Year 7 Book Prize

Every year I ask my Year 7 Reading Club to choose the best books they have read over the last two years. After much debate we finally whittled a very long list down to six. Here are the final six. The students will now try to read all of the books and vote for their ultimate favourite.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Reckless by Cornelia Funke

Warrior Cats: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

I LOVED this book. I started reading  it at 8.30 one evening telling myself I would only read for half an hour. At 10.30 I was still reading. What a page turner!

13 year old Kyra lives with her family in a strict religious community. At the start of the book she reveals that she has already rebelled by finding a mobile library (reading is forbidden) and by falling for a boy. Her own family seems happy (her father has 3 wives and many children) but it soon becomes obvious that all is not well in the community. The leader (The Prophet) is a tyrant who controls every aspect of his follower’s lives. When he informs Kyra that she must marry her 60 year old uncle Kyra knows she must try to escape.

A thrilling read which had me gripped until the very end!

Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace

This is haunting, disturbing and sad but it’s also unforgettable.

Bobby leaves England in the 1980s and goes to Zimbabwe with his parents where he starts at boarding school. He soon meets school bully Ivan. At first he avoids Ivan but then realises the only way to escape his bullying is to befriend him. Ivan is unstable and unpredictable and Bobby soon finds himself caught up in events he does not feel comfortable with.

Even though I found this a difficult read (it is very violent and the racism is upsetting) at the same time I think it is very well written. The characters are well rounded, they are bad and do unexcusable things  but we soon see it’s the war that made them that way. The racism and brutality Bobby comes accross at school seem hideous and alien to me but I know it is based on fact which makes this book all the more disturbing.

A difficult read but worth the effort.

Review – White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

In the present, Rebecca moves to a quiet seaside town where she meets a strange girl called Ferelith. Ferelith shows her around and tells Rebecca  about the local legends connected to the old house.

Meanwhile, another story is running parallel to this. As the girls investigate the legends we are let in on what actually happened.

There is some beautiful writing in this book and some moments of true terror. However, I felt that it slowed down towards the end. An enjoyable read but maybe not a great one.

Review – The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I absolutely LOVED this.  It’s the best book for young people I’ve read in a very long time.

When Bod’s family are murdered he is rescued by the ghosts at his local graveyard. They decide to raise him and to keep him safe from the men who are trying to kill him. The book is basically the story of Bod’s unusual upbringing but all the time, in the background, is the threat of danger. Who exactly killed Bod’s family and why are they still after him? Will they succeed in their terrible plans to kill him?

This book is funny, sad and frightening and I would heartily recommend it.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Without a doubt this is the best book aimed at teens I have read in ages!

Nina is a vampire and has been one since the 1970s. She lives at home with her mother and attends a weekly support group for reformed vampires. The vampires get together to discuss the various problems they have and generally their lives are rather boring. Until that is, one of them is murdered! Nina and her friends try to track down the vampire slayer with the aim of talking to him and making him see that vampires are actually really nice people. In doing this however they uncover an even bigger threat to their existence.

The bumbling vampires are all great characters and make a change from the action vampires so popular in todays novels. A fantastic, funny book that I would highly recommend.

Recently read books

I’ve not had a great deal of time for reading lately but I have read a couple of good books I want to recommend.

Firstly “The Enemy” by Charlie Higson is great! It’s set in an England where everyone over the age of 14 has succumbed to a terrible disease that turns them into dangerous zombies. The surviving kids must fight the zombies for survival. It’s fast paced, exciting and difficult to put down. My only criticism is that it is rather violent but I still enjoyed it and can’t wait for the sequel.

The other book I have enjoyed is Meg Rosoff’s “The Bride’s farewell”. This book tells the tale of a girl who leaves her fiance on the morning of her wedding. She sets off accross Salisbury Plain on horse back taking her young, mute brother with her. The book has a magical quality that is quite entrancing.

I am currently reading Siobhan Dowd’s “Solace of the Road” about a young girl who runs away to Ireland to find her real mother. I am about half way through and thoroughly enjoying it so far!

Quick Suggestion

Did anyone watch “Day of the Triffids” on TV at Christmas? If you did you should definitely read the book, it’s amazing!

Review – The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

This is a wonderful book set during and just after World War Two.  Juliet is a writer but can’t think what to write about. By chance she receives a letter from someone on Guernsey and starts a correspondence with him. He and other residents all write to Juliet and tell her about their experiences on Guernsey under German Occupation. They tell her about their book club and how it helped to get them through the bad times.

This is a lovely story, it is romantic, exciting and very moving. I think upper school students would really enjoy it.

Review – Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

This is definitely one for Twilight fans.

Grace was attacked by wolves as a young girl and ever since has been obsessed with them. She watches the pack of wolves in the forest outside her house every winter. One wolf especially holds her attention.

When Grace meets Sam they instantly fall in love partly due to the fact that they have met before. In fact, Grace has often seen Sam, just not always when he was human!