Good Reads: St Paul’s Community College
Thanks to Hilary Cantwell, SLA School Librarian of the Year 2013
Skulduggery Pleasant
Derek Landy, HarperCollins Children’s Books, 978-0007241620, £6.99
‘Meet Skulduggery Pleasant: wise-cracking detective, powerful magician, sworn enemy of evil. Oh yes. And dead.’ What a great way of getting a reader’s attention! Derek Landy author of Skulduggery Pleasant is a wizard with words. This is one of the best fiction novels I’ve ever read! This book is set in Dublin, Ireland and I was enchanted by the author’s imagination and knack for using Irish place names and phrases in his book. This book really captured my imagination and kept me sitting for many an hour reading in my bedroom. It’s an amazing feeling when you pick up a book and your mind refuses to let you leave it down again. Something else I liked about this book is: we have a heroine! Naturally (being a girl) this attracted me, but in my opinion the book would be equally enjoyable for boys. I recommend this book to any reader who likes vampires, werewolves and magic beyond belief.
Aoibheann Doyle, aged13
Jacky Daydream
Jacqueline Wilson, Yearling, 978-0440867203, £6.99
My favourite writer is Jacqueline Wilson and my favourite book by her is her autobiography Jacky Daydream. In this book Jacqueline describes her life as a child growing up in Britain after World War II. She describes her toys, books, family and friends. Her description of her life fascinates me. I know she is good at making up stories but I was really interested to find out how her own life has influenced her writing. Most of the characters in her books have domineering father figures just like hers, (probably not as bad though). Her characters love playing with paper dolls, colouring and they have friends like the ones she had as a child and nearly all of them love books! The part in this book that really got to me was when she comforts her friend Christine whose mother is dying of cancer. There is a similar storyline in Lola Rose. Jacky Daydream is a book that both consoles and inspires me.
Kirsten Power Hennessey, Aged 14
Under A War-Torn Sky
Laura Malone Elliott, Usborne
This story is set in Nazi Occupied Europe during World War II. The main character is Henry Forester, an American Bomber Pilot whose plane is shot down. Henry relies on the kindness of strangers and his memories of people he is close to back in America, to help him survive.
The author describes really well how tough it was to be a soldier. It was really suspenseful and was full of ‘Thank God that happened’ moments. When Henry starts to run out of people to help him he starts giving up. In his mind he begins to write letters to his family telling them how he will be ‘flying in peace above the clouds.’
This story ends very emotionally. I was dying to see how it would end for Henry. I enjoyed reading this story and learning more about the true experiences of a soldier during World War II. I also realised that maybe hope can get you through tough times.
Conor Power, Aged 13
Tiger Wars
Steve Backshall, Orion, 978-1444006483, £4.99
Tiger Wars by Steve Backshall is a story set in India and China. It tells the story of Saker and Sinter. Saker has been brought up by a clan, living with nature and trained in survival. On his first mission, Saker must capture and kill a tiger. He realises that this is wrong and decides to go on the run with Sinter. This story is full of action and adventure. The facts about animals, landscape and habitat and even the survival tips were really interesting. I usually don’t like reading fiction books but this had a great mix of fiction and nonfiction which kept me wanting to read.
Liam Foley, Aged 14
