Good Reads: The Stephen Perse Foundation, Cambridge

Chosen by Year 7 (11-12-year-old) pupils from Mrs Mack’s English class, The Stephen Perse Foundation, Cambridge.

Thanks to Ms Hanlon, Senior Librarian, and Mrs Mack.

The Return: Midnight
L J Smith, Hodder ‘Vampire Diaries’ series, 978 1 4449 0065 1, £6.99 pbk

My favourite book is the 7th book of the ‘Vampire Diaries’. The main characters are Elena, a 17 year old Virginian girl, Stefan, who became a vampire at the age of 17 in 1864 and Damon, Stefan’s older brother, who is also a vampire. Both brothers love Elena.

Mystic Falls, Elena’s hometown, has been taken over by demons. Elena and her friends therefore must go on a journey of self-discovery for the characters, as Elena is torn between her love for Stefan and Damon. Tragically, at the end of their journey, Damon dies. Elena is so heartbroken that she destroys a whole moon with her mystical wing powers. Her only hope of getting Damon back is to go to the Celestial Court and give the Guardians, the equivalent of angels, gifts. However even they cannot bring Damon back. So she asks for Mystic Falls to be cured of all evil.

I really enjoyed this story because it’s packed with love, sadness and supernatural action. I hope I have convinced you to read not only this book because it’s fabulous, but the series!

Francesca Ashfield

Noughts and Crosses
Malorie Blackman, Corgi, 978 0 5525 5570 8, £6.99 pbk

Noughts and Crosses is a touching, heartbreaking novel about two children who grow up in a world where black is right and white is wrong. Sephy is a Cross, a ‘better’ person, and Callum is a nought, a ‘horrible’ person. The children are best friends and this book shows the struggle they have to try and keep their friendship, which soon turns into a forbidden love.

I love the story as it’s a brilliant view of how bad racism can be, and how extreme people can be about it. As the noughts are shown as terrorists and the Crosses are shown as brilliant people, it’s a story from both sides, which really makes the reader want to keep reading.

I think it’s a must-read for anyone and if you read it, you will love it. It’s part of a series which also includes; Knife Edge, Checkmate and Double Cross.

Tanisha Dhariwal

The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman, ill. Chris Riddell, Bloomsbury, 978 0 7475 9480 2, £6.99 pbk

The Graveyard Book is written by Neil Gaiman. It won the Carnegie Medal, which is why I was interested to read it. The book starts with a murder. The murderer kills the mother, father and sister but not the baby boy. The murderer goes to the nursery to find that the two-year-old boy is missing. The community of the dead in the graveyard discovers the baby boy and two ghosts adopt him. They call him Nobody; Bod, for short. Bod goes on many adventures in the book: discovering ‘The Sleer’, escaping from the grasps of the ghouls and getting rid of the bad guys. The storyline is never predictable and it always kept me interested.

I liked how Neil Gaiman weaved other stories into the main story, and those other stories, sooner or later, became relevant. I strongly recommend this book!

Catherine Gaunt

Ghost Hunter
Michelle Paver, Orion, 978 1 8425 5117 2, £6.99 pbk

Ghost Hunter is the sixth and last book in the ‘Chronicles of Ancient Darkness’ series by Michelle Paver. It is set in the pre-agricultural Stone Age and follows young Torak on his journey to vanquish the Soul-Eaters with his two companions Renn and Wolf. One of the many reasons why I like these books is because of the language, because MIchelle Paver includes lots of detailed descriptions which show lots of knowledge about the Stone Age. Another reason why I like these books is because they include some situations that we can all relate to, such as feeling left out, or hiding a huge secret. The storyline is very original and imaginative, and in this age it’s quite rare to come across a book so original and absorbing. If I could, I would thank Michelle Paver in person for giving so many people joy and inspiration through her books.

Anna Valchanova

13 Little Blue Envelopes
Maureen Johnson, HarperCollins, 978 0 0073 1990 9, £6.99 pbk

This is a book with adventure and mystery. Ginny, the main character is a teenage girl who is intelligent, adventurous and is very close to her relatives. She changes throughout the book from a dependent girl who has never been out of New York State to a completely independent girl who has been around most of Europe. The other main character is Aunt Peg, the writer of the letters; she influences Ginny all through the book. It is set in modern times and in many countries as each letter demands Ginny goes to a new place.

At the start of the book, Ginny is shocked to receive a letter from her dead aunt but decides to follow the instructions on the letter. By doing this she changes her life forever and learns more about her aunt then she could ever imagine.

India Lacey