CSGS Page Turners 26

Create Group Magazine

Birdie
'Birdie' by J. P. Rose is a heart-warming book about a black girl who starts living with her great-aunt and uncle in the countryside. This book is about how she proves herself worthy and doesn't let harmful racist comments get to her. I loved the way Birdie had the courage to go down to the mine to feed Mr Duke even after Mr Walter (her great-uncle) warned her of the risks. I enjoyed this book and I would definitely read it again! I would recommend this book to people who are Year 5+ because it was an easy read and wasn't any hard elements to the plot. Overall I would rate this book a 4/5!

Ghostlines
'Ghostlines' by Katya Balen was a book about a girl who lives on a remote island and likes exploring the nature surrounding it. I found this book very hard to get into and for me it was a very slow start. But after halfway through the book picked up and it became a lot more interesting. I would recommend this book to people who like the genre adventure. I personally didn't enjoy the book so overall, I would rate this book a 2.5/5.

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
'Twenty-Four Seconds From Now' by Jason Reynolds is a story about teenage romance. The book is mainly about Neon and his girlfriend Aria, going from now, to 24 minutes earlier, 24 hours earlier...etc. I found it confusing jumping between different time zones but I liked how they first met. The story had a good plot but it wasn't my favourite Carnegie book. I would recommend this book to people over the age of 11-12 who like books which feature romance. This (personally) was not my type of book but I enjoyed it all the same. Overall I would give this book a 3/5!

Popcorn
This book follows Andrew through his school picture day where he deals with bullies, spilt juice and a basketball. Despite his struggles, Andrew still tries to look perfect for his mother! This book was not my favourite out of all the Carnegie books but I still enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to children in year 4+.

Not Going To Plan
At first, I didn't enjoy the style that the book was written it but it grew on me as I liked the way that it showed two different perspectives. This book is not one that I would normally read but I still found this book empowering and well written. The characters were all well thought out and the plot had a very good shape. I liked the way Zed, Lukka and Rakel supported Marnie throughout her struggles with her pregnancy. I think the way that Tia Fisher thought out the ending with the art project was very creative and how at the end even though Jessica was mean to Marnie they got along at the end. Overall I would give this book a 4/5.

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
This is not a book I would normally read but I enjoyed it! It was a bit confusing in some parts of the book when the 'France on his knee' was mentioned and the 'black dog'. It had a good plot and lots of good characters. My favourite was Zeke or Miel. Zeke because he never gave up and Miel because he never stopped trying even with his disability. I would recommend this book to 7-10 year olds. I thought it was a bit basic for older than years 6 but probably too advanced for younger than year 3 or 4. Overall, I would give this book a 3/5.

Not Going To Plan
I really enjoyed reading Not Going To Plan and think Tia Fisher is an amazing author. I especially liked the format in which it was written as well as the fact that it was a reasonably fast read. Before each page turn I was dying to know what happened next, and I thought the plot was amazingly gripping. This book is a 10 out of 10 from me and I highly recommend it.

Popcorn
I really enjoyed reading this book! I found it really interesting how clearly the book explains what anxiety is like because it may be difficult for people without it to understand what challenges there are to overcome. I loved how alongside this important theme, there was still plenty of humour involved! So far, this book is definitely one of my favourites!

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
I found this book so interesting as it delved into all of the history in a couple's relationship, and parents support in life. I loved it so much but I thought the ending could have had more detail as it ended quite abruptly with not much explanation. I couldn't put it down!

Wolf Siren
I loved reading this book so much! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books that involve girls trying to find where their belong. This book was SO touching, powerful and gripping. It had such a great ending. I have loved every plot twist in the book especially the ones towards the end!

Wolf Siren
I loved this book so much! I would recommend it to anybody who likes books about fighting to belong. I found the ending really powerful and touching and I appreciated how the book involved the main character's other senses as well as her sight. I was gripped from the first chapter!

Not Going To Plan
I really enjoyed this book, as it is written in verse, the message was really powerful. It touched on really mature topics and was extremely enlightening. I couldn't put it down, and once I finished it, I read it all again!