Montsaye Shadow Readers

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
3 monitor lizards are made hall monitors until the school bully is rude to them. The lizards and their friend end up saving the school (and France!). I really enjoyed this book, especially at the end when Zeke came home to find his mum well again! 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Callie

Wolf Siren
Red Tammel loves walking through the woods. Red ends up saving the village and her family. I loved this book! The plot is amazing and I liked it when Red was surrounded by the wolves' howls of joy! Definitely one of my favourites! 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Callie

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
Neon goes through what happened when he first met Tia, before he gets intimate with her. I like that some parts are really humorous and how Neon overcomes his anxiety - it is a really good book! 5 stars!

Alice

Not Going To Plan
Zed and his friend Marnie find out she is pregnant after a boy lied about wearing a condom. I liked how this book was written in verse and poems instead of being written left to right like a normal book. This is my favourite book so far! 5 stars!

Edith

Wolf Siren
Red has a special connection to the trees and a secret! Red can summon four wolves and transform into a wolf herself. I really liked how this book had a protagonist with a disability and how she still managed to make everything right. This is definitely one of my favourites! 5 stars!

Edith

Birdie
This book is about a girl named Birdie who is bullied and gets pushed into a mine where she meets a pit-pony. I enjoyed this book and how it explored themes of bullying. This was a very good read and I would definitely recommend it! 3.5 stars out of 5.

Edith

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Zeke and his friends get into trouble with Pelicanarsus, the school bully. Can Zeke save the day? I enjoyed this book because it really shows a bizarre and funny representation of how discrimination can affect someone, and how we can deal with this if we feel like we are being bullied.

Olivia

Not Going To Plan
Marnie - a troublesome girl and Zed - a shy nerd, form an unlikely friendship, but then Marnie gets pregnant... I really loved reading this book. It explores the female right to choose what they do with their body, and difficult themes like blackmail and rape. It also leaves you on a really good cliff-hanger at the end... 4 out of 5 stars!

Olivia

Not Going To Plan
This is about Marnie and Zed and how Marnie got tricked into thinking a boy was using protection when they had sex. In my opinion, I think it's a great book and I love how it has both Zed and Marnie's point of view and how they evolve into who they are. 4 out of 5 stars!

Zara

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
It's Neon and Aria's first time. The book explores Neon's life leading up to this. I struggled to get into the book at first, but after a while, I began to enjoy reading it. It is really fun and light-hearted, exploring the life of a young man and his girlfriend Aria.

Olivia

The Boy I Love
Stephen goes to war and falls in love with Danny (a new recruit). I did not finish reading this book and I didn't really like it. I found it goes on and on and doesn't stay within the plot line.

Zara

Popcorn
This is a book about Andrew and how he tackles OCD and how it makes him feel. In my opinion, I really like Popcorn as it shows the struggles of OCD. It also shows the feelings and how Andrew demonstrates it in the story. I would give this 4 out of 5 stars.

Zara

Not Going To Plan
Marnie and Zed are complete opposites and need help with GCSEs. When Marnie gets pregnant accidentally, she turns to Zed for help. I think this book was really good and there were many moments when I shut the book to think about it! The beginning was really intriguing and I'm glad about how it ended. I love how the book looks and the writing style. 4 out of 5 stars.

Viki

Birdie
Birdie is a young orphan and is going to start a new life but she faces racism. I really enjoyed this book and I think it really shows the impact of racial and sexual discrimination. It also touches on displacement, belonging and your identity. 4 out of 5 stars.

Olivia

Not Going To Plan
Marnie got kicked out of Wynford College and had to go to Downham School to complete her GCSEs. Zed has always been at Downham, but he wants to go to a super selective scientific sixth form, then onto Oxford University. This was a really good book, with a really annoying ending! Tia should have told us their results! This story is a good way to support people in a relaxed way without judging others because of their past mistakes.

Ava

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines is about a new boy who arrives on the island of Eyrie. So Tilda has to show him around and tries to make him like the island. I really liked this book because it shows you what happens on a small island and how some people like that and some people don't. I think that is was elongated - some chapters could have been paragraphs or even sentences. 3 out of 5 stars.

Ava

Birdie
Birdie finds herself in a mine and then finds a pit pony. I loved this book. It's a sweet story of a girl and her pony. It's also a story of a girl finding her forever home. I would give it 4 stars.

Elspeth

Ghostlines 
'Ghostlines' is about a new boy who arrives on the island of Ayrie and Tilda who needs to make him love it. I really liked this book. It touches on how people deal with grief and losing people. It also shows the difficulty of moving house and not belonging. I would definitely recommend this book. I award it 3 out of 5 stars.

Olivia

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
'Twenty Four Seconds From Now' is a really good book. I enjoyed it a lot, even if I found some of the sentences a bit weird. I loved reading it and I would definitely read it again.

Callie

Popcorn
This book is about Andrew, who struggles with anxiety and this is the story of one day in his life. This book wasn't my favourite (sorry!) but it was very humorous and pretty funny, as well as being informative about how anxiety feels and how to deal with it as best you can. I would give this book 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Edith

Ghostlines 
This book is about a girl who lives on the island. I like this book because of the mystery and suspense - you never know what is going to happen next. I also like the sense of adventure Tilda gives when the book is told from Tilda's perspective. I would definitely recommend this book to others who like adventure books. I would give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Euan

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
This book is about a young boy who is nervous about sleeping with his girlfriend. It also shows his life from minutes to hours, to months and then years. In my opinion, it is a sweet story of love and friendship which I would give 4 stars out of 5.

Elspeth

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
'Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody' is the story of a lizard called Zeke who became an enemy of Pelicanarssus and it goes downhill after that... I would award this book 4.5 stars out of 5 as it is really good and I loved the plot. It was a good read!

Zara

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
This book is about Neon's relationship with Aria and everything that leads them to where they are now. In my opinion this was a good book and had a very good storyline and was very exciting to read. I would rate 'Twenty Four Seconds From Now' 3.5 stars out of 5.

Zara

Birdie
This story is about a girl called Birdie who was invited to live with her aunt. As soon as she left her home town everything changed. She felt like no-one treated her fairly, only the kindest of people. Then she met Mr Duke her friend. After she met him, her life felt happier. Little did she know what was to come... This book teaches people that they belong here and it takes time to accept things, but it's ok. We should judge people on who they are, not what they look like.

Alice

The Boy I Love
I enjoyed the book. I found that it was characterised very well and I understood the characters. The plot was interesting and kept me engaged while reading the book. I would award this book 4.5 out of 5.

Edith

Popcorn
It is Andrew's picture day and he has had a haircut and a new shirt, his mum wants him to have a good picture. Then G, his grandma, goes missing, stressing him out even more. To make it worse Gene decides to beat Andrew up because he won't let Gene cheat on a test. He has a panic attack in class. Will he find G? It is a good, light-hearted way to talk about OCD. I enjoyed it because it showed what other people are experiencing, when you are only worrying about yourself.

Ava

Not Going To Plan
I think 'Not Going to Plan' is a really good book. I enjoyed the plot and I felt that you could really feel sympathy for Marnie once you had gotten to know her better. I loved it and recommend it for others to read. I would rate it 5 out of 5 stars!

Callie

Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren was a great book because it was fun and I couldn't put it down. Every paragraph ended on a cliff-hanger. I was reading until 12:30 and not even realising! It felt like I was in the woods with her. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Ava

Popcorn
This is a great book with emotions that are strong and hard to manage. It is about a boy struggling with his anxiety, describing it as a popcorn kernel. He's trying to suppress panic attacks and manage family problems in this story. I would award it 4 stars, out of 5!

Elspeth

Popcorn
I have awarded this book 3.5 out of 5, overall. It is about a boy called Andrew, who suffers from anxiety and in the story it is picture day. He is wearing his new shirt which he can't get dirty. But the world is out to get him today. There's a bully, a ketchup rocket and many other problems.

Olivia

Wolf Siren
This has been my favourite book from the shortlist, so far! Red's grandmother has vanished and the villagers have been separated from the woods. But Red has a secret, she is a wolf-woman in a village that hates wolves. I have rated this book 5 out of 5!

Olivia

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I have awarded this book 4.5 out of 5! In summary, it is about a boy who is struggling and then his mum faints. Pelicanatus is jealous and attacks the boy. His friends then have to save the school and even France! This book was surprisingly good, as I didn't know what to expect from the front cover.

Elspeth