Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
September 1, 2011/in Good Reads /by Richard Hill
This article is featured in BfK 190 September 2011
This article is in the Good Reads Category

Good Reads: The Stephen Perse Foundation

Author: Various Authors

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

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Richard Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Richard Hill2011-09-01 09:05:582021-12-03 09:43:57Good Reads: The Stephen Perse Foundation
BfK 254 May 2022 Download BfK Issue BfK 254 May 2022
Skip to an Issue:

Related Articles

Good Reads: University of Birmingham School
BfK 253 March 2022
Good Reads: Addey and Stanhope School
BfK 251 November 2021
Good Reads: Latymer Upper School
BfK 249 July 2021
Good Reads: Toot Hill School
BfK 247 March 2021
Good Reads: Leah and Anna
BfK 244 September 2020
Good Reads: St Matthews CE Primary School
BfK 241 March 2020
Good Reads: Kingston Grammar School
BfK 240 January 2020
Good Reads: Herne Bay High School
BfK 239 November 2019

About Us

Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.

Read More

Follow Us

Latest News

Peter Bently and Steven Lenton named winners of The Children’s Book Award 2022

June 27, 2022

Shortlist for the 2022 SLA Information Book Award

June 23, 2022

2022 Yoto Carnegie Greenaway Winners Announced

June 16, 2022

Contact Us

Books for Keeps,
30 Winton Avenue,
London,
N11 2AT

Telephone: 0780 789 3369

ISSN: 0143-909X (this is our International Standard Serial Number).

© Copyright 2022 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
Classics in Short No.89: Black Beauty I Wish I’d Written: Andy Stanton
Scroll to top