The Perse Carnegians

The Boy I Love
The boy I love was a book made in heaven for me. My favourite period in history is WWII and I love a gay romance book! I cheered the boys on from the start. I found the fact that Stephen’s trauma caused him to try and protect Danny extremely touching. I did think that the toad and the snake could have been mentioned a bit more with their real names as it confused me further through the book as to whose nickname was whose. The book showed just how hard it was to be gay in those times but how people still manged to find love. I think it raises awareness to an issue and shows how lucky we are to live in society that (mainly) accepts us for who we are. The characters were very well thought through and had amazingly deep backstories that were dropped in bit by bit to explain things, like how Danny didn't want to shoot the man and purposely missed.

Nina

Wolf Siren
I strongly disliked Wolf Siren by Beth O'Brien. The story is about a girl who can talk to wolves, which sounds alright but I found it slow and confusing. Most parts felt like nothing was happening, and it very quickly got boring waiting for something exciting to happen. The writing was sometimes hard to follow and I had to reread a few bits. There were a few interesting moments, for example when she first used her ability to connect with her wolves. But not enough for me to actually enjoy the book. Overall I think that this book would be better for people who enjoy slower and unreal books.

Harry K

Ghostlines 
Book Review for Ghostlines by Katya Balen. I disliked this book as I thought that the sentences were too long and it seemed a bit ridiculous how the new boy, Albie, hated everything that Tilda liked but then suddenly fell in love with "The Hideaway" which was admittedly quite cool. I thought that Albie seemed a lot like a moody teenager and then turned into a normal kid when he discovered the hideaway. I also thought that the ending was extremely dissatisfying as Rowan just randomly turned up at the right place at the right time to save them from the oncoming waves and sea. And also when Rowan just went back to his home it seemed a bit savage to his family and friends on Ayrie. Overall, this book was OK and I would give it a 4/10.

Harry K

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I thought that the book "Chronicles Of A Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness was a funny but rather odd book. I thought that Zeke just having a country on his knee seemed fantasised and unreal. Also when he was a Hall Monitor he was complaining that it was only because he was a lizard and that he didn't want to. Then when he got his Hall Monitor Sash taken away he was very annoyed and upset. It also seemed a bit unlikely that the Hall Monitor Sashes could shoot lasers suddenly. But I thought that some aspects of this book was quite funny. Overall, I thought that this book was very unreal and clearly impossible but I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I was younger.

Harry K

The Boy I Love
Lieutenant Stephen Wraxall, aged 19, is back to action after injury during World War One. There he meets Private Danny McCormick, a young lad who just joined. Stephen immediately gets Danny to be his servant-soldier. Eventually these two form a strong, steady friendship, but it turns into something more deep, and forbidden back then. But then Stephen and Danny were forced to fight in the Battle of the Somme by their corrupt leaders. I enjoyed this book a lot because it was touching and contained some action-filled scenes (and possibly funny!) such as some of the lads getting punished just for taking pictures using a camera, which was forbidden back then. My favourite character would be Danny because he was funny, easy-going (although sometimes on the serious side!) and reliable to Stephen throughout the war. Finally, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good read and would like to learn a bit more about World War One.

Ibsan

The Boy I Love
This was a historically accurate book which combines the power of a war story, where the characters experienced the brutalities of war, as well as a love story between two boys. The main characters, Stephen and Danny, embark on a journey into the trenches, and on the way they realise the cruel facts of war as they fall in love. In my opinion, this was a very touching and real story about world war one. I found many of the characters believable and interesting, even the annoying Captain Beddowes. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, however I would only recommend to older audiences- about 12 years old.

Bowen

Wolf Siren
Wolf siren is a twist on the classic fairy tale of little red riding hood, albeit without all of the same characters. It also includes signs of feminism and a dictatorship. This is, in my opinion, done in a very well way. Additionally, I liked the setting and the feeling of the book. It feels warm and right in a way. The plot twist at the end, where Aerona dies, was done where I felt sad but thought it was a good addition to the book. Overall, I very much enjoyed this book because of the well done story and interesting characters in the book - would recommend to others.

Bowen

Birdie
First of all, to get it out of the way, I hated this book. I hated how the main character, Birdie, acted. She cared more about an old pony than any one in the entire village. She was stubborn and a troublemaker, constantly still endangering herself by going down the pit mine. She was childish, constantly crying about things. However, I did enjoy the rest of the book. The gradual acceptance that Birdie was a different race by the villagers felt good and reassuring. Still, the main character and the way she felt and acted really held down the book for me.

Bowen

Wolf Siren
Within a page, I found myself completely hooked on this book. Red felt magic and so did her village. My feelings were right, how the author even thought about adding the magic to the classic that is Little Red Riding Hood, I will never know. What I do know, is that it added the cherry on the cake. This book was sweet and deeply thought out, it felt as if the author had planned it rather than just started writing; there were no surprises or random bits of information chucked at you, it was just well explained bit by bit. I thought through all the characters closer to the end, running through my head who could have killed the wolf. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book.

Nina

The Boy I Love
The boy I love was a book made in heaven for me. My favourite period in history is WWII and I love a gay romance! I cheered the boys on from the start. I found the fact that Stephen’s trauma caused him to try and protect Danny extremely touching. I did think that the toad and the snake could have been mentioned a bit more with their real names as it confused me further through the book as to who was who. The book showed just how hard it was to be gay on those times but how people still manged to find love. I think it raises awareness to an issue and shows how lucky we are to live in society that (mainly) accepts us for who we are.

Nina

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines ranked high up in my rating of each of the books. The plot is creative, engaging and unpredictable, the characters are deep, realistically complicated and relatable, and the style of writing was very good indeed. One of my favourite elements of this book is the way the author manages to write in such a way that most of the text is description (and interesting, detailed description at that!) instead of dialogue alongside the fact that the main character is very chatty and bubbly. I liked the added touch of putting speech in italics instead of speech marks, and could relate to a lot of the feelings the characters felt, sympathising with them the whole way through. Very well written; I highly recommend.

Sophie

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
The Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody was a fun, lighthearted book to read with sweet characters. I would recommend the book to a slightly lower age group than mine, say ages 8-10, but it was a good read for a sunny afternoon when I just wanted to relax, and it brightened my day significantly with its wit and whimsy. The idea of having a country on one's knee made me laugh, and there was a definite sense of satisfaction when the bullies were beaten. I also enjoyed the humorous illustrations running through the book. All in all, a playful and fun read.

Sophie

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now... by Jason Reynolds is a thoughtful and funny novel about a teenager called Neon, who is about to take an important step in his relationship with his girlfriend. The story is told through his memories and reflections, which makes it feel very personal and honest. I enjoyed the way the author explored relationships, family, and growing up in a realistic way. The characters were believable, and the writing style was engaging. Overall, I would recommend this book to mature Year 8 readers because it is relatable, emotional, and makes you think about the challenges of becoming an adult.

Ryan

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines by Katya Balen is an exciting and emotional story about a girl called Tilda who lives on a small island. I enjoyed the book because it combines adventure, friendship, and mystery. Tilda meets a new boy called Albie, and together they go on a journey that changes them both. The island setting is described really well, making it easy to imagine being there. I liked how the characters felt realistic and how the story explored themes of family, belonging, and change. Overall, I would recommend Ghostlines to Year 8 readers because it is engaging, thoughtful, and full of adventure.

Ryan

Wolf Siren
Honestly, it took me a long time to read Wolf Siren. I found it quite exhausting and, for some reason, slightly boring to sit through the story. To be fair, Wolf Siren is actually a really interesting read. The themes of sexism tackled by Beth O'Brien were certainly well explored and the world of wolves and women made sense, was believable. The plot was extremely well-structured, and the book was in no way hurried, at least to me. The main cast of characters were pretty like-able, and I understood the motivations behind their actions. Other than that, I feel the book had a lot more potential and a lot more could have been done with the retelling of the fairy-tale and the relevant ideas and themes presented in their little society. The characters themselves, although well-written, could have been expanded upon a lot more and the relationships in the story felt slightly forced and unrealistic. For example, Red and her mother don't have a great relationship and it's expanded upon slightly, with the way they slowly start communicating with each other more. However, I feel the problems of their relationship could have been explored better and the resolving of this wasn't quite clear to me. Also, Red's vision problem was highly confusing to me because it appears randomly at some points and then suddenly disappears again and Red has perfect vision. We weren't even introduced to the vision problem at the beginning of the story, which is why it threw me off when of the other characters commented rudely about it randomly. Honestly, I didn't love this book but I wouldn't say I disliked it either. I liked it, the themes represented by it and the overall story-line and resolution, yet I also feel it had a lot more potential that could have been tapped into. Overall, an intriguing read.

Roosha

The Boy I Love
Personally, I thought the book "The Boy I Love" was a beautiful novel, diving into the taboos of World War i - for men being gay - and the gradual progression of the deep relationship between Stephen and Danny. Throughout the book, we see the development of the war (and moreover the Somme) but staying true to the main key factor in the book - a romance. In many respects, it reminded me of many books I have heard before (such as Morpurgo's "War Horse" among many), but what excited me the most in the novel was the combination of Danny and Stephen's love to each other, drastically contrasted to the calamity and hate shown in the Second World War. I think the novel really hones down on those in the war that have either been misrepresented in culture or simply disregarded; William Hussey truly puts a light on these beautiful individuals, giving them the respect they deserve, through every page, sentence and word. I'm excited what Hussey will be able to produce to us a few years down the line!

Ryan

Ghostlines 
When I first opened Ghostlines, it immediately intrigued me with its starting sentence. Who did Tilda see? Who left what island? I was hooked. Ghostlines is a story about a girl named Tilda and her island, the love for her island, and the secrets hidden beneath it. Honestly, the concept itself isn't a very original idea, and I've seen it in many other books before. However, Katya Balen took this overused idea and added something to it that made me genuinely enjoy reading the story, much like my experience with Popcorn. I found the overall concepts of the book highly interesting: exploring loss from different points of view, and finding new friendships. Both the main characters are experiencing loss in the story. Tilda mourns over her older brother leaving; Albie misses his old home, his old friends back in the city where he used to live. Through each other and a secret island, they both find friendship and build trust with each other which I found really made the story more realistic. The plot was very cohesive and the storyline was well-structured. The criticisms I have for this book are few and far between. First, the long, winding sentences. They really dragged on for a while and I found myself losing the plot at some points. However, they realistically represented how a young child's mind runs on with thoughts. This may just be a personal preference problem though! Second, I feel the relationships between the characters weren't delved into as much as they could have been done so. The main friendship between Tilda and Albie was overall satisfying, yet I feel there was more potential for the relationship to be explored. The characters themselves were really well-presented, but I feel the relationships tying all the characters together could've used a little more work. Overall, a satisfying read!

Roosha

Wolf Siren
This is my favourite book out of all the Carnegie's and so I rate this book 4.8/5 which is very high but is because ->has so much energy ->i read it in a day because I just couldn't put it down ->it is such a good adaptation I like it more than the original ->the only think that marked it down was that it wasn't clear that she was blind ->It was such a good book I would recommend it to everyone ->It is so good that it is all ages in my opinion ->I love a little murder ->ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS

Arya

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
I think for a while this was my favourite book until the last one I read because that was outstanding but this is one of the best books I have read and therefore I rate this book 4.5/5 because ->I love it going backwards in time ->I would have preferred if he had added in the bits his sister says he has done ->The moral being that sometimes people feel the same as you do is very heart-warming ->I would like if they added the sides and have each persons thoughts like Not Going To Plan ->Overall, a very intriguing book. I love it.

Arya

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines was one of my favourite Carnegies. I liked how Tilda really loved the island but Albie and Rowan see the island differently. This book could possibly help children who are maybe moving house or changing schools. It embraces change which I really liked. The magic of the Island was very cool and I found the caves especially magical. There was a real sense of danger towards the end when Tilda and Albie were stranded on the island and Rowan saved them. There was lots of tension while the storm was raging and Albie runs away. It was very heartwarming when Tilda figures out he was just trying to help the Puffins.

Nathen

Birdie
I did not really like Birdie, I found the storyline very slow moving and boring. There was almost no sense of action until right at the end where there is an explosion. My favourite character was probably Mr Duke even though he is not a human but a horse. I like him because he is disciplined and trustworthy unlike many of the other characters. I liked that there was a strong anti racism vibe because racism is a challenge some people still face today. I thought that the ending was very good and that there was a good build up and a big contrast to the rest of the book.

Nathen

The Boy I Love
I find this book very romantic and therefore rate this book a 3.5/5 because ->it is supposed to be a war book but it is too much about them to have anything about war ->it felt very artificial like it had an ai backbone style even though I know it is not ->The storyline could've been a bit clearer in my personal opinion ->I feel like there could of had been a bit more about the tunnels and how they figured it out ->The book could have been tweaked in a few places to be a bit clearer ->Overall, this was a good read

Arya

Wolf Siren
Wolf siren is inspired by the well-known fairy tale of little red riding hood. Though the wolves here are portrayed differently to the big bad wolf that red riding hood’s grandmother. Here, everything is mysterious and full of magic. The forest here are shown to have secret capabilities and though in the book, women are more connected to the forest than men, it’s the men that are holding all the power. Especially the mayor, who doesn’t really do anything, gets treated with much more respect than more hard-working people. The ending is quite sad, but overall, this is a really good book.

William

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
24 seconds from now was a book that also had a different layout, in reverse order, skipping back in time in units of 24. This was a bit repetitive and was just Neon’s family talking to him about the future with a few other things going on but it still made sense. It wasn’t very exciting as it was just talking about feelings most of the time. It was a bit boring at times but it’s acceptable and doesn’t fall into the category of bad books. This is supposed to be for people a bit older though, around year 9-10.

William

The Boy I Love
The boy I love is a book harder to read than the others. Depicted in WW1, Stephen is sent back to Britain with an injury where he meets Danny, a new guy. It was hard to read at first but became easier as the book goes on. Stephen doesn’t even realise he likes Danny until about halfway through and there is a lot of things trying to stop them being together. For example, the war and strict captains and colonels makes it very hard for them to be together. Stephen thinks his life is going to be miserable because the effect war had on him but seeing Danny makes him feel non-ghostly, like he’s more alive again.

William

Popcorn
Popcorn was about panic attacks, trying to look clean and worrying. Andrew just has a very bad day at school and the thing that he fears the most, a panic attack at school happens. Things build on each other very quickly and it’s too much for Andrew to bear. Everything is just him experiencing a bad day and talking about it with his doctor. It had some funny moments, but it was not very exciting through the book. Though not bad, it’s not as good as some of the other books in the shortlist.

William

Not Going To Plan
Not going to plan had a different but easy to read verse layout that shows the story through 2 viewpoints which is more interesting than the average layout. This shows everyone has their own rights and you need others to agree if you want to do something. It lacked places which would have made it more exciting. Though not my favourite, it’s not bad. But some words I didn’t understand and would recommend for older people; approximately for year 10.

William

Ghostlines 
In Ghostlines, it shows how much a person can change after leaving somewhere they know to go to a new and possibly different place. This book shows that some people need time to adapt to their new surroundings and maybe with some help and encouragement from others (though it might not be easy at first), you can fit in and do well too. For the book, there was a lot of actions going on and it was very confusing about who Rowan (who was revealed very lately) was. This book had some drawbacks but was overall very good.

William

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Chronicles of a lizard nobody is a book which I think is a bit different from the rest of the shortlist. This shortlist was more about accepting things, changing times and differences between people, this was more of a junior book about school rivalry (which doesn’t mean it’s bad though). Some bits were confusing, like when the book tells everyone, the main character, Zeke the lizard, has the country of France on his knee and what the black dog was doing in his mother’s bedroom while his mother was being strange. Despite these, it was a funny book and has a nice ending to it.

William

Birdie
Birdie is a book where someone is pulled out of somewhere they’ve been for a long time. Birdie is someone who talks a lot and gets sent from an orphanage to a remote countryside village. At first, she gets bullied and runs away to a mineshaft where she meets a horse. She later proves herself and gains the respect of some other people. The thought of someone taking the horse away is enough to make her leave. This book shows that fitting in sometimes requires action from you because later, she and the horse rescue some people trapped in the mineshaft before she gets respected a lot more. Overall, I think it’s a nice book and is good for around year 6-8.

William

Ghostlines 
This book was a really interesting and I love the description of the fairy pools and the island's hills. I like the comparison of Tilda's warm and comforting friendship with Rowan and her rocky relationship with Albie. I also loved the contrast between Tilda's love of the island and the people on the island and Albie's hatred of the island because he had to leave all that he knows. Another contrast between Albie and Tilda is their thoughts of the haunted island. Albie is excited and happy, whereas Tilda is scared and worried. Overall, this bookis a really descriptive and beautiful book

Elsie

Birdie
I found Birdie to be an okay book. It did not suit my personal taste and I would not recommend it to readers above primary school age. The plot progressed quite quickly, but was a bit dull. However, the book reflects the themes it was intended to encapsulate very well. One thing that annoyed me the most was Birdie herself. I felt that she didn't seem very mature, and it especially frustrates me when she talks to strangers about her life using not titles like "my pony" but instead the actual name of the person (or in this case, animal). I took her as a bit bad at putting herself in other people's shoes when discussing her life, because the way she thinks of something seems to be the way she presents it to the outside world without even taking the background info with it. Like many younger middle-grade books, the story is plot-driven and emotional development is taken at face value. I usually prefer books with more nuanced and shown-not-told character development so overall this book was not a very good read for me.

yuding

Wolf Siren
Wolfsiren is a book about a girl who lived in a semi-dystopian walled town surrounded by a forest inhabited by wolves. These wolves attacked all men, so men were strictly forbidden from entering the forest, and woman were not really allowed to. The girl discovers that she is a wolf-woman and can turn into a wolf. Her sister is also one of these. She discovers a plot by an old wolf-hunter to reintroduce wolf hunting, and also finds out that the wolves are actually just the guardians of the forest. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a very original idea, not like books I’d ever read before. It was expertly told, with detailed descriptions and the perfect amount of action. The characters were well-developed, and the pacing was good. It was also relatively easy to read and was most certainly a fun read. The characters got very well-developed, and I even felt an emotional connection with the characters, which was tugged on a lot as the book developed and the plot thickened. I would recommend this to people around 12 years old, because it was quite an easy read but covered emotional topics, and had quite a sad ending.

David

Popcorn
Popcorn is a book about a boy with anxiety. It was a detailed account of a single day of his life, school-picture day. He really wanted to get a good picture to make his mum happy, because they were quite poor and she had been especially sad lately. However, on this specific day everything goes wrong for him. In practically all his lessons something gets him dirty, and the school bully gives him a black eye. Additionally, he finds out that his grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, runs away halfway through the day. Throughout the book, it uses a ‘popcorn scale’ to show how close he is to having a panic attack, where the end of the scale is when he pops. However it ends up being fine, his grandmother is found, and he is happy with the horrible photo that he ends up having. This book was quite a fun read, and a well-told one. Even though the book was just one single day, it was well-placed. It felt natural, and we found out details about the main character as the day went along. In a way it even felt relatable, because the things that happened to him were the types of things that could happen to anyone at school. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to ages 8-12 because it was a nice easy read.

David

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines is about a girl named Tilda who lives on an island famous for its puffins. The island's community and lifestyle is unchanging, and everyone on it is happy. During puffin season, the island is visited by many tourists. However, for the rest of the year the island is quiet and unchanging. Unexpectedly, a family of a mother and son arrive after the puffin season to stay there. Tilda and the boy's relationship start off badly, because the boy doesn't like any of the beauty of the island, and wants to return to the 'Mainland'. However, Tilda finds herself wanting to make the boy like the island. The book hints at this being because the boy reminds her of a mysterious boy who we don't know a lot about, except that he used to be Tilda's friend and something happened to him that meant that he no is no longer on the island. However, as the book progresses, we find out that the boy was her older brother and as he grew up he eventually decided to run away to the mainland. Tilda eventually finds something that the boy liked: a secret, haunted island that no-one is officially allowed to go to. They set up a den there, and both are happy. The boy further likes the island after he is involved in a yearly tradition: puffin night, the night when baby puffins fly from the island and everyone on the island helps them. There is a happy ending, with Tilda and the boy becoming friends and Tilda's brother even returning from the mainland. The book was a very detailed read, with many descriptions and a detailed plot. However, at the start the plot moves quite slowly, and it takes a bit of time to really get into it. However, the book builds suspense, with Tilda having only two days to impress the boy, and us slowly finding out more and more about her brother.

David

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Diary of a lizard nobody is a fun, fast-paced and easy to read book. It is set from the perspective of a lizard in a world where animals co-exist like humans. It is about his experiences in school, mostly a rapidly escalating disagreement with the school bully and him being made a hall monitor and then that being taken away because he punched the bully. It is a fun easy to read book with many puns. However, there are some metaphors for deeper subjects. For instance, the main character's mum has some sort of depression, and this is represented by a black dog not letting anyone come to her. There are some confusing parts that don't really make sense, and although this is intentional, I feel like it is a bit too much. For example, the main character has the whole country of France on his knee.

David

Birdie
Birdie is a book about a girl named Birdie in England during the aftermath of World War 2. She is the daughter of an English woman and an American black soldier, meaning that her skin is also dark. This means that she is sadly discriminated against. However, she lives the first phase of her life quite happily in an orphanage, since her mother abandoned her just after she was born. She is then adopted by her aunt and taken to live in a large house in a small village in the countryside. There she is horribly bullied by kids and adults, and she starts to really question her life. Eventually some bullies lead her into the old mines, and she gets lost. There, a pit-pony saves her, and they become very good friends. She visits the pit pony a lot, bringing treats, but eventually her uncle forbids her from going there. She becomes angry, and when she finds out that the government is going to take away the pit pony, she runs away with him. Eventually, she does end up coming back and she proves her bravery to the village, gaining their respect. It's a relatively easy to read book, but it covers deep topics. All the characters speak in old English, which takes some time to get used to. It covers its deeper topics well and doesn't focus too much on them, focusing more on friendship developments. The characters, even the smaller ones, get quite well-developed, like a sickly girl who is Birdie's only friend for a while.

David

Wolf Siren
I really enjoyed Wolf Siren as it was well written and had an exciting plot. By comparison to some of the other books I found it to be a plot heavy book. It was set in a village surrounded by woods which the villagers learned to fear due to wolf attacks. Red’s (the protagonist) grandmother was a wolf woman who had got pregnant with Red’s mother when she was in human form. This meant that when she left the village, secretly to live as a wolf, the village got suspicious of their family illustrating the human tendency to mistrust anyone whose behaviours are different to theirs. Later in the book it was revealed that the reason for the wolf attacks was the humans destroying the woods by cutting down many trees. This shows that often negative human behaviours come back to hurt them and that we should try to make a positive impact on the world around us.

Alex

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
I really enjoyed 24 Seconds From Now as it was a very interesting and well-structured book. I really enjoyed the format of it as the book was written in reverse chronological order which I think worked well in showing how Neon and Aria’s relationship evolved over time. What I also liked about the book is that there was not as much plot as in some of the other books on the Carnegies short list but was more of an analysis of Neon and Aria’s relationship. This book also showed the importance of being in a relationship with someone you know really well personally and like a lot on an emotional level.

Alex

The Boy I Love
I really enjoyed The Boy I love as it was a very interesting and sometimes very exciting book. It was set in World War 1, and it showed how homophobic people were in that time and how hard it was for gay people as they were constantly having to hide their sexualities for a fear of being prosecuted as well as persecuted. It was also a sad and tragic tale as many of the soldiers were killed and Lieutenant Wraxall had flashbacks of that young German soldier who he killed. This book also showed that on either side of a conflict there are good people who do not wish to be at war but would much rather be at home with their families.

Alex

Popcorn
Popcorn was a very funny and well-illustrated book. I enjoyed it a lot as it had lots of bold drawings which showed effectively what people with anxiety issues go through and it showed the pains of having relatives with Alzheimer's. I thought it was a very useful book as it had lots of very helpful techniques for managing stress. It would also be useful for people with anxiety issues as it would show them, they are not alone and there are ways to overcome them. It also showed how damaging bullying can be and how you can deal with it, as Gene kept bullying the Protagonist until he stood up to him and they settled into an uneasy truce.

Alex

Not Going To Plan
Not Going to Plan was a very interesting book and I enjoyed it a lot. It was a story about a girl who gets kicked out of her private school and has sex with a boy from her new state school who only pretends to wear a condom and as a result she gets an unwanted pregnancy. Afterwards she has a tricky decision to make; should she abort or not. In the end she decides to abort but experiences some backlash from one of her friends. I think this story really highlights the importance of being careful in teenage years in relation to sex as when Marnie was pregnant it practically ruined her life as she received lots of online abuse which shows how dangerous a place social media can be for teenagers.

Alex

Ghostlines 
I really enjoyed Ghostlines as it was an exciting and interesting book. It was about a girl who made friends with a boy who came from the mainland and really missed his old home and didn’t feel like he belonged on the island. The book was also about how people change during their lives as Tilda’s brother decided to move to the mainland as he discovered his love for music. This means that our interests change as we grow up and for Tilda's brother, he lost interest in the island traditions and decided to move to the mainland to pursue his new passions. The overall message of the book is the importance of being true to yourself and that it takes time to find your place in a new community.

Alex

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I really enjoyed The Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody. It was funny and fictional, but it addressed real problems such as bullying and it had a sad story line to do with Zeke’s mum and the black dog showing the pains of losing a loved one. It also showed the powers of friendship and how people having your back is an extremely powerful thing; his friends mums were looking out for him and as they all stuck together and defeated Pelicarnassus. Miel was also an interesting character as traditionally at their school the birds were more important and higher ranking than the others but Miel was friends with the monitor lizards who were traditionally lower ranking in the school.

Alex

Birdie
In my opinion Birdie was a fascinating book; it explored ideas about Racism and judging people based off their appearance and it explored the special relationships humans can have with other animals. Birdie was also a great story about finding your place and integrating yourself into a community, even though it was made tough from the outset. Birdie was a heartwarming book as the number of people who stood up for her increased and people made her feel at home and managed to overcome their racial biases. Birdie also showed the effects of World War 2 and the impacts it had on towns and villages as many of the men who fought were killed, and many of those who survived went to work in factories in the city which left the villages with less workers.

Alex

Popcorn
I think out of all the books this is probably my second favourite and would rate it 4.6/5 because ->him being a popcorn kernel is a good way of explaining it ->the illustrations could have been better but they not bad ->i found it really funny that he slapped a teacher ->it is really cool all the things he overcomes just for a school photo and at the end he looks like he just came out of a bomb ->his family being low on money really gives a sense of reality ->and my favourite character is G because it is so funny how the police try to find her

Arya

Wolf Siren
This was my favourite Carnegie book as I loved the character of Red and the way the book deals with her disability. I think this book is about staying true to yourself, even if it is not the path that others have set out for you, because Red keeps going out to the woods even of she is told not to by her mother and all the important people in her life. I also really liked the storyline as it was really unique and an amazing adaptation of Red Riding Hood. The description of the woods and the village was really vivid despite Red's inability to see and the camaraderie of the village against the mayor was quite thoughtful. Overall, I really liked this book.

Elsie

Popcorn
While aimed at younger audiences, Popcorn is still a pleasure to read. The illustrations are minimalistic yet convey the feelings of Andrew perfectly. The structure of the story is also rather simple: a boy just trying to make it through the school day while facing an evil bully and his own inner demons. This tale of gaining self-confidence and learning to value the people by your side is undoubtedly worthy of the award. My favourite aspect was how each character was unique and funky, bringing a completely different element into the story. Overall, this is a really great read for anyone of any age!

Leo

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
This book was a really interesting story, which handled the theme of preparing for sexual intimacy and the layout of the story was set brilliantly in a 24 minutes, then hours, then days and weeks then months. I also thought the setting of the bingo hall and school was really interesting. The way the characters were spectacularly written and I liked the way the characters were portrayed and the bright, aspiring chicken tender loving personality of Aria and her and Neon's relationship was very nice. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the characters.

Elsie

Not Going To Plan
I think the moral of the story being don't do something you will regret and true friends mean the world really make it an excellent book and so i rate this book a 4/5 ->The moral being so true and heart grabbing the pain she went through ->I love how each person has their own side of the page ->How Marnie changes because of her getting pregnant ->It is a book that makes you want to read every page ->One thing I didn't like so much is that there wasn't much detail about her old school before she got kicked out ->I think that her having a friend helping her out is really good

Arya

Not Going To Plan
‘Not Going To Plan’ is a strong and unique story that captures readers by how different it is. Whole pages are turned into pictures by shaping the words themselves into an artwork. The dual perspectives of Marnie and Zed –two polar opposites- gives a refreshingly new description of the same place with every chapter. The author has decided to tackle a complicated with no clear ‘right answer’, and this adds deep, impactful dialogue that makes the reader question their own views in the process. I especially love that the characters are made to represent the sides in the ongoing problem this book covers.

Leo

Ghostlines 
I have personally read this book before and would rate this 3.5/5 because ->I think they spend a lot of the book focused on the wrong things -Going from the cursed island to island and back -Trying to get the boy to like the island ->The idea of a haunted island is very interesting ->Rowan is a bit too vague to understand ->I love that they help the little animals in the storm ->I find that their friendship circle is so close ->she can see a map in her mind it really brings an image to my head

Arya

The Boy I Love
I really enjoyed the boy I love as it was a heartwarming tale of love and perseverance on the face of prejudice and pain of loss and grief due to the terrible conditions and horrors of the first world war.I really like the emotional bond between Danny and Stephen and feel like even though they are not necessarily always together now their relationship will survive.I also really liked the backstory of Danny and his theatrical life and the kindness of his aunt. Overall, I loved this story and the ending just slightly heartbreaking.

Elsie

Birdie
This book is very much a mixture of ups and the occasional very low down. For the most part, it is a beautifully written tale of overcoming prejudice and building strong bonds that last a lifetime. The author’s experience with animals shows in the brilliant character of Mr Duke: an intrepid pony who expresses more emotion with looks than most of the characters do with paragraphs of dialogue. The interactions between him and the main character, Birdie, are the highlight of this book. However, there are also a few select moments that detract from the general quality. The ‘problem’ and ‘resolution’ feel like an afterthought that were added in to give the story some structure.

Leo

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
As I am an 12 year old for my taste this is a childish book for ages 7-9 but if I am thinking from their point of view i would give this a 3/5 but as I am almost a young adult i personally rate this a 1.5/5 because ->The illustrations make the book even more childish ->The are so many things they could have improved -Pelicanarus could of had more of a backstory of being a villain for example a fail attempt at becoming as good as his mum -How they overpower Pelicanarus ->The idea about France on his knee

Arya

Popcorn
I did not really like this book it is not what I would really read I did not really like the illustrations because of how they were drawn and arranged, but I feel like the book deals with the themes of anxiety and bullying really well and I felt like the setting and the problems were well integrated into the storyline and it had a good plot. I also liked the way the author compared the character's anxiety with a popcorn kernel, as it was a really interesting and unique analogy to describe the topic. Overall three author did a really great job at dealing with the important themes of the book.

Elsie

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I had mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the writing –if simple at times- hid deeper meanings that represented characters’ emotions brilliantly throughout the entire book. For example, Zeke’s mother owns a big black dog. It is huge, and growls at Zeke and drives him away whenever he tries to talk to her. This represents his mother’s immense grief at the start of the book, and how that veil of negative emotions hanging around her makes it nearly impossible for Zeke to interact with her in any way. On the other hand, many aspects of this book feel rushed. Many interactions feel forced and lose their impact, while many details are shoved in to appease younger readers.

Leo

Birdie
Birdie is a heart-warming book about an orphaned girl who struggles to feel accepted in a racist and unaccepting village with her Great-Aunt Winterbottom. She finds a pit pony (that she promptly names Mr. Duke), and when he is going to be put down, she saves him. I enjoyed this book because Birdie is just such a loveable and warm character. The joy that she finds when she meets Mr. Duke is highly infectious, and J.P.Rose has written it so well that I can imagine myself in that village. I felt that the beginning, however, was slow and a bit boring. I would recommend this to most people.

Benjamin

Not Going To Plan
I really enjoyed this book despite being skeptical of it at first due to the plot. This book tackled hard problems in a deep and interesting way and in the end I felt like I really cared and understood the characters despite them being quite different to myself.l also felt like now I understand the pain and consequences of the themes of the book. I liked the way the book was layed out as it made the book seem really interesting and the relationship between Zed and Marnie was well-written(if bit unplausible at times). My favourite character was Luca as he was a nice and friendly person. Overall, I really liked this book and think it has a real chance to win.

Elsie

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
This book was written in a very unique style that only this author could pull off. It was the first I had ever seen that went in non-chronological order and I enjoyed the novelty of reading a book ‘back to front’. However, this style also comes with some disadvantages. As the first real chapters were set when Neon and Aria were already very close, the penultimate chapter (when they meet for the first time) didn’t have same kind of emotional impact that it would have had at the start of a book. The dialogues felt simple yet emotional and added to the atmosphere of the book. Overall, this is one of the gems among the Carnegie books, and I loved it!

Leo

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
This book was an interesting story about overcoming your fears and standing up to bullies, but I feel like it was for a different age group so I did not really enjoy it. I thought it was quite odd as the protagonist was a lizard and had France attached to his knee and there is no real plot. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read as it had good humour and silliness. Also, the animals and schools setting made it an easy way to tackle hard things like the topics of bullying and difficulties of money and family trauma, so I feel like it explained the problems very well. Overall, I did not really appreciate the book, but it would be good for other ages.

Elsie

Birdie
The book was a really deep and heartfelt story about overcoming challenges of moving to a new place and being treated differently because of post war racism and the unfairity of the 1900s. A thing I really liked about the book was Birdie's relationship with Mr Duke and the kindness of her uncle, despite her initially bad relationship with her aunt. I also really enjoyed the writing style of the author. One thing I disliked about the book was at the start, when her aunt treated her rudely just because she was not who she expected, but later on she apologised and was nicer to Birdie, so it was resolved in the end. Overall, Birdie was a really good book, which was about overcoming prejudice in the face of racism.

Elsie

Fia and the Last Snow Deer  
I really enjoyed this book. Although some parts of the book were a bit slow and some were a bit rushed, I think that the fantastic characters and description made up for it. I loved the way the authors described Fia's journey through the forest and thought they set the scene really well. I also enjoyed reading about the bond between the snow deer and Fia as I thought it was created very well. I also liked wolf as he was a really interesting character and I felt he definitely added to the story. Overall, I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys an adventure, fantasy or just magical kind of book.

Zoe

Stealing Happy
I didn’t enjoy reading this book because I thought the plot was quite boring and it was very slow.It also had lots of chapters that seemed really irrelevant to the plot and it really bored me to read all of it. I think it would have been better if the author missed out those chapters and made the story line more complicated. The ending also wasn’t clear on what happened to get chick Lennon arrested and the robbery wasn’t very exciting after all of the planning. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone unless they specifically said they liked this sort of book. Overall, I didn’t like this book at all and thought the plot was quite dull.

Zoe

Not Going To Plan
The themes of this book were definitely aimed at an older age range, revolving around teenage love, pregnancy, lies and teenage pressure. I didn't really like the verse novel style that the book was written in and I found it harder to read when the words turned upside down or started creating weird shapes. However, I quite liked the language the author wrote in, balancing description with simplicity. The book's storyline was an interesting idea, but if I was the author, I would have stretched Marnie's pregnancy stress procrastination for longer-around 70 pages-and I would have put Harry coincidentally running into Marnie after her GCSE art exhibition and them having an awkward conversation with Marnie mainly angrily shouting. Then Jessica comes and the two girls completely deflate Harry's ego. Overall, this book should be aimed at 14-18 years old and I would rate it a 7/10 because I like the authors language, just not the themes or verse style.

Felix

Not Going To Plan
My favourite of the Carnegie shortlisted, this book had a lot of interesting themes which I haven't read much about before. It managed to keep a realistic plotline while also being unique and not at all cliche, with a definite build-up, obstacle, and eventual satisfying ending. My favourite part of the book was the style in which it was written; one character's thoughts and actions down the left hand side, the other's down the right. I've never read a book like that before and it makes it a lot more exciting than a huge block of text on one side.

Sophie

Black Star
Black star was an alright book. I enjoyed reading some parts of it but I found some of it a bit slow. The original plot was really interesting and I enjoyed the way the author portrayed Charley and made her a very realistic character. The book also talks about important themes such as racism and history. However, I would have liked it more if the story was less based around baseball because I didn’t really understand those parts. I also prefer books that are not set in real life , so this was a good book for real life but it wasn’t really my preferred genre.Overall, it was a ok book with a good plot but a depressing ending.

Zoe

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
One of the things that 24 Seconds From Now does well is that the relationship between Neon and Aria feels earned rather than created by the author. The book is written backwards, which I think is a nice touch to it, as without that, the plot would be a little boring. However, since it is written in reverse chronological order, it keeps people asking questions and makes the reader curious to find out how something came to be. There is only one problem which is that the plot is never truly defined. Of course, you could argue that the plot and what the story was based on could be inferred, but in my opinion, I think it could have been a bit more clearly explained. I think this book had very nicely developed main characters, but some of the background characters should be developed and feature a bit more. Excluding some of these small issues, it was pretty good and I would rate it a 6.8/10

Siddharthan

Popcorn
I thought that this book was very good as it clearly showed how much anxiety changed Andrew Yeager's life. It also made you feel bad for Andrew as everything seemed to be going wrong in his day and then he got beaten up by the school bully Gwen for not letting him copy on a test. And just when he thinks that nothing can get worse, he has the most embarrassing moment of his life. A panic attack at school. This book shows how hard anxiety can be to live with and Rob Harrell shows this as a piece of popcorn on the heat scale. When at the bottom of the popcorn scale, everything is fine, the popcorn has not heated up yet. When in the middle, you feel like something is about to happen, the popcorn is heating up. Then when at the top of the scale you literally pop like a piece of popcorn and are definitely not OK. Overall, I think that this was a very good book.

Harry K

Ghostlines 
I found Ghostlines all right. I think I would have enjoyed it better if I were a few years younger, although I would recommend it to other people my age with a different book taste. The story is about friendship, belonging and community. I did not really like Tilda because I felt that she acted a bit younger than eleven, her actual age, and it was a bit annoying how she could not understand why someone who had left their home unwillingly to come to a remote island might not feel totally overjoyed. My favourite character was probably Rowan, because of his personality and the way he had taken his little sister on adventures during their childhood. I found him more interesting also because he was curious about a world outside of the island unlike virtually anyone else, and not satisfied staying in the same tiny society forever. Overall I would rate this book an 8/10 and my personal reading experience 5/10.

yuding

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines is a very fun and gripping book that puts you into the heart of Ayrie, a mystical Island off the coast of Scotland. The story is about a local girl who tries to make a city boy feel welcome and a part of Island life. The book is about acceptance, friendship and struggling with change. I loved this book because Katya Balen described Ayrie so vividly that I could almost imagine it as a place that I have been to. It is certainly an Island that I would want to go to! I score it 8/10, as the story is very good, but I would prefer there to be a bit more about the 'ghostlines' themselves.

Benjamin

Popcorn
I thought Popcorn was an ok read. I did enjoy some aspects of the book but the overall genre and plot weren’t really my thing. I also thought the book was predictable as I could guess the plot from the first chapter. However, I did enjoy the analogy of anxiety being like a popcorn kernel as I thought it fitted the plot perfectly and gave the reader an insight into what it would be like to have anxiety. The book talks about the day starting of ordinarily but gradually it gets more stressful and complex until eventually Andrew ends up having a panic attack in class. I liked what happened after when his teacher and friends helped him out, as it shows that there will always be someone there for you when you need it even if it was not who you expected.

Zoe

Ghostlines 
I really enjoyed reading ghost lines. I thought it was a fun and creative way to explore themes of homesickness, loss and finding new friends. I also thought that Tilda was a really well developed character and that you got a definite insight into her life. I like how the author chose to have Albie hate the island to start with, then gradually enjoy it until he completely changed his mind about it. This is really clearly shown in the book when he goes from ignoring the other children at the start with trying to save the puffins. I loved the ghost island idea but I felt like the ghost lines could have been more important because they weren’t really involved in the story that much. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to other people.

Zoe

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Lizard nobody was a slightly chaotic book.I didn’t really enjoy it because although I think the original plot could have been good, I didn’t like the way the author chose to develop it. The book was confusing in places like when France was on his knee for some reason and I didn’t really feel like it made sense. It was certainly a bit of an interesting read although sometimes I found the plot a bit slow. Overall, I Was t really sure what message the story was trying to convey. I thought it was ok but I would probably recommend it to younger reader like aged 7 - 10 as I think it would be more designed for younger people.

Zoe

Ghostlines 
This book was a very interesting one written in first person. It was about an island and a mainland, which isn't really an original concept, but I've never read a book like this where the main character tries to show another main character her home. It was an interesting emotional twist with her brother leaving the Ayrie and I didn't really like the style/form that the book was written with. The emotional aspect of the book was quite unoriginal. Although it was one of the foundations of Tilda's character, the author could've used something more new to play the emotional part in her character. When I was younger, I always wanted a den or a place all to myself (Like Alda Isle) and they were doing exactly that. I quite liked the haunted aspect of the island, but the author should've put more death and destruction behind the story. Overall, this book was quite hard to digest and hard to read/understand. I think I would rate it 5/10 because although the idea was good, I didn't like the story.

Felix

Birdie
I didn't like this book much because of the strange English that was spoken by the characters. I found the touches of old English completely unnecessary because they definitely didn't speak like that in the 1950s. The storyline was very messy, with overly short interactions and the ending/conclusion was very rushed. If I was the author, I would seriously consider stretching the book/story out for longer and giving Birdie and Mr Duke more time to bond. Their first meeting felt much too quick for Birdie to love Mr Duke so much. Also, I would definitely change the ending. The fact that she ran away, then returned, then everything was happily ever after felt too good to be true. The themes revolved around a setting seventy years ago, exploring racism, discrimination, animal cruelty and family. Overall I would rate this book a 4/10 because of the poor storyline, messy ending and rushed interactions.

Felix

Birdie
Birdie I really enjoyed reading birdie, as I thought it was a creative way of including important themes like friendship and belonging into an exciting story.At the start birdie feels alone and out of place until she meets duke. The story then talks about the incredible bond between the two that is formed by the help and companionship they give each other. I thought the ending was nice as it shows that even though she was uncomfortable to begin with, birdie now feels like part of the community. This part was really important as it shows that home is not a place but with people. Overall, it was a very sweet story about belonging and acceptance.

Zoe

Not Going To Plan
I really enjoyed Not Going To Plan, and, in fact, have since sought out one of Tia Fisher’s other books-Crossing The Line, which I also loved. I think this was the best of the Carnegies as the message was conveyed, in a way, more powerfully due to the fact it was written in verse. I enjoyed the writing style as it helps to lift the mood on an extremely hard topic to talk about. It was thought provoking and urged you to think deeper about consent and abortion. It questioned why people shame abortion and cheered on women’s rights. Overall, I found this an extremely thought provoking and enjoyable read with a powerful message that, no-doubt, speaks to the heart, not just the head.

Nina

Birdie
I really enjoyed this book and, almost immediately, found myself routing for Birdie and Mr Duke. I would happily pick this book up and read it cover to cover time and time again! I found the plot slightly predictable but, if I was writing the book, then it would break my heart to have to write about poor Mr Duke dying. It felt to me as if the emotion was a rollercoaster, with you feeling high emotions and then weaker emotions. If the emotion strength was mainly middle, with some peaks of high, then I fell the book would flow more. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and found that it covered the topics well.

Nina

The Boy I Love
While reading The Boy I Love, I almost fell into some sort of spell. For the first 100 or so pages, I was exceptionally tired of the story. In retrospect, it truly helped me build character relationships and get a sense of the setting of our love story. Then the main part of the plot hit and I finished the book in a matter of hours! The initial set-up of the book grabbed me up quickly and I was hooked in a matter of pages. Stephen, and the rest of the main character cast were introduced in a very intriguing way and I really loved Danny's first interaction with Stephen. The foreshadowing of Danny and Michael's similarities and the drawing motif really hit me later on in the book. Mostly, the entire world was very well plotted and honestly very believable. Hussey masterfully weaves the themes of war, love and homosexuality together not by keeping them separate, but making them constantly collide in a fast-paced series of events. Stephen's omnipresent terror doesn't just come from the looming threats of the Germans, but also the systematic homophobia and truly horrendous and unfair commanding officers he had to deal with. Once Danny and Stephen got together, this made the danger of being found out even more relevant, and it helped add to the main premise of the story as a ticking time bomb leading to the Battle of the Somme. Personally, I really loved the characters. They were very well fleshed out, not only as people, but also in the way they interacted with their comrades. For example, Jackson is a very strong person, and he felt slightly stand-offish to me at the beginning. Yet, as the story continued, he opened up and became much warmer to Stephen and he even supported Stephen's relationship with Danny because Jackson was gay himself. I also almost shed a tear at the death of Percy as it really highlighted the brutality of war and losing close friends, even if you've known them for a few months, hurts so much. The overarching themes of loss, like Michael, the German "Kamerad" officer and Percy were also really well explored throughout the book. Honestly, the only problem I had with the book was that it dragged on for quite a bit at the middle of the story. I got exceptionally bored, but that may have just been my experience with the story. One improvement that could be possibly implemented is to maybe pace the book slightly faster in the middle. Other than that, I loved the pacing and premise of the story. Overall, an excellent read!

Roosha

Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren was quite a nice read. It was interestingly inspired by Little Red Riding Hood but without the original tale’s core ideas. The components of the fairytale that are used here are the Grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood, Wolves, and the Woods, but without any similarities in personality or events. It was creative in that sense but I suppose the storyline was a bit cliché in a way, such as “magical woods” and the protagonist basically “finding out her secret powers”. However, I did like the idea when all the women in Red’s village are more powerful than the men, as the wolves did not target women. It was like nothing I had read before, and also interesting as it did not just flip gender roles ; men retained a sort of social standing akin to the real world and also women were discouraged from “flaunting their privileges” by going into the woods as it was seen as unfair to the men. I think that detail made it more realistic and food-for-thought. Also, after I read the author’s note I realized that she had intended Red to be visually impaired after she was inspired by the bit in the original story when Little Red Riding Hood isn’t suddenly scared that her “grandma” is a wolf. I think this was not achieved very well, as without the note I would not have realized that Red was impaired at all. I recall that her sight problem is mentioned in plain words earlier on in the book, and then never again. If the author wanted this is be a representation of visual disability, it did not work very well in my opinion.

yuding

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
I quite liked Twenty-Four Seconds From now because it had an interesting and original format where the story is kind of told in reverse. The book wasn’t totally “my type” but I think that regardless of personal opinion I think it is a really good book. I liked how it did not have clichés and did not rush into emotional moments to excite the reader when it would not have been logical in real life. Characters were portrayed very realistically and there was good representation of different people without making them into stereotypical caricatures.

yuding

Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren was an unique read. It was an interesting twist on the traditional story of Little Red Riding Hood. I haven't really read any book like this, but it stuck out. Their village was isolated and therefore the residents of it were doomed to always stay there since the only part connecting the village to land was a dangerous forest with wolves that would only attack men. Then, we find out that wolfwomen exist, and the main character, Red, her sister and her grandmother are wolfwomen too. They would be heavily punished if they were found out so the grandmother leaves to live with the wolves. I liked how Red teams up with her wolves and how her close friends aren't scared of her and instead they're fascinated. However, it was quite sad when Aerona, Red's sister, died. Overall, I liked this book.

Buddhan

Ghostlines 
I found Ghostlines a very good read because I liked how Tilda manages to make the stranger boy called Albie like Ayrie even though he's very glum about leaving his past life. It was very good because it had lots of themes like friendship and also things like action and suspense. I was very confused on who Rowan was because the author only revealed who he was quite late in the book. Also, the concept of what the Ghostlines are quite confusing, yet familiar. My favourite character has to be the dog, a friendly but comically stupid character. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

Buddhan

The Boy I Love
This book was an interesting combination of a gay romance novel and a World War 1 novel. I think the combo was to over-the-top and the ending was quite underwhelming. If I was writing the book, I would write a detailed description of Lieutenant Wraxall and Danny's experience in the 'push.' I would've liked it more if Danny was crippled or fatally injured at the end so Stephen can have a sad moment remembering him. Also, to give the book more variety, I would've written it from both Stephen and Danny's perspective instead of just Stephen's. I would overall rate this book a 6/10. I don't like either of the genres but I like the style.

Felix

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I felt that this book showed rising up to bullies in a great way, showing facing your fears and overcoming them. It also clamps down on body shaming which is good as some children might not understand the pain people feel when they are body shamed. I feel as if the black dog was a metaphor for grief and depression but could've been explained a bit better as younger audiences might not understand what it portrayed. The adding in of Daniel made the book more readable. He lifted the mood to a be slightly more humorous. He definitely made me laugh. I found the adding in of France on his knee may have extended the story, but I was very confused as to what made the author think to do that and why. It felt quite unnecessary.

Nina

Popcorn
I felt this was a book that shows the challenges of OCD, dementia and anxiety almost perfectly. If I had to pick up on anything, it would be the fact that the 'tap, tap, tap' got a bit tedious after a while but, I guess that is how it must feel if you have OCD. The techniques shown are useful and I find myself using the '54321' method when I need it. It is nice that it shows you are not the only one struggling. There is always someone else out there. The dementia area really resonates with me as it runs in my family. This helped the book feel more relatable and pushed me to read on I enjoyed this book and found it completely readable. I think I will definitely read more by the author.

Nina

Wolf Siren
Wolf siren was an incredible and thrilling book. One of the things I liked the most about this novel was how the author described the characters emotions. I thought the author did this especially well, when the main character’s sister, Aerona, dies. This is shown when the author talks about Aerona’s mother staring into a fire and not talking to anyone for a long time. This book also highlighted the need of having good friends and the skill of working as a team. This happens when the main character, Red, plans with her friends/family to convince the village that the wood and the wolves are good. I would recommend this book to children aged 12+.

Sotiris

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines was very good. It is a touching story about a girl who has lived on an island with her friends all her life, then a new boy comes. It has elements of growing up, as she has an older brother who turns into a teenager, and is about fitting in, as the book is about the girl (Tilda) helping the new boy fit into the island’s tightly packed friendships and groups. My favourite character was the dog, Moses. He is very funny and adds a touch of humour to the story. It was a great book, and I thought it was written very well in the first person from Tilda’s perspective. The ambience was light-hearted but also went into more serious topics. Generally, a great read.

Magnus

The Boy I Love
The Boy I Love is a historically accurate book about a forbidden relationship, the brutality of the trenches and Social class in the First World War. The story is about two boys, Stephen and Danny, and how they look out for each other against their common enemy, their cruel leaders. They try to get them to stop the battle of the Somme, as they knew that it would fail. William Hussey threw in lots of important detail that made this book come alive. I had huge fun reading this book, and felt that it portrayed the barbaric and wasteful loss of lives that took place due to higher command's idiocy. It is definitely for over 13s, though.

Benjamin

Birdie
Birdie is a heartfelt story about an orphan who is sent off to her Great Aunt Winterbottom, whilst trying to live with discrimination and bullying. Then Birdie (the orphan) finds a pit pony in the mines, and her life gets better, but to save her pony she loses all her trust, and she needs to get it back. My favourite character is her Great Uncle, because he seems so joyful and bouncy. I would recommend this book to anybody.

Benjamin

Birdie
This was a good book. It took me a while to get into the language, but it was rewarding once I did. It was touching that Birdie gets through the difficulties she experiences as a mixed-race person in 1950s rural Yorkshire by bonding with a pit pony. My favourite part was at the very end when Birdie is very sad because she thinks she has lost Mr Duke the pit pony in a mine collapse but is then incredibly overjoyed to find that he has been rescued by the miners. I liked the book’s atmosphere, and I think it explored the themes in an interesting way.

Magnus

Not Going To Plan
Not Going To Plan has a very significant strength which is that it focuses on very real and serious issues with a very good style of writing that makes it feel true. However, the main problem that I didn’t like about the book was the setting that it was in. I think having a book about consent and teenage pregnancy set in a school, especially in the GCSE year, is quite unrealistic. Aside from that, I really liked how Zed and Marnie’s relationship grew because that was a very credible way for a friendship to form, if not a little cliché, but it was very well written in that aspect. The only thing that I would change (apart from what is said above) is having just one main character. Even though it means there are less issues to talk about, it means it is more understandable for the reader particularly as it is already written in verse (which is another thing I liked about the book). Overall I would rate it a 7/10.

Siddharthan

The Boy I Love
In The Boy I Love, Lieutenant Stephen Wraxall is coming back onto the battlefield after having a wound. He meets Private Danny, and immediately wants to save him from the terrible thing that is the war. He makes Danny his soldier servant. As the book goes on, many of Stephen’s platoon die. I think what I like most about this book is how realistic it is. I especially liked the way the author expressed this. Another thing I like about this book is how Stephen feels so many emotions and progresses as a character throughout the book. In the beginning, he was grieving for Michael’s death, on the train he was disappointed in the system of conscription, in the marching he felt anger for the person made to march on an infected blister and of course he always feels love for Danny. Due to this, I would rate it a 8.9/10.

Siddharthan

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
‘The chronicles of a lizard nobody’ was a deeply engaging book that explores the themes of friendship, grief and self-acceptance. This book was quite funny, and I enjoyed the cartoon pictures throughout the book, I found the writing style quite easy reading. I found this book deeply meaningful and enjoyed the part where all of them stuck up for Zeke when he was being bullied. I found it interesting that different animals would hang out with the same species of animals and would have set stereotypes, this was quite thought provoking. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book as an easy read with some very important underlying messages.

Harry

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
‘Ghostlines’ was a great book that explored family relationships and acceptance of new environments. I enjoyed it because throughout the book, the main character was explaining that she missed her brother, who had left the island, so much and she wished he would come back. At the end he regularly visits the island and Tilda, the main character, is so happy. The other aspect the book explores is how hard it is to fit in in somewhere that you have only just got to know and what is so different to what you find familiar. Overall I really enjoyed this read and would highly recommend it to others.

Harry

Not Going To Plan
Not Going to Plan is about Marnie who is expelled from her previous boarding school and at the beginning of the book is shown to be arriving at a new school. The new school has let her in to take her GCSEs so she is in Year 11. At her new school she meets Zed, a nerdy kid who loves physics and maths as opposed to Marnie who likes Spanish and Art. They form a close bond as they start revising together. One day, Harry, a popular kid, invites Marnie to his party and they accidentally have sex with each other as he pretended to wear a condom so now Marnie is really anxious about telling her parents. I liked the themes of this book about choices and accidental pregnancy and how things can go wrong as it gives readers a deeper insight on how the world can work for some people. I feel like the writing style made it a bit hard to understand as it wasn’t the regular prose style I was used to. This is a good book for teenagers about accidental pregnancy and choices!

Leopold

Not Going To Plan
Honestly, this book intrigued me from the very first word. Narrated entirely in verse, I devoured this book in the span of barely five days or so. Although the use of verse was initially challenging to get my head around, the story drew me in almost instantly with the highly interesting double meanings and word art/shape poems. The use of rhyme and rhythm drives the pacing forward really well, making it very easy to read and comprehend. Though some of the wordplay took me a few rereads to catch on to, it was so interesting to see how the hidden metaphors linked the book even more. Throughout the book, Tia Fisher handles the main themes of the story extremely well - addressing teen pregnancies, consent, abortion and the views surrounding it, women's rights and societal labels. She presents to us a very active story concerning very real-world issues, and shows us the debate surrounding these topics through the contrasting lens of a rebellious, artsy girl and a rule-loving, closed-off boy. Whilst the main theme of the book is abortion, it also spins out to many other different problems teenagers also face in modern times. The topic of LGBTQ+ rights shown through Luca, and how he wants a life where he doesn't have to fight for his sexuality. The idea of religion and double standards surrounding women represented by Rakel, and her own viewpoint on abortion. One line that really stood out to me in the book, really highlighting these double standards was: "We're damned if we do/ We're damned if we don't". The juxtaposing viewpoints of Marnie and Zed really stood out to me: both with single parents, both facing societal pressures yet so very different in their approach to the world. Throughout the book, I really enjoyed as both of them changed each other and evolved in the way they view others. Marnie, initially rebellious and angry, mellowed out and warmed up to other people, interacting and being really supportive. She also stopped vaping, which made me so, so happy! Zed, on the other hand, finally came to terms with being unlabeled by society and accepted that not everything has to be absolutely perfect. He begins to bend the rules a little and learns to flow, instead of being stuck to the strict laws of societal acceptance. I also really loved their friendship. Much like the relationships presented in 24 Seconds From Now, it felt earned and realistic, with the way it slowly built up from a mutual acquaintance to a strong, supportive, close connection between the two. The only critique I would have for the book is that it tries to juggle too much at once. Although the main themes presented were delved into really well, I would have liked to see some more explorations of LGBTQ+ rights and double standards. Maybe it would have helped to just slightly cut down on the myriad of issues presented, since the pacing was already really good. However, I did enjoy how Tia Fisher included topics that are not talked about enough in modern, young adult fiction. In conclusion, I think this book was a really well-linked story addressing real-world issues and giving young people voices through art and creation. Overall, an extremely intriguing read!

Roosha

Popcorn
In my opinion, Popcorn by Rob Harrell is a heartwarming story that explores friendship, family, and personal challenges, though I did find it a bit boring. The story follows Andrew, a middle school student who struggles with anxiety and often feels out of place. The characters are realistic and easy to connect with, especially for readers who have experienced self-doubt or social pressures. One of the book’s strengths is how it handles serious topics in a way that is accessible and encouraging for young readers. The artwork adds energy and emotion to the story. Overall, Popcorn is boring, but still teaches important lessons about confidence, resilience, and accepting yourself for who you are.

Charlotte

The Boy I Love
This book was unique among the other Carnegie Shortlist books because of the interactions between different characters. Each conversation felt like it showed us a new piece of the puzzles that were Stephen and Danny. One of the best dialogues is between Stephen and Captain Beddowes when they first meet; the author has done a brilliant job of portraying the thinly veiled disgust of Beddowes in sharp contrast to Stephen's composure. The end of the book is particularly beautiful. The short, sharp style of writing helps to emphasize the nerves of the soldiers in the trenches as the Battle of the Somme looms ever closer. Overall, this book has the best structure of any in the shortlist: the beginning pulls you in, the middle keeps you in suspense and the ending cleanly finishes off the story.

Leo

Ghostlines 
I loved Ghost lines. It was a heart-warming story which dived into the world of Ayrie, a small Island of the coast of Scotland (I think) that is rather secluded. The story is about a local girl trying to get a new boy to like the Island, as the new boy is feeling very homesick and dislikes Ayrie. However, as a last resort, Tilda brings Albie to a forbidden Island, and they have to get saved from there by the others. My favourite character was Tilda, as I envy her life on the Island. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Benjamin

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines was a great book. It showed the reader the magic of friendship and working as a team. This is shown when Tilda, the main character, helps a newcomer, Albie, to make a shelter on a secret island. Additionally, this novel highlights that you should always persevere. This happens when Tilda must show the new boy around the island that she lives on. The boy does not want to know about the island and refuses to listen. However, after a couple of days the boy is convinced to listen and him and Tilda become great friends. I would recommend this book to children aged eleven to twelve.

Sotiris

Not Going To Plan
Not Going To Plan has a very significant strength which is that it focuses on very real and serious issues with a very good style of writing that makes it feel true. However, the main problem that I didn’t like about the book was the setting that it was in. I think having a book about teenage pregnancy set in a school, especially in the GCSE year, is quite unrealistic. Aside from that, I really liked how Zed and Marnie’s relationship grew because that was a very credible way for a friendship to form, if not a little cliché, but it was very well written in that aspect. The only thing that I would change (apart from what is said above) is having just one main character. Even though it means there are less issues to talk about, it means it is more understandable for the reader particularly as it is already written in verse (which is another thing I liked about the book). Overall I would rate it a 7/10.

Siddharthan

The Boy I Love
In The Boy I Love, Lieutenant Stephen Wraxall is coming back onto the battlefield after having a wound. He meets Private Danny, and immediately wants to save him from the terrible thing that is the war. He makes Danny his soldier servant. As the book goes on, many of Stephen’s platoon die. I think what I like most about this book is how realistic it is. I especially liked the way the author expressed thisin the book. Another thing I like about this book is how Stephen feels so many emotions and progresses as a character throughout the book. In the beginning, he was grieving for Michael’s death, on the train he was disappointed in the system of conscription, in the marching he felt anger for the person made to march on an infected blister and of course he always feels love for Danny. Due to this, I would rate it a 8.9/10.

Siddharthan

Ghostlines 
The book “Ghostlines” is one of my most favorite reads recently. Immediately, we described a mysterious newcomer to Ayrie – a small remote island on the coast. Much of the time, newcomers are tourists, but Tilda (the heroine of this story) realizes something is off – the tourist attraction and birds have flown away; could he be joining the neighborhood? The relation and friendship (one of the very prominent themes discussed in this) between the newcomer who we find to be called Albie and Tilda start of rough, but by the end, they are sister and brother. But, in the background, Tilda feels a bitter-sweet sensation; her brother Rowan (for some mysterious reason and whom Tilda was remarkably close with) has moved away, not without causing fractures in the family. Themes throughout this book can be found as friendship, family, nature, and community.

Ryan

Popcorn
Personally, I found "Popcorn", a remarkably interesting novella indeed. It discussed very cliche themes of school life, but with a twist through the lens of someone with anxiety. Throughout this book, Rob Harrell takes on an action-packed day, full of highs and lows; from a fierce interaction with the stereotypical bully (but with yet another twist that I enjoyed – the bully in fact was old friends with the main character) to foreshadowing panic attacks. Themes throughout the piece can be found through the maternal love and protection of the mother, the friendship between two characters in the piece – and how the best friends will always be there for you – to the taboo of teacher love and cheeky hiding of snacks. My personal favorite character in the piece was the school nurse, helping Andrew (the name of the main character) acting like a trustworthy sister like character – always a shoulder to lean on.

Ryan

Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren is a twist on the fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood. This book had a strong beginning that kept me hooked, but I think I sort of lost interest in the book in the middle somewhere. The bit in the beginning where Grandma returns was good but after that it got a bit boring. The end part where Aerona is killed makes it a bit exciting but I would have preferred to have some more action in the middle as well. Of course, Caragh the woodcutter is killed, Red can transform into a wolf and many other events take place but none were described enough to keep me engaged. In conclusion, this book has a very intriguing opening and close but more description for events in the middle would have been better. Considering all of this, I would rate it a 5.2/10.

Siddharthan

Popcorn
Popcorn is a book about a boy who has anxiety on school photo day. There are some things in this book which I liked and others which I didn’t like so my opinion is pretty neutral. I liked the way that it used the scale of popcorn to show the level of anxiety he was at because I thought it was a clever analogy. However, I didn’t like how it was all compressed into one day, as I thought each part didn’t get enough attention. I get that the photography day can only be on one day but there could have been a build up to it or something. I liked the general idea of it - a boy having a terrible day at school on photography day, but I feel it was a bit cliché in the main idea because there have been many books about that same subject. This book handles it well though, because Andrew has anxiety so the ending is made more interesting because he has a panic attack and the only people who can help him are those who he cares for. Overall I think this book was OK and I would rate it a 5.5/10.

Siddharthan

Not Going To Plan
Honestly, this book intrigued me from the very first word. Narrated entirely in verse, I devoured this book in the span of barely five days or so. Although the use of verse was initially challenging to get my head around, the story drew me in almost instantly with the highly interesting double meanings and word art/shape poems. The use of rhyme and rhythm drives the pacing forward really well, making it very easy to read and comprehend. Though some of the wordplay took me a few rereads to catch on to, it was so interesting to see how the hidden metaphors linked the book even more. Throughout the book, Tia Fisher handles the main themes of the story extremely well - addressing teen pregnancies, consent, abortion and the views surrounding it, women's rights and societal labels. She presents to us a very active story concerning very real-world issues, and shows us the debate surrounding these topics through the contrasting lens of a rebellious, artsy girl and a rule-loving, closed-off boy. Whilst the main theme of the book is abortion, it also spins out to many other different problems teenagers also face in modern times. The topic of LGBTQ+ rights shown through Luca, and how he wants a life where he doesn't have to fight for his sexuality. The idea of religion and double standards surrounding women represented by Rakel, and her own viewpoint on abortion. One line that really stood out to me in the book, really highlighting these double standards was: "We're damned if we do/ We're damned if we don't". The juxtaposing viewpoints of Marnie and Zed really stood out to me: both with single parents, both facing societal pressures yet so very different in their approach to the world. Throughout the book, I really enjoyed as both of them changed each other and evolved in the way they view others. Marnie, initially rebellious and angry, mellowed out and warmed up to other people, interacting and being really supportive. She also stopped vaping, which made me so, so happy! Zed, on the other hand, finally came to terms with being unlabeled by society and accepted that not everything has to be absolutely perfect. He begins to bend the rules a little and learns to flow, instead of being stuck to the strict laws of societal acceptance. I also really loved their friendship. Much like the relationships presented in 24 Seconds From Now, it felt earned and realistic, with the way it slowly built up from a mutual acquaintance to a strong, supportive, close connection between the two. The only critique I would have for the book is that it tries to juggle too much at once. Although the main themes presented were delved into really well, I would have liked to see some more explorations of LGBTQ+ rights and double standards. Maybe it would have helped to just slightly cut down on the myriad of issues presented, since the pacing was already really good. However, I did enjoy how Tia Fisher included topics that are not talked about enough in modern, young adult fiction. In conclusion, I think this book was a really well-linked story addressing real-world issues and giving young people voices through art and creation. Overall, an extremely intriguing read!

Roosha

Popcorn
‘Popcorn’ by Rob Harrel was a great book that I really enjoyed. I found that the way of representing anxiety as popcorn was a very good portrayal. I enjoyed this book because it was quite an easy read and showed that books don’t have to be long and have small words on a page to be something I enjoy. I also liked the authors idea of making the book into just one day, which meant that he could really go into detail about it. In addition, he wrote it in a style of writing that you would speak in in real life. I like this idea because it meant that it seemed more real to me than other books where the language is too formal. In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book, found it a fantastic representation of anxiety and would highly recommend it to others.

Harry

The Boy I Love
Lieutenant Stephen Wraxall is returning to the war after his best friend, Michael, died. He is sad about his death and feels haunted by his death. On the train he meets Private Danny McCormick who is a new recruit for the war and from the start they have a really good chemistry. Stephen feels bad for Danny as he’s never experienced the horrific nature of the war so he makes Danny his soldier servant. I love how the author made it so that the story is not all fighting and training and how there are some nice moments in the book. I also liked how he incorporated a whole range of emotion like love, grief, sacrifice and anger and didn’t make all the soldiers just aggressive men with no personality especially with the main character, Stephen. One thing I didn’t like about this book were the marching scenes as I felt that not a lot was happening in them and they were just overall boring. I also didn’t like the pacing of the book that much. Overall, I liked this book as it incorporated many emotions whilst balancing the war themes and would recommend it to anyone who likes romance books with deep themes!

Leopold

Popcorn
After reading Popcorn, I felt very sorry for those people struggling with a similar issue to Andrew, the main character. This book shows the inside feelings of those with severe anxiety, with the metaphor of a popcorn kernel about to pop. This book, originally, I didn't like, as the pace of the book felt too slow and it felt like nothing was happening. However, as I kept reading, the book grew on me. It turned from just a regular school day with nothing interesting into a lesson that you can overcome anything, as Andrew did with his lost grandmother and panic attack through the day. I would recommend to others - 9/10.

Bowen

Not Going To Plan
To me, this book shows a sensitive yet important topic very well. Consent is very important, and this book teaches you the struggles caused by a lack of it. As well as this, this book is informative on what you should do if such things happen. However, I did not really like the style and almost poetry like aspect of this book, as well as sort of pictures within the words sending messages to the reader. I thought so because, to me, this style of writing was very confusing, as having 2 main characters isn't really what I prefer. While I see why other people may love this book, personally I don't think this deserves to be my winner, even if it is very informative.

Bowen

Ghostlines 
In Ghostlines, the main character, Tilda, is forced to help a new boy, Albie, tour around the island. However, everything about this island, Albie hates, being unhappy at his mother for ruining his life. Tilda, determined to help this new boy, decides to take the new boy to a secret, apparently haunted island. There, their entire life changes as they are swept up in a thunderstorm, but luckily, people from the main island come to rescue. Overall, I think this book portrays the emotions of humans very well, being relatable. Themes such as loss and anger and other feelings are all experienced through the main character. While the book may get a bit boring sometimes, I would still say this is a great read.

Bowen

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
In my opinion, the Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody is a good read, even though it is geared towards a younger audience. I feel it portrays the struggles of the main character really well. For example, using a black dog as a barrier to his mother is a great way to converse such an important topic towards younger children. As well as this, I thought the book was extremely funny, with lots of goofy pictures and interesting characters. The animals are also similar to what they are in real life, e.g. the pandas are very chill. Overall I would recommend to many children above the age of 7.

Bowen

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines is set on Ayrie, an island where everyone knows everyone and there is a strong sense of community. One day, a newcomer, Albie, comes to the island and meets Tilda. Tilda is a young girl whose brother Rowan has left for the mainland. Albie is initially upset at the island because he misses the mainland, which makes Tilda frustrated. Tilda takes Albie to the island where ghosts supposedly live. Albie slowly becomes friends with Tilda. One day, they rescue some baby puffins, but when Albie is worried about the baby puffins, he takes them to the island in the middle of the night alone. Tilda can’t find him but she sees the Ghostlines, paths that people have taken before her. This book explores themes of friendship, growing up, and adventure. I like this book a lot because of its message, and so I would rate it an 7.5/10.

Siddharthan

Wolf Siren
This book was a pleasure to read. It takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of love and loss with a beautifully written ending. I especially liked how the author described characters' emotions; they did a brilliant job expressing the villagers' hatred and disgust of the woods, and Red's wistful longing for her grandmother. The only thing I felt was lacking was the pace toward the end of the book. The author spent so much time creating an air of suspense for the conflict between the woods and the villagers and then threw it away by forcing the build up to the final confrontation into only a few pages. The realisation of Wilson's betrayal and Red's reunion with her grandmother didn't feel as impactful because they were slightly rushed. However, this was still a very good read overall.

Leo

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
In truth I didn’t really enjoy this book very much, but I think that it is because it was a character study, and I am not one to really read character studies. What I particularly enjoyed was the fact that Neon really showed his feelings. This matters because people have a view of boys and men that they have no (or don’t listen to or act on) feelings, and I think that that is nonsense and anyone can show what they think, whatever their gender. I loved the way it was written in reverse and how you had accepted that something had happened, and then you saw what had triggered the thing and why it mattered so much.

Iris

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I found that Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody was a really great book for introducing younger readers to the concept of grief. I think that the ending was very mature in that although it was happy, it had a bittersweet feel to it, as it was implied that the Black Dog would return and swallow Zeke’s mum up again. It was a very cute book, and I think that the pictures helped to add to the story and help you to understand some of the harder concepts. All in all it handled some tough topics, like disability, death and poverty, but I think that even I understand these topics better for having read this book.

Iris

Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren was a good book, and it had a very magical appeal to it. I particularly liked the friend of Red's grandmother as I had many questions about her past, and it left me with a dramatic sense of needing to know. I thought the ending resolved itself very nicely, but I thought the middle was all sort of the same thing with no real excitement. I thought the twist in the book was very good (Wilson turned out to be against Red), and I did not expect Wilson to betray Red after all the errands that Red had done for him. I think it really shows what people placed women as in the older times.

Sam

Not Going To Plan
Not going to plan was one of my favourite books that I read for the shadowing, and I really enjoyed reading a book with such an interesting structure. (the word-pictures) I think that it was really interesting the way that in its own way, Marnie’s GCSE solved many problems for the group. I particularly enjoyed finding out that the decorated numbers for the chapters were a sort of gift to Zed, and I thought that that symbolised how he had influenced her year and GCSE. My favourite character in the book was Naomi, and I thought that she was a sort of fairy godmother in a way to Marnie, guiding her through the year and helping her to grow and improve.

Iris

Popcorn
The book popcorn was written in such a way that it really brought you into Andrew’s world, and at times made me stress out a bit. I really enjoyed the pictures and thought that they were very fitting with the way the rest of the book was written. It made me happy how Mr Kellerman and Nurse Finnegan supported Andrew through his hard times. I feel that this book took handling themes a step further, in that it described exactly how it would feel to have a panic attack. The one thing that I found very unrealistic was that when everyone was together and it was very heartwarming, the grandma appeared and rounded off the story. It was a good ending for a children’s book, but unrealistic.

Iris

Ghostlines 
I liked reading Ghostlines, although I thought it started out slowly, it was very beautifully described all the way through. I do think though, that there was a lack of action all the way until they stayed the night on the forbidden island. I liked the way that Tilda slowly let bits of information slip about her brother (Rowan) and it showed how much that topic hurt her. I liked how it was written as if it was a girl of Tilda’s age telling it, and how cozy it was. I found it really interesting the ‘small island things’ that Tilda takes for granted, like seeing seals all the time and how that compares to how people in the cities would think about that.

Iris

Birdie
I really enjoyed reading Birdie. I think that it was a really interesting insight into racism in the time after the war. I loved the character of Mr Walter, and thought that Birdie would have been lost without him. I liked the ending (and, in fact, it was my favourite part of the book!) It was sweet and fitting, as I couldn’t believe at the time that the author would let Mr Duke die. There wasn’t much action in the book, but I think that that fitted Birdie’s calm and non-violent nature. I found it really interesting that it was based off of the real experience of the author, which made it feel all the more special to read.

Iris

The Boy I Love
Lieutenant Stephen Wraxall, 19 years old, re-joined the army after injury. From there, he meets Private Danny McCormick, a young talented new recruit to the army. Stephen felt the need to protect Danny from the war; after all, he had experienced his own share of heartbreak when his best friend Michael died. Stephen made Danny his soldier-servant, and his platoon had to make their way to the Somme. Stephen and Danny soon find their friendship more than that. But with the Battle of Somme nearing, Stephen and Danny had to find out whether their love for each other can prevent death or fail in despair. I really enjoyed this book because it was heart-warming, brilliant and gives us an insight of what LGBTQ+ people like Stephen were during the First World War, when being gay is against the law back then. My favourite character would be Private Danny McCormick, because he has a great sense of humour and cares about others. During his time in the platoon, Danny almost acts as though he had ordained a great deal of experience, which is what I would typically expect of a good character in a story. Finally, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to lean a bit more about World Wars and LGBTQ+ lives back then.

Ibsan

Ghostlines 
Tilda lives in the island of Ayrie, which only has 93 residents. That was until a boy called Albie and his mother arrived to live here. Albie was homesick as he didn't like being so far away from his home which is in the mainland. Tilda then shows Albie around the island, but Albie hates everything. But Tilda had one more place up her sleeve: she tells Albie about an island that children are forbidden to go to. I really loved this book because Ayrie was like a magical world, free from noise and it gives you a sense of peace. my favourite character would be Albie because he is funny and shares similar hobbies with me, although he didn't have to be rude! Finally, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for some mystery and ghosts, even though the book didn't have any ghost characters.

Ibsan

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
24 seconds from now is a thought provoking book delving deep into masculinity, honesty and healthy relationships whilst remaining light and a fun read. I personally felt that the few chapters were too long, so I found it really hard to pick up the book and read a chapter, as I would feel like I had to have a lot of time to read a whole chapter. To change this, I would make what now are chapters into parts, and have smaller chapters inside those parts. This would help the book to be more engaging and easier to read. Apart from that, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to my friends.

Benjamin

Ghostlines 
This was a beautifully written book, and I enjoyed it immensely! The world building was especially good; I felt I could better relate to the characters and immerse myself in the story because the island of Ayrie was so well described. The author paid particular attention to small details that other writers would have omitted, and it really shows in the quality of this book. The dialogue, although not particularly gripping, feels right for the story. It would be weird for two children of Albie and Tilda's age to have long, emotional dialogues as soon as they met, so the abrupt exchanges at the start of the book make a lot more sense. Overall, this was my favourite of the eight books and there is honestly nothing wrong with it!

Leo

Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren is an amazing twist on the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. There are many alternatives to the original, such as the heroic woodcutters being the villains, the bad wolfs being the heroes, and Little Red Riding Hood being portrayed as disliked. I loved this story, as I liked the plot twist that comes at the end, the thrilling story, and the many notable and un-notable differences to the original. The book was really well written, as when Aerona died I was sad for both Red and her Mother. However, one thing that I disliked was the fact that at the end, both Red and her Mother were able to get over her death so quickly. All in all, I loved this book and would rate it 9/10.

Benjamin

Not Going To Plan
Not Going To Plan is to me a very good book. I loved the different styles of writing in the book, like the different points of view for the different characters, the in verse story, and the words that formed pictures. I felt that Not Going To Plan covers a sensitive topic very well, and manages to create an informative yet interesting book that is a fun read. Overall, Not Going To Plan is written very well and thoughtfully, creating a 'don't put me down' style read that is associated with great books. I would recommend this to everyone 12 or up.

Benjamin

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines is about a girl called Tilda living on an island called Ayrie. The plot starts when a new boy called Albie arrives and he doesn't like Ayrie that much until Tilda offers to show him to the island everyone believes is haunted and ghosts live there. I liked how the author immediately set the cosy cottage vibe but also a subtly eerie and creepy vibe as-well. However, there were somethings I didn't like. I didn't like how Tilda was too attached to her brother, Rowan, and honestly felt like the only thing that Tilda thought about when she wasn't showing Albie around. I also didn't like how for the first 90 pages or so, Tilda offered Albie to show him around, Albie refuses, Tilda walks away angry. I also felt like their friendship developed too quickly. Finally, I didn't like the writing style as it felt reminiscent of a book written by a primary school student.

Leopold

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Diary of a lizard nobody is a crazy, heartwarming and funny book that dives deep into friendships, bullying and stereotypes, adding a laugh along the way. My favourite character was Principal Wombat, as she was a slightly flustered and stereotypical, but she tried not to be, which ended up as a comical and likeable character. However, I feel that although the story was highly creative, it was unbelievable and that lost it a lot of credibility. All in all, I believe that the Diary of a Lizard nobody is like popcorn, as it is a book that is mainly for a younger audience. I would not recommend this book to anybody over the age of 10.

Benjamin

Wolf Siren
I like the way the writer reworked part of the Red Riding Hood story. She brought out the deep mythology behind that tale to tell a new story about regaining balance with nature. The villagers fear the forest but ultimately realise that they must work with the forest to survive. I like the little brother, Luki, although he’s not the main character. For such a young character he has a big emotional range. My favourite bit in the book is when Aerona has turned into a wolf. The language describing her running through the trees, leaping and bounding as a wolf is really vivid and exciting.

Magnus

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
In Chronicles of a Lizard nobody, Zeke and his two friends - Daniel and Alicia - were made hall monitors by Principal Wombat. Everything is fine until a school bully, Pelicarnassus, gets Zeke into trouble and he is no longer a Hall Monitor. Pelicarnassus is the son of a super villain and he tries to invade France, which happens to be on Zeke’s knee. However, he’s unsuccessful as French planes stop him. After a few days, Pelicarnassus tries to destroy the school by wearing a giant mech-robot costume thing, but Zeke and his friends manage to stop him. Even though this book was quite funny, I didn’t really like it because of the very predictable ending and its childishness. Also, I know that the story about Zeke’s knee is kept until a later chapter to make me keep reading, but I think introducing it a little earlier might have given things a bit of context. Without knowing about the backstory, I kept re-reading the section to check if I was reading it wrong! Due to the silliness of the book, I feel it was aimed at a younger audience. Nevertheless, it was still good, because there was always action or something happening. This book was very funny and I would definitely recommend it to people a bit younger than me.

Siddharthan

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
From when I opened the first page of 24 Seconds From Now to the heartwarming end of the book, I was absolutely hooked on the story, the plot, the characters. I finished the book in about 2 days, and I was left with a feeling of wanting more about the story of Neon and Aria. On the whole, the idea of the book is something I don't think I've ever come across before: going backwards in time to tell a story of romance. When I first thought about it, I was sure there was no way it could work. Falling in love? Backwards? Absurd! But when I finished the book, I was pleasantly surprised at how well Jason Reynolds took a very nervous scene of wanting to have sex, and told us a warm, very real story about loving people. Neon, as a character, was extremely well-fleshed out in my opinion - we learn more about him through the way he interacts with everyone around him and his internal voice felt highly realistic, awkward and very funny. The way he describes everyone allowed me to view the story and its characters really well. Reynolds also portrays a very normal family setting - a mother, a father, a sister and a grandmother. Not extremely wealthy, not extremely poor. Just a real family, a real story, and a real life of loving and caring for others. The reverse timing of the story intrigued me greatly, but it overcame the confusing faults I thought it would provide me. As the story goes backwards, we get a great sense of the character dynamics, of Neon's friend group, the way his family support yet still tease each other, and how he's coping with the death of his grandfather. Every person in the book felt really individual - Turtle, her nickname and her voice, Gammy, the way she's slowly forgetting things as she ages but still holds on to her beloved husband and her family, Dodie, who was bald, could've been the shyest person ever, and yet was so very loud and interactive, Nat, who sleeps around and still loves her family. The loving relationship between Aria and Neon also felt earned instead of fairy tale-like: Neon buying her chicken tenders, them teasing and supporting each other, Aria always offering Neon fries from her chicken tender meals. The story paints a very credible picture of a young Black boy's experiences in modern society, and, in doing so, appeals greatly to the teen/young adult reader (at least, to me). The only problem I have with the book is that I sometimes got lost in the timeline, but that was to be expected with the non-linear pacing of the book. Maybe it would have been easier to track the time backward if a date and time was provided to the reader at the beginning of every section. Additionally, I would have liked meeting Turtle and Aria's mother, so I could really see the dynamics of Aria and her family first-hand. However, in the way Aria painted the house different colours anytime Turtle requested and the way she talked about Mrs Wright, provided me a good idea of how she felt about her younger sister and her mother. Overall, a great, great read!

Roosha

Popcorn
Personally, I found Popcorn to be a roller-coaster of a read and I found the book to be quite enjoyable. After I blazed through it for the first time, I had to slow down once and really take my time going through the book once more. On the whole, I think this idea of representing anxiety through middle-school children is a concept over-used and worn-out, but I found Rob Harrell's take on the whole "kid with anxiety with one best friend and a bully" trope much more refreshing after the amount of times it's been used before. The style of narration and formatting was highly individual, and I found that it really drew me in - the easy-to-understand sentences in big font paired with the humorous, representative illustrations was a great way to tie the whole thing together. Although the story was tightly crammed into the space of a single day, I found the pacing and layout of the story highly fascinating. The three therapy sessions Andrew has are brought back at important times in the book, introducing us to a little bit more of Andrew's character and how to deal with anxiety. The breathing, the tapping, the need to vent about something you feel ashamed of. I feel it's quite close to the reader, especially to people of this age about needing to vent, but not wanting to because you know it's not anyone's fault. I loved the character of the therapist, she was a great person, and I honestly wish we saw more of her, just for fun. Andrew was really well-drawn out, and fleshed out to the reader, and I think, through Andrew and his voice, I understood what someone with anxiety would truly feel like. His way of talking to us, the readers, was so refreshing and humorous and I found myself laughing out loud frequently at the funny (albeit quite dark) drawings. The metaphor of likening an oncoming panic attack with a slowly heating kernel of corn was highly thoughtful (and to me, quite funny) as it really showed the reader how different things can affect that scale of heating up and popping. However, although we have Andrew, and his relationships with the people he cares about quite fleshed out, I would have liked seeing a little bit more of the mother because he thought quite a lot about her, yet we only meet her twice at the beginning and at the end of the book. I would've liked some more character descriptions to flesh out the characters even more, but honestly, they were quite well done already. The themes of mental health problems were woven into the narrative seamlessly and I really liked the book. Overall, a genuinely great read!

Roosha

The Boy I Love
The Boy I Love didn’t leave me with much of a strong opinion. I think the idea was quite original and the story was realistic. I did not really find the book very engaging however and it is hard to really describe the plot as all that really happens is they're going to war and falling in love. I liked Captain Jackson the most as he was very fair and revealed he had gone through much of what Stephen had. The ending was very realistic but despite (and really, because of) that it did feel a bit disappointing and underwhelming. Overall I would rate this a 8/10 for the actual book and 6/10 for my personal reading experience. I would recommend this to secondary school age people.

yuding

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody is a funny, short book about Zeke, a lizard. In school, an evil pelican called Pelicarnassus tries to take over the school and invade France, which for some reason is on Zeke’s knee. All this is mostly because Zeke punched Pelicarnassus when he was calling him fat, and also because he feels insecure now that Zeke is getting taller than him. The plot was basically just that, but the book went quite a lot into background information, which included the whole France thing, which was something to do with Zeke’s great-great-great-grandfather getting cursed by the French. As well as the nonsensical stuff, the book also featured some real elements of the world portrayed in interesting ways. For example, Zeke’s mum is said to have been accompanied by a big black dog ever since Zeke’s dad died, and that it makes her stay in her room and is always near her, growling. I think it is supposed to be a depiction of mental health issues such as depression. This book was well-written and very suitable for its targeted audience. Personally, it was not mature enough for my own taste and although it was funny at times I would not have chosen to read it for my own enjoyment.

yuding

Popcorn
Popcorn to me feels like an honest, eye opening book looking into the world of living with anxiety and Germaphobia, as I did not understand this topic before. I feel that if I were 3 years younger, I would have loved this book, and it would have taught me a lot about the topics looked at, however as I am not that age, I was for the most part uninterested and critical at the events taking place. However, I felt that the addition of Mr. Kellerman also having panic attacks was a nice touch and realistic, as it finally showed Andrew that he is not alone. My favourite character in the book has to be Nurse Finnagen, as I love how kind, caring and understanding towards Andrew she is, and who wouldn't want to have a secret snacks cupboard to use for 'treatments'! Overall, I think that Popcorn is a good book, but definitely for a younger age category.

Benjamin

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines is a book about Tilda, who knows and loves everything about the tiny island named Ayrie that she calls home. Famous for its puffins, the last of the visitors are leaving when he comes off the boat. Albie. A boy from the mainland, who determinedly hates everything about Ayrie, the sea caves and the fairy pools, the hidden gifts, the same few people who live there. When Tilda is forced to tour Albie around the island, his increasing disdain of the place she loves starts to frustrate her. She might’ve given up, if it wasn’t for Rowan. Rowan. Her fun, playful, musical, amazing big brother. Tilda and Rowan used to be so close, and he too, loved Ayrie. But as he turned 17, it all started changing. He didn’t want Tilda hanging out with him. He stopped playing songs for her on his guitar. Then he left. To the mainland. Desperate to at least make SOMEONE fall in love with the island, Tilda decides to take him to the ghost island. The haunted one. They slowly become friends, and Tilda starts to heal. But one night, after rescuing some stranded puffins, Albie worries for them in the storm, desperate to shelter them. He takes them to the haunted island. In the dark, Tilda has no hope of finding him, and the island, without breaking her boat. But then she sees the Ghostlines; trails of boats before, glowing in the ocean. The book symbolizes friendship, leaving, and people changing. Overall, I loved this book, though the blurb was a bit misleading.

Maria

Not Going To Plan
Marnie is expelled from her old boarding school and is sent to a new school for her GCSEs. There, she meets a boy called Zed and they’re basically the opposite. What Marnie’s good at, Zed’s bad at and what Zed’s good at, Marnie’s bad at. Also Zed is nerdy and Marnie is more impulsive. They start having revision sessions and they start becoming friends. Marnie also meets a boy called Harry who invites her to his party. At the party, they get close to each other and Harry only pretends to be wearing a condom. This is a book about choices and consent. I like how the author was writing from her experience so she knows more making it feel more real. I didn’t like how the book was written in verse as it made it really fast paced and I couldn’t get information from it sometimes. In summary, this is a verse novel about choices, consent and navigating teen life!

Leopold

Popcorn
When I read this book I felt that the story was too short. I did not like how the whole story was only set over one day. I thought that I didn’t really know the characters very well and I would have preferred if there was a bit more of a build up in the plot. My favourite character was by far Jonesy, I liked her calm attitude and how she always helps Andrew. When she said that she only played basketball for fun it gave me a sense that she is very calm and laid back. I did not really like Andrew although throughout the book the author tries to make the reader feel bad for him. I felt that his overreactions were a bit over the top and that if I was in his position I wouldn’t have cared about some of the things that he was really worried about. I think this book should be aimed at children going through anxiety.

Nathen

Birdie
In my opinion, Birdie is a heart-warming novel that starts off quite slow and then speeds up. Birdie arrives at Barrington Dale after being summoned by her aunt from a home for brown babies. She is very sad to go as she has many friends. Once she arrives, she is treated very badly by everyone and even her aunt (who is called Mrs Winterbottom) is surprised when she sees her. I think that this is a very sad bit of the book as Birdie has left a place she likes and now is being discriminated against because of the colour of her skin. Things get more optimistic when she meets Mr Duke, who is a pit pony in the mines. However, when she finds out that Mr Duke is going to be killed, she tries to run back to the orphanage, but comes back. One of my favourite parts of this book is when Birdie tries to steal some mushy carrots from the church for Mr Duke and the vicar tries to stop her, but she talks to the vicar about Mr Duke, but finds a way to say that Mr Duke does need help, but doesn’t mention the fact that he’s a pony not a human. Overall, I think this book is a very intriguing book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It explored themes of racism, new beginnings and acceptance. It was a bit fast towards the end, especially when she runs away with Mr Duke. I feel that that part could have been a little bit longer because of the amount of emotion that was enclosed in one or two chapters. Other than that, it was pretty much perfect.

Siddharthan

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
In twenty-four seconds, Neon is supposed to be in bed with his girlfriend Aria, but is freaking in the bathroom, nervous about what he is doing and whether all will go right. Then he thinks about twenty-four seconds before that, when he rushes to the bathroom. And before that, twenty-four minutes ago, when Neon brought home a gift of chicken tender to Aria's house from the bingo place that he worked as an assistant for his dad, who runs the place. To twenty-four hours, when Neon's big sister Nat gives him some advice about having sex and what to do. To twenty-four days before, when he accompanies his grandmother to her husband's grave, to pay her respects, and received some advice from his mother about the importance of being a virgin. To twenty-four weeks before that, when Aria and their friends play bingo at his dad's bingo place on Halloween. To twenty-four months ago, when he and Aria first met after Neon's grandfather's funeral. I really enjoyed this book because of the way the plot was structured - it is one of the best books I have ever read! My favourite character would be Aria's sister Rosin, who is affectionately nicknamed "Turtle" as she is musical, supportive, and occasionally demanding, which makes her family paint their house often. Finally, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn a bit about relationships.

Ibsan

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I thought that this book was very funny and I found it very interesting but it would not be a book I would read for my own enjoyment. I could see that it was set for younger children but I thought that the jokes and other funny bits were amusing. I think that the whole list of characters are made so they won't be believable characters because Daniel would not really act like that in real life. The plot was very believable, which made it a bit boring, but other than that the whole thing was fun to read. The story plot about Zeke's mum is not very relevant because it doesn't give much to the story and I didn't really understand who the black dog really was. They weren't key parts of the story but they weren't important one's as well. Overall, this book was funny, a bit boring, and highly enjoyable. I would pitch it to younger readers because the jokes and the fact that the author often states the obvious would be enjoyed by young children.

Ruby

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Zeke, Daniel and Alicia were school hall monitors at their school. They were doing great until Pelicarnassus, the son of a supervillain and the school bully, gets Zeke stripped off his role. Things were not looking great for Zeke, but he makes a new friend called Miel, who likes to emphasise it meant "honey" in French, but yells all the time because falcons can only yell (and is blind so has to adapt using his other senses and wear sunglasses). Pelicarnassus broke Zeke's window to have revenge on him by attacking France which is literally on Zeke's knee but Zeke's French planes drove him off. But that wasn't all that. When Zeke was showing France during a Geography lesson, Pelicarnassus invaded the school and intended to destroy it using a giant robot suit. Zeke and his friends managed to destroy the robot suit and save the school, while Pelicarnassus gets his computers banned by his mum because she wanted to deal with him instead of Principal Wombat and had always firmly forbidden him from destroying his school. Thankfully, Zeke gets his Hall Monitor role back. I really enjoyed this book, even though it is aimed a a younger group because it was random and extremely funny in many aspects - it might been the funniest book I have ever read! My favourite character would be Miel, because despite his blindness, is understanding, friendly (despite being loud!) and a good friend to have. Finally, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something random or funny to read.

Ibsan

Popcorn
Andrew hoped that he would have a perfect day for school photograph day. However, things go wrong. First, he gets his shirt collar ripped by a bully after not letting him cheat in a maths test, then he gets a bad cut on his nose while playing basketball. After that, he gets his shirt completely stained from a ketchup rocket mixed with baking soda. Andrew was dealing with anxiety all this time, and he could have panic attacks. It was getting closer and closer... can he prevent it from happening? I really enjoyed this book because it talked about people like Andrew who dealt with problems similar to his and it gives me a new perspective about people like him. My favourite character was his art teacher because he was funny, calm and kind. Finally I would recommend this book to people who want to learn about everyday problems that may occur to anyone.

Ibsan

Wolf Siren
I enjoyed Wolf Siren because it was exciting and emotional. The atmosphere was dark and mysterious, which made the story interesting to read. I liked how the main character changed throughout the book and came to understand herself better. Some parts were intense and suspenseful, and the fantasy world felt believable. It feels like the perfect overlap between fantasy, suspense, and dystopian stories. I liked the focus on wolves and how many people thought they were aggressive, but they were just misunderstood. I think the story's mystery is thrilling, and I like this book. I think it would be more developed and comfortable for the reader if the story were set across more than one book, and I would love to read a sequel! Overall, I would rate this book an 8.5/10.

Felix

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
At first, this book was not enjoyable; the writing style clunky. In my head, I pause every time I reach a full stop, as if to take a breath but, in some areas of the book, the full stops felt too often and, therefore, the book felt slow and tedious. Another feature I did not enjoy, was the lengthy/non-existent paragraphing. I would be unsure whether to start the next section or not because of timing. I would feel I would want to finish the section rather than end on a random page. I felt that the telling the story backwards was a great idea but just wasn’t used to its full potential.

Nina

Ghostlines 
To say I liked this book would be lying. I absolutely loved it! The description made me feel as if I really was on Ayrie. The characters felt well introduced and realistic enough that you could relate to them without it breaking the magic of the book. If you ask me, then I would tell you it was a good balance of fairy-tale descriptions of the island’s scenery and gripping action scenes. In all honesty, I found it impossible to put this book down! To me, the idea of ‘following the ghostlines’ is genius and the way it was weaved in through the story equally amazing.

Nina

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
Twenty-four seconds from now is a must read for all young adults. I loved the format of the book, and the fact that the chapters were going back in time made the book really engaging and exciting. The book focuses on topics like relationships, pressure and growing up, so because of this, I would probably say it is for teenagers aged fourteen or over. I liked reading about their backstories and how they met and my favourite character is probably Jeremy because he brought them together! This book wasn’t my favourite but that doesn’t stop it from being very well written.

Jana

Birdie
I think Birdie is a must read for all ages. It is an engaging, well written book set in the 1950s and carries extremely important messages like racism, belonging and animal rights. The end had me gripped and I was so happy that Mr Duke survived (even though I don’t know how realistic it is). One thing I might change is the overused word ‘thou’ because even though it might have been said at that time, it was not very common, and it was used a bit too much. But overall, I really loved this book, and Birdie is very well written.

Jana

Popcorn
I really enjoyed Popcorn! It was funny, engaging with its entertaining illustrations but also went through important themes like living with people who have Alzheimer's disease and dealing with anxiety. One of the things I liked about the book was that the book was basically the authors story of living with anxiety except twisted and made into a funny novel! One thing I might improve about the book is the fact that all these things happen in one day, and the whole day is very stretched out. But on the other hand, that is the plot of the book! Overall, this was a great read!

Jana

Popcorn
I enjoyed this book. I liked the way the action all took place across one day in the life of Andrew, a boy suffering from anxiety. It is school photo day, so he is trying very hard not to get messy, but over the day various accidents involving a basketball, ketchup, a bully and a rogue science experiment conspire to make him increasingly unpresentable. The physical mess seems to represent his mental state as the day goes on. Andrew is caught between these pressures at school and the ones in his home life. His grandma with Alzheimer’s has gone missing and his mum isn’t responding to his calls. Andrew uses “the popcorn scale” to describe his anxiety levels, which I thought was a clever way to show the build up of pressure and its effect on the anxiety sufferer. The writer uses humour to explore quite a heavy subject matter, making it clear that it can happen to anyone.

Magnus

Wolf Siren
Personally, I thought Wolf Siren was an exhilarating read: certainly a keeper. Set in a community far from modern society, we, as readers, are introduced to a girl called Red, who lives on the outskirts and is unpopular with many. But as the story builds on, we learn this is due to her roots of being a werewolf - something very much taboo and feared in this given world. Key themes explored in this novel are, I would say is sexism as throughout the story, Red is strained from releases and showing her true ability simply due to her gender, which simply isn't fair. I would rate this book a solid 4 out of 10, due to the vividness of the described characters and anticipation. One key factor pulling the book back was the badly timed pace of the story - the buildup was anticipated, but certain actions done by the main character were more than questionable. I would've expected a more finely worked-out plot, but it seems that this is not present. It would've been better if the book were two books, allowing the world to be delved into more deeply and allowing the plot to truly flourish. Overall, this was a lovely read - with a few more years, I'm sure Beth O'Brien is destined to be the next Jane Austen!

Ryan

Not Going To Plan
The novel Not Going to Plan by Tia Fisher certainly is a curious read. At first, upon looking at the words, Fisher ingeniously displays them in a way rarely used: poetry. Moreover, the emotions conveyed are subtly foreshadowed through word art and changes in font. Indeed, this book is a thrilling read, with a whole array and cast of lovable, almost lifelike characters, ranging and diverse in every way possible. Furthermore, it explores themes such as teenage pregnancy, teenage love, and romance in general. I would rate this book very highly due to Fisher’s immense imagination displayed here.

Ryan

Ghostlines 
I really enjoyed this book. It captured me from the start with the map so I had a better idea of what was going on. I liked the subtle hints about Rowan and when Albie said I didn't know you had a brother it all clicked. There were a few bits that weren't that believable but most of it was. It was extremely gripping - just when you thought it was about to end another twist happened. I would absolutely recommend this book to others.

Daniel

The Boy I Love
I thought that this book was very interesting but it wasn't very exciting until the very end of the story, which made it a bit hard to keep reading. I think that the reason that it was very slow was because they were at war and it gave you the feeling of waiting for your first or next battle and until you die. The character of Danny was a nice and believable but I thought that the story about his mother didn't give the story anything and all it did was explain Danny a bit and push him into a bad light because up till then he was nice and normal but he then told his whole story which complicated him a bit. The rest of the platoon acted as you would imagine twentieth-century soldiers to act. When the Germans put up a sign about their doom, some of them responded with saying they could sort out the whole of the war over a pint of beer. Why were Stephen and Danny the odd ones out? It made them seem a bit unreal. I think that the fact that the main character, Stephen, was a Second- Lieutenant and he was only nineteen was very interesting because he had had so much more experience than all the other men who were twice his age. Overall, I thought that the characters were very believable and the plot was made on the basis of an actual story that happened in World War 1.

Ruby

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody was a fantastic book that covered the concept of how to deal with bullying and what to avoid if you are being bullied. This is shown when Zeke (the main character, a lizard) has to deal with Pelicanarssus (a pelican bully). I enjoyed how all the characters were animals which meant the reader had to read the book in a different perspective. Additionally, the book covered the topics of friendship, valuing one another and the importance of family. Finally, I liked this book because there was a lot of action especially towards the end of the novel.

Sotiris

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now is a very unusual and creative book, with an interesting structure that moves backwards in time. I think the author does a good job of building tension and exploring the main character’s thoughts and emotions in a unique way. However, although the idea is original, the storyline can feel a bit confusing at times because of the non-linear structure. Some parts of the plot feel more developed than others, and certain side details are not fully explored. Also, it is very focused around relationships and intimacy, meaning it is probably aimed for older teenagers (13+). Despite this, the book does a good job of focusing on themes like pressure, relationships, and growing up. In conclusion, this book is very slow and fast-paced at the same time, with it's unique back-in-time structure. I think it is great for older teens, about decision-making and thoughtfulness. Overall, I would rate Twenty-Four Seconds from Now a 7/10.

Felix

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Very chaotic book; I think the author did a great job with his imagination in this book. However, although the story starts normally, it slowly loses its plot and storyline. Many of the side-characters are very undeveloped (Only a few of the characters are developed) and many elements of the story, such as Zeke's mum, start well but slowly fizzles out. This book is probably best suited for children younger like ages 7-10 because it's better for someone who would rather have good ideas than a good plot. Overall, The Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody is a 7.5/10.

Felix

Popcorn
I think that Popcorn was an amazing book because I thought that some of the references to real life were very relatable, especially the feeling of anxiety but not that extreme. I liked the use of a popcorn kernel in hot oil to symbolize the feeling of growing anxiety. I really liked it at the end when Andrew gained confidence and stood up to Gene. I think that was an amazing end to the story. It also made a much more lighthearted ending after the panic attack, which was quite nerve-racking. I also really liked the ending with the photo where his glasses were completely wrecked.

Sam

Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren is a revisionist retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with a dark twist. In the Prologue the main character, Red, sees her grandmother and she teaches Red how to summon her own wolves. And then, what really kicks the story off is when they find the woodcutter, Caragh, missing and they discover she’s dead. One day when Red is delivering parcels to somebody who everyone thinks is a witch, she realises that she and her grandmother can actually transform into wolves and this is a big secret they have to keep because if people find out it’s true she could be possibly imprisoned. I liked the world building in this story and all the fantasy aspects of it. I liked how characters had really clear goals and motivations and secrets. This also had really key themes for a book like misogyny, family and friendship. However, one thing I didn’t like that much about the book is how the author made Red visually impaired. I fell like it wasn’t that relevant to the story and that it’s just there. But it doesn’t take away how much I enjoyed this book. In summary this is a book that is a dark twist of Red Riding Hood that could be read by people who like wolves or even just fantasy!

Leopold

Birdie
Birdie book review Birdie was a captivating book and a heart-warming story. It has a main message of no matter your skin colour, you can always make difference. Set in 1952, just after the war ended, Birdie Bagshaw lives in a brown babies orphanage. She loves all her friends and when her great auntie calls for her to leave, she is devastated. When she arrives at Barrington Dale, she wishes even more that she could come home. Her auntie doesn’t like her, neither do the villagers, even her teacher thinks she is incapable. But after she narrowly escapes some bullies, she meets a beautiful pit pony, and the moment Birdie sets her eyes on her, she falls in love. Birdie slips away every day to see her beloved Mr Duke and she soon forms a great bond with him. However, when someone whom Birdie doesn’t know comes to her aunt and uncles house telling them that Mr Duke will be killed, Birdie decided to run away with Mr Duke, only to come back the next day and save 2 people that are stuck in mine that collapsed. I think that this book was a great reminder of the difficulties some people have faced because of the colour of their skin. It was a story of adventure and love and resilience. I would recommend this book to others: I found it a real page turner and hope other readers do too!  

Harry

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I really enjoyed the chronicles of Lizard Nobody because it was such a funny, engaging, playful book filled with cute little cartoon illustrations. I have to say that I was a bit confused when I read that ‘France was on Zekes knee’ but soon understood later on in the book. Even though this was a book aimed for younger readers I found that the language used was quite advanced and sad moments like Zeke's ill mother that made the book even more exciting. The action was also very well written and very entertaining! I would definitely recommend it to younger readers!

Jana

Wolf Siren
I thoroughly enjoyed Wolf Siren; it was extremely well written and very engaging! It also included very important topics like disability, gender roles and sexism. I also loved the fact that Beth O’Brien took the story of the red little riding hood and turned it into something completely new! This book also made me feel a rainbow of emotion and made me cry (which never happens). If I could improve this book in any way, it might be writing different chapters from different characters perspectives. I would definitely recommend this book to children, teenagers and adults alike!!

Jana

Birdie
This book drew me in really quickly, in comparison to the Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody, where I was hooked after about the first fifty pages or so. By page 10 on Birdie, I decided I must read this book in two or less sittings! The style of the writing is very captivating, and one thing I really love is how the obvious problem of racism that the reader is expecting isn't addressed directly at the beginning. Birdie is raised in an all-black, or brown, orphanage, without much outside-world contact, and so she is very inexperienced in the ways of the adult, divisive world. Her skin colour is not explicitly mentioned, showing the reader that Birdie does not care, does not know that people can be divisive simply based on the colour of their skin. Upon arriving at the Winterbottom household, she begins to face racism, and, as a reader, I think it was a very realistic description of a young girl trying to figure out why everyone would look down on her upon sight. J.P Rose trusts the reader to piece together what is happening before Birdie does, and I find it creates a highly intimate connection between us and the events of the book. The themes of the book were handled brilliantly and with a lot of unsaid depth, shown and not told. However, I find the interactions slightly too hurried, for it's almost as if Birdie talks to someone once, they are racist to her, she talks to them again, and the other person apologises. As a reader, I personally would have enjoyed some more interactions of Birdie with said character, in which said character learns about who Birdie is as a person and the colour of her skin does not matter. I find the way Birdie keeps on going to the pit pony slightly unrealistic, but I think it provided enough interactions for the relationship to be created in depth and for me to actually care about what happens to Duke (the horse). I think the story represents innocent minds being victim to these divisive historic societal beliefs in a very historically accurate and emotional way, and of human and animal connection in a very raw and true manner. Overall, a highly interesting read and I would definitely recommend!

Roosha

The Boy I Love
The boy I love was a book filled with love, death and the hard times of the first world war. I thoroughly enjoyed the language the author chose, really depicting what those times might have sounded like. Another thing that surprised me was the fact that the book was not only about love, but the war too, it made the book exciting and expanded my knowledge. If I could improve this book in any way, it would be to have a name glossary because for me, I find it very difficult to remember all the people's names and surnames! Overall, I really enjoyed!

Jana

Not Going To Plan
Not Going To Plan by Tia Fisher is a book written in a creative verse format that explores themes of consent, breaking taboos, teen pregnancy and abortion. The story is about Marnie Staedler, a rebellious and brash “scholarship girl” who is expelled from her posh all-girls private school for constant troublemaking. At her new school, she meets Zed, the class nerd who cannot stand hugs or the smell of Marnie’s vapes. At a party, Marnie sleeps with a boy (Harry) who was only pretending to wear a condom (and who only did it with her to make his girlfriend jealous!) Eventually, she finds out that she is pregnant, and needs Zed to help her decide what to do. This book was really enjoyable. The poem format makes the story better paced without having to worry about making the sentences too detailed, and interesting pictures and shapes were also made from the words on the page. I liked the subplots in the story such as Luca and Zed’s situation, which made the characters feel really real and consistent. I really enjoyed the development of friendships and characters – it felt relatively realistic when Marnie and Jessica teamed up on Harry whilst not becoming sudden best friends like in kids films. My favourite character was probably Luca because of his easygoing nature and how he supported Marnie during the abortion. The book covers challenging and tabooed themes but it was written just right: neither treated as an unspeakable topic nor as something to be joked about or glossed over.

yuding

Popcorn
Popcorn was a very creative book that reflected on the topic of anxiety. The main character of the book had severe anxiety and imagined himself as a kernel that started off well but when he got more anxiety the kernel got hotter and hotter until it popped. It also covers the topic of kindness; when the main character, Andrew, gets a panic attack in the middle of an art class because his grandma has disappeared his friend, Aisha, helps with finding her. I really enjoyed this book because it was based on a real-life scenario but it also was a very original way to look at it.

Sotiris

Birdie
I would rate birdie a 3/5 because I don't like the plot. I think the plot being the horse lives in the very last page of the book isn't the kind of plot I like. For example I would have liked it if it were to be spread across a chapter maybe two. I am also not a fan of the old language, I know it fits the scene but some of the key sentences don't make sense for someone like me who don't read old language books. It would have been nice if they had made a key. Also I would've liked it more if they hadn't spent so many chapters on birdie giving Mr Duke food. although these negative comments the one big thing that gives it this ok score is the message, showing that all people should treated the same is a very key message and I like that.

Arya

Popcorn
I think that Popcorn is a good book for people with Anxiety. Popcorn is about a boy called Andrew who has anxiety and he goes to middle school. It’s photo day and Andrew is really anxious because he wants a good photo but throughout the book there are some things that ruin his appearance. I liked how it mentioned certain characters and kept on mentioning them throughout the book and assigns different roles to them. I also liked how it explored themes of bullying, anxiety, panic and friendship. I also really liked how they put pictures of teachers on each chapter so readers knew what they looked like before reading about them. Overall, this is a great book about overcoming anxiety.

Leopold

Wolf Siren
Red was told by her mother not to go to the woods because they were dangerous and possess strange magic. Back in the village where she lives, men and boys were vulnerable to wolf attacks unlike the women, who the wolves won't attack. It has been three years since Red's grandmother had disappeared in the forest, and Red was determined to find her, no matter the cost. But Red has a terrible secret which she shares with Aerona, her younger sister, and their shared secret could have a devastating effect on their village. I loved this book because it tells you about the beauty of nature when you don't realise it. My favourite character would be Red herself because she is overprotective, stubborn and brave. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys leaning about the powers that animals have in the wild.

Ibsan

Birdie
Birdie Bagshaw has never really known anyone but her mother in her life, who gave her up after she was born. But when she was sent to live with her great-aunt in Barrington Dale, a place based on mining, everything becomes different. The people there treats her differently and unkindly with suspicion, until she meets a pit pony, who she calls Mr Duke. Birdie eventually forms a bond with Mr Duke, but has to now try to save his life when the slaughterhouse comes to try and kill him. I really enjoyed this book because it helped me understand the cruelty that animals like Mr Duke were experiencing and these kind of things still happen today worldwide. My favourite character was Mr Duke because he was gentle, brave to rescue some of the men trapped in the mines and is friendly to Birdie.

Ibsan

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
This book was enjoyable although I was surprised because it was very different to other Patrick Ness books I have read. This one is light hearted and funny but it does have some serious ideas running through it such as bullying, prejudice about other people’s differences, and mental health. The book has some black and white illustrations, they are well drawn but on the whole I don’t think they added to the experience and the book would have worked without them. It tells the tale of Zeke, a monitor lizard. He and his friends, also monitor lizards, are chosen to be hall monitors at their school. The school is full of all kinds of animals, so the question they ask is, why are just the monitor lizards chosen to be monitors? I think that the writer is making readers think about issues of stereotyping. Zeke is insulted by a bully, Pelicarnassus, because of the fact that he’s been made a monitor. Zeke punches him and the conflict escalates over the plot of the book. There is a weird element where the country of France exists in real time on Zeke’s knee due to a family curse. I think this relates to his burdens – his dad has died, his mum is depressed, she stops eating and eventually has to go into hospital. At the end there is a showdown between Zeke and the pompous bully Pelicarnassus who turns out to be the son of a supervillain and has plenty of back up, including a giant robot pelican suit that he has built. He tries to destroy the school. However, Zeke discovers that he also has a lot of support that he doesn’t realise he had, both the other monitors and his new friend the blind hawk Miel. They defeat Pelicarnassus. It turns out that you can be strong enough without armour if you believe in yourself and have good friends. Overall, I thought the book had some good themes about friendship, standing up for yourself and that more people than you think have hidden struggles.

Magnus

Popcorn
Popcorn by Rob Harrell is a story about anxiety, told in a comical, lighthearted way. It is set in a regular middle school and follows Andrew Yaeger as he navigates an increasingly disastrous day, his anxiety (or his “popcorn kernel”, as he calls it) getting closer and closer to “popping”! In the end, he does have a panic attack. But he comes out of the ordeal, in one piece, and learning that he is not alone in his struggles, and that people are always here to help. Issues with a bully are also resolved, and all in all, the book leaves nothing hanging or unfinished. The book balances emotion and humour well, and the representation of anxiety seems authentic enough, without getting too dark or painful. Characters seem consistent, and the book retains a cartoonish element throughout (in writing style as well as illustrations). The ending was realistic and positive. The story didn’t seem overly clichéd, but nor was it especially thrilling. In my opinion, it was a good book but the emotional depth and originality/element of surprise was not enough for my personal taste. I think it’s suitable for all ages, but best perhaps for under-12s. To conclude, this was a well-written book, but more suitable for fans of comedy and lighthearted reads than those of books high in emotional depth, fantastical elements and/or thrilling plots.

yuding

Popcorn
I found this book very informative in the way that it showed how the day in the life of someone with anxiety is when they are having a rough day. It also embodies the main theme of anxiety and overcoming in a nice story, where many things are happening and the main character, Andrew, has to deal with it. I also found it imaginative where there are 'half' chapters which give new information and reflect on Andrew's therapist visits; I did not always enjoy this aspect of the book since it breaks the flow of an exciting chapter. Overall, I would recommend this book to teenagers, because the book seems relatable and informative.

Buddhan

Not Going To Plan
When I first picked up this book, I thought that I wouldn’t enjoy it, but I have been proved very wrong! This book is a must read for all young adults. It contains extremely important subjects like teenage pregnancy, consent and friendship. I love Marnie and Zeds friendships; they are so different but still the perfect match! I also love the fact that this was a verse novel, I know I sometimes feel bored of the words going across the page and this book changed that! The playing of words and visual reading was so engaging and I loved it!

Jana

Ghostlines 
This was such a mesmerising book and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The writing was written beautifully, with descriptive language and carefully crafted sentences. Tilda’s story was one of adventure and her love of the Ayrie is so heartwarming. The book also made me feel intrigued, like when Tilda talks about her brother Rowan. The fact that she didn’t tell us who he was at first was extremely effective as it got me thinking about the book, who was he? And made me finish the book very quickly! I would definitely recommend this incredible book to anyone; it is the most wonderful read.

Jana

Not Going To Plan
When Marnie gets expelled by her independent school and sent to Downham College, she was put to sit next to a boy named Zed, a nerd who does not accept mistakes. The two of them require help from one another. Marnie, who is good at Spanish and art but not at Physics, and Zed, brilliant at maths and Physics but not Spanish, need to help the other to get their GCSEs. But when Marnie has sex with a boy at a party who pretended to wear a condom, she needs Zed’s help to overcome her problem. I like this book because it broadens about how you can rely on others to help overcome your problems and fears, instead of hiding it and making the problem worse. My favourite character in that book would be Luca, who is a friend of Zed’s, because he is funny and understanding about Marnie’s issues. However, I would recommend it to people from Year 10 upwards because it includes some strong language (etc. swear words) and topics that you would cover at a later age, such as consent. In conclusion, this book is a good book to read if you are looking to understand teenagers.

Ibsan

Wolf Siren
Wolf siren was a really interesting book to read, with the plot being a clever twist on the original fairy tale. The book was an insight into the fairy tale, masterfully re-creating the story from Red’s point of view. O’Brien focuses on the fact that whereas in the original tale of red riding hood, the wolves were evil and scary, she portrays them as loyal companions of Red, who are misunderstood by the rest of the village. The story was a dramatic and slightly mysterious read, although I felt that Aerona’s death was slightly unexpected, it created a beautiful ending to the story.

Zoe

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
Twenty-Four Seconds From Now is a beautiful story in my opinion. It is about a boy called Neon who, at the start of the book, is going to have sex with his girlfriend in twenty-four seconds from now and he’s really nervous. Then we’re taken further and further back into Neon’s life as he gets advice from his parents and the development of the thoughts he has at the beginning of the book. This book was a bit mature for Year 7s, I would reccomend this to teenage boys as it teaches them about how it’s OK to express your emotions and to have intense emotions and that there’s always someone to talk to

Leopold

Popcorn
After I finished reading this book, it was like breathing a gulp of air. Everything that happened in the book was very quick and unexpected and it was a relief when the book slowed down to a steadier pace towards the end. Although it was quick and fast-paced, it was quite relatable to my own everyday school-life, such as rogue basketballs and failed science experiments. Overall, this was a great book-8/10-but I think it would have more effect on the reader if the story was stretched across multiple days, because since this book is about school, it’s quite unrealistic and would feel less constricted if the story was stretched along even just two days. I think that at the end, Andrew Yaeger was very brave to take the school photo, considering his incredibly gloomy day, his lost Grandmother, his panic attacks and his new shirt being messed up, he showed that he truly learnt at the end of the book by braving the school photo. This also shows that even with disabilities, you can still overcome anything. I think the moral of this story is to never give up and stay positive.

Felix

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I found this book extremely humorous and with new additions to the plot around every corner. I especially loved how the author incorporates each animal's behaviour in real life into this book - e.g. the lions are very proud. My favourite character in the book is actually Miel because the way that he acts is very funny since he screams every word he says. However, I think that the main character, Zeke, fighting the main antagonist of this book, Pelicarnassus, should be longer because it shows how someone that isn't really that strong or talented defeats someone who is very devious and cunning with his friends. One thing that I would change in the book is the fact that France is on Zeke's knee, which seems a bit over-the-top and bizarre, but it still is something that is very comical. The age group that I would recommend this book to is about ages 7 - 10. Overall, this was a fun read.

Buddhan

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
24 Seconds From Now is a great book that makes you feel a rollercoaster of emotions. It shows how one moment can change your life. The story moves fast. It makes you think hard about the moral dilemmas and the complex characters while not taking away from the gripping and tense story. The author does a great job of making you feel excited and also making you ponder. Some of the surprises may be predictable but still makes you feel great. The book talks about what happens when we difficult make choices and how people connect with each other. You think about these things even after you finish reading the book. While still engaging me, the pacing was sometimes uneven, important moments were cut short and some things might have dragged on for too long, and he story, while tense, could have been more developed. Overall, quick yet an impactful and great read. Would recommend to others.

Bowen

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
In my opinion, Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness is a fun and thoughtful story about trying to fit in while still being yourself. The main character, Zeke, is easy to like, and his struggles with friendship and identity feel real and relatable. Ness uses humour throughout the book, but also includes more serious moments that add depth to the story. It is an easy read, with the text being simple and clear. This makes it more enjoyable and easier to understand. Overall, the book has a balanced mixture of comedy and meaningful ideas about confidence and belonging.

Charlotte

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
I thought that this book was a little boring because I though that Neon was a little unbelievable because he seemed to be scared about an unnecessary amount of things. I thought that Aria was the most believable because she is like a real person and I can imagine people acting like she does in real life. She expresses her emotions in a nice way, whereas neon bottles his all up until the last chapter where he tell Aria what he thinks about having sex. The rest of the book is quite simple and I think that apart from the last and first chapters, everything is fine and appropriate for younger children. The plot is simple and that makes it a bit easy to read. Overall, I liked the book a bit, but I would probably not pick it up again.

Ruby

Not Going To Plan
I thought that this book was very interesting because it was something I had never read something like it before. I thought that the main characters were interesting because they weren't your natural idea of heroes or heroines. I thought that Marnie was a very believable character but I think that becoming pregnant with a boy you know nothing about is not a life- like situation. I think that she goes through the whole story in a good way because she asks for help from people, which not everyone would do because they can be too scared to tell the truth to people. I like that Zed overcomes his fear of people to help Marnie through everything. The character of Zed's mother is a bit unbelievable because she is so pressurising and she doesn't add a lot to the story apart from not being very supporting to Zed and Marnie. In the end, I liked that Marnie and Jessica joined forces to get back at Jessica's boyfriend, who made Marnie pregnant in the first place. The end part, where Marnie and Jessica speak together is an exciting time and my overall favourite part of the book. Overall, I think that this book is very good and I would definitely go back to read it again.

Ruby

Birdie
Overall, Birdie is a very interesting and well-thought book that highlights the topic of dealing with prejudice and racism. Even when her family did not accept her, Birdie persevered and managed to change their attitude. The book also stresses the value of caring for each other. This is shown when Birdie doesn’t stop caring for the pony and even when the pony is very ill and about to die, she does not give up on trying to get help. The description of the ‘raincloud over the village’ and the families’ discussions about their loved ones who had died in the war was fascinating. I enjoyed this novel a lot; the idea behind it is very original.

Sotiris

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody is a humorous story about a lizard named Zeke. Zeke has two lizard friends called Alicia and Daniel and they go to a school which animals attend and animals teach there. One day, Principal Wombat makes them hall monitors and whilst hall monitoring they meet an ambitious pelican named Pelicarnassus. Pelicarnassus is a bully and through out the story, frequently picks on Zeke for his size. Along with being humorous and having a bully pelican, this story touches on themes like racism and bullying and finding your hidden strengths. Patrick Ness hid these themes in a funny story for kids which I love because it introduces young kids to these themes early on. Another thing that made this book so great was the illustrations. The illustrations along side the text really immersed me into this world. In summary, this is a funny story for kids that introduces strong themes like racism and I’d recommend it for animal lovers anywhere!

Leopold

Ghostlines 
I enjoyed Ghostlines! It was surprisingly short, which I thought didn't provide enough space for the characters to grow and develop- but I did like how Tilda got to see Rowan again. I initially disliked Albie, but he grew on me and I thought it was super sweet that he wanted to save the baby puffins. I didn't really find that there was that much tension, or that there was a problem that needed to be solved like in most books, and I think this was a book that is better suited to younger age-groups. However, overall, the descriptions of the natural world and the environment were excellent, and the author managed to encapsulate a 12-year-old girl's thoughts very accurately.

Jackie

Wolf Siren
The Wolf Siren by Beth O’Brien is an interesting and slightly spooky story that blends folklore with real emotions. O’Brien creates a strong atmosphere in the woods, describing Red’s view as a blur of autumn colours. The main character, Red, is a feisty girl facing the challenges of growing up, learning who she is, and figuring out where she belongs, which makes her easy to relate to. Some parts of the story are slower, but this helps build the mood. Overall, The Wolf Siren is an engaging read, especially if you enjoy a touch of mystery and a darker tone.

Charlotte

The Boy I Love
I really loved this book. I loved the fact that even though it is a book about the second world war, it has beautiful moments, described in beautiful ways. One thing that I found extremely interesting is the way that they talked about the Germans. Sometimes they talked about them as the enemy, and sometimes, such as the time when they invaded the German trench and talked to the German soldier, they don’t distance themselves from them that much. I loved all the characters, especially Stephen, Danny and CO Jackson. The only thing about the book that I didn’t like was the ending. I think it was abrupt and didn’t make sense with the way the rest of the story was written.

Iris

Wolf Siren
I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would definitely recommend it to other people who haven’t read it yet. I think that my favorite moment in the book was when Red first summoned her wolves. I loved this moment because it felt powerful and it made me feel that Red finally had people in her life who wouldn’t judge her and would be by her side no matter what. If there is anything I don’t like about the book, it is that Aerona’s death was a bit sudden. I think, though, that it is countered by the haunting beauty of her funeral, which is a fitting ending for a simply beautiful book.

Iris

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
To me, the book "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" was an amusing, simple read, with a very much children-based setting and directed for - once again - children, perhaps much of the time with a younger age. Looking into the plot, personally, I find it unbelievable, and if anything, a touch too fantastical, turning a regular cold-hearted bully into a fully blown supervillain. Furthermore, certain aspects are perhaps unrealistic and far-fetched, making the reader lose touch with the characters Zeke, Daniel and others. Building on this, all characters were developed and expanded on beautifully, except for the brief touch on the black dog - we are unsure whether it is a pet of the family, a stepfather for Zeke or even anything in between; making it deeply troubling and confusing about the "black dog." Building on this story for a sequel, hopefully, we will see more about this once vaguely touched character.

Ryan

Popcorn
Popcorn was an interesting book! I really liked how it talked about anxiety, OCD and germophobia without sounding preachy and textbook-like. It was an interesting mix of a graphic novel and a book– and I really liked the analogy of a kernel of corn getting hotter as things go wrong throughout the day. However, I did find that it would have been better suited to a younger audience as I didn't find it challenging at all. The storyline also seemed very busy and didn't really allow that much space for characters to develop– all of the events happening in the space of one day seemed rather implausible. Overall, I would recommend it to a younger child– but the descriptions of anxiety and OCD were very well written.

Jackie

Birdie
Birdie by J. P. Rose Birdie is a historical fiction about a girl named Birdie Bagshaw who is living in a children’s home for “brown babies,” as said at the end of the book, and is sent to go live with her great-aunt, Mabel Winterbottom, in the Yorkshire Dales. She meets a pit-pony in a coal mine after running into the forest from being bullied and forms a strong bond with the pony. My opinion on this book was that it was very fun and whimsical. It got very fast-paced at the end parts. Along with being a fun book with pit-ponies, this book also touches on heavy themes such as bullying, racism and standing up for what you think is right. Overall, I think this book is a fun and whimsical story for any animal-lovers (specifically ponies) out there!

Leopold

Wolf Siren
I really liked this book! I found that it was an innovative twist on the classic fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood, that focused more on empowering women rather than a scared little girl faced with the wolf. I also found it interesting how the roles were essentially reversed- in the original fairytale, the wolf is the antagonist and the woodcutter saves the day, but in this version, the wolves were the protagonists and the woodcutter was the one being shunned. My favourite part was Red describing her reaction to getting her cycle for the first time, and thinking that she was going to die! One small inconsistency I found was that Red was allegedly visually impaired, but until the author told us this, she seemed to see things just fine. However, in general this was an excellent read with a moving plot.

Jackie

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I thought this was a sweet, short book, that is probably for a younger age-group. It was well-meaning and had heart-warming themes of friendship and family love, but I did find some parts quite random that missed the mark a bit. For example, the sub-plot about the entire nation of France being on a lizard's knee was odd and seemed unnecessary, and the super-villain that everybody feared was equally strange. I did enjoy that the characters were animals- it made the book fun and lively! Overall, I would say that this is a cute book, but not something that I would have read voluntarily.

Jackie

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now really stuck with me because of how deliberately awkward and honest it makes Neon and Aria feel. Reading it, I kept thinking that their relationship only works because it doesn’t feel neatly polished. Neon’s overthinking and nervous self-awareness feel almost uncomfortable at times, but in a way that’s painfully familiar rather than annoying. Aria, too, isn’t written as an idealised love interest—she feels grounded, real, and sometimes just as uncertain as he is, which made their connection feel earned instead of slightly romanticised to me. What I found I really liked is how the reverse structure sharpens everything you already know as a reader. I felt like I wasn’t discovering what happened so much as discovering why it mattered, and that really made all of the small acts that Neon did for Aria matter more to me– like buying her chicken tenders!

Jackie

Not Going To Plan
Not Going to Plan by Tia Fisher is a book I found both gripping and quite eye-opening. I really liked Marnie as a character because she feels believable and human—she starts off quite sure of herself and in control, but then has to deal with something that completely knocks her off balance. I also liked Zed, who at first comes across as quite closed off and awkward, but over time you see him become someone she can actually rely on. What stood out most to me was how the book handles serious issues in a very honest way. The part about stealthing was especially informative for me, as I didn’t fully understand what it is before reading the book. It didn’t feel like it was there just to shock the reader either—it felt real, and it made me properly think about consent and how easily boundaries can be crossed.

Jackie

Birdie
I found this book very heartwarming because the main character, Birdie, is forced to go to a new place where not everyone accepts her. Then, by some sort of destiny, she meets a pony called Mr Duke, who she vows to save. Slowly, people start to accept her and time is ticking to save Mr Duke. I like the part where they run away but are forced back because they only need each other. My favourite character is Birdie great uncle, who she calls Mr Walter, because he was the first person who was actually kind to her and also saved Mr Duke.

Buddhan

Birdie
Personally, I thought the book "Birdie" by J.P. Rose was an exhilarating read of highs and lows of being two ethnicities - accurately reflecting on perhaps the author's own personnel experiences making the piece feel truly authentic - of what was regarded perhaps taboo in the period that Birdie is set in, and the hardships Birdie endures becoming stronger and more true to herself by the end, with the other characters around her embracing her for who she truly is ; not trying to get her into society's norm. Despite this though, I feel as if the book is seeming hollow, lacking true emotive quality and a gripping plot ; with much of the book only being the build-up to the actual main event. Furthermore, certain characters such as the teacher of birdie and the boy that we meet in the book are only briefly touched on, which as  a reader we are given an inkling clue of a possibly romantic relationship - possibly needing more character development. But overall, the novel "Birdie" is a great read for all!

Ryan

Birdie
Birdie by J. P. Rose is a thoughtful and emotional novel that explores themes of belonging, racism, and resilience. I found Birdie a sympathetic and engaging character, and her friendship with the pit pony adds warmth and hope to an otherwise difficult story. I really liked when she described his colour as if he was “dipped in a can of paint”–it made me imagine exactly what she saw, I think. While the story is endearing, certain parts felt slightly predictable and the story seemed to progress too quickly in some places, in my opinion. I really wished that the author had focused more on Birdie running away with Mr Duke, because I loved how free and happy Birdie seemed then– it was my favourite part!

Jackie

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
The first part of the book was quite interesting but not the most interesting so that I would immediately be hooked, however I was invested in the story by the first 50 pages because of the comedy and the interesting representations of insecurity, depression and also by the general idea and plot. The world, in a practical sense, is obviously very unbelievable, but it works really well to depict the idea of stereotypes surrounding different races or classes (or in this case, species). The pacing was good, easy to read and flowed very naturally - I didn't realise I was finished until I put the book down and picked up my pen to write this review. The idea and theme behind the story and its depictions is definitely something I haven't seen before and I don't think I will see this way of representation again. The themes were well-explored in the small amount of pages there were and I found it having a large impact on my thoughts on metaphors. I really liked the idea of the black dog showing depression and I absolutely loved the ending in which Zeke comes home from school to see his mum waiting for him instead of sitting in her bedroom. I think it really brings the relationship between those two full circle. Talking about relationships, I really enjoyed how the characters all interacted with one another and the use of comedy to make the book more fun to read for children and teenagers alike. The small cast of main characters (Zeke, Daniel, Alicia, and Miel) made the story much easier to read than if it had more characters and we needed to delve into each of their stories. I loved the way the main trio of Zeke, Daniel and Alicia were shown to have an equal relationship rather two of them being closer to each other than the other and the way that all of them depended on each other in a way. Throughout the story, I also liked how Zeke's thought process began to challenge the idea of stereotypes surrounding species (mentioned before) and how although everyone shares some things in common, everyone is their own individual and have their own characteristics. The characters definitely feel very real - their interactions really jumped out of the page! The use of comedy in the dialogue and overall writing style was also a good idea to keep in line with the unusual, more child-like representations of heavier themes. Aimed more towards children aged 8 - 12, the humorous and informal style kept the tone playful yet thought-provoking in a way I didn't expect it to be. Overall, a very compelling read indeed.

Roosha

The Boy I Love
I found The Boy I Love a very powerful and hard-hitting book. To me, it highlights the prejudice faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community while also vividly capturing the horrors and brutality of the trenches during World War I. William Hussey writes with emotional depth, making the characters feel real and their struggles and flashbacks poignant. The contrast between love and violence is especially striking, and Stephen and Danny’s bond is strong, but their need for secrecy creates constant tension and heartbreak. Beyond love, the story explores friendship, loyalty, and courage under pressure. By writing from Stephen’s point of view, Hussey immerses readers in his thoughts and feelings, creating a deep sense of empathy for his experiences. Overall, the book is unforgettable, thought-provoking, and leaves a lasting impression.

Jackie