-old boy who lives with his Uncle Garrow and cousin Roran near the village of Carvahall. He finds a mysterious blue stone when out hunting, which hatches into a beautiful dragon called Safira. From this moment, Eragon’s life is turned upside down. He has to flee Carvahall accompanied by an old storyteller, Brom. Brom teaches Eragon how to communicate with his mind, fight with a sword and to use magic! But there is trouble ahead from the evil dragon King Galbatorix, who, when he hears of Safira’s hatching, is determined to kill her, as she could lead the rebellion against him…

The genre is adventure, but also a fantasy as it is full of elves, dragons, magic, dwarves and all other mythical beings. The American author Paolini was only 15 years old when he wrote it, so his success is very impressive!

I thought the book was brilliant and it transported me to another world – I really urge you to read it! And, if you enjoy Eragon, try picking up the sequel Eldest, and the other book in the series, Brinsingr.

Gabrielle Rogers

Indigo Blue

Cathy Cassidy, Puffin, 978 0 14 131784 7, £5.99 pbk

Indigo (nicknamed Indie) is a girl with a hard family life; no wonder her favourite colour is blue. Her mother is in love with a man called Max, who hits and hurts her for reasons Indie cannot understand. To escape Max’s cruelty, Indie, her mother and her baby sister Misti run away to a cramped old flat, far from everything they know. Indie makes lots of new friends, but her oldest and truest friend, Jo, does not believe she moved and is furious with her. Indie is sad at losing Jo, and soon trouble occurs out of the blue at school, home and in public for poor Indie as she seeks the truth behind her mother’s running away and struggles to survive in poverty. People try to help her but all she needs is a safe life and a good friend. Will Indigo find the blue skies and happiness she’s looking for?

Rhiannon Neale

The Thief Lord

Cornelia Funke, Chicken House, 978 1 905294 21 3, £6.99 pbk

The Thief Lord is an enthralling book with new things happening at every turn of the page.

When their mother dies, two brothers get sent to live with their Aunt and Uncle, named Esther and Max Hartlieb. 12-year-old Prosper takes good care of his five-year-old sibling Bo. Esther and Max want to split the boys up, but the brothers don’t want this and decide to run away to Venice, because, before her death, their mother used to tell them stories of magic in the Italian city. They stow away on a ship and when they arrive in Venice a street gang of orphans living in a disused theatre befriends them. The gang makes their money robbing valuable objects and selling them on the black market under the rule of their leader Scipio (the Thief Lord). Prosper and Bo have great adventures with their new friends but Esther and Max are hot on the boys’ trail – aided by a tortoise-obsessed detective named Victor Getz. The story follows Victor’s search and the new life of Prosper and Bo.

This is a New York Times bestseller and an excellent translation (it was originally in German) and I would recommend it to any schoolchild who enjoys challenging reads.

Eleanor Swift