Presdales Carnegies Reading Group

Little Bang
Very well written. I liked Sid’s character far more then I expected to. I found Lucille very refreshing - she was honest to Mel, and really supported her when her parents wouldn’t. I learnt a lot about Ireland’s abortion laws and the options available, which was really eye-opening, as I didn't expect a modern book with such relatable characters to consider illegal abortion options with the Ireland law. Would recommend.

Maisie

The Things We Leave Behind
I really enjoyed this book as it was very captivating and I couldn't put it down! The main story was about a girl called Clem and her sister called Billie and their journey to escape the oppression Toby Knight was putting on immigrants throughout the UK. As the story progressed, the danger for the girls did too as they struggled to remain safe in the new and dangerous society. I also liked the changes in time, from during the girls' journey to Clem sitting in her therapist's office, telling her about what happened although the switches were a little confusing at times. I did really enjoy the fairytale-like story in italics that went alongside with the main story. I liked how it mirrored Clem's feelings and the similarities in the scenery but also the differences in plot and the exaggerated metaphors for Clem and Billie's situation. My favourite part of the story was the ending as it had me SOBBING. I would recommend this dystopian book as it is such a heartwarming story and was really well written.

Evie

The Things We Leave Behind
This book is for readers of novels that can be compared to ‘The Hunger Games’, through its use of action and themes of control and abuse of power. While this comparison can be made, this book is rather original compared to others in the dystopian genre through its scary resemblance to current events and society. This book also includes a shocking plot twist at the end which left me on the edge of my seat.

Lizzie

All That It Ever Meant
A wonderful book which is one of my favourite books I have read this year. The book is initially disguised as a coming of age novel on family but also explores themes such as loss and grief. This is skillfully done through the use of perspective from a characters that is used in a plot twist that is hinted at throughout the book skillfully while still shocking the reader. This book makes you smile, laugh and cry within the span of a chapter with its use of clever plot twists.

Lizzie

Glasgow Boys
A brilliant coming of age book that navigates Banjo and Finlay's pasts with themes of neglect and drugs. This book also explores types of relationship as well as family, with my favourite quote from the book being “My family is who I allow it to be”.

Lizzie

Little Bang
A well written book that has excellently excelled in its character development which makes the characters relatable for the reader which enables the reader to sympathise with Mel and Sid's situations, as well sympathise with the themes of teen pregnancy and abortion within the book as a whole. A wonderful and emotive book!

Lizzie

King of Nothing
This book was a brilliant read. It deals well with themes of toxic masculinity, and shows how much of an effect having a "reputation" can have on teenagers. Although I found it hard to get into the flow of reading it at the beginning due to the amount of slang language used, I got past that quickly and grew to love it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested!

Lara

Treacle Town
An incredibly written novel by Brian Conaghan which excellently explores challenging themes such as gang violence and loss. This book is for older readers looking for an absorbing yet heartbreaking novel.

Lizzie

Glasgow Boys
I did enjoy this book, I read it quickly and it kept my attention. I liked the concept and Margaret McDonald is a good writer! Okay, just had to say that because my book reviews tend to come off quite negatively. My biggest criticism of this book is that it can't seem to decide whether it's in second person or in a diary format. Let me explain: each perspective is in third person, "he"; "Finlay"; "Banjo"; but then, occasionally, like this example from early in the book, it'll suddenly shift to being like a diary in a dork diaries kind of way: "What. What. Finlay did not just imply he literally swallowed his own vomit." This is from page 57, and when I read it it really broke my immersion within the story because for the rest of the time, the narrator is impartial and is just relaying the story, so why did it get /embarrassed/ and feel the need to tell everyone it was embarrassing? Instead of that, McDonald could've written "Finlay flushed with embarrassment. He regretted implying he'd swallowed his own vomit.". That probably isn't great, but it doesn't break my immersion. In conclusion, these occasional breaks were distracting and disruptive to my experience reading this book. I found both characters compelling, but it bothered me that Banjo seemed to get a lot more pages than Finlay. The amount of pages both of them got are probably realistically similar but Banjo's perspective always bored me just a bit more so it just feels like Finlay had a lot less pages. As i was reading it, some lines just felt like they were written to be intentionally profound, and because of that it reminded me of TikTok poetry. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it made me cringe a little bit. Here's a few of my favourite quotes: "It's such a beautiful thing to hold somebody" Finlay "What an experience to have a body. This thing that needs watered and fed and rested, is yanked around all day to various places and into various poses. This unreality of it all overwhelms him sometimes: that it's only a collection of cells and tissues and electrical synapses. /I don't exist/, the waves would come. He wanted to run out into the street and shout to anyone /please just touch me, tell me i'm alive, make sure I exist/." Finlay "Finlay realises he's resented everybody who hasn't experienced his very specific pain." Finlay

Ellie