Good Reads: Forest Hill School

Chosen by Year 7 (11-12 year-old) pupils from Forest Hill School, London.

All Tied Up

Mike Smit, Yearling, 978-0 4408 6372 4, £3.99 pbk

This is a great book for children who enjoy humour added to adventure and mystery. The main character is a boy called Robert String and he is the narrator of the story. Robert tells the reader about his summer holiday in Whitby with his Dad Matthew, Mum Louise, and his younger sister, Rachael. It is a holiday filled with gangsters, bank robberies and kidnapping in the quiet seaside town of Whitby. I enjoyed this book because it is filled with humour and quick action throughout. The bank robbers, Frank and Bernard, are very stupid and very comical and eventually get caught and sent to prison thanks to the heroes, Robert and his sister Rachael. The pictures relate to the story as they are funny, cartoon characters. I really enjoyed All Tied Up and could relate to Robert who is very amusing. I would give this book 10 out of 10.

Jacob Simpson

Running Wild

Michael Morpurgo, HarperCollins, 978-0 0072 6702 6, £6.99 pbk

This is an emotional and adventurous book. It’s about a nine-year-old boy called Will whose father was a soldier killed in Iraq. Will’s grandparents give him and his mum a holiday in Thailand as a treat because they are having a hard time. A tsunami strikes Thailand and his mother and thousands of other people are killed as gigantic waves bombard the beaches destroying everything in sight.

Will is only saved because at the time he is with an elephant. The elephant senses danger and stampedes panic-stricken into the jungle. Will is terrified and goes through an emotional roller coaster as he struggles to survive. In time the elephant, Oona, becomes his mother and teacher and a strong bond is formed. This is a gripping book that informs the reader about current issues such as the tsunami, deforestation, climate change, the killing of animals and the effect on the animals and humans

Morgan Bakare

Horowitz Horror 1: Nine Nasty Stories to Chill You to the Bone

Anthony Horowitz, Orchard, 978 1 8461 6969 4, £5.99 pbk

The book I have chosen to write about is Horowitz Horror 1 by Anthony Horowitz. This book is engulfed with gory stories of murder and torture where every chapter is a whole new horror-filled, spine-chilling tale all about unusual, inhuman things. Usually I would get bored of a book whether its horror, adventure or a mystery story, however, this book never got tiring. It always kept me alarmed. The blurb lured me into the sinister world of its writer and I was forced into reading it. When I started I couldn’t stop and when I finally finished I proceeded straight to the sequel. Referring back to the first book I would read it again and if someone was to ask me if I know of any good books I would always respond with Horowitz Horrors.

Cem Sipahi

The Kane Chronicles volume 1: The Red Pyramid

Rick Riordan, Puffin, 978-0 1413 2550 7, £7.99 pbk

When Sadie and Carter’s dad blows up the British museum and gets trapped in a sarcophagus by the God of Evil they don’t know what to do… until their Uncle Amos takes them into his mansion and they find out they are hosts to powerful Egyptian God powers! Then they decide to rescue him. Overall I’d say this is an action adventure book with some funny bits. The book has a very similar style to Rick Riordan’s other series of books about Percy Jackson (which are great too!). I liked this book because it was set in lots of different places; it was funny, action packed and awesome. One of the best things about this book is the modern twist (also similar to Percy Jackson) in the way that the Gods blend in with modern times and have human form e.g. Bast the Cat Goddess is a woman with a leopard skinned leotard!

Reece Collins

Thanks to Carol Webb, SLA School Librarian of the Year 2011.