Book Review

Inside the Tiger by Hayley Lawrence

Inside the tiger is one of my favourite books all the time.

It tells us about Bel -a sympathetic character- who writes to a Death Row  prisoner to get out of an assignment. Now the prisoner [Micah] has written  back and tells her about his life inside a Thai prison. Slowly and slowly  she begins to fall for the person who has no future.  Will Bel lose him?   

This is an epic book that is well written, and my rating is 5 stars!   

Inside the tiger is a book about love, loss and hope. 
14/15+ Recommended (death row is no joke) and it may disturb some  sensitive readers. It has explicit scenes!!

Louciana 7S

Book Review

The Witch's Tears by Elizabeth & Katherine Corr

The sequel to 'The Witch's Kiss', Merry is struggling with the aftermath of a certain loss. Her brother Leo is also struggling and Merry is doing all she can to help him, but everything Merry does seems to make things worse for Leo. 

This novel takes place almost three months after the events of the first book. I'm surprised by the difference and improvement from the first book - which was uneventful. Although this novel felt like a filler story and the beginning felt like it didn't go anywhere, it still had the magic that made the book interesting. The characters progressed into strong and more mature people and new characters are introduced as well.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this second instalment. This was an improvement from the first book, except for the cliffhanger ending. The ending bothered me, however, it drew my interest to continue to read the next instalment.

Strongly recommend reading the first book, even though it's a dull story.

Rianna Yr 10

Goodreads Choice Awards

The Goodreads Choice Awards are up to the semi final round. You are able to have your say on which books make it to the finals by casting your vote now. 

Have a look at the following categories to cast your vote.

Best Graphic Novels and Comics

Young Adult Fiction

Young Adult Fantasy

Middle Grade and Children's

Book Review

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Seventeen-year-old Wendy Everly lives with her aunt and brother in an attempt to control the chaos of her life. Her mother tried to kill her on her 6th birthday, and since then her life has been nothing but disastrous. But with the help from Finn Holmes, she uncovers a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening.

I wasn't able to connect with the character that well, Wendy is whiny and annoying. It felt as if she was never the heroine in this story. The plot was a bit disappointing, it was inconsistent and weak. The progression of the character was slow and somewhat uneventful. There were scenes that weren't really necessary. The most interesting parts were the last few chapters of the book and some suspenseful parts but there's nothing really to it.

Overall, I wouldn't read this book again. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy cliches and troll stories.

Rianna Yr 10

Book Review

Scarlet and Ivy - The lost twin by Sophie Cleverly

Scarlet and Ivy The Lost Twin was a great introduction to the Scarlet and Ivy series. This book centres around Ivy, who has been told she was to join Rookwood School, a creepy boarding school for girls, in place of her twin sister Scarlet, who is believed to be dead. But there's a catch, Ivy has to pretend to be Scarlet, act like her, think like her and become her. At Rookwood, she meets unlikely friends and finds her sisters diary. In it lays entries from her sister, telling Ivy to look for clues Scarlet has left for her. Is Scarlet really dead? If not, where is she? Ivy goes on a thrilling adventure to solve the riddle of why her sister disappeared so suddenly and during it, proves to herself that she is much braver than she ever knew.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it had a great plot full of mysteries and adventure, with a few creepy, thrilling parts added in!

I loved how Ivy was a twin, and how as a reader, I shared the same hope with her that her twin might be alive? But is she? Read the book to find out!


I recommend this book for ages 10-14


I give this book 5 stars.

Amazing book full of mysteries, friendship and secrets! I couldn't put it down!
Cassidy Borst 8C

Little Brother by Alan Baillie

Little brother is a book full of inspiration and hope. This story starts off with Vithy, who is separated from his elder brother whilst attempting to flee the  Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

They run away, trying to escape from the soldiers. They manage to get away, but not for long. Mang has advice for getting away: "Follow the lines... to the border". Suddenly they are separated as they run for their life and Vithy is left alone in the forest.

Vithy searches for food that night and starts travelling to Cambodia's border. As he is travelling he meets a boy called Ang. They form and friendship and go on an adventure to find Vithy's older brother.

This book is a well-written story and is suitable for 13 years and up. Little brother creates lots of suspense and I found it quite interestingly. I mainly enjoyed the perspective of the characters. I thought that the main character Vithy was really inspirational. My favourite part was when Vithy saved Sorei a young girl in the forest.

Louciana 7S

Book Review

Love, Simon by Becky Albertalli

Love, Simon is an amazing book which pulls at your heartstrings throughout all 300 pages! I truly believe anyone of any age will love this humorous romance.

Simon Spier is your average 17-year-old boy who drinks way too much iced coffee with his best friends except he is hiding something big that once it comes out can’t be taken back, Simon is gay. Simon is content with being gay but he is scared that everything around him will implode if he says it out loud but when a mysterious boy called “Blue” comes out through email on the school blog Simon finally believes he can have a great love story.

As I read through the novel I loved how Simon was not only dealing with school and family but he was also trying to figure out what his feelings meant to him because it added depth to the story and characters. I particularly liked the ending of the novel because it felt like Simon had finally accepted himself because Simon reveals that even though he thought he was being himself he really wasn’t and that just makes the end of the novel so much better! This novel is fantastic because its main focus is that Simon is Homosexual and in a world where sexual prejudice is still a very prominent topic it is at the forefront of every novel about the LGBTQ+ community. This novel portrays how far society has come with its acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community perfectly and I loved that aspect of the book. I really do love this book it is a clever coming-of-age story about the stress of acceptance and love, an amazing read for anyone in search of a romantic- comedy!

A well-deserved rating of 5/5!

Erin Year 8