Good Reads: the Carnegie Shadowing Group, Stanway School

Good Reads

Chosen by the Carnegie Shadowing Group at the Stanway School, Colchester, Essex.

Thanks to Wendy Mann, School Librarian

Wonder
R.J. Palacio, Corgi Children’s Books, 978-0552565974, £6.99 pbk

August (known as Auggie to his friends) was born with a deformity. His face is not ordinary. He is now 10 years old and his parents have decided it is time for him to go to school. He is terrified. He knows that everyone will make fun of him…

But he is brave; he goes to school and it is just like he knew it would be. However he has two friends. Jack, who has been friends since he started and Summer a lovely girl who like Auggie for who he is deep down. A boy called Julian leads the bullying attacks, but with the help of Summer an jack everything gets sorted. The school decide to give Auggie a medal of courage, which is well deserved.

This inspiring story shows how bad bullying can be and how it can affect people. But it also shows the power of friendship.

Caitlin Morrissey

A Greyhound of a Girl
Roddy Doyle, Marion Lloyd Books, 978-1407129341, £6.99 pbk

This book is about a 12 year old girl called Mary, who discovers her great grandmother is a ghost. Tansey (the ghost) died a young mother and never got to see her little girl grow up so she’s come back to make sure that Mary’s grandmother knows that her mother is there for her. The author uses a good range of vocabulary and sentence structures to make the book more interesting and intense. As Mary discovers her family’s heritage she discovers how much family means and the importance of it.

This book is perfect for you if you are into a heart-warming story about familys coming together and coping with the experience of losing someone you love.

Rubbie Hubbard

Midwinterblood
Marcus Sedgwick, Indigo, 978-1780620206, £6.99 pbk

Marcus Sedgwick did a great job when writing this book as it is both dramatic and complex. I found that I was intrigued from the time I read the first page as the structure of the chapters is completely new which gave this book a memorable vibe. The intricacy of the storyline infused the reader with a sense of confusion at first yet as the book progresses you find yourself engrossed with the different lives of these two main characters and how they related to one another within the different settings.

I found this novel a huge change from your normal everyday type but I thought this was a good thing as I found myself wondering what twist and turns were coming up. It is a great book and I love the fact the author took risks when it came to laying out his ideas and I think it definitely paid off which is why I would recommend this book.

Bryony Horne

The Weight of Water
Sarah Crossan, Bloomsbury, 978-1408830239, £6.99 pbk

I am not usually a fan of books written in poetic form. However, on this occasion I thought that the book was magnificent and engaging. It is a light hearted way of putting across a strong, meaningful story.

This is a beautiful story created from poems about a girl who comes to England from Poland with her mother when her father disappears. It’s about her trying to fit into their English school, and facing problems all teenagers face. She tries to console her desperate mother who is still trying to come to terms with the fact Kasienka’s father has left them.

This book really captured my vivid imagination and let it run wild, I think it was cleverly laid out and each page was like a piece in a puzzle – the overall story. It was capturing and inspirational yet reserved and personal. It really felt like you were reading Kasienka’s diary first hand. At first it just seemed to be a brief story of her life; but the feelings still grew strong and emotions were running high.

Personally I would recommend this book to anyone.- even if, like me, they don’t tend to enjoy books written in poetic form.

Georgina Morris