BAS Reading Champions

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines is a gentle, emotional story about a girl named Tilda who loves her small island home more than anything. She knows every cliff, every puffin, and every wave, and the island makes her feel safe, especially after losing her brother Rowan. When a new boy called Albie moves to the island, he feels lonely and misses his old home, and Tilda tries hard to make him like the island too. Their friendship slowly grows, especially when they decide to explore a nearby island that everyone says is dangerous and haunted. This adventure helps them understand each other better and face the sad feelings they’ve both been carrying. The book uses simple but beautiful language to show how nature, friendship, and memories can help people heal, and how “home” is not just a place, but a feeling of being understood and cared for. I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely recommend this.

Fatima

The Boy I Love
I like the book how it is create. I like the book how it is describe. I like the book how the picture is like. The book was not that much hard at all.

Minahil

Birdie
Pages 1-21. The beginning 20-21 pages show the main character Birdie leaving her home in Leeds which she lived with Mrs Dudley. The only mother she’s known to go to a place called Barrington Dale. Birdie is leaving due to a letter from her Great Aunt Mabel. She believes her great aunt wants her. When she arrives at Barrington Dale, it is freezing and empty and she is left there whilst parents are coming for the other children. Because of this Birdie walks through the snow whilst bringing her heavy suitcase with her. When she arrives at Mabel’s house, Mabel isn’t nice instead she is harsh and gives our main character in the book, birdie an attic room which it is freezing in. So far in my opinion, these pages show how harsh it is being an outsider. An example is how I mentioned prior, parents hugged other children whilst birdie was left alone and made to walk all the way to her great aunt’s house. Pages 22 – 150 In the following section of the book, Birdie attends the village school. It is evident that she does not belong to the local community. Her teacher Miss Skerren, acts with cruelty and treats Birdie as if her intelligence is low because of her origins. To avoid the people who harass her and the low temperatures, Birdie locates a hidden area within a coal mine. There is a pit pony named Mr Duke whom she encounters in this location. As the local residents behave in a harsh manner, the pony is gentle with her. For Birdie, the animal provides more emotional support than the humans, because the pony does not form negative opinions about her based on her differences "home". Pages 151 - 220 As the narrative continues, the closure of the mine is imminent. Due to the advanced age of the pony, the owners intend to kill the animal - but Birdie feels unable to accept the loss of her only companion and she creates a strategy to protect him. On those pages the text also indicates that Great Aunt Mabel has reasons for her behavior. It is clear that she experiences isolation and sadness. By this point Birdie transforms from a child who feels fear into a person who acts with courage. If she must violate regulations to achieve a moral outcome, she is willing to do so. Pages 221 - 256 As the book starts to reach its conclusion, the atmosphere is full of pressure. To save the life of Mr Duke, Birdie guides him through mine tunnels that contain many hazards. It is a significant danger but the residents of the village observe her actions for the first time. By the conclusion, she is no longer the isolated girl who carries a large and heavy container for belongings. And the ending suggests that a person can find a "home" in any place if they have the bravery to pursue it - it finishes the story.

Binyamin

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I’d give this book a 7/10, but honestly, I’m being a little biased because I’ve heard Patrick Ness’s other books and they are actually amazing. Compared to something like The Knife of Never Letting Go, the English in this one was not the best—it felt like a 5-year-old could read it. Don’t get me wrong, the lizard hall-monitor idea is funny, and the art is cool, but if you’re used to his more intense stuff, the writing here feels way too 'babyish' and simple. It’s a solid story if you want something fast and weird, but it definitely didn't hit as hard as his older books because it felt like it was written for little kids. My favourite character is... Drum roll... Miel. IT MEANS HONEY! If you've read the book, you'll understand the reference. I'm not doing any art for this, sorry.

Fatimah

Wolf Siren
I really enjoyed reading it and it was a bit like little red riding hood; where it was set and the plot. I also loved how it showed that being disabled doesn't mean you can't do anything

Zamin

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
It was very intriguing and made me want to read more till the end and I really enjoyed how it explored friendship and bullying in a perspective of a lizard. A very funny book.

Zamin

Wolf Siren
When I first opened Wolf Siren, I thought it'd be like any old book. With the usual ups and downs, round and rounds of some action, then an ending. But... I was wrong. Oh boy, I was wrong. So fatally wrong that if the fact of my wrongness came up to me and said what I first thought, I would say it was lying. Wolf Siren, is no doubt the best book I've ever read. It is a beautifully tragic parody of the famous fable Little Red Riding Hood, and it also includes as its main animal my favourite animal, a wolf. Also, its main character, Red, shows many of my physical and emotional traits, such as: - Eye impedance - My free spiritedness - Love of the wild, trees and the outdoors in general - My reckless bravery - Love of my siblings - As I mentioned before, my love for wolves - Feminism - My favourite colour is, surprisingly, red (I'm not joking, it is) - I am also nearly 13. - The menstrual cycle If I were to give this book an out of 10 mark, I would say a 11/10 for the reason that, yes, I'm good at math, but I just love this book so much. I would put this book ahead as the winner, and the best thing was it got me so hooked that all together I spent about a day reading it. As I said before, I love his book.

Fatimah