On two feet and wings by Abbas Kazerooni

They are escaping from Iran. At the airport, his parents are prevented from flying. Abbas must go to Istanbul alone.

Close to his tenth birthday, Abbas has to leave his parents and friends, and flee Tehran. The Iran-Iraq war is at its bloodiest. The Ayatollahs, the rulers in Iran, have reduced the age of recruitment into the army. And if Abbas doesn’t leave soon, he will have to go to war.

In the strange and often frightening city of Istanbul, Abbas has to grow up faster than ever.

He can't speak Turkish.
Who can he trust?
He works three jobs to make ends meet.

Most of all, he has to guard against being manipulated, and watch his back at all times.

Like all stories, this one is often happy and sometimes sad.

But unlike most others, this one is true.
It's hard to imagine that he is able to survive.


 

 

Dreamhouse Kings series by Robert Liparulo

Dreamhouse... or BAD DREAM?

When the Kings move to a small town in northern California, they have no idea of the adventures—and terrors—waiting for them.Fifteen-year old Xander and his twelve-year-old brother David make a game of exploring the old Victorian home they move into.One night, they discover an intruder and follow him to a hidden hallway of doors.Each door transports them to far off places in long-ago times. 

Girl on the Run

WHAT IF THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB IS ACTUALLY A GIRL?

Girl on the Run, written by Julia Lock, is about a young girl Darcie, whose Father gets kidnapped. If you’re a girl and love having adventures, then this is book for YOU!

Darcie Lock has a strong and truthful relationship with her father, or so she thought…… Whereas Darcie and her mother have never had a strong relationship. Then Darcie finds out a secret that her mother and father share. Will this secret make or break their trust they have with Darcie.

Darcie Lock's father has disappeared and she is given a choice; try to help find him, or hop on a plane to the States, and safety, where her mother is waiting for her. Darcie is gadgetted up, attacked, and takes tea with the rich and privileged of Nairobi, but it is the characters who stick out in this story. She has to decide who she can trust, who has their own private motives, and who has more secrets than they care to share. Most importantly, she has to find her dad. The situations Darcie faces are solved more believably than in other spy stories.

My favourite character in this book is, of course, Darcie Lock. She is so courageous throughout the whole book. She risks her life to try and save her father. She has to hang out with creeps and live in the houses of assassins. 

I LOVE this book.  You can’t put the book down until you have read the last word. It’s like the book has you held captive. Another cool thing about this book is that there are really lively words, which helps the book to captivate you.  The question is, will Darcie Lock find her father, or is it too LATE? 

Skulduggery pleasant, Kingdom of the Wicked 

If the world was about to be torn apart by magic, would you rely on a live skeleton and a teenage girl to save you???

Skulduggery Pleasant is a book written by Derek Landy. This novel is about saving mortals from the corruption of magic. A live skeleton (Skulduggery Pleasant) and his sidekick are about to try save the world one more time. Mortals are endangering their own lives, and the lives of those around them. And there is also the problem of a group of teenagers lead by a girl called Kitana who becomes corrupted by the power of magic and endangers everyone in the community. The skeleton detective does what he needs to do to ensure the safety of the unsuspecting humans from Kitana and her gang.

The skeleton is a smart, cunning, charming and ruthless detective that does what he needs to do to get the job done. I loved him because he has had a terrible past that includes his family being killed in the war and himself becoming a mass murderer. But now trying to keep his secret and make up for his mistakes that he made. He is strong willed and is easy to rely on. The novel is set in Dublin, Ireland, but is focused on the magic part of it, and I found the book also ended up switching to another dimension, in the middle, but came back later.  

I have waited a year for this book to come out and it was well worth the wait. Being the seventh in its series it is not a good idea to start at this book first because of how it will be found confusing, when they talk about Darquesse and Lord Vile. This book is an enjoyable book that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and the end of the book always leaves you begging for more. I don’t recommend it for people under the age of twelve, because of the description to violence that is involved. Harry Potter fans will enjoy the Skulduggery Pleasant book series.

This horror-adventure novel is not without a little bit of comedy and romance as well.

Megan by Mary Hooper

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get pregnant at 15?!

Megan is just like any other teenager she enjoys going out and hanging with her friends. The only difference is that she’s pregnant and the father of her baby is her ex-boyfriend Luke. When the school finds out Megan is forced out of school and has to go live with her aunty Lorna for a while. Throughout the book you connect with the character Megan and you are left with one question, “Will she have the baby adopted or not.”

The story is about a 15 year old called Megan. Who has started planning out her year from taking her GCSEs in June to her big 16^th birthday. But all of these plans come to a stop when she finds out that she is 5 months pregnant. She has to give everything up and go away and live with her aunty Lorna. While staying with Lorna she attends an education facility where she takes her GCSEs and learns about how to care for her baby she will soon be having.

I thought Megan was a great and easy read. It was very interesting and it didn’t have easy answers to the problems she encountered.  The book was difficult to put down and the ending leaves you wondering what will happen next. This book is first of the trilogy and once you finish it you just have to read the next one.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher of Stone

Harry Potter and the Philosopher of Stone, by J.K Rowling is one of the most popular books in the world a lot of people have either seen the movie or read the book/series or seen the movie. I would recommend this book to everyone.  Harry Potter and Philosopher stone is about a very young boy that goes through many changes.  Unlike a regular boy Harry goes through some very tough situation. But when Harry’s Parents past away, He had no choice but to stay with his uncle and aunty and their son. But the day before Harry turns 11 he gets he gets a letter from Hogwarts but Harry uncle and aunty try and get rid of it every time. 

So Harry’s uncle and Aunty decided to move someplace far away. Then when he just turn 11 he gets no present but a cake from Hagrid who took Harry and got him ready to go Hogwarts and away and get all of his supplies. Then Hagrid tells Harry story of how his parents died. When Harry goes to Hogwarts for the first time he was a bit shock running through the wall platform 9 ¾ as he didn’t know what to expected. When he got on the train he meets his best friend Ron. Ron becomes close to Harry and was always there for him. When they first worked into Hogwarts they sore talking frames and moving.

 I would recommend this to everyone that has a great imagination and believes wizardry. 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Picking where and how you are going to live for the rest of your life is not an easy decision.

For Beatrice it’s a lot harder. 

Divergent is about a country that is divided up into five sections each with there own traits – Candor (the honest) , Erudite (the smart) , dauntless (the brave) , Abnegation (the selfless) and  Amity (the peaceful).

Every year, on a particular day every 16 year old in the country has to decide what section they would like to live in for the rest of their lives. This day is daunting to almost every 16 year old, but it is particularly daunting for Beatrice. 

Beatrice is torn.

Beatrice is scared.

Beatrice is divergent.

Before the 'Choosing Ceremony' each 16 year old completes an aptitude test. Most people get one. VERY few get two. Beatrice is the first to get three. This makes her divergent.

Being divergent in a her time can mean certain death. She has to keep it a secret.  However it is not as easy as you might think.  If your not careful it will show. There are some times she cannot hide.

Her life get’s complicated when she forms enemies and nearly gets murdered by one of her ‘friends', after she finds out about a secret.

Her already hard world gets a lot harder when a growing conflict turns into a battle. She makes friends and enemies, finds love and causes a LOT of trouble.

Many people had told me to read Divergent, they said it was as good, if not better than The Hunger Games. I thought - what could possibly be as good as The Hunger Games. The answer - Divergent. It Is just as good as The Hunger Games, But Definitely Not Better.  I give this book 4.5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who likes The Hunger Games. 

I'd tell you I love you but then I'd have to kill you

Could you imagine having to lie to the one you love?

How many books are there about teen spy’s facing problems about having a normal life?  LOTS! But I think this spy book by Ally Carter is best of them all! 

Cammie is a teenaged girl in an undercover spy school.  Facing issues every teenager goes through as she meets her first true love, Josh. Cammie pretends to be an ordinary girl with an ordinary family. Not that Josh knows, but Cammie is an intelligent girl that tracks his every move. Trying to keep Josh a secret from her mother and her school, she sneaks out at any opportunity she can.

Cammie is a very intelligent and caring girl who looks like any other teen on the street. She behaves like a lady as she has been taught to be a very mature young woman. The book doesn’t give much of her appearance but I think Cammie looks like an ordinary girl that doesn’t care what she looks like or what others think of her. Cammie seems very sweet and loves being a spy but at times also wants a normal life with normal friends and a normal family. 

The book was set in Roseville in a modern day time period. The message of the book was that be your true self and not pretend to be anyone else. People love you because you are you.

I loved the book as I love the whole spy theme. I liked how she made up all these lies about herself and how Cammie was finally witnessing a normal life when she was with Josh. This book perfect for girls of the age of 11-18 as it is a very easy read and a bit of a romance. Many class mates have also read this book and kept reading the whole series. So, I loved the book and I would recommend it to girls aged 11-18. 

Fallout - Chris Morphew

What happens when all life on earth disintegrates in less than 14 days? What would you do?

                               

Luke and Jordan have only 14 days to find Tobias, otherwise the world would end. The town centre in Phoenix is now a concentration camp and the people who are free are forced into hiding. Even though they might have some answers they still need more but the only person that can help then is still unconscious.

With Luke’s murder still looming closer and Jordan’s visions becoming stronger, what will happen?

Luke and Jordan need to find the answers to all there questions in less than 14 days. Now with a lot more people underground in the Vattel Complex, security officers trying to track them down and days soaring past, sneaking into the Shackleton building seems like there only choice for saving the world. Or is it?

Jordan being one of the only people in the world to save it is a strong hearted, courageous and loving person. Jordan might seem like any ordinary girl at times trying to protect her boyfriend Luke but she has a special talent….she’s visions of the past and the future. When she first had her visions when the rest of the town started getting their talents but recently her visions are becoming stronger, she disappears in them and now glows.

The book is set in a special town called Phoenix, a town where certain people are chosen to live there. The town seemed normal in the beginning but not anymore. There is no reception so you can’t reach the outside world at all and there is a big brick wall surrounding the town so you can’t get in or out of it. The book is set sometime in the future where technology has really kicked off.

The main moral of the book is that even though things get hard in life, just keep trying and never give up!

I found this book thrilling, action packed and a full of twists. This is the fifth book in the series. Read the first four to begin with. Once you read it you will never ever want to put it down.

If you love books about the world ending and books full of action this is perfect for you.  

Megan By Mary Hooper

Are you a teen? Imagine what it would be like to be pregnant! 

In Megan by Mary Hooper, Megan finds out that she is pregnant at 15. She was already five months gone before she found out. Megan didn’t know what to do; she told her best friend and eventually told her ex-boyfriend and mother. Her mum insists that she has the baby adopted but Megan has other plans. Megan is a determined girl who is trying to complete her A-grades but with this bump in the road she has to go to a special school just for people who are/ were pregnant. Megan is mainly set at her house, aunt’s house and the two schools she went to.   

Megan is a wonderful book that you just can’t put down. I read this book in two nights and I’m not a reader! Megan teaches you about the struggle of being a teen and being pregnant.  I enjoyed Megan because you never know what to expect. Megan is a very independent character, she wants to keep the baby but her mother has other plans.  I recommend Megan to teen’s who like to read about things that can really happen. 

Westminster Abby

Have you ever wanted to get away from your over protective parents?

Abby is a 16 year old girl who is jet setting of to London to get away from her ex-boyfriend and her over protective parents. She is very worried but soon meets a crazy but funny punk rock friend who she hangs around with. Abby soon meets a charming boy called Ian and soon finds herself in love. But disaster strikes! Abby is now thinking that her trip to London wasn’t such a good idea. Abby thinks her life is all too complicated but soon makes some decisions that remind her that she is still only young.

Abby Capshaw is the main character in the novel. She is sixteen years old and is shy but responsible and kind. But at the same time she still likes to have fun with her friends.  The book doesn’t really give a description of Abby but it does say that she usually always wears her hair in two braided pigtails. Abby doesn’t often care about how she looks and doesn’t usually do things that are out if the ordinary.  Abby is an ordinary teenager who believes her parents are way to over protective so she thinks going to London will be a good thing to get away from them.

The book is set in London through an exchange program in modern day. The theme or message is that you need to be true to yourself and don’t jump into things too quickly live whilst you’re young and make decisions that will help you. The narrative style is from Abby’s point of view but it also changes to be the narrator talking about Abby.

I loved this book. I thought it was a really enjoyable book. I think it had some good life lessons in it but it was funny at the same time. It is quite an easy read and it is good for people who like books that are based in different countries and about people travelling to other countries and learning about other cultures. I would recommend for people aged at about 12-15.

The Power of Six

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

How would you feel if you loved someone and could never be with them because you were a criminal and an alien?

If you loved the book and movie I am Number Four then you will love The Power of Six.

The story is about a teenager on the run. But he isn’t a teenager. He is an alien from the planet Lorien. After staying in Paradise, Ohio, John Smith is on the run from the police trying to find others like him. It’s a race against time to find them before they get turned in to the FBI or even the Mogerdorians. John has a choice to make.  If he stays in Paradise the girl of his dreams will have her world  destroyed. If he becomes a solider and fights then he will never go back to Earth and will have to return back to Lorien. What  will he choose and what will be the right thing to do?

John Smith has a personality that everyone loves. John is brave, independent and is deeply in love with a girl that he met in Ohio, Sarah. However, they can’t be together most of the time because John has to move around from place to place. John is emotional at times and also feels bad because he also has strong feelings for a girl called Six who is also like him.

This sci-fi drama will keep you guessing to end about the choice he makes!

my book blog - life on the refrigerator door

Life on the refrigerator door.

How would you feel if you barely talk to your mum in person?

If you love stories about a teenager living in today’s society, than you will love Life on the refrigerator door by Alice Kuiper’s.

Life on the Refrigerator door by Alice Kuiper’s is a book about a teenage girl, Claire and her mum. Claire’s mum would always be at work and whenever Claire or her mother would want to do something Claire would always be busy studying or being social with the guy she likes, Michael. The only way that they communicate is by writing notes and sticking them on the refrigerator door. The notes would say about how were their days or anything they need to do.

 Claire is an ordinary 15 year old girl in high school but Claire Hardly sees her mother, Claire tries to spend an equal time with her father as well as her mum. She visits her father every now and then. Clare becomes a different person over the novel with events happening to her, Clare soon realises that the ones she loves are slipping away so quickly.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot, though it took me a while to realise that this book was in notes. The message I found in this book is always find time for the ones you love, as you don’t always know what’s coming next.

Warning - Make sure you have a box of tissues with you when you’re reading this book!

Red Dirt Diary

How crazy is your life? Well Blue’s life is as crazy as crazy can be.

If you like stories that have many different exciting events. Then Red Dirt Diary is the best book for you. It explains how annoying and crazy a teenage girl’s life can be.  

Blue Weston is an 11 year girl who lives in the Australian outback.  It is New Year’s Day and her mother has given her a diary which she promised to write in every day. Blue has 3 brothers, 1 sister, a crazy boy loving best friend and crazy man eating, bag-pipe loving pigs. The life of Blue is tough but with the help of Mrs McKenzie, her friends and her family she gets through it.

Blue is a normal everyday girl, she does not love boys or make-up unlike her best friend Matlida- Jane (Mat).  She has flaming red hair and a BIG nose. She is a fairly well behaved girl (most of the time). She thinks that her big brother and sister are the greatest. Blue also hates Boarding School not only because she is being sent their next year but because her brother and sister are already there and she misses them like crazy. She has two twin brothers who are constantly getting stitched up by a vet. I think that Blues life is so crazy, but she is comforting and easy to relate to.

This book is set in outback Australia at their farm Hillrose Park, Hardbake Plains. It is a novel in the modern day Australia. The theme or message of the novel is not to be embarrassed by family you can’t change them and to just go along with them. The writing style in this book is different. It is interesting to read. It’s set out like the actual diary of a young girl with pictures that look hand drawn.

I personally loved reading Red Dirt Diary. It is so interesting and exciting. You never know what is going to happen next. I think Katrina Nannette has done a great job in creating wonderful characters different from others. I gave this book 5 stars because even though the plot was complex it was easy to catch on. I enjoyed the writing because the twins and Blue were interesting characters. I would definitely recommend this book to all boys and girls looking for an easy but exciting read.

The Friendship Matchmaker by Randa Abdel-Fattah

“Feeling lonely, the friendship matchmaker would be a fantastic book for you!”

The friendship matchmaker was different then what I was expecting I was expecting a boring book but it turned out to be a excellent book! If you’re feeling a little lonely and you might just be feeling like your tagging along or you have a friend that you don’t know if you should stand by them and you are wanting to know how to fix’s it. This would be a perfect novel for you as it is hard to put down and really easy reading.

“The Friendship Matchmaker” is about two teenage girls who are trying to get a message across about friendships. They don’t not wanting anyone to feel lonely or  feeling like you are a third wheel or maybe event, sometimes not event being able to have a conversation with someone you don’t even know at school.

Some of the issues in this novel are easy to relate to because some of them are our teenage usually issues. These teenage problems are most fighting with our friends, friendships will always have their ups and downs and they will never be perfect but the friendship matchmaker tries to help you with your teenage problems. In some of the book I had sympathy but for some I didn’t as some of these problems are everyday problems. I really enjoyed this book and would give it a rate out of ten I would defiantly give it a 9 1/2 .

Top 8 by Katie Finn

How great is Facebook these days! You go on to talk to friends, keep up with all the details and have some fun. That’s what everybody does. Right?

Katie Finn wrote the book Top 8 about this girl Maddie McDonald that’s in senior school. Its spring break and this is everybody’s favourite holiday. This year’s Spring break Maddie went on a holiday to Ecuador and had no internet what so ever, so she couldn’t keep in touch with her friends and even worse she couldn’t check her Friendverse. When she finally gets back from her holiday, the first thing she does is check her social life. All she sees is all these comments and she is thinking that she has been so popular, but actually she has been HACKED! What will her friends going to think of her? Is her boyfriend going to understand what the situation is? Will this change her whole life around?

Maddie is really nice and kind and everybody tells her everything which means everybody can trust her, but does she actually keep those secrets or tell someone? She has many close friends, but yet mingles with everyone including the theatre kids and even the computer nerds. Maddie thought that everybody was her friend, but after she came back from her holiday she found out that her friends have betrayed her. But what did they actually do to turn Maddie’s whole life around? How will Maddie fix this?

Maddie is a character who is very likeable. Everybody trusts her, which is why they tell her all of their secrets. Maddie usually keeps those secrets to herself but she spills them to other people when she is not meant to, but as she told them to her friends, she thought that she could trust them not to tell anyone that secret. As she got hacked her friends thought it would be a great idea to take over Maddie’s account and tell all of those secrets that weren’t even meant to be known.

I thought this book was interesting but it took a long time to understand the moral of the story. It dragged on as it was talking about what people were wearing. As you finish the book and reflect over it you think of all the good parts in the book which make it likeable. Overall I thought this was a good book.

Top 8

How would you like coming home from Spring Break to have your perfect social life destroyed?

If you love books about teenage drama, then this is the book for you! Madison McDonald had the perfect life; she had great friends, a new boyfriend and is starring in the school play. Though when she arrives home from the Galapagos to find her Friendverse account has been hacked, her perfect life is destroyed. How will Madison regain her friendships and find out who the hacker is?

Madison McDonald is a happy, opinionated teenager who is determined to get her life back. Madison has several close friends, Ruth, Schyler, and Lisa, but is friends with everyone, including the jocks, the theatre kids and the computer nerds. Because Madison has so many friends, many people tell her their secrets. When Madison’s Friendverse was hacked their secrets were on the internet for the entire world to see.  In the book I found Madison very  likeable, though not very trustworthy. After seeing what has happened to her Friendverse, Madison wonders who would have wanted to destroy her life so badly and wonders who her real friends are.

Top 8 is set in Putnam, Connecticut, in around 2008. The dialogue in this book was very realistic. Some writers try to make the teenagers sound older than they are, making the book very unrealistic, although this was not the case in Top 8. Katie Finn constructed well written responses that teenagers can relate to. I found it very interesting to read about how Madison reacted to some of the problems she encountered.

I enjoyed reading this book, though thought some of it was quite simplistic. The storyline was very straightforward and did not make the reader have to think. In some cases this made the book very enjoyable, though I would have liked the book to leave the reader on a few cliff hangers.  I enjoyed how Katie Finn constructed the messages Madison shared with her friends on Friendverse, which gives the readers a deeper understanding of Madison’s social life. This book was a very engaging read and I would recommend it to everyone!

Extinction the day the world ended

What would you do on the day the world ended?

14 year old beach twins, Annie and Mac Sword didn’t expect the world to end on the 21st of September. With every other human dead except themselves the only thing they could do was to surf the internet. The twins found a website giving them all the information they need, but they were not alone. 

Annie is the eldest out of the two twins; she has a round biscuit like face, lightly tanned skin, thick swirls of caramel coloured hair and large blueberry coloured eyes. Annie and Mac share the same infinity birthmark on the inside of their wrist. Annie is an ordinary teenage girl, or so she thinks. I think Annie has shown leadership quality in the book and is the leader out of the pair of them. Mac on the other hand is un-organised and is very competitive. He is the muscles out of the two of them and helps Annie in many situations. Without each other they would be lost.

The story is set in Ghost Crab Cove, Australia. Annie and Mac live near the beach and both go to the same high school. It is a modern time period and the dialogue is shared out between all of the characters. The narrative style is easy to follow because it is set in modern society, so you can easily relate to the story.

This book is well constructed, it is clear what setting you are in and when the setting changes. The style of writing was evenly spaced out so it was easy to read. It captivated me right from the first page because I didn’t expect it to start off like it did. The two problems I had with the book was each time they met someone new the scenario structure was very similar. And on the last page, the book ended in the middle of a scenario. But the book continues in Extinction the Explosive Conclusion.

I would recommend this book to sci-fi, fantasy, action lovers because it is very action packed and at the same time it’s reality but with a twist.

The Face on the Milk Carton

We have all read tonnes of books about little girls getting kidnapped and so on, but the novel ‘The Face on the Milk Carton’ is a great cliff hanger!!!

What would you do if you found out your parents kidnapped you when you were little? 

How do you think you would react?

In this novel, Janie Johnson finds a picture of a young girl on the front of a milk carton at school. This is how Americans identified missing people. But as she glanced at the 3-year-old girl, Janie recognized her face. Are Mr and Mrs Johnson really her parents? And if not, is Janie Johnson really Janie Johnson?

Janie Johnson is 15 years old and is in her last year of school. As soon as Janie asks her parents about when she was little they go very quiet and were not the welcoming parents she knew them as. Are they her real parents?

This book is set in Janie’s suburban Connecticut neighbourhood in America, around the time of her last year at school. 

The message I found was that things are not always as they seem.

The writing style Caroline Cooney used was very different and unique which added to the excellence of the mystery. 

The words flowed in such a way that they seemed to be bring the story to life, which made it so much easier to feel like you are amongst the characters, which is why I would recommend this book to everyone! I found that this book left you thinking, and is a really great read with a very good message behind it!

Megan by Mary Hooper

15 and pregnant, that’s not good!

Megan by Mary Hooper is a story of a 15 year old girl, who is faced with the difficulties of being a teenager. Megan lives with her mum and sister, Ellie in a small flat, half a mile away from town. Clare, Megan’s best friends also lives there which is very convenient. Clare and Megan have big plans for when they finish school, until they discover that Megan’s pregnant. Megan is then confronted with enormous obstacle. When Clare decides to tell a bunch of girls about Megan, it is not long until the whole school finds out. Megan’s mother is very disappointed in Megan and can’t deal with it so, she sends her away to live with her aunty. She attends a school for young pregnant women. This book takes you on a wild rollercoaster, but will Megan keep the baby or give it up for adoption like everyone is telling her too?

The vocabulary in the novel is quite simplistic which makes for an easy read. This book is the perfect length and keeps your attention for the whole time. The adventures that Megan faces are very realistic and believable to today’s society. It’s a definite page turner and I would recommend it to any teenage girl.

Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis

Can you imagine what it would be like, thinking your family are dead and trying to survive in a war which is taking place everywhere around you?

Some people have it tough in other parts of the world, however, here in Australia we are surrounded by some sort of safe bubble. Parvana’s journey is the second book in the Parvana series and outlines the struggles that a young Afghani girl faces against the Taliban’s invasion. I am inspired by this character and don’t know whether I could ever be as brave as she was.

 This is an emotional and uplifting novel, which had me hooked at every second. Though it was  sad and at times made me cry, it has enlightened another aspect of the way I see we live. It makes me appreciate the small things in life, which others are not able to have. The theme in this book is friendship and finding where you sit in the world.

Parvana is a strong-willed, determined, independent, tolerant, courageous person and is  extremely sympathetic towards others. This is evident by the way she acts around the people she meets and how she is so willing to help others. The challenges which Parvana faces are difficult, or for many even impossible. After having her father pass away, she is left on her own to fight for survival and find the rest of her family.

Parvana finds friends and says good bye to some, never knowing if she will ever see them again. As Parvana began dressing up as a boy in the first book, she is left to continue this persona. However, she does find it difficult because her body is beginning to change, develop and mature. As the dangers of her identity begin to unfold, she has no other choice but to walk until the help she needs arises.

It is hard to relate to the issues in this novel, as we have never experienced them, however, I still felt a huge amount of sympathy for the characters. The setting in this story is quite difficult for Parvana, but each time she had somewhere to stay for the night, she was extremely grateful. This novel is set around 1997, when the Taliban invaded Mazar. Even though this book is fictional, it is amazing the way that the events are similar to what has or is taking place in Afghanistan. I loved this book heaps and I rate it 4 and a half stars out of 5. 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Greg is a stick figure; well at least he draws himself as a one. He thinks he knows it all; how to be cool, what to wear and what you should say. But he is all wrong!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 6 book series. It is about a young boy who has just started middle school. It begins with Greg's brother Roderick waking him up in the early hours of the morning. Roderick pretends that Greg slept through the school holidays and is late for his first day of middle school. Greg panics and makes a lot of noise which wakes his parents. Once Greg realised that it was a joke his parents are already wide awake and very annoyed. This is just the beginning of all events that goes wrong when Greg try’s to fit in.

 Greg is not a very tall boy. Greg thinks that Rowley his best friend is not very stylish so he tries to change the way he look, for example he spray pain his bike black. In the first book of the series Greg thinks he “all that” and something more but in reality he’s NOT.  

I loved this book because it has humor it also  has some good ideas and bad ideas on what you should do in middle school.  

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be a related to a Greek God?

Well, Percy Jackson is, and it’s causing him a lot of grief.

Percy Jackson is thrown into his second adventure with his friends Annabeth and Tyson, his new baby half-brother. The camp protector, a tree made from the spirit of a daughter of Zeus, has been poisoned, and a beloved staff member accused of poisoning the tree gets fired. Clarisse, a feisty daughter of Ares, is sent on a mission to find the Golden Fleece, the one thing that can save the camp. The good news is that Percy knows where to find it. The bad news is that it’s located in the Sea of Monsters. Oh, and if Percy leaves the camp, he’ll be expelled for life.

Percy’s a thirteen year old kid from New York who was thrown into a world of magic and mayhem when he found out that his dad is the ancient Greek god Poseidon, God of the sea, in his first adventure, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Percy is brave, smart, kind and selfless; he would do anything to keep his baby brother Tyson safe. He’s got brown hair, blue eyes and he’s about average in height. He believes that not everyone is bad, even if their kind is, protecting Tyson from the harsh comments made about Cyclops kind. I feel that this character is great. He is a bundle of surprises and very witty at times.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters is set in America. Camp Half-Blood (the summer camp for demi-gods) is located in New York. The Sea of Monsters is in what we humans call, “The Bermuda Triangle” which is located off the coast of Florida. It isn’t every day that you would find a book about a 13 year-old fighting ancient Greek monsters, so this book is unique. The theme of this particular adventure is that persistence is key. It also teaches people a lot about Greek mythology. It is written in first person past tense.

This book is a page-turner. I finished the entire thing in three hours because I couldn’t put it down. It is a great read and is good for any age. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Greek mythology and an interesting plot.   

Now and Zen- S.A.S.S

Have you ever thought of going on an overseas exchange trip?

Nori Tanaka certainly did.

Nori is a teenager who wants to get away. Her parents are having trouble, and she wants to study abroad. Instead, she’s just an ordinary American girl, who wants to learn about the culture of the country some of her family grew up in. When she arrives, she expects tranquillity, not concrete and neon. When she meets a German student, Erik, that she is interested in, she feels as she shouldn’t say that she isn’t what she seems to be- a Japanese girl from Japan. But should she tell him the truth? Or just let him think of her as a native? Throughout the course of the novel, she begins to feel like she knows more about this place that other students think she calls home. But reality strikes at the end, and she is faced to tell the truth; that she isn’t from Japan.

Nori is a girl, who develops a belief: that you should tell the truth, even when you think there’s no need to. People assume that she is a traditional Japanese girl because of her physical appearance. However, Nori will surprise you with her thoughts and actions, which is what kept me engaged in the story.

The story is set in modern Tokyo, Japan, and also in Kyoto when she stays with her relatives. Nori chooses to study there because she would like to know about her Japanese ancestors. The dialogue is captivating and fun, using emails and instant messages between her friends and family. Part of the reason this book engaged me was because it was in the third person most of the time, although Nori kept a diary, which keeps you imagining what she is feeling.

I personally had kept an ongoing interest as I read this book. It was good to even learn a bit about Japan and its history, as well as read the story.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Imagine, trapped on this Earth forever, having to avoid the one person you can never forget.

Imagine being dangerously in love with a boy who you've just met, and finding out who he is, could be the last thing you do.

Fallen by Lauren Kate is a novel involving 17 year old Lucinda "Luce" Price, who has just been sent to Sword and Cross boarding school,  and already has laid eyes on Daniel, a boy  who seems weirdly familiar. Lucinda and Daniel are really the perfect strangers. She befriends him, all without knowing who he really is and the secrets he holds. She begins to wonder; Why the weird encounters, the sudden disappearances, the subtle callings. Luce decides to investigate further with her best friend, Pennyweather "Penn", and in time they find out Daniel's ghastly secret. But what they don't know is that by finding out his past, they have opened  the gates of all evil, and it just might be too late to run.

It's dark and grey clouds seem to constantly fill the sky. It’s the 21st century, yet it seems they are stuck in a time loop at sword and cross. Lucinda price is a tall, dark haired girl with fair skin and dark eyes who just cant stop herself for falling for alluring bad boy, Daniel Grigori. Luce believes in the people around her, including Daniel. What allures her most, is why has he not shown here where he lives yet, or told her his family history? Luce is a determined character, yet naive. The real question following this novel, is will Luce ever be able to love such a hideous creature?

If you enjoy reading fantasy, romance and just a pinch of comedy, Fallen is the perfect book for you. It encases around the cliché of forbidden romance, but added is many twists. Fallen is a novel written in 3rd person, which in my opinion makes Fallen that much more captivating. Fallen is one of my truly favourite novels, and once you read it, I'm certain you will be just as captivated.