Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

In the book Throne of Glass, we meet Celaena Sardothien, the continents greatest assassian. 

After being imprisoned for a year, she befriends the most unlikeliest of people, The Crown Prince, Dorian Havilliard, and The Captain of the Royal Guard, Chaol Westfall. She is to compete for the Prince in a royal competition, trained by the Captain himself and is to win. Her friendship with Dorian, Chaol and a Princess from another kingdom helps her regain the strength that she desperately needs after her time imprisoned. Celaena’s journey during the book raises many questions about her past and what it holds for her future. 

The book is an excellent read and shows the power of friendship and strong minded people are able to  
accomplish.

Izabella Momi Yr 11

Book Review

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas

The Assassin’s Blade is the prequel to the series Throne of Glass. 

Here we discover the life before Celaena Sardothien was sent to the prison camp. In a range of short stories, we get to know her soft side for an unlucky maiden, like herself, her compassion for the 200 slaves she rescued, her caring nature when it comes to new friends, and her loving attitudes and undying loyalty towards her oldest friend and closest companion. This book gives different perspectives of Celaena and her actions towards different situations, how her bravery and fearlessness always help her achieve greatness. It has the right amount of friendship, rivalry, love and loss.  

The book is a perfect beginning to a wonderful series.

Izabella Momi Yr 11

Book Review

More Than This by Patrick Ness

This book utterly destroyed me. I cried like a baby. It’s my favourite.

More Than This is an incredibly touching story about a boy named Seth who,  

for all intents and purposes, dies. Then he wakes up alone and dishevelled.  

It takes you on a journey through the perspective of a teenager who doesn’t  

understand anything that’s happening. Nor, more importantly, why it’s  

happening.

The beauty of this book is that yes, it is confusing, yes, you may not be  

satisfied, but it conveys a deep message about our humanity and what  

we’re capable of. It’s heart wrenching and heartwarming all at once.

I suggest reading this book if you find yourself asking, ‘what am I doing here?’

Maybe More Than This will help you answer that question.

“Real life is only ever just real life. Messy. What it means depends on how  

you look at it. The only thing you’ve got to do is find a way to live  

there.”

Isabella Year 10

Scarlet and Ivy: The Whispers in the Wall by Sophie Cleverly

This book is a great continuation of the amazing Scarlet and Ivy series. In this book, new challenges and adventures arrive, as the twins are reunited.But not all is fun and games. Miss Fox may be gone, but someone equally as sinister and evil has returned, the headmaster, Mr Bartholomew, who is making things difficult for the twins at Rookwood. Things at going missing at the Rookwood school and Scarlet and Ivy are suspected of being the culprits. The twins need to clear their name, and get to the bottom of what really is happening. During their searches, they uncover secrets held in the walls, and vital information, including some about their mother that they never even thought was true!

I really enjoyed this book. It was great to learn more about the twins, and uncover big secrets that will change them forever! I loved how this book was a thrilling adventure, full of twists and turns that I never expected! 

I recommend reading the first book first, so readers can get to know the characters, and what took place before the book.
 
I recommend this book to ages 10-14.
5/5 stars!

Great book of the series, it is great to read about the twins and have unanswered questions about the first book, answered!

Cassidy Borst Year 7

Book Review

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas

Kingdom of Ash is a book that I loved very dearly.

I felt that it had the right amount of sadness and happiness all throughout the book. 

This book is the conclusion to the Throne of Glass series and it was amazing to see  everyone’s story slowly come to together and form an ending in the best way  possible. 

The story is about friendship, and how it can be strengthened in times of sadness, how people will come together and give up everything for the love of their people and their friends. Aelin and Rowan embark on their greatest adventure yet, alongside everyone who has travelled the journey  
with them.

Izabella Year 11

Book Review

Fantastic beasts and where to find them by J K Rowling

The book’s action is set in New York in 1926, where the dark wizard Grindelwald, wanted for multiple murders across Europe, is thought to have shifted. Newt Scamander, our bumbling hero, has arrived in New York with a case full of fantastic beasts. Newt is a more sophisticated version of Hagrid in that he is a magizoologist who wants to teach the wizarding community that the subjects of his study should be protected, not feared. 
 
It should surprise no one, then, that within hours of his arrival, many of the creatures escape and run amok over the city.In his quest to recover them, Newt gets three companions—a No-Maj (American for “muggle”), an ex-Auror with a heart of gold and her sister who can read minds. Add to that the American version of the ministry of magic, struggling to keep the community hidden from Muggles, and a group that is determined to unearth witches, and you have a rollicking story that barely gives the reader time to breathe.

Rowling’s prodigious imagination is hard at work, conjuring up one fantastical creature after another. Swooping Evil, Occamy, Diricawl and other names are accompanied by descriptions no less magical in nature. Some, like the Bowtruckle and Niffler, are familiar to us from Potter’s Care of Magical Creatures lessons. Fitting, considering Newt writes one of the textbooks assigned to Potter in his first year at Hogwarts.

It may take more than a few pages to settle into the story, given that it is written at the pace of the movie, but Rowling knows better than most how to draw her readers in. For this reader, the entry of the endearing Queenie, the aforementioned mind-reading sister, did the trick. From that point, pages were turned faster than the Niffler pockets shiny things.

It will surprise no one that Rowling has penned yet another thrilling tale.

Sofia Year 9

Book Review

Scarlet and Ivy The lost twin by Sophie Cleverly

Scarlet and Ivy: the lost twin was a really good book. I enjoyed it very  
much and I think it is one of the best books I have read.

It tells us a story about how a girl called Ivy goes to Rookwood School to  
fill in her sisters' place after she apparently died. Ivy looks under her  
sisters old bed and finds a hole in the mattress with her sisters diary  
inside. After Ivy reads the diary she finds out that Scarlet knows about  
why Ivy is here and is giving her clues.

In the end, Ivy works out where Scarlet is and goes to look for her. The  
story ends in a way that makes me want to read the next book because it  
ends with Ivy at the place Scarlet is at and someone telling Ivy what is  
going to happen next.

It is a book about mystery and adventure.

Recommended for people aged 10 to 15 and like to read mystery novels.

Isabella B 7U