Young Samurai, The Way of the Warrior, Chris Bradford

When the Alexandria finally arrives to The Japans after 2 years at sea, Jack Fletcher  is overjoyed to finally see the fabled islands. But his opinion changes immediately when The Alexandria is attacked by Ninja’s in the middle of the night. Jack’s father is killed by the dangerous and famous ninja Dokugan Ryu, Dragon Eye, and Jack narrowly escapes with his life. When Jack wake up after the attack, he finds himself inside a Japanese house. Saved and adopted by Masamoto, a famous Samurai warrior in Japan, Jack is faced by the challenge of learning the Japanese customs and becoming a Samurai warrior at Masamoto’s school-Niten Ichi Ryu-One school of two heavens. But being the outsider he is, with light blond hair and azure blue eye’s he is singled out, called Gaijin-Barbarian, and bullied by Kazuki and his minions. He struggles to learn the Japanese language and longs for a proper English breakfast. At the same time, Jack has to protect his Fathers rutter, a guide that can lead to control over the sea. Constantly faced by sneers, taunts, insults not to mention all the Samurai training and the teachers who dislike Jack, he fights a hard battle that must be won.

I really enjoyed the Young Samurai series. I can’t wait for the 3rd book to come out. I was very fortunate to meet Chris Bradford at a workshop in my school. He read us an extract from this book doing all the actions with his real Samurai sword! The workshop was aimed towards secondary school, but the 5 of us from Primary got to talk face to face with the REAL Chris Bradford because we were leaving early. The workshop was about writing a book and a good tip:

1. Get straight into the action-When publishers publish books, they read the first page. If it’s good, they read the first chapter. If that’s good, you’re likely to get your book published.

I was really lucky to meet the author of one of the books I really enjoyed. My brother got Chris Bradford to sign our copy and dedicate it to himself. Maybe Chris will go to your school sometime.

Eragon, Christopher Paolini

Eragon is a 15 year old boy who was brought up by his Uncle Garrow. His mother abandoned him when Eragon was just a baby and living no life different to one on the farm, Eragon is extremely surprised when he finds a perfectly round sapphire stone while hunting in the Spine. Having failed his hunting trip, Eragon hopes that he will be able to sell the stone for a good price when the traders come around. When a trader tells him his stone is hollow, Eragon  is surprised. Even more when the stone turns out to be a Dragons egg! Naming his dragon Sapphira, after having visited Brom, the story teller for famous dragon names, Eragon keeps her a secret for as long as he can. When hooded men arrive in the village, nobody in Carvahall trusts these strangers. Some believe the strangers are here for Eragon’s stone and Eragon is urged to get rid of it. But when the strangers burn down the farm and kill Garrow with it, Eragon is forced to flee before the hooded men catch Sapphira. He runs away from Carvahall with Brom. Brom found out that Eragon was a dragon rider and teaches Eragon magic, sword fight, The Ancient Language and how to read. He explains to the young dragon rider all about the history of dragons, elves and dwarves. Hungry for revenge against the hooded figures, Ra’zac, Eragon and Brom follow them across the country where they encounter many dangers.

When I first read this book I couldn’t get past the first page as I partly didn’t understand a thing that was going on and I simply didn’t like the look of book itself so I made no efforts to read it. I tried again lately, because I’ve been into fantasy and dragons for a while now. My brother has read Eragon, Eldest and Brisngr. He enjoyed the first book but is getting a bit fed up with Christopher Paolini because he is taking so long to write the 4th book. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed Eragon and even though I’ve got tons of things to do, I always stop working to read Eragon even though I always get told off for it!

James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl

Aunt Spiker and Sponge are possibly the meanest people in the world. And poor James has to live with them. While doing all the chores, James dreams of going down to the beach where his parents used to live before they were gobbled up by an angry rhinoceros. One day, James meets a strange old man at the bottom of the garden. He gives James some magic crystals which will make extraordinary things happen to him. In his excitement to use the crystals, James trips over the roots of an old peach tree spilling the crystals everywhere. The old man had warned James that if he spilled the crystals they would work their magic on the nearest thing, whether it was a plant an insect or a human. Sure enough, a peach begins to grow and grow until it’s as big as a house. Aunt Spiker and Sponge, greedy as they are, decide to make themselves millionaires as people dying to see the giant peach travel across the country paying large amounts to get a glimpse of the giant fruit. James who was locked up in his room for the whole day, is sent outside to clear up the trash the tourists have left behind when something very peculiar happens. He finds a little door on the side of the peach. Curious to find out where it leads to, James crawls into the peach to meet many GIANT insects. But his troubles have only just begun…

James and the Giant Peach is a well written book, I have to say, but it didn’t strike me as a spectacular read. Maybe it’s just my point of view or it’s for younger readers to enjoy.

Dealing with Dragons, Patricia C. Wrede

Cimorene is an inproper princess. When she’s 12, her father finds out that she’s     been bullying the arms master into giving her fencing lessons. He explains to  Cimorene that fencing isn’t a proper hobby for a princess. This equals, the end of Cimorenes fencing lessons. The same thing happens for magic lessons, latin lessons, cooking lessons, economics lessons and juggling lessons. When she is 16, the King brings her to Sathem by the Mountains to stay for 3 weeks. Cimorene finds out from one of her maids that the King is planning to marry her to the Prince of Sathem by the Mountains. Cimorene most definitely does not want to marry the Prince. So she decides to run away with the advice of a frog to go into the forest and know on a cave door. Cimorene follows the frogs advice and soon, she becomes a dragons princess. A dragon named Kazul. Cimorene enjoys working for Kazul a lot more than learning dancing and etiquette. The only thing that bothers Cimorene now is the fact that she receives several knights a day demanding to rescue her. To solve her problems, Morwen, a witch friend of Kazul’s offers to help Cimorene and with some tea, they decide to put up a sign on the road to discourage the knights from coming. On her way to put the sign up, Cimorene meets a wizard who makes to pieces of a cliff turn invisible so Cimorene thinks she is stuck and offers to help her.
When Cimorene returns to Kazuls cave, she tells the Dragon all about what happened. At dinner, Kazul invites a couple of dragon friends over and they discuss the oily wizards trick over Cimorene’s chocolate mousse. They decide not to act against the wizards yet but when Cimorene is picking herbs in a sacred dragons garden, she spots a wizard. By now the Dragons are sure something fishy is going on. But with no proof, the dragons can do nothing about it…
This Book was really amusing and the plot was interesting to read. It’s an easy, light read for anyone to look at, although the blurb describes Kazul as a dangerous and powerful dragon! She’s more of a BFG if you ask me!

Harry Potter and the Sorcer’s Stone, J.K.Rowling

Harry Potter is a neglected boy who was left on the doorstep of his aunt and uncle when his parents died. His Aunt and Uncle say they died in a car crash but there’s more to it than Harry knows. Before his 11th birthday, he recieves a letter addressed to him for the first time. For some reason, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon seem worried when they read the letter, they don’t let Harry read it. More letters all addressed to Harry arrive the next day and Uncle Vernon burns and rips them all without even opening them. On Sunday, so many letters arrive that Uncle Vernon goes mad and decides to move to an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere. It’s Harry’s birthday that night. So, instead of getting more letter’s, a giant man by the name of Hagrid breaks down the front door and hands Harry the letter.  Harry reads in amazement that he’s been accepted to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Dumbfound, Harry also finds out that his parents were killed by the darkest wizard of all time, Lord Voldemorte, AKA You-Know-Who. He follows Hagrid to London where the giant shows him Diagon Alley, the wizard shopping center. Harry finds out about Gringotts the wizarding bank, where his parents left him their fortune, and where Hagrid picks up a tiny parcel for ‘ Hogwarts buissness’. Then, he brings Harry to King’s Cross Station, leaving him to find platform 9 3/4. Harry meets Ronald Weasley and they become good friends. Then, one night at Hogwarts, they get chased by Filch the Care Taker, into a restricted corridor ending up in a room together with a giant. three headed dog. Hermoine Granger, a muggle (non-magic) born, tells Harry and Ron that the dog was standing on a trapdoor, protecting something. They suspect Snape. The potions master who hates Harry. But they’re making a grave mistake…

I loved this book. I read the whole series and have to say I was a little dissapointed with the Deathly Hallows. But I loved the three first ones. The plot is very smart and interesting. I would advise it to any one .

Skulduggery Pleasant, Playing with Fire, Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant is back again! This time, Baron Vengeous has escaped from a high security prison in Russia. Along with Nefarian Serpine and Lord Vile, Baron Vengeous was one of Mevolent, the evil dark wizard’s, three generals. And now, with Vengeous on the loose determined to bring back the Faceless Ones, the world is in a state of chaos.  It’s a race between Valkyrie and Skulduggery against Baron Vengeous. Vengeous needs Lord Vile’s armour  and a final ingredient to waken the Grotesquery, a beast put together by using different parts of other creatures. A creature who is capable of calling to the Faceless Ones and open a portal to bring them back to our planet to rule over the human population… And it’s Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant’s job to stop him! (What else do they do apart from saving the world!)

Skulduggery Pleasant has to be one of the most gripping series I have ever read! Skulduggery is the perfect character, witty, strong, magic and , of course, he’s a really cool skeleton! Always followed by Valkyrie Cain, his athletic, stubborn magical apprentice, they make the perfect team to save the world. The book itself is quite gruesome as it has vampires, people who turn into spiders, killing people as well as reflections and the half-god, the Grotesquery. Having magic just makes the action-packed story even more interesting. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who needs a book to read. It’s an easy read, perfect to have before going to bed. You’d probably laugh yourself to sleep!

Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz

Alex Rider has a perfectly normal life apart from the fact that he lives with his uncle as his parents died when he was younger. Until the day his uncle dies in a car crash as he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. This surprise’s Alex as his Uncle was always strict about wearing a seat belt and he would never go through a round about unless Alex had a seat belt on. At Ian Rider’s funeral, Alex meet’s many people he doesn’t know and he spot’s a man with a gun! Confused, Alex returns home to find a van parked outside his Uncles home and his uncles study empty. He finds the address written on the side of the van and goes to explore. There, he finds a junk yard and his Uncles BMW. Nearly crushed to death, Alex manages to escape the place and when he returns home, he get’s a call from the Royal & General Bank, where his Uncle previously worked, and is told something that will change his life forever.

Herod Sayle is a Billionaire who invented a computer called the Stormbreaker. M16 are positive that he is up to no good. Herod Sayle is planning to give every school in England a Stormbreaker as a gift and the government are over the moon. As the government do nothing, M16 take action sending Alex to explore under the disguise of a competition winner, Felix Lester. Armed with a couple of gadgets, Alex must find a way to discover the billionaire’s evil plot and save England from a terrible fate.

I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to anyone who wants a book that makes them grip their seat tightly, and get transported to a completely different world. That’s how I felt when I read this book. When you look up from the pages you think ‘ Oh right, school. Shucks I wish I was true though I wouldn’t want to be Alex Rider right now!’ I love the way Anthony Horowitz adds humour with adventure; to me, that’s a great recipe for the perfect story.
I hope you decide to read this and if you do, well, GET READING!!!!!!!

Skulduggery Pleasant, Derek Landy

Stephenie Edgley has quite a normal life until her uncle, Gordon, dies. In his will, he gives Stephanie all his estates and a mysterious man named Skulduggery Pleasant a simple saying. The next night, Stephenie and her mum go to visit the estates and the car breaks down. Stephenie stays at the mansion while her mum goes to fix the car when a man knocks on her window asking to come in. When Stephenie disagrees, the man breaks the window and enters the house. Unexpectedly, a man comes to Stephenie’s rescue and hurls fireballs towards the other man. When Stephenie’s rescuer defeats the man and introduces himself as Skulduggery Pleasant, Stephenie gets shocked as he is well and truly a skeleton. As Stephenie becomes more acquainted with Skulduggery, she learns that there’s a whole world of magicians living on Earth. Skullduggery’s a wizard-detective who believes Gordon was murdered and did not die of a heart attack. So, Stephenie and Skullduggery set off on a journey to find out who killed Gordon and why.

Skulduggery Pleasant is an extremely funny book. I find it is well written and very original as a story. Derek Landy thinks of every thing and puts it together so well that when he mentions something you say” Oh yeah” or” That’s incredible!”. I have read the first three books of the series and they all carry the same style of writing. Humoristic and full of action.

The Black Stallions Filly, Walter Farley

Black Minx is a filly with a mind of her own which is why she gets along quite well Henry Dailey, the trainer of the two greatest horses ever to step on a race track, the Black and Satan. She was bred by the Black himself and a lovely mare named Elf. When Henry buys her to train with Alec Ramsay, she has had terrible life and has earned a stumped tail because of it. She has bad manners and unlike her great sire, she hates to run. However, Henry is certain he can make a Kentucky Derby horse out of her. With a couple of old handy tricks up his sleeve, he and Alec begin the impossible task of training a half mad, little black filly to become a Derby filly to be remembered in years to come. But Black Minx has a few tricks of her own..

I’ve read this book twice and really have enjoyed it. Walter Farley describes the feeling and scenery of a race track it’s almost impossible to stop reading! Walter Farley has written many stories about the Black Stallion and his adventure books about Alec Ramsay and the Black are very good although I very much prefer it when the books are based on horse races. Walter Farleys books have received many positive comments and all in all, they are exceptionally well written books.

Twilight, Stephenie Meyer

Bella Swan’s mother remarried a baseball player, so, Bella decides to go stay with her father in Forks, Washington where she joins high school. There, she finds out about the Cullens, a mysterious family who keep to themselves. Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and Edward are all drop-dead gorgeous. Bella quickly falls in love with Edward. Of course, as Jessica, one of Bella’s new friends puts it, the girls at school aren’t good enough for any of them.
During biology, Bella has to sit next to Edward Cullen where he acts as if he’s suffocating, gripping the table. Hard. Then, she catches him trying to change his biology class to another period. As soon as he sees her he walks out. Confused, Bella decides to ask him what what was wrong the next day. Unfortunately, he’s not there. Nor the day after that.
The next week he returns and introduces himself to her. Bella spots that his eyes have changed from black to gold.
The day after that, a sheet of ice spreads over Forks. When Bella gets to school, she sees Edward Cullen standing by his shiny volvo four cars down. Bella also notices that Charlie, her dad, has added snow chains on her truck. She inspects them carefully oblivious to the fact that a van has skidded on the ice and is heading towards her. As she stands up, she sees the van skidding towards her and is frozen in terror. Suddenly, Edward appears out of nowhere, pushing her out of the way and stopping the truck with his hand. Now, Bella is sure that Edward is not human. He got to her so fast and he stopped a car with his hand!

She soon finds out that her guess was correct as the Cullens are vampires. As Bella says: About three things I was absolutely positive. First Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him- and I didn’t know how dominent that part might be- that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

I really enjoyed this book, as Amazon said,” Best Book of the Decade… so far”. It encouraged me to read the rest of the saga. Though I think the book is better than the film, I am eager to watch New Moon, the second book in the saga. I agree to the fact that this is a girlie book although parts of it do involve adventure. For example, Bella’s best friend, Jacob Black, who turns out to be a werewolf. The vampires James and Victoria who want to kill Bella and the Volturi’s Guard ready to kill Bella (once again) if she does not become a vampire herself.

The book definately deserves 10/10 for romance, suspence and fantasy and 8/10 for action. Well done to Stephenie Meyer!